1961 Fender Jazzmaster Custom Colour - Is Olympic White Rare?

Discussion of vintage Jazzmasters, Jaguars, Bass VIs, Electric XIIs and any other offset-waist instruments.
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Parksie
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1961 Fender Jazzmaster Custom Colour - Is Olympic White Rare?

Post by Parksie » Mon Dec 06, 2021 3:39 pm

Hi there,

This is my first post so hello to everyone on this great forum.

I am just about to receive my first Fender vintage guitar today and I'm pretty excited about it.

I bought the guitar a week ago yesterday and I've been patiently waiting for it to be packed and shipped to my house and now according to the tracking on from the courier company its due to arrive today.

It's a 1961 Fender Jazzmaster in Olympic White.

I am interested to know if Olympic White is a rare colour for a 1961 Jazzmaster?

If anyone here can help with an answer or comment I would really appreciate it.

Cheers.

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graceless
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Re: 1961 Fender Jazzmaster Custom Colour - Is Olympic White Rare?

Post by graceless » Mon Dec 06, 2021 3:49 pm

One of the more common custom colors, but certainly more rare than the standard sunburst. Enjoy your guitar though!! I am sure it will be a beauty.

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FrankRay
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Re: 1961 Fender Jazzmaster Custom Colour - Is Olympic White Rare?

Post by FrankRay » Mon Dec 06, 2021 4:34 pm

Any pre62 custom colour Jazzmaster is pretty rare, yes. I think colour charts only came in in 60, so before that they were a special orders, in which the customer could ask for any colour manufactured by Dupont Ducco.
By 1960, fender were regulating the choices, now limited to 14 including olympic white. Theoretically then some should be kicking around, but I don't think I've ever seen a 61 for sale in any colour other than sunburst or (maybe) blonde. Hell, even sunbursts are seriously rare.

Anyway, post some photos as soon as you can? Many here would love to see them, I'm sure.

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Parksie
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Re: 1961 Fender Jazzmaster Custom Colour - Is Olympic White Rare?

Post by Parksie » Mon Dec 06, 2021 4:42 pm

Hi mate,

Thanks very much for the insight it's much appreciated as I'm just starting out on my JM education.

I don't think I'm able to post any photos though at the moment unless I have them available to upload from an external server.

I tried when I uploaded the post and couldn't do it.

If Im able to upload them straight from my computer I will certainly do it.

Cheers.

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Re: 1961 Fender Jazzmaster Custom Colour - Is Olympic White Rare?

Post by countertext » Mon Dec 06, 2021 4:59 pm

Uh oh, you better go here and read up on posting photos.

Practice and figure it out, because there’s a lot of folks here waiting impatiently to see those pics! :ph34r:

Spoiler: you can’t upload photos directly at all. You need a URL for the actual image; the image needs to already be online.

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Re: 1961 Fender Jazzmaster Custom Colour - Is Olympic White Rare?

Post by Parksie » Mon Dec 06, 2021 5:09 pm

I'll see what I can get sorted.

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Re: 1961 Fender Jazzmaster Custom Colour - Is Olympic White Rare?

Post by Parksie » Tue Dec 07, 2021 4:14 am

I finally received the guitar today and Ive uploaded some images.

The images have been taken outside daylight hours so I'll post some more in tomorrow in daylight.

I am interested in comments or thoughts about the finish.

I am hoping its original but Ive read so many conflicting things Im not 100% sure.

Would be great to have some insight on the finish from those in the know.

https://ibb.co/bBQzjfH
https://ibb.co/XbY3GML
https://ibb.co/L80c1zb
https://ibb.co/tD93xLG
https://ibb.co/r5VSg1w
https://ibb.co/1dg2jxp
https://ibb.co/KbmqNTf
https://ibb.co/ncJQ7yG
https://ibb.co/MpRfvnS
https://ibb.co/zG49CdW
https://ibb.co/mSTRGPL
https://ibb.co/YcZqtHN
https://ibb.co/hDXgvwz

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Re: 1961 Fender Jazzmaster Custom Colour - Is Olympic White Rare?

Post by zip73 » Tue Dec 07, 2021 8:27 am

A clear photo of the top of the body with the guard off showing all the screw holes / nail holes would be helpful Including close-ups of the cavities / solder joints.

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Re: 1961 Fender Jazzmaster Custom Colour - Is Olympic White Rare?

Post by eggwheat » Tue Dec 07, 2021 10:03 am

Hi, no the finish is not original. You can see grey primer under the white. Looks like it’s in an Australian ‘Stamford’ fender case. Are you in Oz?

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Re: 1961 Fender Jazzmaster Custom Colour - Is Olympic White Rare?

Post by Parksie » Tue Dec 07, 2021 11:51 am

Yes, Im in Sydney.

The fellow I purchased the guitar from told me he bought it second hand in 1967 and hasn't changed anything.

Is it likely it was finished between 1961 and 1967?

Also, I'm having trouble removing the guard to check for nail holes and Im not sure why (I've taken plenty of pick guards off stratocasters in the past)

I removed all the screws and the volume and tone knobs and the switch however it wouldn't budge!

I was scared to force it in case I snapped a part of the original guard.

Did I remove everything I should have?

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Re: 1961 Fender Jazzmaster Custom Colour - Is Olympic White Rare?

Post by FrankRay » Tue Dec 07, 2021 12:44 pm

I've seen early white fenders undercoated in desert sand; the body, pencil date, and serial number all look good. There should be nail holes if the finish is original. I'll go back and look some more.

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Re: 1961 Fender Jazzmaster Custom Colour - Is Olympic White Rare?

Post by FrankRay » Tue Dec 07, 2021 12:45 pm

ooops. we need to see under the pickguard to be sure.

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Re: 1961 Fender Jazzmaster Custom Colour - Is Olympic White Rare?

Post by FrankRay » Tue Dec 07, 2021 12:48 pm

Incidentally if it was a normal refinish you'd see black under the white in the neck cavity, not bare wood. I remain hopeful, personally, although it looks very good condition for a 60 year old paint job. Incidentally early olympic whites often don't have varnish on, so don't go yellow like the later examples. So yours being white doesn't necessarily mean it's a refin.

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Re: 1961 Fender Jazzmaster Custom Colour - Is Olympic White Rare?

Post by FrankRay » Tue Dec 07, 2021 12:50 pm

Beautiful guitar, btw. Really curvy!!

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Re: 1961 Fender Jazzmaster Custom Colour - Is Olympic White Rare?

Post by PorkyPrimeCut » Tue Dec 07, 2021 1:13 pm

Parksie wrote:
Tue Dec 07, 2021 11:51 am
...Also, I'm having trouble removing the guard to check for nail holes and Im not sure why (I've taken plenty of pick guards off stratocasters in the past)

I removed all the screws and the volume and tone knobs and the switch however it wouldn't budge!

I was scared to force it in case I snapped a part of the original guard.

Did I remove everything I should have?
Does it seem to be stuck around the pickup covers? These old nitrocellulose pickguards will shrink & often end up gripping the side of the pickups.
If you unscrew all the covers (which are screwed directly onto the body) you should be able to lift the guard off. You'll probably find that all the wiring is taped to the back of the guard (or on a sheet of aluminium shielding). It's quite a fiddly affair.

If, for whatever reason, the tortoiseshell guard ends up separate from the rest, screw it down flat on a piece of wood & pop the pickup covers in the holes too. These things continue to warp & shrink making it harder to re-attach to the guitar.
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