I found this site a little while ago, and have spent most of my time reading posts and scanning the many informative threads... over the past week or 2 I've shown ya'll some pics of my vintage Jaguar "collection" if you will...Its cool to find such a cool group of guys into the same stuff as me, and I've really actually enjoyed telling the stories of how I got these, and a few details about them... Well this one is the last one left to tell you about.
I actually came about this by accident, at the most INOPPORTUNE time to buy it. Someone asked in another one of my threads about how one finds these things, and I made mention that you have to go seeking them out, and to have cash ready and not wait around or think too long because if you do, someone will buy it out from under you. (maybe me! 😉 ) Well.. only one of those pieces of advice relates to this particular guitar. I WASN'T looking for it, it sorta came to me. But i did pounce on it without hesitiation, even though I really didn't have the money set aside for it.
I was actually right in the middle of making the deal for my '66 Foam Green Jag I posted pics of earlier, and was actually just surfing around on the net looking for info about '65/'66 Jaguars, and different production changes/processes that occured in those years. Well, what happened was that I stumbled over an ad for the guitar shown below... it had JUST been listed for sale, and was actually listed as a '63, when it's a '65. I e mailed the seller, and politely told him of his error, and he quickly wrote me back to thank me for the info. He went on to say that he recently inherited the guitar from his deceased uncle, and that it was bought new by him in what he thought was '63 based on what his wife told him. He recalled the guitar being his uncles prized possession, and how well he took care of it, leaving it in the case and only using it for "special occassions" at home during family gatherings, etc. Anyhow, I ended up calling him on the phone at about 12AM that night, and we discussed the guitar, it's originality, and of course what it would take to own it. By 1AM we settled on a price, and I bought it... keep in mind that earlier in the same day I had already committed to buying my 66 Foam Green jag, and now I had TWO of them bought within 12 hours of each other. I was excited yet depressed at the same time, because I surely hadn't planned to spend that much cash in a single day... but so it goes!
Now, about the guitar itself.. As stated, its had one owner for 45 years, and has NEVER had a screw removed. I asked about neck dates, pots, etc. and was told quite simply "no one was ever even allowed to TOUCH this guitar my whole life let alone take it apart, and I'm not about to do it now"... I was worried at first, but after seeing it, I know that statement is true. Its an early 65, and a "pre-CBS" model, with an "L" serial number, Kluson double-line tuners, pearloid dots with no binding. It's not perfect, and shows some light playwear from 45 years of use, but its obviously been well cared for. The tortoise pickguard has some slight warping under the original Fendermute that's never been removed, and a little chip here or there... but all of the original chrome is perfect, and it plays like a dream! Of of all my Jags its the most original, and probably the most loved. I'm usually not a fan of Sunburst finishes, but the originality of this one seems to change my mind on that... the original nitro lacquer still has a brilliant shine, and you can almost imagine how cool it must have been to buy it new back in 1965. I sorta felt bad that the original owner willed it to his nephew and he was immediately selling it, but then I realized that I would likely take better care of it than he would, so if anyone was gonna be it's new "keeper", it might as well be me! Anyhow, here are the pics... the last ones I have, at least until the "next" one! Enjoy!
