Excellent condition featuring asymmetrical offset double cutaway alder body with three tone sunburst finish, multi-ply tortoiseshell grain pickguard, two Fender soapbar Jazzmaster pickups, one volume control and one tone control with white knobs, three way pickup selector switch with white tip, jazz circuit with on/off selector switch, one roller volume control and one roller tone control, Fender floating tremolo with Fender and patent number engravings, fully adjustable floating saddle, maple neck, East Indian rosewood fingerboard with white dot inlays starting at the third fret, bone nut, maple Fender Jazzmaster mid-sized peghead with Fender spaghetti logo, Jazzmaster logo and wind decals, single butterfly string tree, six on a side vintage Kluson style tuning machines with oval metal buttons, Made in Japan and serial number on neck heel, four bolt neck fastening plate, and two metal strap buttons.
This 1996 '62 Reissue Jazzmaster was made in the world famous FujiGen factory in Mastumoto, Japan. The guitar is set up in excellent playing order. The neck profile feels very similar to many vintage '60s Jazzmaster that's we've owned and played and is very comfortable in hand. The frets show some signs of play wear but still have loads of life left. The Indian rosewood fingerboard on this particular guitar is extremely dark and looks fantastic on this instrument. The soapbar pickups deliver outstanding 'verbed out goodness and are capable of achieving classic Fender tones and exceptional surf sounds. The jazz circuit is fully functional and sounds great. The low E, A and D string saddles have been replaced with Fender Mustang saddles. The three treble string saddles are the original slotted barrel saddles. In my opinion, this gives this guitar a bit more playability and keeps the strings from slipping out of the slots.
This Jazzmaster has been played over the past 25 years and shows some signs of play wear, including a few dings here and there, but nothing serious (see photos). The Fender guitars made in the FujiGen factory that I have played have all been tremendous instruments made with close attention to detail. These are some of the most well made, in my opinion, and have gained collectability and notoriety for good reason. If you're looking for an extremely well made Fender Jazzmaster that not only sounds killer but is also very well made and collectable, keep this one in mind.
