Three tone sunburst never looked so good! 1961 Fender Jazzmaster original brown tolex case.

The combination of tortoiseshell and sunburst really set Fender's premium offset guitars apart from their older siblings as the company went into the 60s. This went quite a way too giving the instruments a more refined look especially with the more prominent chrome accouterments.

 All three colours are vibrant, showcasing this early 60’s sunburst so well and unlike so many of this period, the red content of the sunburst has not faded at all. The finish shows signs of wear around the edges but on a whole retains its gloss finish.

The neck is in great shape and has not faded either. The lacquer is still glossy showing no real signs of use or any substantial knocks. The fretboard looks good and the original frets have plenty of life left in them.

One of the issues with this period is often the pickguard which has a tendency to shrink substantially and either crack or simply deform. In this case, you only have a little around the lower bout and the pickups but areas such as around the bridge have survived very well. This is important as the warping of the guard can impede the bridge and make it difficult to set the action. The hardware is very well preserved with only a little vague corrosion on the bridge. The vibrato unit is still splendid.

Electronically everything looks to be undisturbed with the pots reading week 16 of 1959, not too uncommon considering Leo Fender's fugal nature.

The guitar comes with its correct Brown Tolex case

This guitar definitely delivers the classic Jazzmaster sound. The rhythm circuit is dark enough without being lost and the lead circuit cuts through and gives that perception of lifting the sound. The neck pickup has a nice smoothness whilst still retaining the clarity. The bridge pickup has a nice snarl to it without being too brittle.

Jazzmasters can easily be misunderstood. Many guitarists have stories of the guitars that didn’t sustain and sounded bad. Guitars like this one prove that this misconception is unfounded. Don’t let this guitar get away.