Fender Jazzmaster Oympic white matching headstock 1961-1965 To understand this guitar we'll have to explore the history of Jazzmasters and Fender. His case is interesting in many ways. The first observation I made when I opened the guitar was that between the two pickups appeared the letters WJM (White Jazz Master), engraved with the tip of a soldering iron. Thus Fender marked all guitars coming back to the factory for revarnishing until 1966. This brand is obviously made before applying the paint ... A good way to identify a pre-CBS Fender is the presence of the famous "nail holes". These are placed randomly on guitar, generally on the inner edge of the pickguard. Needles placed at that location helped to maintain a balance when applying the paint on the back. When a guitar is refinished, these holes show paint inside as this one does. The pickups and the knobs are original : 1MEG volume pot date of 1959 and the tone pot has a code of 1961. The discrepancy in dates may be explained by the fact that the 1MEG were only used on Jazzmasters and that stocks could last a little longer than the 250k that were present in all Fender guitars. The tailpiece has the correct patent number for that time. Pickups with pre64 dark fiber are also original. The tone and volume knobs are original ABS, slightly yellowed, allowing, among other details, to identify them more easily. The original pickguard has just a little crack as you will see in the photos. So all the electronics and the body are original and can date the guitar as a model dating from 1961, as confirmed by the serial number on the plate : 66415 As discussed above, we know for sure it was revarnished by Fender factory before 1966. Many instruments from this period reflect the philosophy of Leo Fender. Indeed the great advantage of screwed elements is that they are interchangeable. This meant in practice by changing knobs, and even pickups when an instrument was coming back to factory. The neck that needed a refret for example, were simply replaced by a new one. This explains the neck dated April 65 with the mention "White" handwritten on the bottom of the heel. So here is how was (re) born this guitar 47 years ago. Now that authentication is certain, let's talk about the instrument itself: The sound of this guitar is phenomenal and I would not venture to describe it with words here. I strongly urge you to try it, to feel it vibrate. This is something. If you're familiar with those guitars you know what I'm talking about. It is perfectly adjusted and setup with a medium string set, to get the best out of it. Olympic White finish is cracked but hardly worn and somewhat faded. The tuners are original single line and the headstock bears the spaghetti logo with five patents listed below. It comes in the original case, also in very good condition.