My 65 CAR Jazzmaster (delayed NGD)

[CorporateDisguise]

That CAR is so vibrant. Gorgeous guitar! Congrats.

[Cymbaline87]

That's so cool, I have one just like it, '65, originally CAR refin'd in the correct color. They are amazing instruments.

[Highnumbers]

So nice! This is the one from Jimmy's in Florida?

I was so close to buying this one, the store owner made sure to hold this one for you. Congrats! The early '65s might be my favorite vintage Jazzmasters, love the neck profile and those pickups especially.

anything specific about these EARLY '65s? ? are the pickups different from earlier years?
I'm curious cos there's a '65 here near me that I'm tempted to go check out, but I've not seen many vintage guitars in their store over the years so I'm not certain about their process in determining its cred... that said, I'm not justified in my concern, since I'm only in there every now and then
https://www.macronmusic.com.au/product/ ... -sunburst/

also wondering about the fret markers - they look .... strange. like they're popping out. hard to tell from pics, tho...
https://www.macronmusic.com.au/assets/a ... 0523090316

it's listed at about $7,500 USD. equivalent to paying $6,500 USD before freight and import duty

I have a '62 slab board olympic white Jazzmaster and a '65 Jazzmaster in LPB. To my ears, I actually prefer the sound of the '65, and again the neck profile is wonderful.

The other nice part about '65s is that it's the end of the pre-CBS features (small headstock, unbound neck, L-series plate and Kluson tuners) but some folks classify these as CBS era guitars and sell them for less than a '64. It's kind of a sweet spot, to me.

[algeriet]

Wow. I've nothing better to say tbh. Even the black pickup switch is killer.

[Twang]

Sick jazzmaster. Those pots are original, 304=stackpole pots, 65=1965, and then the last numbers 15?=the week made. All of the electronics look OG at first glance. Hopefully not a refin either. Were the little "points" that hold the rhythm circuit shielding in place unsoldered? It appears that all of the solder joints are original throughout. The original masking tape alteration is the biggest aspect pointing to a refin to me. That and the lack of the little nail holes but maybe they just aren't visible in the pics. And I love the smaller vintage frets. Makes for such great rhythm playing!

[neilnat]

Ah, I was reading the pots wrong - looking at the numbers on the other side. April 65 fits in perfectly with the S/N (L8XXXX) and neck. They still sound perfect after some magic Deoxit spray.

What kind of nail holes should I look for and where? Any example pictures? It needs a new set of strings, and I can pop it back open and snap some better picture of the solder joints on the shielding - maybe this weekend.

[R_T_Hermit]

The best nail hole pic I have of my 63 Jag. (Between the bottom left screw holes.)

[neilnat]

Finally got around to a string change and some more exploration under the hood. Here are the nail holes I was able to find



And better picture of the solder joints

[neilnat]

A few updates. After about a year with this beauty, I decided to replace the frets. I found I was playing it less because although playable, the frets in the .020-.025 range just made my hand tired - too much contact with the fretboard for bending. I drove a little while and got Ross Teigan, who is very familiar with vintage guitars, to do the refret. He used StewMac #155, which is very close to vintage width, but a little taller. I'm VERY happy with the playability now and do not regret getting it done.

He is also of the opinion that there is no evidence of a refinish. After a little extra digging, I found that this guitar shouldn't even have nail holes from the original finish as fender started using hanging trees in mid to late 1964 and this guitar is a mid 65. Any aberrations in the blacklight test can be attributed to differences in thickness due to spray angles.

So now it looks like I have an all original 1965 Jazzmaster with three exception - The frets and pickup foam are expected and don't bother me, but the pickup selector switch knob is black instead of white. Jimmy pointed this out to me when I bought it (he is thorough). Ross put a white one on for me, but it isn't aged at all and looks more wrong than the black. I guess I'll dive down the all-original rabbithole and start looking for an original knob. Is there any way to find one other than stalking ebay? Any recommendations for a good aged white one in the meantime?

[supersonicjazzmaster]

Wonnnnnnderful Jazzmaster!

Toggle knob. What about this?:
https://www.zoundhouse.de/elk25-knopf-f ... tage-amber

[JamesSGBrown]

An amber switch tip would be the icing on a very gorgeous cake!

[otis]

what a splendid Jazzmaster! I love CAR and this particular one is so beautifull!

[neilnat]

Over a year later and I'm still blown away every time I see it on my wall (especially when the light hits the checking in just the right way). Now that it plays well it's even better.

I recently talked to the seller again and he said the "refin" was a touchup job, not a full spray, and that it was done so well he would have bought it as original finish if he hadn't been told (and he runs a vintage guitar shop). Not sure what that does to the value, but my plan is to keep this one for a long time, so it's all academic for now.

[Pacafeliz]

OH GOD THIS IS PERFECTION

[PorkyPrimeCut]

An amber switch tip would be the icing on a very gorgeous cake!

This. Not at all period correct but far better looking than white.
Otherwise, an aged white repro tip is very easy to find, for the time being.

This really is one of the nicest examples of Candy Apple Red I've ever seen.