OffsetGuitars.com

This was a complete impulse buy because it played absolutely incredible. I'd been eying a 60s Jazzmaster for a while but absolutely fell in love with the way this jag plays - just silky smooth and very easy to move around on the neck which I found quite thin compared to my 60s original jag (purchased 2020) . Purchased in probably ten minutes with the assurance that it was 100% original - I didn't really have time to check it out and as my first foray into 50 year old guitars I wanted to make sure I knew what I was getting into.

I *think* this is - from what I've learned here, doing as much research as possible:

An early '65 jaguar
Original paint,
Unbound neck,
Pearl dot inlays

Only thing that appears to be missing is the trem arm. From what I can tell, everything does seem to be original, with pots dating to Feb '65. Would this be considered 'CBS', 'transitional' or 'pre-cbs?' I can't find any date code on the body other than the letter 'S' quickly written under the pickguard.

Can I safely replace the completely dried out mute foam, or would that screw everything up, collectability wise? I love to play it but if it makes it hard to offload in the future I might just keep it. I rarely use the mute. Other than that, everything seems to be in good working order with the exception of a somewhat scratchy rhythm volume pot.

Anyway, shut up man, here's some pics!














Rhythm switch / roller knobs / pots on upper horn








Input jack and tone knob:


Tone and volume:



Neck pocket:





L serial:

Yup, looks legit, and very nice, congratulations!

I wish everyone posted NGD photos like this.

If you don't use the mute I'm pretty sure you can remove the whole mechanism, funky foam & all, without any cosmetic damage. Doesn't the whole thing just sit under the bridge? Just set it up again & you're good to go.

Congrats.

That's a super weird one, pearl dots and no binding. It's happened before, but that's a rare combo.

To answer your question, that's a CBS Jaguar. Everything made in '65 is, but some features would be described as transitional because it didn't have the binding or blocks. The pearl dots are, to my knowledge, a purely CBS thing. I've had clay dot Mustangs with '64 necks but the '65s were pearl. They finished the stock of clay (well, not actual clay) dots in early '65 and pearl dots were ordered to replace them on the models that didn't switch to blocks.

So the pearl dots are a CBS feature, though the absence of binding would be transitional.

PorkyPrimeCut wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 13, 2021 4:38 pm

I wish everyone posted NGD photos like this.

If you don't use the mute I'm pretty sure you can remove the whole mechanism, funky foam & all, without any cosmetic damage. Doesn't the whole thing just sit under the bridge? Just set it up again & you're good to go.

Thanks - I think part of the reason I got such a deal on it was that the pics were absolutely horrendous. Good pics make all the difference.

You're right - the mute can easily come right out. Speaking of setup - this gd thing will just NOT stay in tune. Sounds amazing for 5 minutes and as soon as i use the trem, never quite gets back to where it was, unlike my newer offsets...this will require some spelunking I think

Serial number and neck date look about right.

That is a good looking guitar !

It has all the right features for its age.

Hope you put a lot more playing wear on it.

If I may I'd like to make one observation.
The pickup screws look very new/clean. Compare them to the close by guard and control panel screws.
In the vintage Jags I have restored the pickup screws degrade/rust up at the same rate as that of the other screws.

Maybe this Jag has been pulled apart and the pickup screw were lost and modern screws fitted.

Just something I noticed.

Is putting straplocks on this thing going to torpedo the value?

graceless wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 15, 2021 10:51 am

Is putting straplocks on this thing going to torpedo the value?

For Schaller strap locks, just use the same screws as for the current strap pegs (maybe with some felt, if you feel super protective).

graceless wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 15, 2021 10:51 am

Is putting straplocks on this thing going to torpedo the value?

A cheaper, easier and better solution: Bottle washers. They’ve never failed me. Plus, they come with beer.

Congrats on a gorgeous guitar!

Thanks, everyone - really appreciate the advice!

Used threads here to give this thing a great setup (which it definitely DID NOT have...while the action was low and really easy to play, a single touch of the trem bar sent the tuning to the depths of hell) and I am happy to report she absolutely sings now.

It's lovely. The sunburst looks quite a lot darker black than most 65s, which usually don't have the black touching the top control plate.
As for CBS, the company was sold in jan 65, but the new factory CBS built only came on line around july, so guitars made before that with all the parts using the old machine tools are often considered pre-cbs. The changes include binding, F tuners and F neck plates.

Anyway, it looks great.

mbene085 wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 13, 2021 5:01 pm

Congrats.

That's a super weird one, pearl dots and no binding. It's happened before, but that's a rare combo.

Is this combo really so rare? My '65 Jag neck has the same features and it is stamped Aug' 65. It also has kluson double line tuners and an l-plate, just like this one.

Pearloid dots aren't that rare of Fenders, it what Fender used from the last months of 1964 onwards on their instruments...

However, on the "deluxe models", it is a rare occurence, since around the summer of 1965, they all got a binding around the fretboard, and in 1966 the dots were replaced by block inlays. That means there was only a window of around three quarters of a year where the "pearloid dots + no binding" was used. Factor in the fact that the Jazzmaster & Jaguar weren't absolute bestsellers, and the usage of olde(r) stock (a lot of early 1965 instruments use 1964 parts & specs) , and the window of unbound pearloid dots on those models shrinks to a few months in the spring & summer of 1965.

MrFingers wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 16, 2021 4:22 am

Pearloid dots aren't that rare of Fenders, it what Fender used from the last months of 1964 onwards on their instruments...

However, on the "deluxe models", it is a rare occurence, since around the summer of 1965, they all got a binding around the fretboard, and in 1966 the dots were replaced by block inlays. That means there was only a window of around three quarters of a year where the "pearloid dots + no binding" was used. Factor in the fact that the Jazzmaster & Jaguar weren't absolute bestsellers, and the usage of olde(r) stock (a lot of early 1965 instruments use 1964 parts & specs) , and the window of unbound pearloid dots on those models shrinks to a few months in the spring & summer of 1965.

Surely this quote will end up in a long-winded description from one of the more 'well-known' vintage flippers on Reverb as a selling point on a re-fin'd '65 trying to fetch $8k!

But, hey - interesting quirk nonetheless.