Jazzo-Sonic | Restoring a '62 Jazzmaster

[armensguitars]

That looks amazing. Great advertisement for Joe Riggio!

[ludobag1]

sherwood is superb ,i am not fan of aging but it is not mine

Thanks!

As for aging, you might not be considering this from the context of a restoration. Do you expect a 62 year old guitar to look brand new?

If I had it painted looking completely perfect, the pickup covers, tuners, trem and other hardware would look odd because they have natural wear and the body would not. Repair work is where the practice of aged finishes began in the first place, it’s about getting back to what it should look like.

i totally understand the goal ,it is the big ding near the trem on the radius that shocks me ,but i fully understand a 62 to not be pristine
it is real more realistic than most of relics i ve seen by far

[ThePearDream]

This turned out sooo good. That's a dream Jazzmaster for me. To me, the aging looks very tasteful and appropriate.

[zhivago]

Wow I saw this on his Instagram the other day and just about fainted, it looks AMAZING!!!

Really happy to hear you own this one!

[clintburgess]

How is this a refinish?! I consider myself at least "learned" when it comes to old Fenders but you'd have a hard time convincing me this was a refin without foreknowledge of the restoration. This is INCREDIBLE. And you are more than correct about getting sherwood green right when it comes to aging, clear coat, etc. Riggio is a master. I missed out on nabbing a jag he restored and it's probably my biggest "one that got away" regret.
Cheers to you Collin for another brilliant project. That jazzy is truly a stunner.

[Highnumbers]

Thank you all for the kind words, like the Bass VI restoration I did recently, these sorts of projects are a labor of love. I could have done it in half the time, for half the cost but to me that's not the point. It feels like this thing has a second lease on life, as if nothing had happened to it.

I will say that the idea of a doubleneck offset is actually quite cool, but the execution of this one was awful and I wouldn't dream of doing that to a vintage guitar. Hand me a couple MIM or MIJ offsets and I'd sure be compelled to explore what's possible.

How is this a refinish?! I consider myself at least "learned" when it comes to old Fenders but you'd have a hard time convincing me this was a refin without foreknowledge of the restoration. This is INCREDIBLE. And you are more than correct about getting sherwood green right when it comes to aging, clear coat, etc. Riggio is a master. I missed out on nabbing a jag he restored and it's probably my biggest "one that got away" regret.
Cheers to you Collin for another brilliant project. That jazzy is truly a stunner.

Thanks Clint! Much appreciated, glad you dig it. Sherwood is the color that most people get wrong (even Fender, multiple times in different ways). It's the type of paint itself, having just the right amount of metallic to it, and only a light dusting of aged clear to get it looking right. Joe's a wizard with this stuff, and I'm so happy I sent this to him (at a premium but fair cost, given the level of work done).

As for the refin aspect, while it sure looks right on the outside, anybody with a modicum of experience would be able to look in the cavities and know that it's had some level of work done and that the finish isn't original. I'm all for accurate restorations, but outright forgery is another level entirely, and one that I won't go to. That's also the nice thing about forums like OSG. I'm not planning on selling this guitar but if I ever did, it's all documented here for posterity.

sherwood is superb ,i am not fan of aging but it is not mine

Thanks!

As for aging, you might not be considering this from the context of a restoration. Do you expect a 62 year old guitar to look brand new?

If I had it painted looking completely perfect, the pickup covers, tuners, trem and other hardware would look odd because they have natural wear and the body would not. Repair work is where the practice of aged finishes began in the first place, it’s about getting back to what it should look like.

i totally understand the goal ,it is the big ding near the trem on the radius that shocks me ,but i fully understand a 62 to not be pristine
it is real more realistic than most of relics i ve seen by far

You should see my original pre-CBS Jazzmasters.... they have all sorts of dings like that, put on the old fashioned way. Random dings like that one by the trem are what sets Joe apart from other aged finishers, if you look at original guitars, they'll have dings that don't look planned in any way, in unusual places. It's an art form accurately aging guitars, there's about a half dozen people on this planet that can do it at Joe's level of skill.

[Pacafeliz]

Oh damn that's friggin MAGIC you did there

I'm always so amazed what you folks can do
Respect

[superficial]

This is incredible. Vintage Sherwood green with matching headstock - that is a bucket list guitar.

Do you have any time estimates for how long the project took in total?

[OffYourFace]

Wow Joe really has figured out the magic process huh? Congrats! I didn't know he was doing fretwork too, wow.

[Highnumbers]

This is incredible. Vintage Sherwood green with matching headstock - that is a bucket list guitar.

Do you have any time estimates for how long the project took in total?

Thanks, the odds of me even finding an original Sherwood JM, let alone affording it are slim. So this definitely checks that off the bucket list for me.

As for the timeline, it’s really hard to say because I worked feverishly on the project at first (June-July ‘22) then sidelined the whole thing for many months. Then back at it March-May ‘23 and sent it off to Joe for paint last June,

So maybe about 4-5 months of actual working time on this. It would also have been faster without documenting it for this thread.

[Nudger]

Cant lose with green, beautiful guitar!!

[sal paradise]

[JVG]

Agree with previous comments regarding colour and aging. It’s perfect, and quite fitting in the context of a meticulously done restoration.

The large-ish chunk of lacquer missing behind the trem might look surprising at first, but is a gutsy relic detail and exactly the type of blemish you see on older guitars - even those that have been well cared for. After all, it only takes one careless knock in 60 years to pull off a chunk of finish like that. However, if there were many large spots like that it would look fake, a la MJT et. al.

I think Joe’s waiting list just got longer!

[armensguitars]

Agree with previous comments regarding colour and aging. It’s perfect, and quite fitting in the context of a meticulously done restoration.

The large-ish chunk of lacquer missing behind the trem might look surprising at first, but is a gutsy relic detail and exactly the type of blemish you see on older guitars - even those that have been well cared for. After all, it only takes one careless knock in 60 years to pull off a chunk of finish like that. However, if there were many large spots like that it would look fake, a la MJT et. al.

I think Joe’s waiting list just got longer!

After reading this and looking back at the guitar, I absolutely agree. This one ding (and the absence of others like it), adds a lot to the whole appearance of the guitar. It is very easy on the eyes, just like a true vintage one, and unlike many modern relics. Joe really did an incredible job.

[will]

Lovely green color - it seems like there are so many shades of sherwood green out there due to tinted clearcoats. This looks great!