1963 Fender Jazzmaster

Did anyone ever play jazz on a Fender  Jazzmaster? When Fender introduced it as their top-of-the-line guitar in 1958 they had high hopes of attracting the jazz crowd. Sadly, the jazzbos of the day weren’t really interested in playing solidbodies and the rock guys and the country guys weren’t that interested in playing a guitar that said jazz on the headstock. So, although it sold moderately well, I suspect its sales were a bit of a disappointment for Fender. But over the years the guitar gained something of a cult status among musicians outside the mainstream like Elvis Costello, Tom Verlaine, Nels Cline, Stephen Malkmus, J. Mascis, Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo. At first, I suspect these players were drawn to the low prices used Jazzmasters were selling for back in the 1970s and 1980s but they soon discovered that they were actually really good sounding guitars. After years of being passed over by players who wanted Strats or Teles, Jazzmasters are finally getting some overdue respect. (After years of ignoring them myself, I finally bought a nice 1965 Jazzmaster for myself last year.)

This 1963 Jazzmaster is finished in Olympic White, a relatively common custom color. Over time, as the lacquer has aged, it has given the guitar a nice ivory tint. (It’s also possible that cigarette smoke has added to patina.) Apart from the dark stain down by the tailpiece, this guitar is in very clean original condition. If the Jazzmaster has a flaw, it’s that the saddles on the bridge are a bit too shallow and if you are an enthusiastic player the strings pop out of their slots pretty easily. Happily, there is an easy, non-invasive fix for this issue, the Mastery Bridge. Normally, I wouldn’t recommend swapping out the original parts on a vintage guitar, but the Mastery Bridge is such a huge improvement and it’s easy to switch back to the original. Everyone I know with a Jazzmaster uses one. Anyway, if you’d like to jump on the Jazzmaster bandwagon just send $4950 to Lark Street Music and they will help you make the leap.

Actually, now that I think about it, one guy did play jazz on a Jazzmaster: Roy Lanham.