Fender Jag-Stang

I think the features have been pretty much covered already...

my model is a 1996 in sonic blue. the only "mod" i made are some strap locks because i was scared i'd drop it. the basswood body isn't exactly "ding resistant" - the smallest knock seems to dint the wood (although the finish is fairly durable). It has everything i need (humbucker and single coil) and the out of phase options are fantastic.

the music i play is mainly alternative rock/post hardcore/indie. when i bought this guitar i was mainly playing grunge. I presume that most people that want this guitar are fans of the late eighties/early nineties grunge/alt. phase, but this guitar is a lot more versatile than that. for the style i play, its nigh on perfect.

the three main options i'll play are the humbucker alone, single coil alone and out of phase single coil. the humbucker is fairly weak to be honest - compared to a seymour dunc anyway. but i think this is were the key to this guitar lies - its individuality. the sound of this is actually fairly bright in comparison to say a Les Paul. this suits me perfectly, as i've never been someone who wants to have the same sound as everyone else. If you want to play Slayer or nu metal riffs then get yo'self a BC Rich. if you want some definition and top end in your overdriven chordal spazz-outs - look no further.

the single coil is nice - i think its the same one off a japanese strat. nice and smooth, think the classic neck coil of a strat with a bit more warmth and you're not far off.

Out of phase opens up the sound and is probably the loudest, if less defined, sound option. i use this for rich, bassy clean sounds. add a tiny bit of overdrive and the amp breaks up nicely. again, think of the out of phase option on a strat.

So, for me, this sound is great. but don't expeact any metal riffs to be flowing from it.

when i bought this guitar, it was in a terrible state. basically the fretboard buzzed when applying any force and vigour to a chords. this is probably more due to the fact that the neck is rounded like the old style strats and not the newer, flatter 9.5 radius. to be fair it's only audible when played acoustically. a few of the frets are choking at the minute aswell. this is easily sorted by a pro and will improve the playability a lot.

the neck is easily one of the best i've played. i think its taken straight from a mustang anyway but it feels slightly thinner still. i have big hands so i always feel i have complete control over notes and never overstretched.

the volume pot has recently started buzzing occaisionally but that's probably due to some kind of liquid getting into it (sweat, most probably). Other than that this thing has never given up on my during a gig or practice. And also considering the iffy "dynamic Bridge" tuning stability is absolutely rock solid ( i haven't locked the bridge). from what i've read some jagstangs can go out of tune really easily - i must have been lucky.

never dealt with fender or needed to get it repaired.

i've had this guitar for 5 years now and never actually felt the need to buy another one. it's as if it has dictated how my playing and style has developed. for sheer character this guitar, along with probably all the "b-list" fender guitars (mustang, jaguars, super-sonics etc.), this really is great. the sound suits me perfectly - not over-the-top metal, this thing has dynamics and versatility. If you look past the Kurt Cobain licensing i think you'd be pleasantly surprised. And to all those people that put EMG 81's in the bridge - you are completely missing the point. Go buy an ibanez instead.

one last thing - if it means anything to you this guitar is quite rapidly becoming a collectors item. i recently spotted one of these in a guitar shop in britain for #800 (about $1200 i think!). this is most probably down to the fact that they stopped making them in japan last year. bonus, i think.

Same thing as everybody else. Nothing noteworthy.

Going through a Line 6 POD, the single-coil sounds quite good. I've put heavy-gauge (13-56) flatwound strings on the guitar and it can produce some convincing jazzy rhythm tones since then. The humbucker is complete garbage - the output is too weak and the sound is way too thin. The variety of sounds is good, but the quality itself is shady. I'm saving up to put an EMG-SA in the neck and an EMG-60 in the bridge, which should help things quite a bit.

I bought this guitar as NOS - it has hung on a wall for 6 years. As such, I think the neck has twisted a bit since it will buzz quite heavily if I put anything lighter than 12-52 strings. The action cannot be set very low on this guitar - my MIJ Mustang reissue can bet set much lower. The frets are very small and they feel cheap; that's too bad, because the neck itself feels very solid. The only unexcusable flaw on this guitar is the ultra-cheap pickguard, from which the top pseudo-pearloid layer is peeling off.

It seems moderately durable. The finish is very thin, so beware not to bang that guitar too hard. I'll never gig with this guitar because it looks way too goofy and the short scale is not appropriate for a rock/blues setting.

*cough*

I've played guitar seriously for almost 10 years now. I own four other electrics: a Godin LGX-SA, a MIJ 80's Strat, a MIJ Fender Mustang reissue and an Epiphone SG. The Jag-stang is the least satisfying of all those guitars. This is an overpriced, riding-on-a-hype guitar. I don't play much with it; it's much more of a fetish posession than anything else. Fender tried its best to produce the cheapest POS that they could make and they succeeded admirably. The guitar looks much more valuable than it is. Not all is lost, though - if you want to make the Jag-stang usable, replace the pickguard, pickups (at least the humbucker), tuners and put heavy strings on it to help stabilize the bridge and the neck. The sound is very un-grungy for a Kurt Cobain design. This is best suited for funky and jazzy rhythm licks. In one word: bah.

My Jag-stang was made in Japan in 1996.Its Fiesta Red but i got it re-finished Sonic Blue. Its a great guitar, but i prefer a Jaguar.

I have a non-cover band and I use this guitar the most. It sounds great. I like it a lot because I'm in a grunge band and this guitar makes really good feedback. It also sounds nice clean. Put the tone all the way up, it will sound awesome.

When i got this guitar everything was perfect. I didn't really have to set it up that much. The bridge made it go out of tune a lot though so i did something to the bridge to make it stay in tune. Now its perfect.

This guitar is a rock. How the heck will it fall apart!! This guitar will last a lifetime. I used this guitar in a couple gigs without a back up and it never failed me. If u want a guitar that lasts get this one!

A lot of people helped me decide to get this guitar. Thanks!

I've been only playin this guitar for a couple moths and its great and I love it. If this guitar was stolen I'd either get another one or track that guy down. I love that this guitar is heavy because light guitars seem like toys to me. Get this guitar u wont be sorry.

mine is '97 Fiesta red and I modded it.
It now has black pickup covers and a JB.(looks great)
500K pots.
A Gotoh tune-o-matic bridge and I flipped the tail piece and lowered it, this is by the way the best mod ever for this guitar!
shimmed the neck so I can adjust my action due to the TOM
a couple of strap locks

Well nothing new to say about the JB's sound it just rocks and gets the sound I want. kinda the green day and nirvana stuff and other punk sounds. Togheter with my Marshall 8080 I get the sound.

Except the clean sound sucks butt I thing that has got to do someting with my amp. I bassically want a brighter sound.

The paint job I thing is really bad compared to my squire. It scratches easy and It fell down once on a wooden floor and the damn paint chipped off the ass. As for the wood used (basswood) I really would have liked a heavier sort of wood it would deffinatly add to the overall sound.
The pickguard is a mustang pickguard and doesn't fit prober, I'm gonna make I new one and straighten out the humbucker And make it more fluently with the lower horn section. Also would have liked some body contours.

That where the bad thing now the good things about the guitar. First the neck is really the best neck I ever played, I love it!
And with the mods I made this guitar is awesome!

never let me down and I have rewired everything and still it hasn't let me down. Everything on the guitar seems to be of a reasonable good quilty but could be better I thing.

never dealt with

With the mods I made it's a top guitar and would not trade it for any other guitar in the world.

My jag-stang is stock, so you know what the guitar has on it. If you don't read the other reviews.

I play Blues and Punk, so this guitar is perfect for both. using both pickups out of phase, slightly overdriven, gives a perfect JL Hooker tone, very twangy and crisp. crank up the distortion, switch the neck in phase, the bridge out, and you have a perfect punk guitar. some people claim that both pickups sound the same. they do sound the same with the distortion all the way up, and all the EQ knobs set at ten. be sure to turn the knobs ON the guitar if you don't like the sound your gettign when you're trying the guitar out. The guitar sounds BEAUTIFUL clean. it's amazing. you get perfect blues tone out of the neck pickup clean or slightly overdriven.

every thing was great, except for the intonation, which needed to be set. paint job is solid, doesn't chip. well, if i were to beat on it with a metal object, it'd chip, but hey, it's a fender, it's a tank.
the short scale is fabulous, with a properly oiled fretboard & neck, the guitar plays effortlessly.

the tremolo is a big issue for many people. the guitar did have tuning problems, but i did two things. i oiled the points on the bridge posts, and lubed the nut with graphite(pencil lead). after a week the jag-stang is still in tune after constant and heavy tremolo use(dive bombs galore). another thing you might want to do if you do these things and still have problems with tuning stability, is to move your trem springs up, that is, make the trem stiffer.

Fender=Awesome. this ain't yer gramma's SG that snaps when you set it down. this baby is heavy though, it's heavy as or heavier than a Les Paul. you'd get worn out pogoing with this one. if i knew strings wouldn't break, i'd used it without a back up. i have gigged with it, several times, it's been solid.

never dealt with Fender. they have a bad rep, though.

An Awesome guitar. of course i'll buy other guitars, but if i couldn't, i'd wouldn't be unhappy with this guitar. i own a Strat, a Tele, an Explorer, and three acoustics (a fender, a martin, and an old Benteley).

Nothing special

I still use the original pickups, with the humbucker 'in' and the single-coil 'out' (of phase that is), I'm thinking of replacing them with a 'dirtier' humbucker and a warmer single. I play it through a Electro-Harmonix Big Muff and a Boss Delay all plugged into a Peavey Envoy 110. It sound quite nice.

I don't like the fact it's a slab as it make playing quite uncomfortable after a while, the action used to be terrible as the bridge had an adjustment screw missing, but a bit of card sorted it.

The strap button on the horn suffered the usual Fender fate and fell off so the strap's held on with Gaffa tape (oooh... very punk rock) the tuners are okay, but difficult to use as they don't like being moved really small amounts so I can't get the thing perfect. I've used it in gigs, but have never needed a backup instrument. The hardware has lasted pretty well, execpt the tone pot fell apart after I dropped the guitar.

I've only needed to have it repaired once when the neck began to warp, that was last month (Novemeber 2001). As the instrument is about five years old it's not under warranty.

If it were stolen I'd probably get an Explorer with the insurance.
The thing I really like about it is the way it looks... The thing I hate about it is the fact I need to get a hard case custom made.
To all those who are now buying used Jag-Stangs for #700 or more: UNLUCKY!

I think everyone knows the features of this guitar from the other reviews, so I'll skip most of it. What features are you looking for in a guitar?

I've replaced the pickups with a Seymour Duncan JB jr. in the neck, and a DiMarzio super distortion in the bridge. So the sound now suits me just great. I read other reviews about the guitar not staying in tune, but I have no problem whatsoever. When I had it tuned down half a step, it was a bit more difficult, but now I have a standard tuning and it's perfect. Almost always in tune when I pick it up, and stays in tune for a good hour or so of playing. My main style is punk, and I play through a Fender Princeton Chorus with a Danelectro Fab Tone distortion pedal. I sounds exactly how I want it.

Action is outstanding. Finish was good, but I've been playing since I bought the guitar when it was released, so it has some dings. The wood is pretty soft, so it dents really easily. But the neck is straight still, after many falls. So if you don't mind a not so pretty guitar (if you don't take care of it), it's a strong, sturdy piece. The placement of the volume and tone controls is my favorite feature. Unlike most other Fender guitars, they're tucked back a bit, so your hand doesn't accidentally hit them when you play. I don't like however, the pickup switches, as it's easy to tap them and turn them off when playing hard. They also don't serve much of a function. I'd suggest rewiring the configuration to suit a practical setup.

I think I covered this above. I've been playing it since summer of 96, and it is still strong. Strap buttons do come loose sometimes, but I have them taped up nicely with some super duper gaff tape. They'll never come undone now. Would anyone gig without a backup? Broken strings are annoying to change mid-show. I'd buy another one as a backup, and since it's sort of a cheezy guitar anyway, you can find one for a reasonably cheap price. The finish is still nice, except for the chips. Hardware is still perfect, and I never put it in a case unless I'm travelling with it.

What kind of problem can you have after 6 years when nothing has gone wrong? Never had to deal with Fender, but I'd like to believe they backup their reputation.

I played a lot of guitars when I bought this one, and I had several thousand dollars to blow. I almost bought an SG, but didn't want to spend that much money, as I'd only been playing for a few years before. This was the most comfortable guitar I've played to date. It does everything I want it to do. If it was lost/stolen, I would absolutely buy another one. I want another one anyway, just in case something serious happens to this one. The only thing I hate is that it has a rather unique configuration that makes wiring new pickups difficult. Also, because there aren't too many of these out there, some spare parts can only be ordered through Fender.

Sam features as mustang. Only humbucker in neck.

It's sounding almost like mustang but much more worster way.Buy Mustang it's real vintage guitar.If you want sound like Kurt Cobain don't buy this. You can read in Nirvana's Equipment site that Cobain didn't like it when he had it.

Buy Mustang.

Buy Mustang.

Buy Mustang.

BUY MUSTANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Sonic Blue(Is it really Sonic Blue or did Fender mess up and paint it Surf Green and called Sonic Blue? anyway it is kickass color) Jag-Stang which I named "KC's Masterpiece"(it's the guitar served kentucky fried with a side of mashed potaters and gravy HA!) was manufactured in 96 in Japan. For the most part, most of the stuff on my guitar is factory standard, with the exception of the humbucker which is a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates(I'm also planning to replace the single coil with something more powerful) and the only other thing I did was to take a nail file and sand down the plastic pick-up switches so they are not as sharp.

I don't really have a style. My music can be grungy, trippy, hard driving, calm and mellow BLAH BLAH BLAW....
I have a crappy Marshal student amp, and I use a Boss DS-1 Distortion and a CH-1 Super Chorus Pedal and a Crybaby Wah Pedal from Dunlop.

There didn't seem to be any problems with it as far as can tell, just a couple nics and dings

I really baby it and is very reliable, so it should last a long time.

It will be an overall great once I put a new single-coil in it.

22 frets, s/h config, the stock fender pickups. body is basswood, finish, gloss, sonic blue. typical fender floating bridge, no problems with the bridge. it's not locked, i just don't use it that much

i play punk, blues, and flamenco. this guitar fits the first two styles perfectly. i play it through a crate GX 15.
i had read several reviews of this guitar saying it had no tonal or dynamic range, etc. when i first played this guitar i played not Teen Spirit, but Red House. and found that this supposed lack is not so. i can go from a distorted out of phase buzzsaw sound, to a perfect tubular blues sound. with the neck pickup out of phase, you can get some twangy country tones. don't just play the guitar. twiddle with the knobs. you'll be suprised.
the only thing i would change are the switches. it's too hard to quickly switch from rhythm to solo mode, unlike on a strat, where an upflick of the hand can switch. this, however is not major.

no problems at all. i'll probably shield the cavity, and re-ground it, as i do to all my guitars. the tuners are rather sensitive, and it's easy to bump the low E tuner and knock the string out of tune. the plug sticks straight out of the front of the guitar, which bugs me. i never liked that, but that's cosmetic. i can get a cord with a 90 degree plug, and take care of that.
other than that, nothing wrong.

Fender = Tank
the finish seems fine. it's obviously used, and the finish has held up all this time so far. hardware is solid and quiet, unlike some jags i've played.

never talked to them, but fender has a bad rep.

i've been playing guitar for two years, but i've been a musician for eleven (piano). i would have hard feelings toward whoever stole this guitar. very hard feelings.
the dynamic range on this guitar is incredible, and the dual out of phase sound was just the buzzsaw sound i was looking for. the humbucker makes for a good variation from my strat.