A 'Slab-Board' Jazzmaster

This near mint three-tone Sunburst "slab board" Jazzmaster weighs just 8.10 lbs. and has a nut width of just over 1 5/8 inches and a scale length of 25 1/2 inches. Solid alder body, maple neck and headstock, and slab rosewood fretboard with 21 frets and inlaid clay dot position markers. Decal headstock logo with "Fender" in gold with black trim, "Jazzmaster" and "Offset Contour Body Pat. Pending" in black, and "With Synchronized Floating Tremolo" in black below. Single "butterfly" string tree with a metal spacer. Individual Kluson Deluxe single line tuners with oval metal buttons. The neck is dated "4 May 62B" (May 1962) Two hot Jazzmaster pickups (large white rectangular six-polepiece pickups) with outputs of 8.22k and 9.20k. Four-layer (tortoiseshell/white/black/white) celluloid pickguard (totally crack-free). Two controls (master volume, master tone) with white plastic knobs, plus three-way selector switch and jack socket on the treble side of the pickguard, two roller knobs (volume, tone) plus two-way slide switch on the bass side of the pickguard. The pots are dated "3046119" (May 1961). Jazzmaster bridge and integrated tailpiece and tremolo. There is some belt buckle wear on the back of the guitar with two areas down to the wood - one of approximately 3 inches by 1 1/2 inches and the other 1 1/2 inches by 1 inch. Some wear to the black sides which has been neatly touched in, but overall this is a superb examples of one of the last slabboard Jazzmasters. The original frets show a medium amount of wear but have plenty of life left in them. Quite simply, one of the best playing and best sounding Jazzmasters we have seen. A totally original example -- complete with the original bridge cover and tremolo arm. Housed in its original Fender light brown Tolex case with brown leather ends and orange plush lining. (9.25).

"The Jazzmaster first appeared in Fender sales material during 1958, and at some $50 more than the Strat it became the new top-of-the-line model...Immediately striking to the electric guitarist of 1958 was the Jazzmaster's unusual offset-waist body shape...For the first time on a Fender, the Jazzmaster featured a separate rosewood fingerboard glued to the customary maple neck...The Jazzmaster's floating vibrato system was new, too, and had a tricky 'lock-off' facility aimed at preventing tuning problems if a string should break. The controls were certainly elaborate for the time…A small slide-switch selected between two individual circuits, offering player-preset rhythm and lead sounds. The idea was a good one: the ability to set up a rhythm sound and a lead sound, and switch between them. But the system seemed over-complicated to players brought up on straightforward volume and tone controls. The sound of the Jazzmaster was richer and warmer than players were used to from Fender. The name Jazzmaster had not been chosen at random, for Fender was aiming this different tone at jazz players, who at the time largely preferred hollowbody electrics, and principally those by Gibson. However, jazz guitarists found little appeal in this new, rather difficult solidbody guitar -- and mainstream Fender players largely stayed with their Stratocasters and Telecasters" (Tony Bacon, 50 Years of Fender, p. 26). Much to Fender's surprise, however, the Jazzmaster turned into the best surf guitar ever conceived.