Fender '62 Reissue Jaguar

I own a CIJ Fender Jaguar reissue, in vintage white, which in my opinion is very nice. It has the standard jaguar set up: rhythm and lead circuit, floating trem, vintage style tuners and the infamous jaguar bridge. It has a very nice maple neck with rosewood fretboard, it is slim but not too slim, as i feel my fender highway one tele neck is. also uses standard stock pickups.
only problem i find is the tone and volume controls for the lead circuit pretty much cut all volume if turned a little off full.

the guitar has a wonderful clean sound that (personaly i find) cuts through any mix well. the pickups are well voiced and slightly hotter than other single coils. i find the best sound comes from using both bridge and neck pickups together, with the tone switch down. with this switch up, i cant personally find a usable tone, or sound, it cuts the bass, making the sound extremely thin and trebley

i bought this second hand so i cant comment on the factory set up. it was well set up when bought, but is very simple to do yourself anyway. unlike others i have found no problems with the stock bridge, no buzz, string slippage or tuning problems, even when excessive tremolo is used, i have it set up with 10 gauge strings. tuners stay stable also, are relativity smooth to use and require little readjustment. along with this the floating trem is simple to use and set up, although my bar would not sit tightly in the hole, to correct this i took it off of the guitar and used pliers to tighten it. as said above the volume and tone pots, are poor and cut much of the sound and may need re-wiring or correcting

this is a solid guitar, that seems like it will be usable for a good many years to come

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this guitar is superb! i highly recommend buying one, i can not comment on its comparison to the MIA jaguar, but is extremely good value for money and worth looking at for any style of music. i own a fender highway one tell and a epiphone ES-335 (dot)and have began using this jaguar as my main guitar as it sounds wonderful and feels like a nice compromise between the thick neck of the es335 and thin neck of the tele, along with a somewhat midway sound between the two.

I realize that this review contains both the Japanese and the American made Jaguars. I own an american made Jaguar but tried a japanese made in a music shop and let me tell you that the difference is huge!
So, we are voting for two different guitars in this forum but my opinions is for the USA Jaguar! (The CIJ Jag is a joke)

Sunburst with a splendid finish, no modifications at all, mute is still there.

This is THE guitar if you're into surf music, Beach Boys, Grunge (Nirvana ;-)).
It's very diverse and you can even play most rock tunes on it too. With the uppermost switch in the upper position, it produces a very jazzy sound and is perfect for both rhythm and solo play during jazz sections.
I've mostly played rockabilly and 50/60's pop/rock and roll on it and had on stage alot of times.
Since the sound is unique, it helps creating an odd sound for the band as a whole.
When I first bought it, I just played surf riffs but I discovered some new settings and nowadays I play even AC/DC on it :-)
I give it a 9 for a tremendous sound but it's lack of good sustain keeps it from a 10. (It's easilly solved with an extern compressor sustainer pedal)

It wasn't new when I bought it, but everything was extremely well set up. No hiss, buzzing strings or whatsoever. I've read alot about the problems with the jaguars but cannot understand what they mean ... until I played the CIJ Jag.

This axe is hard as a rock. It weights alot more than my strat, the mechanics is stable and solid. It's obviously not made of crap.

Never contacted because there's no need.

Playes guitar for 17 years, have owned about 15 guitars. I also have a Strat (Am. standard) and a Jag-Stang (CIJ) but this is the one I would save if the house was burning. I'd definitely buy one again if it was stolen.
I like its looks, finish, form and sound, but maybe most of all its short scale neck that is really playable. If I shall complain on something it will be the mute device. I guess it's there just because it is a reissue model. I've tried to use it but it's functionality is really really poor. Well, since I don't use it, I never think of it, it's just there.

Traded a busted up old hagstrom for this 2002 CIJ Jaguar. Knew virtually nothing about the jags besides who played them (Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine). Did a lot of research and people who love 'em REALLY love 'em. Thought I'd give it a whirl.

This particular one was Ocean Turquoise. Wasn't really a fan of the colour, particularly with the factory white pickguard. I replaced it with an aftermarket white pearloid and it made it a ****load more attractive.

Played this guitar for a few weeks and decided that the buzzing from the factory saddles needed addressing. Replaced them with a mustang's and that helped a bit.

also strung it with D'Addario EXL140s Extra Heavy gauge strings and that seemed to help as well. Never fully went away though and the guitar was painful to play acoustically whenever I just picked it up to noodle.

I would describe the single-coils in this a just average. Would have thought to replace with Fralins or Lollars.

Thought this guitar definitely had some character and grew to love some of the quirks, but overall it just didn't suit my style. I lean more to the overdriven humbucker sound of bands like Mogwai.

Currently I play through a mesa triple rectifier head run through a carvin legacy 2x12 (with celestion V30s). Found that the jag brought out too much of a treble sound out of the amp. Too piercing to be enjoyable no matter how much you tried to roll it off.

This guitar would be better suited to an AC30 for a more brit pop sort of tone or to the classics it was made for, SURF.

A nice guitar in it's own right but not versatile enough to be my main guitar.

The guitar was set up like shit but who knows what the previous owner did to it. Took it in to my shop of choice, Capsule Music in toronto, and added the mustang saddles and got it set up properly.

Rest assured though, once that was done it felt like a much better quality guitar. Was a real fan of the short-scale neck. It was highly playable.

My biggest complaint was that the tremolo system was super frustrating. I know they were trying to maintain the specs of the '62 but I think some kind of locking mechanism would have been a blessing. It continually fell out with any front to back motion.

This guitar never made it to my live show, which basically says what I think of it in this category.

I ended up trading this guitar in because it just didn't suit me. I think in the right player's hands it would be a much bigger threat. Far too jangly and thin.

It did help me figure out that I'm more of a humbucker guy. Thought back on my 26 years of playing and almost all of it has been spent playing Gibson SGs or SG copies. As I do love the feel of a Fender (particularly Jazzmasters) and decided to trade up for one: the reissue Tele Deluxe.

I think I made the right choice.

This is a fairly new Crafted in Japan Jaguar. Hard to tell exactly when it was produced because of the inconsequential information about serial numbers on Fender's site, but I'd guess 2005. Standard sunburst model; wanted a custom colour but was unwilling to pay more. Seems I can't get away from bloody sunburst even though I don't much care for it.

22 frets, short 24" scale which is nice for girly hands like mine, loads of controls, two singlecoils which are shockingly awful - microphonic and lacking any sort of decent drive tones even through a nice valve amp, passive electronics, medium-grade alder body, rosewood fingerboard with vintage-correct 7.25" camber which is great for chords, nitro finish, "offset waist" design which feels more comfortable than any other guitar I've played (sitting or standing), rattling bridge with threads that fall out, good quality Kluson copy tuners, weird tremolo system which is a bugger to set up but is more stable than a Strat if you do. I skipped on frills so it came only with a Mustang bridge already fitted, no case or lead or anything.

A lot of the features on Jaguars are, to be fair, very poorly implemented. One of those "it looks good on paper" situations that fails in the real world, but with some coercing the Jag can be turned into a beautifully versatile instrument. If you're faint-hearted and just want a reliable guitar off the bat, stick with one of the many permutations of the Strat or Tele. Me personally? I can't stand those guitars and was willing to tangle with Fender's "ensemble darkhorse" to get it up to code.

Even the American Vintage model I played some years ago reminded me of a voluptuous fresh-faced blonde; stunning to look at but absolute hell to live with. Unlike the blonde though, the Jag can be given certain personality upgrades that actually make it play and sound as good as it looks. And since it looks like a 50s hot rod (all that shining metal and switches galore) this is a wise choice for those who enjoy a bit of DIY and hours of research.

I had a Jag on loan before and it intrigued me. Even though it was weird I just had to stick with it because it made me not want to stop playing even when my hands were tired. And the things it made me play (between the bridge sinking and the trem sending the whole damn thing out of tune) were inspired things I just couldn't get from any other electric guitar. So over the course of a year I amassed as much knowledge as the internet had on it and went nuts chopping and changing things as money allowed. I now have a checklist of modifications I need to do for my own instrument (beyond the standard intonation/action setting stuff), many of which are already done.

Suffices to say, now it's modified it kicks ass, is stable and reliable not to mention VERSATILE AS HELL. I don't use anything else if I can help it. See below for a list of recommended alterations.

One thing I will add is that even with higher-output pickups a treble booster is always useful, but I say this about the majority of singlecoil instruments.

Craftsmanship on the woodwork (body, fretboard, routing etc) was impeccable - especially the frets which won't require levelling or crowning for years! Leo Fender's design and the bargain basement electronics inside though; not so much. Do the following modifications to dramatically improve the guitar:

* Change the bridge for a Mustang one which is a drop-in replacement, or at least use loctite or blu-tack (roll the saddle threads in it) to make the existing one stable. To stop it sinking to the body I replaced the threads with screws from the original bridge saddles. You can't adjust the action with allen keys now, but once it's set it stays there!

* Turn the lead circuit (3-switch diamond panel) around 180 degrees. Then if you knock all the switches down by accident it won't cut your sound mid-song at a gig, making you look like a moron!

* Replace the 1M pots on the lead circuit for 500k ones. Keep the rest of the wiring the same. Even with the stock pickups this will thicken up the tone noticably, and balances out the change between the rhythm and lead circuits.

* You don't NEED to use flatwounds, but using 11 or 12 gauge strings is highly recommended to keep the strings from popping out and ensures better tuning stability when using the tremolo system.

* Lubricate the tremolo system about once a month, ideally when changing strings. Remove the plate at the back and spray in lots of WD40. This'll stop the spring sticking, which once sent the whole guitar out by nearly a semitone when I used it live for the second time. And again, tuning stability after whammy dives is much better.

* Buzz Stops are something to consider. I don't think they make a huge difference once you've got the heavier strings on, but any rattles you can eliminate help. In my opinion also gives a very slight sustain increase; worth dealing with if you can live with the increased string tension.

* The trem arm as is doesn't give much range and often bangs on the controls. I had real trouble trying to strum and dip the bar until heating it and bending it upwards from the point where it curves. More downwards dive range as well. Taping part of the bottom of it (where it inserts into the plate) makes it sit higher and this is also a good move.

* Shim the neck; take off the neck and insert a thin piece of card long enough to cover the back two screw holes. This pitches it forward a few degrees allowing you to raise the bridge, making it more stable even if you don't do any of the other mods. You might find the pickups can't be raised further so those might need to be unscrewed and shimmed with cardboard themselves (place it underneath the rubber pads which are affixed to the bottom of the pickup claws).

* Removing the pickup claws can help with the tone, but they do increase RF interference in some cases. I seem to remember that this makes a difference but it's not as important as the other changes.

* Finally - and most crucially - get those stock pickups out of there! The Japanese made ones will scream like dying birds even with moderate gain, if you're playing at gig volumes. They have weedy tone too. I recommend the SJAG-3 Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder for Jag set, matched pair for humbucking. They have a fat midrange sound that is reminiscent of P90s but with more sparkle (not piercing brightness like the stock ones) and the high-output design leads to some compression, smoothing out the Jaguar's huge attack while retaining the better aspects of the trademark tone it is known for.

Stock it's a complete piece of junk... or rather, it shows potential but falls down under pressure. After some changes it can be better than a Strat while doing a lot of the same tones, and many more besides (try getting truly awesome jazz tone out of a Strat; the Jag can get much closer). After lots of research combined with personal trial and error, I've found a combination of variables that works.

It's still high-maintenance though, to keep it in the very tiny sweet spot. But once you've hit that spot the guitar will outshine most any others, and I'm not talking about the reflections bouncing off of the metalwork under bright lights!

Fender Tech Support... meh. I've asked for feedback on all the changes I've made, I've tried to enquite about a custom shop model that is like mine but with a custom blue sparkle finish, and got nothing. I was polite too!

Screw it. I know a couple of good techs and THEY have good customer support.

I've been playing just over sixteen years, since I was just a little kid toying about with acoustics in the basement and stealing scotch from the decanter. I used to work in one of the better known Denmark Street stores so I've played thousands of guitars and owned a couple dozen of the best ones, and a handful of firewood piles masquarading as guitars.

I've come to the conclusion that the best modern production guitars (even if that modern production is making repros of half a century old designs) are coming out of Japan. It's a tightly-knit competitive market but those fellas are the best. Haven't played a bad one and actually prefer the Tokai-made Greco Les Paul's (late 70s) to real LP Standards of most any production era. This Jag is no exception and none of the two handfuls of other Jags have been different, though I have to say this one is the very best by just a whisker.

The Jaguar is a pain to set up but once it's there it will stay there and reward you with huge dynamic range, lots of tonal variations and the potential for "extended techniques" like behind the bridge bends and shimmers (strumming chords while dipping the whammy bar after applying lots of delay and reverb to your sound). It opened my eyes to a whole different approach to the guitar. When I want to bang out some power chords, it'll do it with authority. When I want to daisy-chain delays I can carve out some wonderful soundscapes. When I want to do multiple overdubs I don't need a whole fleet of different guitars to make each take fit into the mix; I just play with the switches and volume/tone controls. Where I go, it goes with me, and forces me to play the best I can time after time.

Having gushed for pages, it has to be mentioned: Nine out of ten players will hate this guitar, or at least should avoid it where possible. There's a chance one of them is reading this review now thinking about picking up that suspiciously cheap Jaguar they saw recently; my advice is forget about it. Be happy with your Strats and Teles and Les Pauls and SGs and Pacificas etc. (All good instruments, just not MY kind of good.)

But to the other 10%... perservere. You might just find the guitar you've been looking for for a long time, that has an off-kilter tone and comfortable playability that outstrips the initial horde of problems that have to be overcome. I did, and I'm pretty sure I'll be playing these kinds of Jaguars until I die.

Oh, one more thing. Don't be fooled by the HH Special models or any of the Classic Player ones. They changed the bridge, the radius and moved the trem plate forwarf, thereby robbing the Jag of a lot of uniqueness while still keeping a lot of the same flaws (the 1M pots on the lead circuit for example). My mods were tidying up loose ends; their mods were keeping the look while losing that special jangly tone.

Feel free to email me for more advice, or to pull my review apart ;)

The regular features (is an American-made, so whatever that entails)Early 2000's (used). Sort of a Tobacco Sunburst finish. Bridge pickup seems to have been replaced with seemingly older, ever-so-slightly larger, slightly yellowed Jag pickup (sounds great). All the switches, bells, whistles, etc, that you know and love. (Bridge cover and mute in the case - do not use). Very solid, unique and atractive guitar.

This was an impulse buy after years of heartbreak, in the wake of having my '65 Mustang stolen! I love the "Fender sound," but slightly prefer that extra grit, snarl, twang, scratch of the "other" Fenders (well, primarily the Jag and Mustang!). Is really great for indie rock and alternative because it has an edgy and unique tone that grabs the lister's attention. It achieve "rock-ness" without being all "badass," if you get me. A real left-field guitar with a limited audience, I'm sure. Not great for metal. Possibly great for stoner rock. Does have some twang that could appeal to a regular Tele or Strat fan, and honestly, the neck pickup and rhythm circuit settings are just as good as the neck pickup settings on any other Fender - possibly even Gibby's (to an extent!). I could easily picture jazz or blues on a Jag with a warmer setting (there's a great vid of Joe Pass playing one on YT to great effect!). Be aware that this guitar has idiosynchrasies that you have to decide how to handle. The strings are over the bridge at such a weak angle that it affects the sustain, attack and resonance that are at once part of the appeal for some and part of the problem for others. Allparts or StewMac has a device to aid this, and even knowing what I know, I'm not sure which way to go. I am thinking it would give me improved attack, which is the only thing the Mustang had over the Jag, but I do like the resonance of the Jag as is. Hmm. Is not a simple guitar, but is unique and does have the ability to grow and change with you, as there are a host of resources available to the Jag community out there!

Used, but the fit and finish from the factory are great. This is a guitar that is notorious for requiring attention, re: setup for each and every specific owner! As a result, I think this would frustrate the heck out of a young/new player. They'd be thinking, " this is a $1000 guitar and I'm having this much trouble getting the action/intonation/etc right! It also does work best with heavier gauge strings (.11's are great), which is not everyone's cup of tea. This is a "wirey" souding guitar that sort of "fights" with the player. The result is a great, unique sound. Not sure if a Jag is ever used on Television's Marquee Moon, but that sort of tough, difficult, brash, wiry sound is in there. It slightly results from a guitar that is more difficult to play than, say, a Jackson, Ernie Ball, Gibby, Ibanez or even a Strat. So be warned. This makes a Jag what it is, and adjustment can help, but this is not for everyone. Nirvana fans, please remember that Cobain put humbuckers in all his Fenders, ha ha!

Built Fender Tough!

Do not know.

I've been playing for 25 years and have had lot of guitars. Mostly Fenders, though also Rics, Burnses, Gibby's, Epiphones, etc. I'm addicted to Fender tone to a fault. I'm sure it makes no sense these days to fork out $1500 for a guitar, but once you become a fan of something, there's not much you can do! Just sell the guitar you're playing the least and move on the the next one! But the Mustang and Jaguar are the two guitars that gave me a sound I simply could not find anywhere else. It just has that character. For a run-of-the-mill guitar, a good Tele comes the closest. For something a little different, I suppose a Gretsch comes the closest (great guitar!) It's up to you whether you like the wiry, twangly sound of the Jag (and everything that comes with it!). If you never tried but are curious, you'd do well to give it a serious try-out before buying. If you already know you like it, well, all I can say is that the American reissues deliver on tradition. Love the tremolo, by the way.

My Jag is 2004 MIJ model in Sea Foam Green finish. I bought it from a guy down in Byron Bay a few years ago, and he had installed some sort of Seymour Duncan pickups in it, which I didn't really like. I had some gold Lace Sensors lying around in my garage from an old Strat, so I gave them a whirl instead. A bit unconventional, and odd looking, but it sounds brilliant. I did the standard Mustang bridge thing too.

I was a bit worried that the Lace Sensors would make it sound too "Stratty", but they definately came into their own. The rhythm circut can produce some really sweet mellow, almost jazzy sounds with the tone wheel rolled off about halfway. The lead circuit with both pickups active is just pure sparkle, and kick in the bass cut for some high-end sting.

I play early-Wilco-esque indie rock, and I generally don't use a lot of effects or distorition. I mostly play through the clean channel of a Mesa Boogie DC3 with a Tubescreamer and Memory Man when required, and this setup can do everything I need it to.

When I first bought it the truss rod was loose inside the neck causing some hardcore rattle (don't ask me how the hell that happened). Anyway, I got that all fixed up and she was right as rain.

The tuning on this thing is awesome, easily the best I've ever had in a guitar. I can get the tremolo arm and slam the hell out of it for five minutes straight without barely losing my tune.

In spite of a medium action, there are a few dead spots around the place when you give them a bend, but I hope to get a fret-dress done soon, which will hopefully alleiviate this.

I use it live regularly as my main guitar, and quite often as my only guitar. I haven't had anything wear out on me yet, except the tremolo arm, which is a bit loose in it's socket these days. But that's not a really critical issue anyway.

Never dealt with them.

Mine is a bit of a different Jag, but it still retains a lot of the unique nasaly tonal characteristics of a standard job. She's had some technical difficulties, but the tone is worth the hurdle. I used to be a Les Paul man for quite a while, but I got a taste for that crystaline Jag single-coil tone, and I just haven't been able to go back. If it were lost or stolen, I'd certainly put together a new one.

One of my favorite features of this guitar is the separate volume and tone rollers allowing you to have 2 different tone settings for the neck pickup, in addition to the independent pickup selection available on the lower part of the guitar.

I didn't think I would like the string mute, but I found I like some of the sounds it produces with distortion and other effects.

Also the ability to adjust the spacing of the strings is an interesting feature. I am considering adjusting the spacing of my G and B strings.

I haven't had any trouble with the tremelo. I added strap-locks.

The sound is great. Its slightly different from a Strat or Tele, but it's squarely in the fender family. No buzzing or feedback issues.

This is a very versatile guitar. I would argue THE MOST versatile you can get with only two pickups.

Action is great, I love the scale length. The finish is amazing. Mine was special order from Fender, so I saw it come out of the box and gleam! No flaws, frets looked great, everything was tight and what you'd expect.

It was also VERY well set-up. Intonation was dead on, strings were a low, comfortable height and did not rattle or buzz. I was worried that this was not going to be the case after reading some reviews, but Fender came through.

I have only had it for a month, but seems like its holding up great. Some people wrote that small bumps will mar the finish, but my clumsy playing hasn't left anything permanent on the finish.

dunno, hopefully never need to find out.

Honestly, this guitar seems better made than some les pauls i thought about purchasing for half the price.

Lots of reviews out there made me nervous to purchase this and I still bought it because it's so comfortable, I love the tone, its unique and I just kept coming back to them in the store.

I own a '62 US reissue made in 2007. It is ocean turquoise and very pretty. That whole 2 circuit thing is actually pretty sweet and i quite like the longish tremolo arm (i also own a fender mustang and that arm is too short)

I thing this guitar sounds quite lovely. I hear a lot of talk that the pickups are low output and not so good for the distortion and heavier music. I have seen this guitar melt faces when run through my aged big muff. You can get some sweet muddy stoner rock sounds out of this sucker. It is all in all the finest sounding 'tar i have ever played (though that isn't saying all that much). I think it can achieve quite a wide range of sounds and i actually like the ole "strangle" switch.

When i received this guitar the action wasn't as low as i would have liked (it was kinda high actually). I need not go on about the bridge (as it well know that it kinda sucks). I really only get the buzzing string problem on the low E (so all in all not too bad...it slips out of the saddle easily ...although i tend to hammer the crap out of it). It seems to be well made otherwise

so far so good mes amis.

never had to use their services.

I love this bastard.

The usual Jaguar features, I won't list them here again. This is for the CIJ reissue (if you have an original then you want another thread) and mine is sunburst. For a guitar there are lots of features and switches, if this is a good thing or not then it is a matter of debate.

The jaguar has a growling alt rock tone tone. It can be trebly, can be thin, but it's up to you to fix that with amps / effects. I love the sound because the pickups are nice and hot and the tone cuts through any mix. It's just what I want. Not the most versitile guitar (usless for metal or jazz) but ideal for surf, blues or alt rock.

There are a number of tonal options. The switch at the top of the guitar engages a rhythm circuit, which gives a muffled jazzy tone that is useless for anything unless you want jazz. There are two switches for each pick up and a "strangle" switch which makes the sound a bit more trebly, only it's so subtle it's kind of pointless.

Most people know that Jaguar / Jazzmaster bridges are awful. The strings pop out and the grub screws fall out. After one gig I replaced the stock bridge with a Mustang bridge and threw the original into the bin.

The guitar was well set up but buzzed on the bridge and wouldn't stay in tune. The guitar is shipped with 10 guage strings. The JAGUAR IS DESIGNED FOR HEAVY STRINGS (and the shorter scale allows greater playability with heavier strings). I replaced the strings with 11s and instantly all buzzes and problems vanished. If you can go up to 12s or 13s. It gives a better tone and controls the guitar.

The finish and action was lovely. The Body shape and shape of the neck make the jaguar one of the most playable guitars out there. The trem is nice and subtle and smooth to use, plus the arm is nice and long so you can strum chords and shimmer the tone up and down as in MBV.

If you are a beginner or are afraid of setting up your guitar then don't buy a jaguar. Once I made the adjustments above I have to regularly set up the intonation and bridge of the guitar. It's a lovely guitar, but high maintence.

The hardware and guitar itself are very durable but the switches are plastic. After carrying the guitar to a gig in a soft case the rhythm circuit was pushed inside the guitar and made the sound cut out. After another gig the singer bumped into me onstage and two of the three pick up switches snapped clean off. After this I ripped out all the circuitry and left it set to the bridge pick up permanently, with only the tone and volume knobs for control. It's much better now.

No opinion

I've been playing for 10 years, gigging for 8 and been gigging round the country for 3 years now. I use the Jag, or a Fender Tele with lots of effects.

The Jaguar is a unique guitar. It has personality and with it it has quirks that you don't get with a tele or strat. It's up to you if it suits your musical style, if you can be bothered to modify it to your standards and then maintain it. If you do you'll be rewarded with one of the most playable guitars out there. Jaguars have a cool look and feel that you just don't get anywhere else.

Crafted in Japan Guitar bought in 2003. It has a two tone sunburst finish. The features of this guitar have been covered extensively over this site already, so there's no need to go over them again. I have mod'd the guitar though (more about that later).

I like a broad range of music, but was looking specifically for a bright sounding single coil guitar to play REM, The Smiths, The Byrds and any jangly sixties orientated music. I have a humbucker loaded guitar which sounds great overdriven, so I was only interested in it's clean tones. When I tried this in the store I was impressed by the range of tones it offered. The bridge pick up was excellent for arpeggios. As well as some pretty unique tones, it had some that sounded like either a Strat or a Tele. Before I knew it I was playing Johnny Cash riffs! This doesn't often get remarked upon, but if you're recording at home with a portastudio, this guitar is a real asset, as it's pretty versatile.
Switch to the neck pick up and you have a good tone for Jazz and blues. I have overdriven it when I have my Nirvana moments, and it handles it pretty well, with a distinctive sound. However, if you're wanting a classic rock sound you'd be better off with a Strat.
I got fed up with the pick ups after a couple of months, as through my own amp they sounded too bright and there were too many ambient sounds (buzzing etc) coming from them. I fitted Seymour Duncan Jag pick ups to it, which accentuated all the best properties of the guitar, adding a little more bottom end and depth too. I absolutely love it now, and have been playing it clean with a little reverb to the virtual exclusion of all my other guitars (except for the odd lead line on my SG when I'm recording). I'd rate it seven for the original pick ups, but 9 now.

The action was fine, but the bridge was really poor. It's truly shocking that Fender still put out these guitars with that bridge hardware. I can't help but feel this is what puts a lot of folk off Jags.
I bought and fitted Mustang saddles and a buzzstopper, and the difference was amazing. As well as increasing the sustain, it changed the playing feel of the guitar. Due to the short scale and light bridge hardware, playing a Jag can often feel strange after playing a Tele or Strat. The strings feel flacid. However, following these mods the tension increased and it feels superb to play, in fact it's my favourite guitar for action and playability now.
The offset body is well designed, as when playing standing up it's not at all neck heavy. It seems to rest in a very comfortable playing position.
I'd note it as 6 for when I bought it, but given that it only took a small outlay and a couple of minutes work to sort it out, I'm being generous and marking it as it is now...........

As stated, the original bridge hardware was a joke. You couldn't play it for two minutes without the strings popping off the saddles. Now, after it's been modded, it's great. The tuning is rock solid, and you can rely on it for gigging, no problem. I think it's madness to even consider playing a gig without a back up. The strap buttons are solid. It would get 6 for the guitar stock, but again, I'm marking it for how it is now it's been modded.

I've never dealt with them, so I can't comment.

I've been playing since the eighties. I've had numerous Strats and Semi-Acoustics. My current guitars are a Vintage SG, a Fender MIM Tele, a Washburn 12 string, a Takamine electro acoustic, and a Squire Jazz Bass. I'm playing through a H and K Tubeman to a H and H amp, but mostly use a Tascam portastudio to record songs. I have a number of pedals too.
If you're thinking of buying one of these guitars, do some research first (there's lots of good advice on the internet) and buy the Mustang saddles and buzzstopper at the same time as the guitar.
I love this guitar. Given that it's regarded as a niche guitar, it suprised me with it's versatility and as I said earlier, it's a great recording tool. I've mostly been playing Indie stuff on it since I got it, but its great for other stuff too. I mainly regard it as a rythmn guitar, and with this and the SG for the odd lead line, I find I can cover most kinds of music. It has a unique look and feel, and if it were stolen I'd replace it in an instant. Again, the rating given is for the guitar after modification.

I have Japanese Jaguar ( Crafted In Japan ) in Antigua color. Some say strange color, some beautiful. I think there are other Fender guitars in that color like Strats and Teles. I like it.
It looks like regular Jaguar with all the switches, knobs, pots and pickups. I think its alder instead of basswood.

Now to the sound. For me, when I bought it, it sounded really nice. It has two single coil pick ups. Neck pickup is amasing for me, it has that jazz sound that I like a lot, deep, fat and clean. Bridge pickup is really bright, at some settings is too bright but that can be cool as well, possibly for some heavy distrotion noise. I played it so far with digitech delay ( digidelay), marshall distortion, flanger and reverb ( mostly on fender hot rod deluxe tube amp ) and it sounds amazing. People usually advise to change pickups to Seymore Duncan and that might be a good idea, depending on your style. I like this jazz warm tone of the neck pickup, but I am thinking to change the bridge pick up to humbacker (JB Junior or the other one ) to get also high output pickup for distortion parts and controlled feedback, because I like mixing jazz with sonic assaults. I think this guitar can make it, with a little setting.
One problem though, and I know people mentioned it before. Its the bridge and its buzz. Strings are falling off of it if you don't set it properly and there is a lot of buzz when you play. Buzz, in my case, is coming from the bridge, as strings vibrate on the metal and make that buzz sound. There is a solution fortunatelly, to change the bridge and there's even a buzz stop accessory specially made for this problem.

Action is really nice and fit for playing. Directly out of the box looks nice and sounds good ( beside this aforementioned problem with the bridge and buzz ). Pickups are nice, especially the neck pickup, i wouldn't change.
Pots and switches are really nice and working and I think even with some heavy use can stand it.
Bridge should be replaced and I think everyone should remember that and do it since its not done properly. Buzz stop is also a suggestion.

This guitar will withstand live playing a lot LOT. Its made for playing live. People played it million times before and I think there's a lot of variety in sound so if you like experimenting with sound, get this guitar. Jazzmaster is also nice guitar but I only played Jaguar so far.
Also, some musicians abused it a lot, with screwdrivers and drumsticks ( mentioning Thurston Moore? Right : ) so I think there's a little fashion to it as when it looks abused, its more sexy. But I keep it new as this antigua color just overwhelms me.

Had none from Fender. From shop where I bought this guitar ( Belgrade, Serbia ) was really nice.

When I bought this guitar, my dream came true, sort of. Ok, I always wished for original one, like USA from 60's. There is always a discussion about differences between original and Japanese, and I can't comment on that since I played original once and it was nice, but this Japanese I bought is better for me. That doesn't mean its better than all USA Jags, no no way. Every guitar is different, even guitars from the same year, same editions and same manufacturer. But, every guitar you set the way you like to so its the same with this guitar.

My '62 AVRI Jag is 9 months old, time for a review. Prior to purchase, I was set on getting a Jazzmaster when a buddy loaned me his '66 Jag. I was hooked, but he wouldn't sell for cheap. I got the 3TSB option. Gorgeous. Weight: 8.6 lbs.

Jags are a bright sounding guitar. Forunately, most of my amps are on the dark side. On my Teles and strats, I rarely use the tone knob. I like the response from dailing down on the Jag. The "rhythm" sound from upper "Lead/Rhythm" switch is mostly a joke, but I have used it few times.

Just awesome. It could've easily passed as a Custom Shop model.

I strung it with 12's almost immediately and adjusted the truss rod (clockwise) for the fatter strings and that's the way its staying.

A bit of a learning curve with bridge and trem system, but worth the effort! First I replaced both E saddles with two spares that come with a '52 AVRI Tele. They each have one string slot and spacing-wise, match up perfectly. Under hard picking/strumming, strings have never popped out.

The trem-lock was a great feature years ago when strings breakage was a problem but I havn't broken a string in ten years or more. So I wrapped some dental floss between the tremlock button and plate, in the unlocked position so it stays put during bends. Fixed.

Heavier strings seem to provide enough tension on the saddles, eliminating the need for readjusting saddle height.

Finally, I Iowered both pups to taste.

The center pup slide switch was DOA. Rather than trust it with a repair shop, I got one off ebay and replaced it myself.

Otherwise, N/A

First, I wanna agree with others who've said this guitar ain't for everyone. Don't buy if you're at all squeemish about doing setups/adjustments. Find a tech. Out of the box, you might not like it at all. Its a jaguar and not domestic at first. Gotta be tamed. Leo WAS a visionary!

I'm 57. The shorter scale makes for a great geezer's guitar, lol. I go back to full scale w/o problems. Coming off my P Bass, though...whoa! Takes a few moments to adjust! I use the Jag for instro/surf. Recording/Hobbyist here.

I love the clean sound of a Jag thru a '63 Reverb. They were (obviously) made for one another. The 24" scale seems to have less sustain than other Fenders and the results effect the tones in a good way.

I like the fact that most people would never consider owning a Jaguar. My other guitars, especially teles, have become dust collectors.

American Vintage '62 reissue Jaguar. Ocean Turquoise finish. 3-ply mint green pickguard. Vintage style floating tremolo, C-shaped maple neck with rosewood fingerboard. 22 frets.Fender/Gotoh vintage style tunnig machines. Came with a brown hardcase, a strap (which I don't really like), cables and some mist and wipe kit.

It suits my music style almost perfectly. Way better than Japanese Jaguars. I wanted to get a MIJ Jaguar or a second hand MIA vintage reissue'62 Jaguar, but there was a sale where this guitar was selling at 50% off. I got the last and only Jaguar on sale. I play a wide range of music,mainly grunge,alternative rock,hard rock,rock,metal and some mainstream rock. This guitar was definitely not meant for metal, I knew from the start, so I am okay with that. The neck pickup has a really fat sound that can produce a great Chili Peppers sound. The bridge pickup alone sounds really thin and crunchy with my BOSS DS-2 on Remote II. The single coils sound great, better than a lot of guitar with humbuckers that I've tried.

In Singapore, the cost of guitars are way higher than in most countries like USA. The 50% off the "first hand" Jaguar made me get this guitar and I am glad I did. I like guitars with low action, like my MIM strat. The Jag has a higher action than my strat but I am still okay with it, as long as the tension is not hurting my fingers. I am used to playing low, nearer the bridge pickup and hard, and the jaguar is forcing me to play a little higher, towards the neck, but I have no problems with that. The bridge is a little iritating for my playing style. I strum really hard and the strings (particularly the low E string) keeps moving out of the saddle, causing buzz. I'm playing more lightly now, and in the future I'm planning to change the bridge to a Mustang bridge, as I heard it is the best solution. No flaws apart from the bridge problem. The ocean turquoise finish looks amazing.

I think this guitar will withstand live playing. It's the bridge and the type of music that I play that worries me. I play quite a lot of heavy music and the bridge is a little unreliable. The hardware will last, as long as the guitar is kept in the hardcase. The finish should be good to last and looks amazing. I am planning on switching the strap buttons to strap locks in the future. I am confident that I can depend on it and will gig without a backup.

The Jaguar is under a lifetime warranty and nothing wrong happened to it so far, so I cannot comment about this section.

I have a MIM Fender Standard Strat HSS, and that guitar has 21 frets. I like the 22nd fret. There are more songs I can play with the jaguar and it has a different feel than the strat. The single-coil pickups in the jaguar are comparable to humbuckers too. I love the finish and colour. Action a little high but I'm ok with it. I wished it had high output humbuckers though, but it would not be a jaguar that way. I would leave the humbucker jobs to my strat. The tone on the guitar is amazing too. Considering the price cut I got, I think this guitar deserves a 10. Fantastic value, since in Singapore, all guitars have to be imported, hence the insanely high price. The three-hour queue for this guitar paid off well in my opinion.

American Vintage RI made in 2003.Ice blue metallic finish...
All the bells & wistles a guitarist might ever need.AMAZING tonal capabilities.Of course the BEST tremolo system ever made..

Sound KILLER ,in fact better than any MIJ ones I've ever palyed & better than many original 60s Jaguars too.
If you have a working brain there is no limit to what this axe can do...

The best made guitar Fender currently offers.
I don't know why (maybe cause they don't make too many of those as oposed to strats & teles?)
Tremendous attn to detail & finish.

Many people complain about rattles & bridge problems...get a grip of yourself...LEARN HOW TO SET THIS THING UP & you will have no problems.
Shim the neck & match the bridge saddles to the fretboard radius..

It is a Fender....

An amazing guitar!

I have nothing to add here that hasn't been mentioned elsewhere.

Don't judge 8 as bad just cos it's not a 10! This guitar has a great twangy jangly sound on the treble circuit which fills out well on the rythm. I don't use a heavily distorted sound. I play through a fender twin reverb, using a proco RAT 2 for light distortion when needed. The jag has a great slightly-thin-yet-edgy sound when used with light distortion on the treble. The treble circuit filter is a great way of backing off a bit on the distortion, cos using the volume darkens the sound hugely. I also use a maxon ad-999 analogue delay and a fulltone clyde deluxe wah. While not quite a one-trick pony, you'd really have to have played one lots with all the gear you're gonna use and decided that you were comfortable with the range of sounds it makes before deciding to buy it as the only electric guitar you're gonna buy. It will not produce the output to drive your amp the way humbuckers do. Just accept that the sound you make is okay with this.You won't have much fun running it through a pod! I use a Gibson 335 as well, which provides a completely different (fatter) distorted tone. The music I play ranges from the smiths, suede, elliott smith, pulp, velvet underground, the auteurs, rem, franz ferdinand and it suits me fine. While it may be slightly noisier than the 335, that's just down to using single coils. All my pedals have true bypass and are powered by a voodoo labs pedal power 2, and so have a well regulated and grounded power supply. My cables are all planet waves. You owe it to your setup to have something similar. I played a bunch of Jap Jags in music shops and the quality of the pickups in them were awful. The US Jags were miles ahead both in the quality of the pickups and the general feel of the guitar. This is just my own experience though.

I live in Ireland where the cost of US Jags is extortionate. I saved a grand by holidaying in the US and ordering one from musicians friend. It was setup reasonably, but after my luthier got his hands on it it was absolutely beautiful. The Jaguar is not a perfect guitar design. The bridge saddles are absolute muck. There is no way they can fail to annoy you, either with the rattle they make or the way the screws can fall out. The mustang saddles are a must. The fender mute is as useful as a sleep button on a smoke alarm. When setting it up, my luthier called me to say that the mute button apparatus were raising the action on the higher end of the fretboard and I haven't regretted telling him to get rid of it. I got a bone nut fitted and it helped the sustain and tone a lot. My Luthier wrapped copper wire around the bridge supports to stop the bridge "floating" - in my opinion, the "floating" creates more problems than it solves. Don't even get me started on the tremolo arm. It just won't stay in place! From what I've read, I'm not the only one that thinks this. Proper locking strap locks are a must on any guitar - get them fitted! I tried out the flatwound strings and found them a bit dead. D'addario '10s suit me fine. I don't think it needs '11s, but again, that's just my opinion. I've gotta say, the paint job (ice blue metallic) is beautiful. The frets were fine - i didn't see any flaws in the way it was made - the mods to the bridge, nut, action and mute were down to my personal taste. I mightn't like their spec but the guitar the factory turned out was perfectly put together. For that I give a 10.

I'm quite easy on my guitars & don't gig them more than once a month. This guitar hasn't let me down yet and I have it about 18 months. The buttons and knobs are all tight and won't be going anywhere they shouldn't be going. As I've said, I play a 335 as well. I'd never gig without a backup. Period.

Have had no contact with them. I have a great luthier who sets guitars up exactly as I want them. I haven't needed to talk to Fender. I've probably got no warranty in Europe, having bought in the US.

I've been playing 8 years, owned a Gibson Les Paul Standard, own a Gibson 335 and a Martin HD-28 acoustic. I've played all sorts of gear and am very happy with my current setup. I would not buy this guitar without owning another electric that can handle the sounds that this one can't, but the Jaguar is a beautiful-sounding and looking guitar. I don't know another guitar that makes the same sound - especially when given a little overdrive. I would never sell it. I have big hands but find the shorter scale neck extremely comfortable and easy to get around. The shape of the body suits me best of all the guitars I've owned. It's perfectly weighted - not too heavy & not too light. If you're comfortable with it's range of sounds, then don't hesitate to get one, but the American model is worth the extra cost.

Usa made reissue. I think it was made in 2002. you know the features from the other user. I can say that the controls are not easy to undertand, but after one day of playn you enjoy the guitar sounds, moore sounds that tele or stat.

I was searching a good sound, from Campilongo to Frisell. I like blues, country, folk, swing.
Now I can play what I like, really. Tha short scale is not a problem, but the best sound comes from 011 strings.
I had to raise the bridge pickup to hear a good blues sound and now the guitar has clear sound as well as dirty (I think the sound is on your hand...). Big noise when you cvlose all pickups.
If you select the upper switch (rithm) I have a fantastic jazz sound, as a serious arch top. But I like the other sounds with treble switch. I don't know if this may be the one and only guitar. But if you want swing, blues and 50' vibe this is the machine.

I don't like the old tremolo or the bolt on system. but theese are not a problems.
the finish on the neck and body is amazing

hardware is really solid.

I like Jaguar for the old vibe and special sound I have not found on tele or strat.
This my be a strnage guitar for the short scale or for the not simple controls.
But the sound you ear is amazing. Just raise the pickups and play with the switches.

Fender 62 Reissue Jaguar
made in USA
date : 2005 August
Ocean Turquoise finish with Mint Green pickguard
comes with brown Fender deluxe hard case and accessorys.
Good overview for pickups, knobs, tuners etc. you get in other reviews or Fender website.

My music style reminds something from The Seeds, Velvet Underground and The Smiths and Jaguar is extremely right guitar to play this kind of stuff.
Jaguar is more known as bright sound guitar.
But at this moment, it seems to me that my Jaguar
sounds almost like bass guitar: previously, I played six months with a Squier Telecaster and got used with its extremely bright sound. Jaguar is a VERY versatile guitar with many totally different (but all useful) settings and a cool tremolo. The only suspicious feature is Fender Mute as when one puts it on, the guitar goes a bit out of tune. However, played alone it produces nice muted sound. As to switches, I tend to use solo position more. Solo position gives more combinations, because three switches below strings worked only in solo system. Solo is on when single switch above strings is underside position. Rythm position (switch up) sound is quieter and foggy, but works better with an overdriven wah. Depending on the pedal usage, you will get aggressive and powerful sound, which, at the same time, is fully under your control. Many guitars with humbuckers go muddy before you get something really good out of them. My pedal gear consists of a Vintage ProCo Rat, Boss Blues Driver, Shin Ei Companion Fuzz(FY-2), Colorsound Tremolo (reissue), Dod FX-17 Volume/Wah and Toadwork Meat Booster. There is one thing I can promise: if you have ben playing a no-name cheap guitar for a long time, you won't believe how good a Jaguar can be.

Factory setup was not fully perfect and needs professional overadjustment. String action was too high and guitar?s tuning was incorrect. Ok, you will forget these problems immediately when you start to play, but for $1100 you probably want a best. Pickups and bridge adjustment was ok. The neck is very comfortable. The neck is not as straight as an arrow but don't be scared: as the manual says, it is necessary to get a lower action. All in all, forgiven little set up problems the guitar is flawless.

All features of the guitar are very classy; at the same time, the guitar is strongly and well made. The lifetime warranty is not a big overstatement. The reissue side is felicitous body-pickguard-pickup colour combinations, tuners feel, harsh sound and smell of nitrocellulouse laquer finish - all stuff is real 1962. The guitar is not noisy at all, no feedback, stays in tune with using tremolo and sounds excellent with different amps and pedals. Guitar and case (case is cool and well made!!) is balanced very well. OK, low E had a very little fretbuzz compared with other guitars, but its just Fender Jaguar's individuality and that's it. You won't hear it from an amp at all. I was playn' maybe 1000 lives and never had a backup guitar why I should now?

I have been playing guitar for 15 years. Right now I dont have any other gear, because I sold everything to buy this Jaguar. I must say one thing: I never put them on mustang bridge or saddles and I don't like 011 flatwounds at all. Don't underrate Jaguar's bridge, it is an
important part, on which the Jag's unconventional sound (clean with a bit of spice in it). Every little modification change sound. I tried 011 flatwound strings and the sound was boring. According to my taste a Jaguar with 010 roundwounds sounds much better. The lesser sustain of pickups is good because it gives you better control over the sound. But it is, of course, a question of individual taste. I must say that I love my Jaguar.

Review for a CIJ Jag, sunburst finish, dark shell pickguard.

So many more features and almost all of them useful. I won't go into detail because it's listed on the Fender site and other reviews. Suffice to say I use every setting on this. Not all in one song, mind you.

Now this is a modified Jaguar. I've got the Buzz Stop, Mustang saddles and I removed the pickup claws, which increases hum around monitors and TV sets but cuts down on excessive feedback. I also have it strung with Ernie Ball Power Slinkies (011s). If you are planning to use these guitars for anything other than what they were designed for (surf/ambient) these are ESSENTIAL upgrades. They're easy to fit and fairly cost effective, plus they increase sustain. The guitars stock, strung up with 009s, just won't cut it. I might upgrade the pickups for a set of vintage repros made by Curtis Novak.

It suits most everything I like to play. The clean sound on the bridge PU is sometimes a bit weedy, but with EQ this is balanced out well enough. The neck PU is a thing of beauty... really smooth and well-defined, definately my favourite neck PU sound on any guitar (close second is a Les Paul with tone rolled all the way down).

I use the bridge PU mostly, and I use a fair amount of heavy overdrive for rock-orientated stuff. The tone is pretty unique... I think gradually these instruments are coming back, partly because they give you a great sound on any setting, with lots of attack. Even with a lot of gain the character of the instrument is preserved rather well; you can still hear the Fender single coil snap and bite, and twang (if you have it EQ'd that way).

I've used this with two Laney amps (VC50 combo and GH100L halfstack, both of which I've gigged out with) and currently a Gallien-Krueger SS backline bass amp for home practice. Sounds great on all of these as long as I EQ right... I can't stress this enough, especially with the Japanese models, you have to work with the pickups to balance out the sound. Compared to the AVRI Jags I've played, which do have more balanced pickups.

I record with this a lot. It's a joy having a guitar I can use for almost anything, due to all the switching combinations. It layers upon itself well. The 'strangle' switch is especially good for those times when you need a solo to really cut through the mix.

God alone knows how this was setup from the factory, but when I got it it was appaling. I had to put in serious work. The bridge was a complete nightmare, the saddle threads were loose, rattling and sinking, as did the bridge itself. You can use loctite or wrap the parts in blu-tack, either works well. I replaced the bridge threads with screws from an old Squier Strat and now it never sinks. It does mean you have to slacken the strings and pull the bridge out to adjust, but once you have it set this is a rare occasion.

After doing this and adjusting the neck to give me a low action with minimal choking and buzzing, plus heavier strings, moving the PUs closer to the strings for more signal, it is very well adjusted.

The finish is flawless, or at least it was. It has some dings and scratches from playing live.

Now I have it set up to my preferance, it rarely goes out of tune and is as solid as any other Fender instrument. The hardware is good enough to last, sure, the electronics are a bit cheap but no problems as yet. The finish is poly I believe, and is harder than the standard Fender nitro finishes.

Strap buttons are average. I always fit those plastic straplocks just to be sure, more so as this guitar weighs a tonne (got to be made of basswood).

I do use it at gigs without a backup, as it's more or less the only guitar I've owned that fits me like a glove.

My experience with Fender has been complete crap. I asked for some information on their crappy serial number system and that was months ago... still waiting for a reply. Still waiting.

I have my own preferred luthiers for more complex jobs like levelling the frets.

I've been playing solidly since March 1996. I play other instruments including mandolin and harmonica. I've owned enough good Gibsons, Marshalls, Fenders, Voxes etc to know what I like.

I should hope it'll never get thieved. I keep a close eye on my stuff at all times.

This guitar is still for a select few ready to wrestle with the poorly executed designs present (or to change them). It's still unique looking and sounding, for the time being.

I wish Fender would devise a way to get four single coils on there, arranged like two humbuckers. Then they could make a switching system to move from standard Jag config to dual humbuckers, but all done with single coils. I also wish they'd start selling these with Buzz Stops and Mustang saddles as standard, maybe then they'd sell more of them.

My fender CAR CIJ.
22 fret,
S/S,
24" Scale,
Alder Body,
Maple Neck,
"Vintage" Pickups,
Chrome Hardwear,
Floating tremelo.
And of course the pickup selecting system is something special.
2 Circuits, along the bottom of the Jag we have 3 switches set in a chrome hexagonal plate, The Strangle, Bridge Pickup, Neck Pickup. 1 Volume, and 1 Tone knob besides that. The seperate circuit, on the upper switch plate; the rythym circuit, on the once activated, only the neck pickup is engaged, and volume/tone can only be controlled by the scrollers by the circuit switch, perfect for presetting so you can switch between two totally different sounds, just by flicking a switch.

I play anything from blues-classic rock.
Suits perfectly. I'm using an MG Marshall amp, not the greatest, but it still sounds amazing.
On high volumes/gain you can get some pretty annoying feedback if you're too near the amp.
It handles distortion wonderfully, will handle metal.
The neck pickup is very warm, it sounds as though the strings have melted together, sometimes a good thing, sometimes a bad thing.
Bridge pickup is beautifull, rich, full, bright, all of it. Creates a bit of twang on clean.

Apart from the bridge, it's fantastic quality and perfect.
But then, this is where the Jaguar quite famously lets itself down, the bridge. More specifaclly, the saddles. The screws fall out, low E slips out of place, it buzzes a hell of a lot, (Probably due to the loose screws.) of course, it's fixable, fitting mustang saddles and 12's should fix it right up. And people have mentioned putting grease on the bridge screws to give the thread more hold.
You're deffinately going to spend a few days getting the bridge sorted.
And the trem isn't too good, if the trem is falling out, you havent pushed it in far enough, it needs quite a bit of force to get it to lock in. It tends to knock strings out of tune every now and then, but I don't usually use it.
But how amazingly assembled the rest of the guitar is, makes up for the faults.

I think if you spent a few good weeks on fixing up the bridge, it will withstand live playing and be fit to gig without backup, hardware will last, finish will last, seems to take quite alot of knocking into things, strap buttons have never failed me.
I wouldn't quite depend on mine yet, once I modify it, it should be perfect.

Never dealt with them.

Wonderfull guitar, you're going to need a hell-of-alot of patience if you need this. No way a begginer guitar.

But I love it,

Like most of the others described here, this is a Japanese '62 Reissue Jag (not sure of manufacturing date). Therefore, it has all the features except the useless string mute (I tried one on a Jazzmaster and hated how it 'tuned' the guitar up -- it isn't even an accurate 'palm-mute' sound!). The color on the body is Lake Placid Blue (a kind of sparkly royal blue), although I am not sure of the wood used. I am sure that the neck is maple with a rosewood fretboard. And don't forget, this is the short-scale 24" neck -- perfect for those with small fingers (like myself). Although it can be harder to play past the 12th fret for some people (due to the short scale), the thin neck is one of the easiest I have ever played. The pickups are definately and acquired taste, although I was able to master them in about 5 minutes in the store. 3 on/off selectors below the strings (neck, bridge, treble boost, which all correspond to 1 volume and 1 tone knob near the output), 1 active/passive selector (with 1 volume and 1 tone roller above the strings). The two single coil pickups even look cool, with the metal "teeth" alongside of each of them. Like the pickups, the body shape is one-of-a-kind. I recall reading that some Fender honcho in the early 60's said it looked like a pregnant goose or something...who the hell cares it looks completely different and original, something that drew me to it(more on that later). The strap buttons are the tightest out of all the guitars I usually play with (Korean Epiphone ES-335, Mexican Squire Strat, Korean Danelectro 12-string). The bridge/tremolo system, while interesting and somewhat inovative, is also somewhat flawed and could have been improved on. I've noticed most people who have posted here have changed it to something different, but they just don't know how to 'work' it, I guess. The tremolo arm is definately a disappointment. With no threading on the arm, it just sits in its hole, meaning that if you lean forward even the tiniest bit, it falls out! Not good when playing high-energy shows. The only other drawback to the guitar is the tuning heads. The other problem with the bridge is that the screws sometimes come loose from the string saddles, occasionally falling out and making the saddle crooked. The crooked saddle in turn allows the string to slide out of its proper groove (this is deinately a problem with the low-E). The only solution I can find, which works fine, is to keep a set of those screws and a corresponding allen wrench in my case. I just make sure everything is set before a show, and I'm golden. You can get these screws from a Fender dealer (I got a set at the place where I originally bought my Jag...more on that later). While the knobs are perfectly fine, I've always had trouble with the heads where the string has to go down into a hole in the center (like bass guitar tuners). This makes for string changing a quite tedious and frustrating task for me. Based on how the guitar's features work for my purposes and the distractions from the last three features I mentioned, this Jag rates a 8.

I first became fully aware of Jaguars and Jazzmasters when I got into Television nearly 2 years ago. Tom Verlaine's sound was so unique (and he looked so cool with those guitars), that my interest was piqued, and barely 2 months later I bought the Jag, after trying out that and Jazzmasters. I believe I chose the Jag over the Jazz because its sound was closer to a Strat. Besides, my ES-335 could handle the sounds I got out of the Jazz. I started off playing it through my Fender Princeton Chorus amp, which in conjunction with the Jaguar makes beautiful ringing bell-like sounds (the distortion sounds best with the amp gain low). With the chorus sound, I can get some tones similar to that of Peter Buck's Rickenbacker on early REM records. At the time I bought the guitar, my band was playing a hybrid of Beach Boys-esque songs and more Strokes-like stuff (check out our website at www.thedemos.net). (It was also cool to know that Carl Wilson played a Jaguar too...which cemented my decision in purchasing it!) I have found the guitar works great for pretty much everything we've played and recorded, especially in conjunction with our rhythm guitarist playing my ES-335. When I started playing through a Vox Cambridge 30 amp 8 months ago, the Jag easily made the transision with me. The Vox amp is tube driven, and allows me to play more vintage overdriven sounds, and with the amp tremolo it is just as unique (but still unique from) the Jag-Princeton sound. (I have since switched back to the Princeton, but both sounds work great for different situations). The pickup choices also give the guitar a versatility within a single amp. There are 7 combinations of pickups on the Jag. Both the neck and bridge pickups work great for cutting leads. I never use the treble boost, however. Depending on which amp I am using, it just creates a thin, hollow, banjo-like sound. Both pickups have a great thick, but cutting, sound when both engaged. The real gem is the other pickup circuit, which gives a nice, mellow, jazzier sound. Really warm sounding! This comes quite in handy when I'm playing in jazz bands (At a competetion once, I got acknowledged my a judge for being able to so easily switch between a funk song and a jazz ballad. I neglected to tell them that one flick of a switch on the Jaguar made that possible!) I now play in a Velvet Underground-esque art-rock band too. When I run the guitar through my Behringer Blues Overdrive pedal, I get ridiculously squeeling bursts of feedback which are completely unpleasent to my other band's ears and the ears of most people. However, it works great for our noisier songs! It is also hard to get sustaining feedback, which would be nice to use on some more melodic leads. Since this works with pretty much all the sounds and situations I need (besides using the 12-string, which is obviously different, I switch to the Squire Strat for a thicker lead on a couple tunes), I'd rate this a 8, seeing as that 'banjo' sound and lack of sustaining distortion detracts!

The guitar itself and pickups seemed to be set-up fine when I bought it...but I don't recall much about buying it, other than the shop also did a set-up of it after I purchased it. I had to have them re-set it a couple weeks later when I found the problem with the screws on the string saddles (which I then found out doesn't happen too often...at most a couple months can go buy without me needing to do some major fixing). The guitar has worked like a charm since then. As I've stated, the neck is so easy to play. There's just no other way to say it! Those with larger hands may find it difficult, but it fits mine like a glove (pun not intended). Since the output jack is on the face of the guitar, I've found it's smartest to use an elbow shaped patch cable here, and feed the cable through my strap. This prevents the cable from wiggling around and loosening the jack (common sense solves all problems, and you can't fix stupid!) There were some flaws in the finish when I bought it, however. But if you know anything about the House of Guitars in Rochester, NY (where I bought it), you'll understand. Even between the day I purchased it and when I picked it up less than a week later, there were noticable dings and scratches on the body and head, including some mindless scratching on the pickguard, as if some 5 year old came in to try out a guitar for the first time and beat the hell out of it (which I am sure is the case!)!! This is not the fault of Fender though, so this will not affect my rating on a 10.

This guitar must be built like a tank! As much as I cherish it, I do play very heavily on it onstage. This is where I used to have a problem with the low-E string sliding out of its saddle, but like I also mentioned, I was able to easily remedy the problem. I've fallen over onstage many a time, and the guitar didn't sustain any damage at all (what a trooper!). The finish is thick and I don't have to worry about scratches or dings (unless it's inside that claustrophobic fire-hazard House of Guitars). Unfortunately, I've never been able to get those pickguard scratches off. Thankfully since the pickguard is white, it's only noticible when the light is angled correctly. The strap buttons are the most solid I've come across (as I've mentioned before). Also as I've stated, I've been able to solve most problems I've encountered, probably due to my love of this guitar and determination to keep it going! I've been through quite a lot with this guitar.

I've never dealt with Fender, and I've only had the guitar re-set up once. I don't recall if it was even under warranty...

I had been playing electric guitar for about 4 years when I got Rhonda (named so after the Beach Boys tune, since this guitar seems to be identified with surf music by my friends). This guitar is my best friend - I get frustrated with her occasionally, but she always pulls through for me! (Fortunately I never get that Kurt Cobain crap - I bought this because of Tom Verlaine and Carl Wilson - I hate Nirvana!!) This will probably be my main guitar for quite a while, until I can get enough money to buy a vintage hollow-body Vox Mark VI. I definately like how unique the guitar is -- I've yet to encounter another band on the Rochester circuit with a Jag or a Jazz -- it's allowed my own voice to come out. I'd recommend the guitar to anyone who digs clean tones, classic Fenders, Television, or indie rock. And I'd make sure to find another if it ever got stolen...after of course smashing the guitars of the band who stole it over their own heads...if any band ever steals it I know which one it will be...

I'm back with another review for my second Fender...the 62' Reissue Jaguar. While I'm sure you know the specifics, my particular axe differs just a little, however, the customizations only changed 2 or three characteristics, and added a few features....

-CIJ (Crafted In Japan)
-22 Vintage Frets
-Rhy/Lead Selector, Rhy Vol, Rhy Tone, Lead Vol, Lead Tone/Coil Split, Pickup On/Off X2, Strangle Switch (Low-Cut)
-Twin Seymour Duncan SCR-1 "Cool Rails" Pickups, Passive
-Alder Body, Maple Neck, Rosewood Fretboard
-3-Tone Sunburst Finish
-Jaguar routed Offset-Waisted Contoured body
-TOM In place of Rocker Bridge (I'm chaning that to stock, explain later)
-Floating Tremelo Tailpiece with nifty friction held bar and Trem-Lock feature
- Gotoh Kluson Style Tuning Machines
- 24" Scale, 7.25" Fretboard Radius, roughly 1.3" nut width
- Included Hardshell Case

Because of these features, this guitar is like a tonal candy store, there's hardly anything it does'nt have!

I bought this guitar as I had played an original 63' Jaguar years ago through a high gain Mesa amplifier turned to 11 and found a sound that I've been looking for for a real long time. All in all, Jaguars keep getting more expensive, so I decided to fix one up, however, I was met with some fairly pleasant surprises along the way....

I run this multi-faced monster through a Behringer V-Amp Pro rackmount processor straight into my computer for recording, and needless to say, anyone can tell when the Jaguar is laying down the tone...

Clean, the cool rails keep the original "Jaguar" tone, sort of like Abigail put a few too many turns around the bobbins in a stock vintage one. The tone is very warm due to the shorter scale length, yet very bright and sharp at the same time, with a nifty "thwack" to it that no other guitar can manage to get. The sound is kind of like a Bright Les Paul or a Darker Stratocaster, but not exactly, very much it's own tone all in all. Clean with a Blackface Twin setting on the V-Amp and the Reverb cranked brings about visions of surfboards, bikin's, and waves, like it was meant to. Kick out the Reverb and punch up the treble, and you get Ric Ocasek's "My Best Friend's Girl" tone nailed easily with both pickups on.

Overdrive brings out a rather good 70's Dino rock type tone with the Cool Rails (and even without if you happen to luck upon a good set of Jaguar pickups like that old 63' I played eons ago). I usually run with the Brit High Gain through a Standard 78' Cab, which pushes the Jaguar into sounding kind of like a Les Paul in the bridge position, with a few upper midrange frequencies cut off. It gives off a really snotty kind of growl usually reserved for Gretches and some LP's, which works great for rhythm as well as lead, and for lead it really packs a lot of punch without losing the lows, which in my minds eye, is a perfect lead tone.

Now time to crank it up. Put the V-Amp on Rectified Head with the defualt cabinet, turn everything to 10 except the mids, and you end up with it sounding like most other metal guitars, the "thwack" is augmented by the heavy distortion, leaving the guitar sounding like another humbucker equipped shred machine played through a rectifier with the mids scooped out. I've pretty much deducted this to me believing that just about anything with a bridge pickup and strings is good enough for metal.

Either way, I have not been able to find a sound that DOES'NT work on this guitar. I can't say it's the pickup swap because it sounds much like the old 63' I played, just without hum. I've come to the deduction that the Jaguar tone is not just the pickups, but the body, the neck, the hardware, and how each piece of the equation relates to itself. If someone CAN'T get a good sound out of one of these stock, then they just have not found out how to get it yet!

Never saw it when it came out of the factory so I can't really comment on that. When I got the guitar, the pickups were swapped out, the pickguard had been replaced with a brown tortishell with the provision for the string mute on it, and the bridge had been swaped out with a modified Gibson ABR Tune-O-Matic that someone tweaked for the Jaguar's fretboard radius. It was fairly well setup, but it still will never be perfect until the standard Rocker Bridge is put back in (either Mustang OR Jaguar iterations).

The Tremelo had been disabled, it took me about 5 minutes after removing the 12 Gauge strings from it to fix that little issue. I ran it with 3 different tremelo bars, the first one being washburn "Wonderbar" trem bar, then I installed one from a 62' Reissue stratocaster, then lucked out, went to Guitar Center, and there was a 62' Jaguar bar in the clearance bin. Bent it upward a little, and changed it up for my kinda trem "abuse".

My re-setup (Which I do routinley) lead to the guitar playing great afterward, however, my setup for Jaguar/JAzzmaster style stuff deviates from the normal version. First off, I strung it up with 009's, which is not a mistake as I use the bridge/neck angle to compensate, which now yields really good sustain with the light feel I like. Then I tightened the spring and bypassed the trem-lock button which is a tad bit unusual. However, this lead to three discoveries, 1.) The Jaguar actually has some decent Dive Bomb potential despite not having the ability to go lower than what would be an open A string on a bass, 2.) This has to be one DAMN good trem system as it stays in tune reliably, even with a Tune-O-Matic installed in place of the normal bridge, and 3.) The Trem Lock can act as a Quasi-D-Tuna type device. I just push the bar down, lock it, and can play in a lower key all of a sudden, talk about versitile.

My only complaint is the fretting out, which on Japanese Fender guitars I have deducted to having something to do with the frets on the top part of the neck not being inserted into their slots fully, a problem I'll be removing when I go to refret my axes soon, as plenty need it at this point. People say it's the neck radius...but if it was, then how is it a 63' Jaguar with equal action and equal fretwear can NOT "choke" when being bent.

This thing was MADE for the stage. It has all that flashy chrome, that angular body, a punchy, LOUD tone, what else do you need? I've sat down practically all day with this guitar several times recording and playing it, and it's given me less trouble than most of my stable (with my Jag-Stang being the only equal in the house).

The hardware leaves me with only two insecurites, one once get the rocker bridge. First off, I don't entirely trust a Tune-O-Matic on a Jaguar, even if Kurt did use one, he did not use the whammy bar like I do. Second, I I'm a little undecided on how safe doing downward trem tricks on a Surf inspired whammy system is, but so far it's held up beautifully, so I probably haven nothing to worry about. I've been using the Dynamic Vibrato on my Jag-Stang like a Floyd Rose for the last 8 years and it's held up incredibly well, and still stays in tune, the Jaguar should be infallable if nothing else.

The strap buttons were another reason I was set on this being the guitar for me, it came with Schaller Strap-Locks pre-installed! Those are about as solid as solid can be. I've used them religiously since 1999, and it's a standard tweak on ALL of my guitars.

As far as dependancy and gigging without a backup, why the hell not, but then, I like to keep the Jag-Stang around for the tunes that need more of that Humbucker girth to pull them along, so between me and those two, it should be an unstoppable team.

My experience with Fender is this, they are works of art, but they are also FRIGGIN workhorses! You can beat on em, and drag em' around, and put them in conditions that most glued together guitars can't bear. They are built like old Ford trucks, that's why I like them, they practically run forever even in the harshest environments.

However, I'm not as mean to my guitars as one might think, actually, they get pretty babied compared to lots of others I've seen.

I've never had to deal with em. Their stuff always works, and the designs are simple and reliable anyway, why bother.

I've been playing almost 11 years now, and this is my second Fender. I bought a Jag-Stang in 1999 and it's been probably the most reliable guitar I've ever owned. I also own a couple Kramers, scads of homebrews, and other stuff that would take miles to list.

If by some chance it were stolen, I'd be REALLY F***IN pissed. Since it took me THIS long to get a Jaguar. After 10 years of harassing music stores, parents, and other Jag/Jazz players with my so called "stupid" setup ideas and so on, It's finally paid off and I've got one. But then, nobody'd get far anyway, since I have the serial down, and it's pretty hard to miss a guitar I have with all the ID's on it, and even harder to get at it as I live with a good deal of useful and painful weapons that I know how to use in a moment's notice, as well as a cellphone on me 24/7, so needless to say, a perpetrator would have a hard time making off with my stuff.

THe only thing I wish for, is that people would quit pigeonholing guitars with a particular genre. So what, I shred on a Jag with what passes for a stock setup. That would be like me saying a Les Paul with P-90's and a Bigsby would not work for surf!

You know i just got a MIJ one of these; I give the sound a 7 only because I was inclined to change the pickups and after i put in SD antiquity pickups it was a clear 10. I dont know what everyone is talking about with the no metal thing but i have tuned it down to D and played many of the songs from my metal band ( i usually use a double cut les paul) and it sounds great. I was using it through a 65 bassman with a japanese Boss overdrive with both pickups together and it was amazing. I have even run it high gain through my 5150 and it totally screams. Wolftickets on no metal.

Review for a three-tone sunburst CIJ with turtoise pickguard, as far as I can tell it's a late 90s one (can't get an exact date). As the other reviews: very short scale 24" fretboard with an un-Fender-like 22 frets, hardwearing poly finish, rhythm/lead circuit. Guitar is all stock so 2 single coil pickups. Three-piece body, quite heavy so I'm thinking it has to be basswood.

Gotta love that offset waist and Strat-esque contour on the top; both of these factors make it a real joy to play when sitting, equally it balances well standing up. Unique and crazy bridge design shared with the Jazzmaster. Comes with Fender gig bag.

Unlike the original '62 models and the American Vintage reissues has no bridge cover or mute. Although these missing features aren't that useful to me, it is all part and parcel of the Jaguars mojo, so it loses a couple of marks.

So many well thought out features, easily more than double the 'standards' (I'm thinking Strat, Tele, Les Paul, SG etc here) and I find I use every control except the tone roller on the rhythm circuit. A more than balanced 8.

You're dealing with a real Gibson obsessed player here - I don't much like the Les Paul Standard for reasons I won't get onto here, but I own a Liberty ES-335 copy and Gibson Les Paul Special as well as loving the Flying V and ES-175, among others. So for me to give a grade this high to a Fender is heresy but sorry Gibson, this guitar is too damn good not to.

What do I play? Rock, punk, funk, blues, metal. Suits all but the latter style. A lot of players say these guitars sound bad with low to medium amounts of gain, well in my opinion they are WRONG.

Truth be told - and this is my opinion remember - this sounds amazing clean, great with blues/blues-rock levels of gain and pretty darn good with medium amounts. So yes it does work on a sliding scale BUT ONLY JUST. With that in mind it won't do metal unless you want to throw some fatter pickups in there - I don't, I have P90 and humbucker instruments already and don't require another.

I'll break down what I like into style catagories. I adore this for blues - it has that delightful single coil spank and bite when you dig in. The surfy background of this instrument makes it so very percussive - doing chord sweeps and mutes sound so rewarding I could do it all day, so this guitar is a real funk machine. Punk: I like it fairly trashy and this guitar will deliver. A lot of the great punk guitar sounds are single coils with plenty of bite and the Jaguar keeps up easily.

For rock, including the more contemporary sounds of Strat/Tele wielders like the Strokes, Franz Ferdinand and cream of the crop Bloc Party, any setting will work depending on what you want. Creamy and smooth chords and solos, rhythm circuit. I love playing stuff like 'Take Me Out' and 'Helicopter' with the lead circuit, using the bass cut and bridge pickup switches; nails that funky/cutting sound perfectly. In fact I think a lot of new bands going for that sort of sound would love the Jaguar. Also keeps up well for early Zeppelin albums too - I know Pagey used a Tele, but the Jag can do those sounds just as well, in its own brilliant way.

It can get noisy but this is only a problem if you're piling the gain on, and personally you're not going to be using single coils if you want lots of gain are you? Or are you. Those magnetic 'teeth' around the pickup seem to cut the noise down at the cost of losing some sustain.

It can go from cutting and piercing to rich, warm and full with a flick of a switch and change of nuance. I find myself using all the controls on this, the volume controls are especially responsive when you have some overdrive cooking on your amp and you want to back it off. The tone control on the lead circuit is indispensible - if I want to go for full cutting treble on the bridge I'll leave it on 10, if I want less agressive bite I'll roll it off to around 2/3. Plenty of varied Fender single coil tones here, if I need more ballsy tones I'll switch to P90s or humbuckers.

Hmm. This is where this particular guitar falls flat on it's well-contoured arse. It is atrocious, and that is no understatement.

This guitar was loaned to me by a friend who bought it as a main intrument primarily because of it's looks. He is a great bass player and a beginner guitar player. As I found out, he couldn't get to grips with it because IT IS NOT A BEGINNERS GUITAR. It's just too damn high-maintenance for that, because when it's stock you have to wrestle to keep it playable.

I knew what I was getting into when I noted that Fender called the bridge/vibrato system a design failure. Every man and his dog hates those saddles - I mean, saddles should have one properly cut groove, not lots of shallow ones as this has. I've only had the low E come out once after a week of solid playing on it, but the chances of this happening live increase tenfold. Volume control is suffering from bad contacts. Truss rod requires some serious TLC as it's bowed and probably has been since my friend bought it. Gauge of strings is too thin I think. Pickups feed back easily, but I quickly learnt to make full use of this so now it only feeds back when I want it to, and how I want it to for the most part. Feedback can be musical.

It isn't all bad though. Tuning pegs do their job pretty well. The plastic nut didn't skip or jump after I'd put some graphite in the grooves. I don't find the switches too noisy although they are a little tough to change mid-song, however I like changing sounds mid-song so much I'm getting used to it. Although that tremolo system is flawed it does sound sweet for subtle wavers and flutters, I would say Bigsby but it's far easier to use!

This guitar has real potential. Some of the flaws are pretty easy to fix (cleaning the volume pot, adjusting the truss rod, fitting some 011 gauges instead of the 010s it currently has) while others are going to require upgrades. These are: fitting a Buzz Stop, changing stock saddles for Mustang ones (#1 most popular mod as voted for by Jaguar owners), possibly getting the pickups potted or changed (but not for humbuckers). These will improve tuning stability, sustain and general reliability and aren't too expensive to do.

The Jaguar could and would appeal to a wider range of players if it were more reliable; all Fender have to do is start fitting these with buzzstops and mustang saddles as standard, and perhaps do away with those magentic things round the pickups because they negatively affect sustain. It's a shame Fender haven't wised up to this else I predict they'd shift a hell of a lot more Jaguars, as opposed to it remaining a more cult kind of instrument as it currently is.

I can't trust this live. I haven't tried it and I am afraid to, what with the squealy pickups and wacky bridge/tremolo. I think I could keep it on best behaviour, but the thought alone worries me. I don't worry when I think about gigging with my other instruments.

The finish will last as it's rock hard polyurethane, the strap buttons are okay but I like to use those plastic straplocks to be sure. I think I could gig it as a main guitar and not worry if I did the mods I describe in the section above.

Well I'm unsure of the guitars exact year of making as the serial number doesn't correspond to those on the Fender website. I'm going to email them and I should hope they do a good job, considering the design flaws.

I have been playing eight and a half years. I've owned so much I won't both to list it all, though I've had the usual Les Pauls, Fender Twins, Marshall stacks, Vox AC30 etc etc and I have tried a wide range of equipment. My main amp is currently a Laney VC50 (which has awful stock speakers but that is another matter!).

If it were stolen or lost boy would I be in trouble as it isn't mine! I plan to get a used Jaguar at some point and mod it to perfection - I'll keep it as a single coil instrument though, I don't want another humbucking one.

What do I love? It's the sound of Fender without being just another Strat or Tele, which are great guitars but I am tired of those sounds they are not fresh any more. This guitar has it's own twist on the Fender sound and can approximate those others when needed. It can be refined and pretty or trashy and dirty. I love those switches and sliders and knobs for real control of the sound, very few guitars have such a big tone palette to choose from.

I hate the serious design problems this has. The guitars design is 43 years old and if Fender know it has design failures why doesn't it correct them? With a few simple changes the stock guitar could be as reliable as the other top Fender models... you shouldn't have to buy a $1200-1400 guitar then modify it because the company haven't changed the original design problems! Granted my model is a CIJ which is cheaper, but read some of the reviews below.

Still, despite all this crap the guitar is special. I cannot tell you how great it feels to have found a Fender I almost love after all these years of being a Gibson player. It has it's problems, but when you get past all those and down to business you can get some great things from it. It may not appeal to everyone (probably because you have to wrestle with it) but for some people it just feels right. I'm one of those people.

This guitar is a mid 90's jap reissue. Some really nice features about it compared to other guitars I've owned are:

1. Comfort- played sitting down, it's so-so, but standing up it's great, really well balanced and comfortable.
2. Neck- the shorter scale is great if you have small fingers (like me). Not too thick either.
3. Controls- The slider swithches are a great idea- why don't more guitars have these?? You can change pickups easily with much reduced risk of bashing off a toggle switch while playing. You also get a wide selection of pickup combinations

Biggest negative feature is that it's difficult to set up right- the truss rod is very inconvenientlly located, for example

The sound of these is an acquired taste, as the other reviewers here suggest. It's not a strat, and it's not a tele either. Personally, I love it, but don't expect a nice 'glassy' strat sound. It can be as 'bright' as you want, but personally I think the mids are a bit different. The clean sound of the bridge pickup alone is enough for me, but again it's all down to taste. Good for alt rock etc., which is why i bought it. If you're style is of the 'heavier' variety, change the stock pickups as they don't handle lots of distortion well. Personally, I've never had the feedback problems some other reviewers describe.
I use mine with a vox valvetronix, which I would recommend trying if you want to see what kinds of sounds these guitars are capable of.

Oh dear. The last guy who owned this left it in a state one guitar tech described as 'a mess'. This wasn't totally his fault however, as some amount of heartbreak is inevitable with one of these older jap reissues. Forget about fiddling with the existing bridge, simply change it for a mustang bridge or (heavily) modify it. Buzz on mine was appaling, with lots of dead frets. I've since had some modifications done to the bridge and tailpiece, but even so it's only 95% perfect. If i didn't love everything else so much I'd have sold it by now.

Firstly, I would not use this guitar on a gig without a backup. Prior to the bridge modifications, the low E popped out of it's saddle all the time. So if you're gigging yours with the original bridge, beware.
I really should stress though that aside from the bridge assembly, everything else about mine feels very solid. It's a pity Fender messed up with the original design.

Never dealt with Fender

I've been playing 10 years, and have owned and played a variety of guitars. If it was stolen or lost I would get another, although I'd go for a more recent US model. I love the jag primarily for it's comfort and playability- it really is one of the nicest guitars to just 'play' that I've ever owned, if not the nicest. As mentioned above, that unique sound compared to a strat also does it for me.
A word of caution though- if you get one, PLEASE pay to have the bridge changed/modified, and have it set up properly. It's worth it.

CIJ Jag, somewhere between 99 and 02 model going by the serial number. Alder body. Same specs as the rest. Switches for each pickup, for hi-pass and for rhythm/lead circuits.

When I first bought it, tuned it and plugged it in, I was a bit disappointed. I'd just moved up from an Epi Les Paul Goth, and the output on the Jag's single coils is quite low.

However, it has grown on me. I'm pretty much confirming what everyone else has said, but I'll say it again anyway...

-It's good for jangly strumming and arpeggios and such. The pickups are rather bright. You have been warned.

-It's -not- good for distortion, unless we're talking lo-fi "just a little bit" distortion a la Black Keys, which it isn't too bad at. But turn up the dist. a bit more and things get a bit muddy. Yes, the 'shimmer' is still there. Sonic Youth's 'Daydream Nation' will give you a good idea. Listen to the guitar carefully. That's what you'll get. I'm still a bit disappointed with it in that respect.

-Also, it's hard to get the EQ just right... I find that if I have it nice and jangly for the high 5 strings, my low E will be -far- too bassy compared to the rest. It's not quite as bad since I've upped to .11 strings, but still noticeable.

-I must confess, I bought one because Efrim from Godspeed You! Black Emperor plays one, and I too want to play epic post-rock stuff. But he has replaced the neck pickup with a (full size) humbucker, and I don't want to cut mine up so I'll just have to leave it as it is. I do miss humbuckers though.

The strings buzz, which is okay. But they also slip off the bridge, which isn't okay. Bash out a chord and, oops!, your low E has slipped right off and is now out of tune. One of the first things I did was get a Mustang bridge, and it's sooo much better. I recommend it.

Oh, and I am pretty short and have small hands, so this baby is just perfect for me in that regard... 24" scale and thin neck means I can play a bit faster than on the old Epi. Yay.

Overall it's good, but only if you add the Mustang bridge. The original bridge is just intolerable.

Hmm, don't gig with it, so hard to tell how long it's gonna last... seems to be pretty solid though. I reckon it would take a beating fine.

Bought second hand and don't have a warranty. Haven't had to deal with them anyway, should be fine.

I've been playing for about 8 years, and I'm never going to be great. But I think my new Jag suits me, just because of the short scale and thin neck basically. Very easy to play. Sound wise - I would prefer more grunt, but really, I should've known. Might go and buy another Les Paul as well, then I'll be set.

Hope this helped.