OffsetGuitars.com

I've recently come across a friend of a friend who has a 1959 Jazzmaster body with all original parts but missing the neck and is willing entertain a trade for a 1930's Dobro that I never play. The body was refinished sometime in the early 70's by his father to match the original 3 tone sunburst which had pretty much worn off. My only problem is that the body is SUPER THIN. Almost 2mm thinner than some 60's bodies that I have seen. I've read that some of the 59 bodies were made thinner to reduce weight but I'm not quite sure whether this was done during the prior refinishing. Is there any way to tell? The contours and roundover all seem good to me and the routs seem to have enough depth. Also, any idea what this thing might be worth? The hardware has some wear but it's not too rough. I'll get some pics if I can...

Connor wrote:The contours and roundover all seem good to me....

There's your answer, I guess...

2 mm is not a hellova lot of wood...
Does it have the date in there??
If "yes", '59 is when the bodies were "slightly thinner" according to this--and other--sites:

http://zeus.lunarpages.com/~jimshi2/jaz ... jazzma.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Value?
Does it have everything, including the pups?
If "yes", 1.5K or so??

Love to see some pics, as I'm dealing with a similar set of circumstances....

I'm not home, so I can't measure it, but I was stunned when I received my 59 JM. The contour is much thinner than I would have imagined, having seen pictures. It's probably legit.

You guys have it backwards unless I'm understanding you wrong.

'58 - mid '59 Jazzmasters are THICKER. Around the time they changed from the gold guards to the nitrate, the body became thinner and stayed that way. A mid '59 body would be the same thickness as any JM, at least through the pre-CBS years, making the thinner body "normal" and the early thick body the rare one.

Please remember: I am backwards

secndshft wrote:Please remember: I am backwards

Nah... I'm not trying to be a smartass, just clearing up a misunderstanding if there is one.

I know...smartass

Seriously though, I was completely floored by the contour thickness of a 59. I could be totally off, but compared to modern JMs (my only experience before this) the 59 is thin thin.


FULLERPLAST FOR PREZ!!!!

Exactly. The 'Plast speaks the truth! As does Jim Shine!

http://zeus.lunarpages.com/~jimshi2/jaz ... jazzma.htm

I have a (thick) 9 hole early 1959 body and a (thin-regular) 13 hole later 59-60 i can measure. I may do it tomorrow and post the measurements.

fullerplast wrote:You guys have it backwards unless I'm understanding you wrong.

'58 - mid '59 Jazzmasters are THICKER. Around the time they changed from the gold guards to the nitrate, the body became thinner and stayed that way. A mid '59 body would be the same thickness as any JM, at least through the pre-CBS years, making the thinner body "normal" and the early thick body the rare one.

Thanks fellows! I hope to have the body in my grubby hands today! The thing is, I only have a spare B&B neck frpm a MIJ guitar. Would it be sacrilege to pair the two???

Connor wrote:Thanks fellows! I hope to have the body in my grubby hands today!

So-ooo, how thin is it?
I just measured my '62 and it's just under 1-5/8"...

Connor wrote:Thanks fellows! I hope to have the body in my grubby hands today! The thing is, I only have a spare B&B neck frpm a MIJ guitar. Would it be sacrilege to pair the two???

For the sake up slapping something together until a proper neck comes along? Not at all.

mongoose wrote:For the sake up slapping something together until a proper neck comes along? Not at all.

Well, that's what I'll have to do for the next little while 'til I can get the funds for a vintage correct replacement. Plus I have a show in two weeks that this thing will have to be ready for! So I gather Musikraft is the consensus here as the most vintage correct?

Connor wrote:Thanks fellows! I hope to have the body in my grubby hands today! The thing is, I only have a spare B&B neck frpm a MIJ guitar. Would it be sacrilege to pair the two???

Japanese necks are a little too wide at the heel to fit in the pocket of a vintage JM.
At least that's what I found when I tried my CIJ neck on my 1959 body.
Guess it's a metric vs. imperial thing.

zakmaster wrote:

Connor wrote:Thanks fellows! I hope to have the body in my grubby hands today! The thing is, I only have a spare B&B neck frpm a MIJ guitar. Would it be sacrilege to pair the two???

The body will reject the donor neck....

But an AVRI fits just fine....

ejstans wrote:Japanese necks are a little too wide at the heel to fit in the pocket of a vintage JM. At least that's what I found when I tried my CIJ neck on my 1959 body. Guess it's a metric vs. imperial thing.

Strat neck it is! Oh well, its a temporary replacement.

So after weeks of waiting and obsessing about this thing I finally have it. The owner believed it to be a '59 body but I'm not so sure. Here's how I'm breaking this down largely according to Jim Shine's excellent webpage on Jazzmaster dating. (I know that most of us have read it but if you need a refresher you can find it here: http://jimshine.com/jazzmaster/intricac ... jazzma.htm)

Nail Holes: Pre 1965
Short crown on bridge thimbles: 1961-1981
Celluloid pickguard with rectangular holes on aluminum plating for rhythm controls: Pre 1963
Brass shielding on rhythm rout lines only the back of the cavity: 1962-1964

Oh, also the ground wire runs from the bridge thimbles. I'm going to strip it within the next couple of days so hopefully there'll be some pencil marks still in there.

So if I am correct this seems to be a 1962 body. If my deductions are off please let me know! Anyhow, here she is in all her yucky two tone burst glory. Note that I haven't installed the rest of the shielding which is tub style...



And back. Note the interesting shape of the shading of the black band. Hope we're not trying to hide anything too nasty under there...



All in all it's not as rough as I remembered it. I'll get my calipers out and measure it as well as take some better pictures tomorrow. Until then I'll be getting high on stripper fumes. It'll be like my bachelor party in more ways than one...