1959 Fender Jazzmaster - White (refinish)

1959 Fender Jazzmaster – Olympic White (Vintage Refinish) Condition: Very Good ALL ORIGINAL except: - nitro lacquer white refinish - period-correct repro neck decal - professionally refretted in 2017 by one of the best luthiers in Poland, Mr. Piotr Witwicki (Facebook profile: /Piotr-Witwicki-Pracownia-Lutnicza-100057434290472) Comes with the original Fender tweed hardshell case Serial number: 45911 Bought in 2016 in USA A note from the previous owner: I am selling my beautiful first full-year of production 1959 Pre-CBS Fender Jazzmaster. With the exception of a nitro-lacquer Olympic White refin on the body, and a period-correct repro neck decal it is “ALL ORIGINAL”. It will come with its “ORIGINAL” lacquered-tweed hard-shell case. This is in remarkable collectable and playable condition, a players dream, and a collector’s prize. I bought this guitar at a local music store in 1984, along with the original body-finish the peg-head decal had been removed so I didn’t know what model it was, but I knew it was a Fender, and after playing it I fell in love with the incredibly vivid vintage sound and have had it ever since. In the last 10 to 15 years or so I have seen the popularly of the Jazzmaster reemerge as more and more professionals have chosen it as their guitar of choice for recordings and stage work and they look for these early originals to use for the vintage sound instead of reissues. As I get older I play my acoustics mostly and not this instrument as much, so I have decided to let it go to someone who will play, respect and appreciate as I have, so it’s up for sale. REFIN: 15 years ago I decided to give this guitar a vintage look to go with the vintage sound, not being a fan of the Fender sunburst look, I had the Alder-wood body professionally refinished at “Goez Instruments” in St. Louis with 5 coats hand-blocked nitro-lacquer Olympic-White, then 5 coats hand-blocked nitro-lacquer McFadden’s Clear-Coat. I also had a period correct headstock decal installed. Like vintage finishes the McFadden Clear Coat has begun to slightly yellow. It is now an Olympic-White “beauty” and even though it looks great in the pictures, they just can’t do it justice. While Goez Instruments was refinishing the body and installing the decal I had them inspected the entire guitar, they verified that everything else was 100% original down to the last screw. NECK: The thick full-slab Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard has some wear for its 57 years but is still very playable, the “original” frets also show some wear but are still very playable, “clay-dot” inlay markers, original bone nut, headstock has the original gull-wing string-T and single line Kluson Deluxe tuning machines, Jazzmasters have the same necks as Stratocasters, headstocks are the only difference, so the neck feels and plays exactly like a Stratocaster, this medium “C” neck has a free working truss rod, neck has its original finish and is “Jeff Beck” straight, neck plate number 45911. Neck and body have no pencil dates; very few 59 or 60 Fenders received dates. HARDWARE: Stock bridge includes the early saddles which have wide groves on the bass side graduating to narrow groves on the treble side, saddle intonation screws, springs and height screws all in correct working order, original early bridge cover with flared ends, pickup selector switch and tip with killer patina, original volume and tone knobs, input jack, first run rhythm selector switch with screw & nut fasteners, first run tremolo is stamped “PAT PEND” back before the patents were issued, original tremolo arm and tip, original full “brass-pan” shields under electronics and pickups, original strap pegs, and the original white “soap-bar” pickup covers that show great patina. PICKGUARD: Leo Fender phased out the gold anodized-aluminum pickguards he had installed on the 58 and some early 59 Jazzmasters, these guards immediately began to show pick-rash and quickly looked bad, so in 1959 Leo introduced celluloid tortoise-shell pickguards on Jazzmasters, and other models, the celluloid guard on this guitar was from the very first run. This is the original first-run tortoise-shell pickguard, first-run guards have more yellow than in later tortoise-shell guards, this pickguard lays flat and shows minimal shrinkage, it has one small ¼” long crack from the rhythm volume roller cutout to the outside of guard which can be seen in pictures, original aluminum shield under the guard with the inspector’s initials still on it. ELECTRONICS: The original black-bobbin pickups with original red-lacquered windings produce that incredible vintage sound only early vintage single-coil Jazzmaster pickups can, when played clean through a vintage tube amp the sound is as vintage as can be, must be heard, neck pickup reads 8.57 and bridge pickup reads 7.84, and I think they are wound with humbucking reverse polarities because when selector switch is in center position and both are in circuit the single coil hum…