On my one spare day in London, UK, I was excited to take the train to buy this 1965 Fender Jazzmaster in original Sunburst finish from my friend Franck! This is an early 1965 Jazzmaster so it has many of the cool early pre-CBS features including the Stratocaster style knobs, rich red hued Sunburst finish, and no neck binding. I took the Jazzmaster on the train with me out to a friend's place for all the cleaning and set up.
As a Fender guitar collector, I'm always on the hunt for nice examples of Fender Jazzmaster guitars made in the late 1950s and 1960s. If you've inherited a Jazzmaster and are curious about how much I would value it then you can contact me here: Sell a Fender. Or if you'd like to use the serial number to find the year of your Jazzmaster check out Fender Serial Number Lookup.
Fender Jazzmaster 1965
1965 was a significant transitional year for all Fender guitars including the Jazzmaster. Leo Fender sold the company he had built over nearly two decades to CBS on January 5th, 1965. Fender guitar collectors know that many things changed after Leo sold his company, but the changes didn't start until much later in the year. This Fender Jazzmaster was made in early 1965 before much of the changes and vast increase in production numbers.
I used as many features as possible to date the year of manufacture of this Fender Jazzmaster to early 1965. The easiest place to look for year identification on a Jazzmaster is the serial number (more information here: Fender Serial Number Lookup). Fender serial numbers in 1965 were engraved on the metal plate on the back of the body. Early 1965 Jazzmasters will have a 5 digit serial number preceded by the letter L. Fender guitar collectors call this serial number range the "L Series" which lasted only from 1963 until 1965.
We can also use the neck heel ink stamp and the potentiometer codes to date this Fender Jazzmaster to 1965. The neck heel ink stamp reads: 2APR65B where 2 = Jazzmaster model, APR = April, 65 = 1965, and B = standard neck width of 1 5/8". The potentiometer codes are a bit more difficult to get to since they're located underneath the pickguard. I recommend not taking the pickguard off of a Jazzmaster unless you're a Fender guitar expert. I took the pickguard off of this Jazzmaster to replace the foam under the pickups. The potentiometer codes read: 304 6516 which indicates that they were made during the 16th week of 1965.
Fender Jazzmaster Values
The value of a Fender Jazzmaster depends mostly on a few important factors: exact year of manufacture, color, condition, and originality (contact me here if you're curious about how much I would value your Fender Jazzmaster: Sell a Fender). Fender introduced the Jazzmaster model in 1958, but continually updated small features over time. They also increased production year over year, so Jazzmasters from 1958 are far more difficult to find than Jazzmasters made in 1963. Fender guitar collectors are usually looking for certain features specific to each year. Each year of manufacture has a different base value than another year.
The value of a Fender Jazzmaster also depends heavily on the exact finish color. The standard color of Fender Jazzmaster guitars is the Sunburst finish which is black on the outer edge, fades to a red ring, then to an amber yellow color in the center. It was the least expensive color and also very popular in the 1960s. Fender guitars were also available in custom colors including Fiesta Red, Lake Placid Blue, and many more. Some colors are more valuable than others.
If you've inherited a 1950s or 1960s Fender Jazzmaster and are curious about how much I would value it then you can contact me here: Sell a Fender. Or if you'd like to find the year of a Fender Jazzmaster, check out Fender Serial Number Lookup.
