By the late 1950s Leo Fender and company had experienced a great deal of success with their electric Spanish solid body instruments. However, despite the overwhelmingly positive reception to the Telecaster, Stratocaster, and Precision Bass models, the lack of uptake of Fender instruments by professional jazz guitarists did not go unnoticed by Mr. Fender and his associates. 

In an attempt to lure high profile jazz guitar players, Fender designed a new solid body guitar that was not-so-subtly dubbed the "Jazzmaster." Making its debut in the summer of 1958 billed as "America's Finest Electric Guitar," the Jazzmaster employed several features intended to meet the demand of upscale players. The Jazzmaster was the first Fender guitar to sport a rosewood fingerboard, a feature that would be adopted by the rest of the company's range by the end of 1959. A newly designed wide single pickup offered a warmer response, that Fender felt would be more appealing to a jazz guitarist than their Stratocaster and Telecaster pickups. Perhaps the most notable feature of the Jazzmaster was the offset-waist body design, intended to offer improved comfort when playing the instrument in a seated position. While the model was intended for the jazz market, the traditional leanings of jazz guitarists and their affinity towards hollowbody instruments built by other companies resulted in the model’s sales falling short of expectations with its intended audience. However, the Jazzmaster found an unexpected home in the hands of a number of guitarists in a new up-and-coming genre of popular music: Surf. From there, the rest is history. And while the Jazzmaster is still not highly regarded as a Jazz box, today it’s popularity spans many genres of contemporary music.

An excellent example of a Jazzmaster from the "Pre-CBS" period, this Autumn ‘64 build is an entirely original instrument apart from a recent professional refret with vintage spec wire. The original shrunken pickup height foam has been replaced and stored in the case pocket. A well-loved guitar, this 1964 Fender Jazzmaster shows some great looking one-owner finish wear on its body front, marking its countless hours of music making. Unlike its front-side, the body’s back finish remains vibrant.

The pair of original and unmodified grey-bobbin pickups (7.6K neck, 7.9K bridge) sound heavenly, offering a warm, harmonically rich response with strong mid-range support and all of the string separation and articulation that Jazzmasters are known for. The C-shaped neck measures 0.791" at the first fret and 0.921" at the twelfth, and has Fender’s standard 1-5/8" nut width. It’s a comfortable carve and easy to play. The weight is a respectable 7lbs 15oz, adding to this guitar’s comfort over long playing sessions.

Neck date of June 1964 (4 Jun 64 B). Visible pot codes dated to the 21st and 11th weeks of 1964 (304-2164, 137-6411). Pickup dates of October and November of 1964. 

With original hardshell case.