A Tastefully Aged Tribute to Fender’s CBS-era Jazzmasters
Sporting vintage-correct features straight out of Fender’s mid-1960s CBS era, the Fender Custom Shop 1967 Jazzmaster Deluxe Closet Classic is a tantalizing tribute to arguably the most extravagant Jazzmaster of the vintage era. This guitar’s fast-playing “1962 Jazzmaster”-profile rift-sawn maple neck wears a dark, glassy slab of AAA rosewood, topped with one of the coolest aesthetic combos found on any classic Fender guitar: Dazzling poly pearloid block inlays and elegant neck binding. The 2-piece select alder body brandishes all the usual suspects of a 1960s-era Jazzmaster, including a classic Floating tremolo unit, vintage-voiced Custom Shop Hand-wound Flat Magnet Jazzmaster single-coil pickups, and the moody-sounding rhythm circuit. However, this guitar’s RSD J-bridge takes a detour from the 1967 Jazzmaster Deluxe Closet Classic’s otherwise vintage-minded formula with rock-solid stability and slightly enhanced sustain. A truly tasteful Deluxe Closet Classic finish completes the package, perfectly replicating the worn-in feel and minor wear of a well-loved (and well-maintained!) vintage instrument.
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Classic CBS-era aesthetics
Of all the Jazzmaster’s vintage variations, the decked-out models of the post-’65 CBS era are perhaps the most striking. What makes the Fender Custom Shop 1967 Jazzmaster Deluxe Closet Classic so appealing? It’s all in the neck — this guitar’s glorious rift-sawn maple neck wears a premier AAA rosewood fingerboard studded with jaw-dropping poly Pearloid block inlays and elegant fingerboard binding. Couple with a rather stout headstock compared to its contemporary Fender stablemates, the Fender Custom Custom 1967 Jazzmaster Deluxe Closet Classic represents the very best of Fender’s early CBS era creations.
Tastefully aged Deluxe Closet Classic finish
What’s so deluxe about the Fender Custom Shop 1967 Jazzmaster Deluxe Closet Classic? The “Deluxe” in this guitar’s name refers to its gracefully relic’d nitrocellulose finish: the Fender Custom Shop’s Deluxe Closet Classic option. Like the regular Closet Classic option, this level of aging is remarkably subtle and authentically captures the proverbially “vintage Fender found in the old closet” that so many guitarists dream of. However, it’s just ever so slightly more aged than Closet Classic, sporting charming finish checking and hardware oxidation without the bumps and bruises of a more extreme relic.
The offset bridge of the future
Ask any offset fanatic and they’ll emphatically tell you the “floating” bridge found on vintage Jazzmasters and Jaguars can be a tricky beast to wrangle, especially if you’re a fan of light-gauge strings and low action! Luckily, the 1967 Jazzmaster Deluxe Closet Classic boasts a Fender Custom Shop RSD J-Bridge for superlative stability and a much more solid feel overall. This bridge replaces the standard Jazzmaster bridge’s six saddles for two brass inserts, drastically simplifying the design for greater reliability. What’s more, many of Sweetwater’s Jazzmaster aficionados have reported that the RSD J-Bridge grants you quite a bit of extra sustain and resonance. This bridge is paired with a classic Fender “Floating Vibrato” tailpiece that supplies everything from surfy sway to shoegaze-style warble in ample abundance.
Fender Custom Shop 1967 Jazzmaster Deluxe Closet Classic Features:
- An alluring tribute to the elegant Jazzmasters of the mid-1960s CBS era, coupled with a few choice modern enhancements
- Resonant and bell-like 2-piece select alder body
- Remarkably stable rift-sawn maple neck in a slim “1962 Jazzmaster” profile
- AAA rosewood fingerboard planed into a modern 9.5-inch radius, then finished off with gorgeous poly Pearloid dot inlays and parchment binding
- Dual Custom Shop Hand-wound flat Magnet Jazzmaster pickups perfectly capture the springy lows and crisp highs of a superb 1960s-era Jazzmaster
- Period-correct electronics include a dark, moody rhythm section control plate on the upper horn
- Classic Fender “Floating” tremolo unit coupled with a modernized RSD J-bridge for enhanced stability and sustain
- Tasteful Closet Classic Deluxe aged nitrocellulose lacquer finish
