This clean 1960 Fender Jazzmaster electric guitar in custom color Black finish with gold hardware came in from its original owner from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania! I'm always a Fender guitar buyer but I'm especially looking for Jazzmaster guitars. I'm even more interested in the custom color guitars with gold hardware. You can contact me here to sell a Fender guitar.
Get help with Fender guitar dating here: How to date Fender Jazzmaster guitars.
Fender's Jazzmaster model came out in 1958 as its third professional grade solid body electric guitar. The standard finish was Sunburst, but custom colors were available for a slight upcharge. The 1960 Fender price list indicates that a Jazzmaster model in custom color finish with gold hardware was $420.20, the most expensive electric spanish guitar in the list!
This 1960 Fender Jazzmaster features the long lasting but uncommon custom color Black finish with three layer mint green pickguard. Nearly every piece of metal on the guitar is gold plated including the parts that aren't easily seen. The truss rod nut, strap buttons, tremolo arm collet, and buckle on the strap are all gold plated. Do you have a vintage Fender guitar with gold hardware? Sell a Fender guitar.
It's easy to get lost in how uncommon and desirable the color and gold hardware are, but this guitar reminds you its a professional instrument as soon as you play it! It's a spectacular playing example with harmonically rich sounding pickups, resonant light weight body, and a fine feeling neck and Brazilian Rosewood fretboard. It weighs in at 7lbs 12oz and the neck thickness measures 0.80" depth at the first fret and 0.98" depth at the 12th fret.
Guitar Safari to Pittsburgh
I received a call from the original owner of this 1960 Fender Jazzmaster is rare custom color Black finish with gold plated hardware. I was half way to Clarksville, TN to buy a 1962 Fender Stratocaster but pulled over to look at pictures of this guitar. He was about 45 minutes north of Pittsburgh, PA but was willing to hold it for me after I expressed my strong interest in buying the guitar with a high enough offer that I was confident they couldn't refuse. As luck would have, I already had a flight to Pittsburgh booked a few days later to buy this 1953 Gibson Les Paul goldtop. It was perfect timing.
I arrived in Pittsburgh eager to secure both the Gibson Les Paul and Fender Jazzmaster guitars. I made quick work of the inspection on the '53 Gibson Les Paul since it was clean, all original, and a killer guitar. I loaded it back into the rental car and made the trip out to a small former mining town to check out the Jazzmaster. I think the '60 Black Jazzmaster sellers were surprised at the depth of the inspection that I needed to do on the guitar, but I was so curious to see the proof myself that it couldn't wait.
I brought me typical vintage guitar inspection tool kit: Kyser capo for holding strings in place while I take the neck off, Stew Mac Tool Kit, and phillips head screw driver. I clamped the capo on, loosened the strings, and carefully backed out the four phillips head screws holding the neck to the body. I was thrilled to find factory neck shims, a proper working truss rod nut, and a textbook original custom color Black finish in the neck pocket. I continued the inspection by removing the screws at the output jack end of the pickguard, pealed it back a bit, and observed the nice clear nail hole and original potentiometers. The Jazzmaster had everything I look for in an original custom color Fender from 1960.
The gold hardware on this Fender Jazzmaster 1960 makes it quite a special find. Fender offered the gold plated hardware option on some models and a decent upcharge for those willing to pay. Most players considered the typical chrome hardware to be sufficient so very few Fender guitars were ordered with gold parts. Nearly every bit of metal on the guitar is plated in gold; even the metal parts not visible under the tremolo plate are gold.
Check out another gold hardware Fender here: Fender Jaguar 1965 Black with gold hardware.
