Up for sale, a 1961 Fender Jazzmaster in excellent condition and in perfect working order. This Pre-CBS guitar features a body-only nitro lacquer transparent blonde finish courtesy of Danocaster over the prominent grain of the one-piece ash body! Featherweight at only 6lbs 12oz and extremely resonant, this Jazzmaster takes full advantage of the powerful and defined midrange qualities of ash, with a prominent, singing acoustic voice that translates well through the original black bobbin pickups. It's worth mentioning that this is easily the lightest Jazzmaster we've ever had in stock, and it's a particularly soulful sounding one too.Able to deliver everything from sparkle and twang in the bridge position to wooly and complex tones at the neck, this Jazzmaster boasts a distinct and usable tone in every position. Flip a switch to the oft disregarded (and infinitely cool) Rhythm Circuit and you have a whole new palette of dark voicings meant to appeal to the "Jazz" player that never really got on with this instrument, but a tonal range that really loves a heavily overdriven tube amp or sputtery fuzz pedal in need of a bit of thickening. This Jazzmaster has just been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar, where we specialize in offset Fender instruments, and the action is dialed in nice and low with fresh 11-50 strings.The one-piece maple neck feels great on the palm, with much of the original nitro lacquer worn down to the bare maple below. The profile is indicative of most late 59-61 Jazzmasters, with a moderately slender C that gets slightly deeper as you move into the higher registers of the fretboard. The Brazilian rosewood slab fretboard has a very dark and tight grain, appearing almost like ebony at first glance, and the original clay dots are in great shape. The guitar has just been professionally refretted with original vintage-size fretwire and a corresponding 1 5/8" bone nut was also carved, resulting in a smooth and elegant playing experience. Notes sing out evenly and clearly in all registers, and the neck is arrow straight with a responsive truss rod. On the headstock, a set of modern Kluson tuning machines turn smoothly and hold pitch well, perfectly matching the footprints of the original tuners. The face of the headstock retains the original "spaghetti" Fender Jazzmaster waterslide decal and the heel of the neck has a clean 10/61 pencil date.The original wiring harness is clean and intact, with CTS pots that date back to the 43rd week of '60. The lead circuit even has the small wax paper tone cap that was phased out in '61 in favor of a cheaper ceramic disc. While the neck pickup retains its original windings, the bridge pickup was recently professionally rewound to match, and the two pickups compliment each other very well in terms of output and tonal properties. The stock shielding plates are intact as well, along with the aluminum shield beneath the stock nitrate tortoise pickguard. Other stock hardware includes the Pat. Pending vibrato unit, which works well in tandem with the bridge for quick surfy shimmies, deep dives, and everything in between! The aged white Strat-style knobs are older naturally aged Fender parts, but not original to the guitar.Cosmetically, this is a visually stunning instrument, and Danocaster did an exceptional job with a tasteful relic of the transparent blonde nitro lacquer finish on the body to match the genuine wear on the original nitro on the neck profile and headstock face. While it's a difficult thing to capture in the included photos, much of the ash grain can be easily seen through the nitro. The nitrate tortoise pickguard has the lighter "tomato soup" look with more swirly yellow seen on the earliest Pre-CBS guards, and contrasted with the blonde finish and chrome appointments, its a very elegant and visually appealing instrument.This Pre-CBS Jazzmaster features a restored custom color blonde finish on the body, a fresh professional refret, and comes complete with the original brown tolex hardshell case.