58, 59 or later...

PorkyPrimeCut · Post by **PorkyPrimeCut** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 9:51 am

Looking through various photo's online it appears that the bodywork inside a Jazzmaster changes, specifically underneath the Volume/Tone knobs. The wood relief (where the brass casing sits) is straight on both sides on one & another has a wiggly side & a straight side (if you know what I mean). Any way of dating these two styles??? Mine has a wiggly side. The site "Intricacies of the Jazzmaster" suggest one thing but other photos on other sites contradict what he says.

Post by **zhivago** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 10:08 am

the reason the switch happened was because the pickguards changed from 9 screws to 13.

9 screw anodised > 9 screw tortoiseshell > 13 screw tortoiseshell

The Jim Shine site you mentioned has the correct info.

Soiouz · Post by **Soiouz** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 10:16 am

Wasn't there a short lapse of time when the tortoise guards had 11 holes?

Post by **zhivago** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 10:19 am

I stand corrected...that is true...the 11 hole versions were briefly available too

PorkyPrimeCut · Post by **PorkyPrimeCut** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 11:09 am

OK. My guard has 11 holes but the body has 13. The cavity for the Tone/Volume pots has a wiggle. Any idea of the year? Are these 11 hole pickguards valuable?

Post by **zhivago** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 11:17 am

jazzheadmark wrote: Are these 11 hole pickguards valuable?

hmmm...they are rare...but I dunno...it would be valuable to someone with a body with 11 holes on it, I guess....

Soiouz · Post by **Soiouz** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 11:33 am

jazzheadmark wrote: OK. My guard has 11 holes but the body has 13. The cavity for the Tone/Volume pots has a wiggle. Any idea of the year? Are these 11 hole pickguards valuable?

If I recall correctly, the eleven hole guard should be 1959, but the "wiggly" route body usually fits with 13 hole guards (late 1959 onwards). If the parts you have were all born together as one guitar, my guess is that you have a good example Jazzmaster of the 1959 transition between the 9 hole gold guards and the 13 hole tortoise shell...

Maybe this thread we had on here a while back will be helpful to you...

index.php?topic=954.0

Post by **mynameisjonas** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 2:50 am

Soiouz wrote: If I recall correctly, the eleven hole guard should be 1959, but the "wiggly" route body usually fits with 13 hole guards (late 1959 onwards). If the parts you have were all born together as one guitar, my guess is that you have a good example Jazzmaster of the 1959 transition between the 9 hole gold guards and the 13 hole tortoise shell...

one could even say that is from the transition between 11 hole tort to 13 hole tort.

PorkyPrimeCut · Post by **PorkyPrimeCut** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 3:40 am

Thanks for the posting of 59-62 Jazzmaster comparisons. Plenty of good/clear images to go by. One hitch though. All the text is frazzled. Maybe cos I'm using a Mac. If there's any other way of viewing these pages I'd appreciate it.
I'm debating whether of not to add new holes to my body. The Pickguard is off a different JM & has shrunk. Also my body has 13 holes. The 11 hole Pickguard has a screw hole located in a different spot.

Soiouz · Post by **Soiouz** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 5:10 am

You should read carefully the whole thread about these comparison pages... You will notice that some of the discussion is around the fact that the text is all in Japanese. That is why you can't read anything. You would have to install the right fonts on your computer, and then have an online translator help you figure what it says.

I, for one, would never drill new holes on a vintage body, even if it already had some new ones in the past and even more so if its the original finish... If it's already a refin, it could be different.. But anyway, that's just me, I'm a bit of a hard liner when it comes to vintage stuff.

Are there at least some holes in your pickguard that align with the body, or the majority of them are off??

PorkyPrimeCut · Post by **PorkyPrimeCut** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 5:31 am

Some holes line up, just. Its all down to the shrinkage of the Pickguard I guess. I'm going down the workshop later. I'll have a better look then.

lalalandstudios · Post by **lalalandstudios** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 3:22 am

jazzheadmark wrote: Thanks for the posting of 59-62 Jazzmaster comparisons. Plenty of good/clear images to go by. One hitch though. All the text is frazzled. Maybe cos I'm using a Mac. If there's any other way of viewing these pages I'd appreciate it.
I'm debating whether of not to add new holes to my body. The Pickguard is off a different JM & has shrunk. Also my body has 13 holes. The 11 hole Pickguard has a screw hole located in a different spot.

The text is frazzled b/c its a Japanese site - its not your mac....

I wouldn't add holes to your body if its original.

OffsetGuitars.com

58, 59 or later...

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