Fender Jazzmaster, Sunburst (1965)

With a 1962 neck, pickup, and electronics and a 1965 body, this Franken-offset has all the ingredients that make up an inspiring sounding and killer playing Jazzmaster.

Previously owned by songwriter and guitarist Benny Yurco (Grace Potter, Ryan Adams), it's a reminder that the modularity of a Fender electric can open doorways to a vintage guitar experience that can exist freely from collector-grade premium without giving up the critical elements that make up a great guitar. We're sure that Benny found this one to tick a lot of boxes in terms of sound and feel.

Let's start with the neck; a late '62 with gorgeous Brazilian Rosewood 'board and fresh Jescar 43080 frets has this neck playing as great as it did the day it left the factory. The slightly wider nut of 1.65" (despite it being marked as a 'B' neck for 1 5/8" designation) feels particularly great for hybrid picking as well.

The electronics seem to be tied to the neck's age in some sense, as the pickups are black bobbins and the harness is wired up with pots dating from mid 1960 and 1961, respectively. Big, bold, hi-fidelity clarity is the name of the game with these pickups, and they seem to really come alive with medium to higher powered amps. The body shows off a gorgeous 3-tone Sunburst finish over a tightly grained Alder body with vibey lacquer checking throughout. And how about that vibrant tortoise 'guard!?! The whole look is just classic Jazzmaster to a tee.

Although a significant percentage of this guitar is made up of original parts, there are a few changes to account for. The tuners are reproduction Klusons, and the mechanical parts of the vibrato tailpiece have been swapped for Fender replacement parts. Why a change on the latter, you ask? The original spring plate assembly was causing excess friction on the retainer and subsequently the cavity rout to where the bridge wouldn't return to its zero point. A bit of a minor detail, but we were motivated to maximize playability on this one. The original mounting plate remains, though, so everything maintains the proper vintage aesthetic.

The original pickup leads had partially broken off of the eyelets on the bobbins at some point, which we carefully repaired and resoldered to avoid further issues with output. All other wiring has been largely undisturbed.