Fender Jag-Stang

Stock '95 Made in Japan Fender Jag-stang
Fiesta Red
VERY THIN 24" scale neck, 22 frets, basswood body, Fender pickups, Mustang trem, Kluson tuners.

Best Neck I've ever played on. Love the finish.
I dun particularly care for the trem or tuners 'cuz I like hardtails and locking tuners, but these things are very easy for me to overlook.

I love the stock pickups, they are pretty underpowered, but I dig on low output pickups. They may not be for everyone though. The switching on this guitar makes it super versatile. I play mostly AltRock/Grunge stuff, and it does that best, but it can definitely handle most styles of music. It can sound bright, it can sound full, it can sound tinny, it can sound bassy, it can sound pretty much however u want.

Nice low action. I got it used so the finish was chipped and stuff. The finish does seem to be pretty fragile. Also had a couple scuffs on the frets. Nothing too bad though.

Seems to be built like a tank aside from the fragile finish.

haven't dealt with em

My favorite guitar that I own... if somebody stole it, I'd prolly go on a shooting rampage.

Jan 1998 sonic blue Crafted in Japan.
22 frets - one more than a strat :)
Pickup selectors are weird, puts it out of phase if you want to though.

Slanted single at neck and slanted humbucker at bridge.

Mods I have done:
JB and SSL-3 pickups
Electrical tape round bridge posts to stop it moving around
Sprague orange drop 0.01uf instead of 0.47uf - Stops the 'muddy' sound
New switches - direct replacement because the old ones were completely worn out

The stock pickups were crap, The bridge was weak and tinny, loads of treble from the basswood, no mids from shortscale and no bass. I now have a seymour duncan JB there which distorts really well. The original neck pickup was okay but it was too weak to be paired with the jb so I got an SSL-3. Like the originals, the new pickups have exactly the same output which is useful.

The bridge on it is wierd, it is kind of like Gibson bridge but it moves around (not any more because I wrapped up the posts)

I love the feel of the neck. Small with jumbo frets and it is nice and thick, it fills up your hands.

I play a lot of metal with big solos and stuff. The jagstang is so good at shredding its unbelievable. it can pull off pretty much anything, metal, rock, surf, alternative, so anything apart from blues.

If you have the humbucker on alone, it does good metal.

If you add the single in phase then it goes that little bit heavier.

Take the humbucker out and it sounds like a strat on steroids, really deep but thats probably just the new capacitor.

Both pickups out of phase is like a P-90. Loads of treble. Great for surf music here.

I have no complaints about the sound, the clean sound is strange, a lot of range there and the distorted sound is amazing. Also having master tone unlike a strat means that you can sculpt a tone with that too. I prefer to roll it back for metal but halfway for thrash.

Pretty good. The chrome is getting a bit dodgy and all the screws are rusty. Also the bridge pickup doesn't align with the strings so it sounds a bit fuzzy on the bass strings. Also the finish never chips or wears down, it cracks like glass which is a bit of a bummer (you can see this around screws and stuff).
The neck is well made, jumbo frets are wonderful and it is as good as new. Also the body cuts away properly so you can actually get to the top fret unlike a Les Paul. The nut is always cut for 9s so you need to file it for anything else and the bridge saddles move around but it doesn't affect tuning or intonation.

Well, when I got it it was advertised as broken (hence being so cheap) all that had happened was the input jack came a bit loose so someone tightened it with a spanner and it simply went round and round and broke the wire. Once that was soldered back, it was fine!

Jagstangs come with pretty crap components, bad pots bad capacitor, bad pickups and unshielded wiring. If you replace everything , you will have a much nicer sound and also would last a few years.

Unmodded 7
modded 10

10 year super strict warranty. If you don't have or ever have not had fender strings, they will not service it, let alone modifications! Fender are hopeless record keepers and can't help you with any problems.

I am amazed with this guitar. I don't think I could have got anything better - I think it is the only shortscale shred machine out there apart from the jaguar (but this is better) Also this is great to mod, it seems to be open to all kinds of things except extra switches

BTW feel free to e-mail me any questions about the guitar

Sonic blue 50th anniversary. MADE in japan not crafted like the reissues. Not that it matters I just specifically wanted an original. I fell in love with this guitar the moment I saw it. I first purchased a fiesta red reissue of ebay. When I got it I noticed it wasn't an originallike the seller said so I was pretty upset. I sold it on ebay and made some extra money back and baught a O.G. one. The moment I had to mail away the first one I was heartbroken :(. Now that I have my O.G. one I promised her I would never let her go

I love the way this guitar sounds. I know everyone says the pick ups are cheap or whatever but there is so many different styles of music you can play on this badboy

LOVE IT! love the neck. it's easy to jam on. Easier to throw your thumb over the top when your playing jimi style music or blues. Don't like how it dosen't stay in tune with the floating vibrato

I baby mine. at least until I get a couple more in my arsenal

If it was stolen from me.. I would hunt them down and make them pay

sonic blue standard late 90's jag-stang

picks up radio signals sometimes ...
cool variety of tones ..
goes from tinny to fat and full with the flick of a switch..

strings are wayyyy to light i blame this on previous owner.. bridge cant be messed with much or will need to be retuned right away.. action is low.. all else is sweet tho

its a fender what can i say i could use it to paddle a boat and plug it in and play after.. thanks fender.

who knows?

traded guitar even trade for a 1978 musicmaster (modded) been playing guitar in the "indie rock" style for about 10 years.. makes me want a jaguar and a mustang too.. already have the jaguar bass! a solid bridge like on the teles would have been better..thats my only complaint.. this guitar is wayy more versitaile than the musicmaster was..

I have a 1994 Jag-Stang in the orange-red color. It was made in Japan. The neck is maple/rosewood; standard controls. I think the body is probably basswood. It has a Mustang-style bridge and tremolo. The finish is somewhat thick poly. The body is the hybrid Jaguar shape without belly or forearm cut; I believe you call this a slab body. It has a white pearloid pickguard that has a tendency to peel apart in layers, leaving sharp corners. The Jag-Stang body shape is kind of appealing, but the pickguard was not well-designed to fit the body shape.

The original feature set is not particularly good. The Mustang tremolo is almost unusable, so most players will wrap the bridge piece posts with tape to stabilize it and not use the tremolo bar at all; it very quickly will put the instrument out of tune and will even break strings.

The stock pickups are rather weak single coils and the body cavity shielding is poor, so the guitar as shipped is relatively noisy (mine would pick up radio stations). Even the knobs aren't all that good. The switches are wired like the original Mustang switches, which aren't all that useful, because out of the various settings there are several that turn both pickups off and several that configure them the same way. The Kluson-style tuners are not terribly good. It has a really flimsy stamped-metal string tree for the highest two strings which probably does nothing to contribute to tuning stability. The nut seems rather cheap.

I bought this guitar because my first electric guitar was a Fender Mustang and I love the Mustang neck. The Jag-Stang has some of the "vibe" and feel of the Mustang but does not take advantage of many years of advances in tremolo design, locking tuner design, pickup design, etc. It is also worth noting that, like the Mustang, you cannot adjust the truss rod without removing the neck.

The original features did not produce very good sound; however, ultimately I had the guitar completely rewired, changing out all the parts including the pots and switches. I had a "Lil' 59" put in the neck position and a JB humbucker in the bridge position. The wiring was changed so that I could use the switches to enage or disengage the volume and tone pots. I attached my Roland guitar synthe pickup, and also changed the setup and began using 11s, and raised the action slightly. With these modifications the guitar actually sounds pretty good; I can get some hot rock tones as well as smooth jazzy tones. The Roland works well with the 11s (less false triggering, easier to trigger). I also replaced the stock knobs with chrome knobs.

So, I'm not quite sure how to qualify this; the stock setup I'd only give a 6 (the very light and resonant body makes up for some of the low-quality electronics), but the heavily modified guitar gets a 9. I'll report the stock setup. I believe most players who are not collectors trying to keep the guitar in original condition will probably want to modify their Jag-Stangs over time, or just trade up. Note that it is NOT cheap to make all these mods, unless you have the skills to do it all yourself. A comlete rewiring job is not a good project for a beginner. You will most likely screw it up and wind up paying a guitar tech to help you finish it up.

The fit and finish of the Japanese-made Jag-Stang was quite a bit poorer than my original Mustang. The metal parts feel cheaper, the chrome plating thinner. Everything worked reasonably well but just did not quite have that hand-built feel. The fret corners were not nicely smoothed and would snag the fingers, although they were reasonably flat and even.

The body finish was very solid and smooth.

I mentioned the pickguard above; for some reason the Jag-Stangs were build with flimsy pickguards that tend to peel apart at the corners, leaving sharp edges that stick out.

I beat this guitar up a bit, as I played it out weekly and dropped it a few times.

One thing I have noticed is that the body wood is relatively soft. After removing the neck a couple of times, to adjust the truss, the finish around the neck pocket developed some cracks. The screw holes in the neck also got a little torn up. It seems that the quality of the maple is not quite all that. My old Mustang did not have this problem!

The neck pocket had paint and sawdust in it and was not as smooth as it should be (you want a solid smooth wood-to-wood join). After removing the pickguard a couple of times some of the screw holes became shredded and I had to shim them with toothpicks. The much harder wood used in the Mustang never gave me this trouble. Again, somewhat mediocre.

Never dealt with Fender.

Overall, the stock Jag-Stang gets only a 6. While some people may try to call this a "vintage" instrument, it does not have the "vintage" build quality. It is also not truly a player's instrument; at least the stock model is not. Let me be very clear: these instruments are _not_ worth a lot of money!

I am not actually a huge Nirvana fan, but I am a big fan of the original Mustang. That was the reason I bought the Jag-Stang. I also like the body design, although not the lack of contours.

I have been playing on and off for about 25 years. I had an original Mustang and various strat copies and acoustic instruments.

Would I replace it with another Jag-Stang? No. Instead what I am considering doing is replacing the neck with a Warmoth-made neck with an ebony fingerboard and satin finish and locking tuners. Then I'll probably replace the body. At that point the only parts that will be original will be the bridge hardware. But the bridge and tremolo hardware isn't actually very good... hmmm. Maybe I will see if I can get a luthier to custom-build me a Jag-Stang -shaped instrument from scratch, with the same scale length and body shape, but better hardware all around.

fender jag-stang in fiesta red, mix of mustangand jaguar, maple neck feels great to hold and play however its not for shredders!!
jap model, 22 frets
1 volume, 1 master tone
selector for each pickup!
S/Hpickup configuration
fender pickups!
passive
got mine second hand so a few dings, but has held out well!!

bought for a change in style but doesnt get played as much cos im into heavy metal!!
wah wah used cos it sounds awsome!!
bit o string buzz
not much varietyin the guitar, nirvan and grunge
not so versitile!!

action is too high, but will change that!
pretty well adjusted pickups, sounds good
bridge was just fixed, brill now!!

will withstand being droped on its nose from a great height, strong guitar!!
hardware is lyk new!!
would be my mortgage on this guitar lasting a v long time!

iv been playin for three years nd i usually play a dean ml for metal, however tis has changed that nd i now play some rock 2!!
the bridge is my fav part, cos i fixed it wen i got it with ease
a looking trem wouldnt go a miss!!!

Gloss finish over a light blue paint. Body seems to be basswood. It's a non-contoured Jaguar shape with a 3/4 size neck with a rosewood fingerboard. Mustang-style floating bridge with some rather cheap vintage-style tuners. It has 3 pickups (S-S-H) with independent phase controls and on/off switches. One volume and one tone knob.

I use this to play surf music, so it works for that. It has a pretty good range in that you can get a good variety by playing with the polarity on the pickups. The pickups themselves (which are stock) don't have the greatest output, but is very servicable through a decent amp. I play through a Fender Twin Reverb and a Spider II simulaneously to get a slight natural delay, and the guitar sounds great under this configuration. Pickups are rather noisy (unshielded), so you want to have a lot of headroom in the amp to minimize buzz on the single coils.

This is one of the '94 models made in Japan. The setup and the workmanship of the guitar is top notch. The neck radius seems to be a bit more curved compared to the American models I've seen. I've found no finish flaws -- the only downside I've seen is really in the design itself. 1) The body is not contoured on the back, and 2) the pickup controls (which are above the pickups) are a bit high and can get in the way if you are strumming over them. Until I got used to this I actually turned off my pickups while playing out once.

Seems very solid. I've played it regularly and it seems to do well. I always have a Strat as a backup, however.

I bought it used, so I've never had to use support.

I own a couple of Gretsches, a Mexican Strat, a Tele, a Schecter Stilletto bass, and a variety of acoustics (Martin, Yamaha, etc.) I also build my own acoustic guitars, so I'm keen on action, fit and finish when I buy something. When I do buy, I usually seek something like this model, which is something a bit off-the-radar. It certainly works for what I use it for, and so I've been really satisfied. I particularly enjoy the variety of sounds you can achieve with the pickup wiring, and I enjoy the 3/4 size (my first). I wish the pickups were a bit better, so I'm considering swapping them out with some SD Antiquities and sheilding the body cavity to reduce hum. Also, I really like the bridge in comparison to a vintage style bridge I have on my strat. This bridge seems to stay in tune better, and I can do slight dips by simply pushing on tailpiece rather than using the whammy. This helps in alternating between muted, tremolo picking and doing the slight "hawaiian" style dips. Frankly, I'm surprised these didn't take off more than they did considering the features it has for a relatively inexpensive guitar. Extremely playable.

early '95fiesta red guitar, original texas special single in the neck and whatever that factory bridge pickup is, most hate teh switches, i however love them, lets me mix my tones whichever way i want

incredebly versitile, this is one of the old japanese ones, no tthe bull shit new ones, i can play regeah to hardcore on this bitch

action was wonk when i got it but it was used so i tinkered, i love the neck feel and the action on it know, comfiest guitar i've played that didnt cost a grand

the jack is a little fidgetty adn teh switcehs get bumped sometimes,you ahve to keep and eye on the nuts holding the pots in, they get loose quick, electronic components have never failed me

if its an old one, there great, but dont buy anyhtign past 96 of you want a quiolity instrument, mines the shit, your might be to

As its listed in all the other reviews no need to elaborate alot.

I play just about everything, Funk,rock,Grunge,Blues and even country.Guitar is very versitile, and the single coil neck with humbucker in the bridge is about as perfect a combination as you can get in my opinion.I try to avoid using effects as much as possible,preffer to plug into one of my all-tube amps and give the amp a good kick in the guts for some nice REAL o/d and distortion.The neck pup sounds best clean, mostly due to the increase in noise as you crank the gain,clean the bridge pup sounds very poor, plugged directly into a cranked 1/2 decent tube amp it does sound passable. The neck pup is on the weak side as well as being a bit noisy, especialy if you amplify that noise by running through noisy high gain effects. Tone wise this guitar sounds like your typical bright fender, allthough not as bright as a strat say due to the poor bridge and trem design. If i chose to keep this guitar i would have done a couple of what i consider essential mods to make it from a average guitar into a good one: Fit a TOM and upgrade the pups.

I purchased this guitar of evilbay, and original and only owner was only a youg kid, if he set the guitar up i have no idea, but the action was WAY to high when it arrived, and the truss rod also had no tension on it what so ever.After a good set-up and taping fo the bridge post's it improved immensly.Overall finish on the guitar was A1, the neck is still to date the best neck i have every played.

The only part on the guitar that would concern me with live use would be the pick-up selectors.

N/A

Only really got right into playing guitar when i decided to purchase this guitar about 8 months ago,i do not gig or even play very well.I have a number of top quality point to point wired vintage tube amp's.
The Jagstang was my guitar of choice untill i got a Squier Cyclone for 1/4 of the price, i liked the Squier so much more than the Jagstang that i put the Jagstang on eBay within a couple of weeks and sold it.If you are obsessed with the Kurt connection and dont mind paying the extra $ for that, by all meens buy a Jagstang, but you will have to mod it to turn it into a playable guitar,the pick-ups are below average, the bridge is complete junk and the trem is a big annoyance, we all know Kurts were far from stock.The pick-up's are way better in the Squier, the pick up selector is way better placed and more reliable, the only thing the Jagstang had over the Squier was a killer neck.Squier stays in tune, has better tone and sustain with the strat trem than even a modded Jagstang could ever dream about. In short if i could go back in time to before i purchased the Jagstang i would just buy a Squier, throw a couple of hundred into some new pick-ups and harware and have a better guitar than the Jagstang could ever dream of being.Stock the Jagtsang is nothing special,if you care about your playing more than your image save a few hundred and get a Squier.I was happy when i sold this guitar for what it cost me.

I dont know what year it was made but was crafted in japan. I recently baught it off ebay in mint condition color sonic blue, absolutley bautiful. The first thing i was intreaged by was the georgeous neck and the headstock it is so well made. the neck is very
smoothe but very thin that can mess me up when playing lead but im mainly for rythemest anyways so im arsed. I gave this baby a 10 because it just has so much character.

Well let me first start off by saying, if you are a heavy metal player or some shreader then you can forget it. The jag-stang is definately a rythem/slow lead guitar and is made purely for punk or grunge and nirvana imitations. It has the perfect sound for my style which is very nirvana influenced but due to my crappy Amp i cant really get a perfect sound from it.

When i picked up the guitar and played it for the first time the action was quite low just perfect for me, not so sure if it was factory set up though. the finnish was beautiful no floors here. there is a little bit of fretbuzz on the lower frets but its nothing. The bridge is actually better than i thought. I was thinking about putting a tunamattic in there but i cant really see the point, the barrel saddles are just as good.

I have yet to gig with this guitar and i am very confident that she will do me proud on the night. I play it a lot at home for practise and it seems very sturdy and reliable.I personaly dont use strap locks cos i dont need to as for the leathery bits on my strap are very tight and secure. im giving it an 8 due to the fact i havnt gigged with it yet. I am never going to use the whammy bay cos its shit and will probably throw it out of tune instantly.

N/A

I have been playing guitar for over a year now and this is my third electric guitar. I also own a Squire strat my first ever geetar and a Dean Z79 explorer shaped metal guitar (im selling it cos it just dont cut my style. The Fender jagstang is by far my current favourite guitar she plays well when standing and playing and the ballance is perfect I just absolutly love this guitar if anything ever happened to it i would hang my self. FENDER SHOULD REISSUE THESE GUITARS THEY ARE AWSOME AND THE COMPATITION MUSTANG.

2003 (maybe 2004?) Japan model. Everyone else has put all the specs and stuff! The neck is gorgeous, the bridge is a bit tricky - not the easiest guitar to re-string. Obviously looks great, but looks arent everything. Came with a gig bag which i would like to replace with a hardcase but i'll have to spend a fortune on a Fender one that will fit the damn thing in!

Don't really play a massive range of music styles but used it for the 'Nirvana Immitation' years when i was mid-teens but play very different stuff now; sort of a poor mans Mogwai with more lyrics. Didn't have any influence or guidance in terms of sound when i got this and have only really in the last year or two learnt a thing or two about what sound i like/where to get it from. Have a Fender Classic 60's Telecaster (Mexican) in the post which, after actually testing it before buying, is much more what i am after.

Not a guru, but obviously the pickups are a bit lame on the Jagstang - i like a kinda bridge twanginess, which is lucky because thats roughly the only sound you can get out of this guitar and even then its not very defined or overly pleasing. My fault but still not really sure on what configuration to set the pickup switches to get oposite sounds, but this is more likely to be the limitation of tones the guitar offers.

Went to Uni and mingled with people who have taught me a thing or two about sounds and guitars so have increasingly got frustrated with my Jagstang. Don't get me wrong, i'll always love it and would never sell it (girls love the look of it :P) but ever since i picked up my friends Strat and actually played a great sounding guitar ive been looking for a guitar that actually makes me happy and satisfies me in terms of sound. As i said, that one is ariving next week! Yey!

Dunno wether 5 for sound is too harsh - its just too limited and doesnt nearly have the "wow" factor that you should at least have a little of for #300

Again, not an expert, but rfom stuff ive read and everything its clear that Fender have just thrown it together so its not a 'great' at all. I love the neck (love rosework fingerboard and the finish it has - my very first guitar, a squier bullet of some sort, had this neck - weird to say its an appaling guitar - so have been in love with these fender necks ever since that)and the frets are good. Have quite small hands but i dont really think it matters. Remember it took a little while to adjust to the mini frets, but soon got used to them! Makes me smile when my friend with the Strat has a play on it and is a bit confused why his fingers are a bit out of place!

Looks and feel wise its great - comfortable to play and everything. I dont have a clue what to do to it but someone said once you "set it up properly" it sounds and plays a bit better?! The bridge is a bit annoying - its ok now but in the early days i had to get the alan key out every time i played it and raise the bridge to stop the strings buzzing and the action is a bit dodgey. My highest pitch E-string goes out of tune the when i play the octave - apparently i can sort that out but dont know how!

If i had a bit of spare cash i'd defiantely replace the pickups - had some suggestions what to get but thats personal really! A bit paranoid that the jagstang would only fit a certain pickup as it is a unique shape but will have to chck that out. Im sure it would be a great guitar if you got it all sorted and setup like you yourself want it. Wont have the money or chance to do that in the near future though sadly!

Has been my primary guitar for practise, gigs and studio for a good few years, not that i have a choice! Only broke one string on it live so had to borrow someone elses guitar! Its niec and heavy, the same if not heavier than a standard telecaster - the is good cause you know its not gonna nsap or anything if you give it a good thrashing. Its great for staying in tune, even if you give it hell a few times during your set as i do. Few problems on the tuning front although i do have a tuner pedal, as everyone who plays live should, so im sorted anyway.

The finish hasnt faded at all - a few marks on the back from belt buckles but no chips yet. Never had a problem with strap buttons although im cursed for my straps jumping of the guitar whenever they feel like it but about a year ago i solved that by taking two of the little red rubber ring things on Grolsch bottles and slipping then on the strap buttons over the strap and they work perfectly to keep your strap on!

Never got intouch with anyone about my little questions, and nothing major has happened to it to make me need to get in touch with anyone.

It looks great - and i will always keep it and be in love with it to look at so im not gonna ditch it or anything when my telecaster comes. Being really honest if i could turn back time to when i was shopping for this guitar i would have tried to find a mustang instead as they look pretty much just as good but although someone i know has one i have never played on it - im sure it sounds a lot better than the jagstang though. Then again im pretty sure the price difference is a bit too much.

I would be absolutley gutted if anything happend to my jagstang i.e it got broke or stolen, but im pretty sure i wouldnt replace it. Its insured so i would get the money to simply replace it, but id be sooo tempted to get a mustang or another fender model instead.

So, the jagstang looks amazing, absolutley gorgeous and cool as funk - BUT, the sound lacks variation and there are a number of potential probems with the bridge and action which are just annoying really when youve forked out a load of cash for a guitar!

Bought it the first day it was available in Montreal( mid 90 ).. Sonic blue..
The vibrato bar is way too high so i dont use it... pretty smooth vibrato but not my style of playing.
I love the neck with their vintage frets.. but they wear rapidly for this kind of playing

I play extremely loud music, grungy naturally..
I love the pickups which are perfectly designed for Nirvana style
Incredible thin sound .... on phase mode wow..
The bridge pickup tested at 8.6 when cold...
THe neck pickup looks like a Texas specail to me..
This guitar is not noisy at all....
I use a mid 90 Fender Stage 112 160 w with a 4x10 Tweed Cabinet...which is powered by the stage 112 too..
Run Ds-1, Hm-2, Tech-21 i love this fuzz...
Sounds incredibly Loud and with good definition... a rare trait
This guitar delivers well through my amp which is quite good sounding...

Nice neck
Body not perfectly routed
Nice paint but should have been Aqua Seafoam

Soft basswood body ...soooo.....
Repaired the humbucker (solder) due to abuse with my palm..

Suits my style but more of a specialty guitar..
This is Real punk guitar designed by a real Punk which is not designed to be accepted by popular mass. Thanks for this guitar to exist...

This guitar should have a painted peghead...
And shell pink.

I've got a 2k4, sonic blue, stock, reissue Jag-Stang. 22 vintage size frets (I love these frets!) on a maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard. The neck has the awsome small 24" scale which my small hands love. The body is basswood, which was surprizingly heavier than I first expected. It only has two pickups. A special design humbucker in the bridge meant to copy the dimarzio pickup on Kurt's original and a Vintage Strat single coil in the neck position as they don't use Texas Specials on Japanese guitars (Kurt's Custom shop Jag-Stang had a Texas Specail). Its got a very simple control configuration that yields a very versitile range of tones: one master volume knob, one master tone knob (both situated on a very cool looking control plate), and two 3-way slide switches; one for each pickup. The first slide switch controls the bridge humbucker and the positions are: on, off, on. The second slide switch controls a fender Vintage Strat single coil in the neck postition and the positions are: on, off, out of phase. Vintage style tuners, which hold their tuning well, so long as you take care of them. The bridge stays in tune well as long as you never use the tremelo, but if you do, it better have been an intentinal excuse to go off and make noise or other avant-garde piece as you will no longer be in anything close to in tune. While it may be a horible bridge design, it is one of the main reasons for this guitars unique tone and is absolutely essential if you are after that "Cobain" tone.
Came with a gig bag, which I replaced w/ a hard case as soon as I could find one that fit the guitar. WORD OF CAUTION: to anyone who wishes to purchase this guitar, be prepared to spend a long time searching for a hard case as most guitar cases wont fit this guitar's oddly shaped body. Bass cases are also way too large, so you can't take that route out. Your best bet is to get the Fender case for the Jag-Stang (which you still have to CRAM, and I do mean CRAM, the guitar in to fit it).

I play alot of blues, rock, and punk type styles. It suits all these styles well. The out of phase single coil neck with the bridge humbucker yields a wonderfully thin sound that is great for Greatful Deadish jams or avant-garde/experimental tunes. It's a very unique tone to play with. I play mostly through a Fender Twin Reverb reissue, and I use all settings quite regularly. This guitar is definatly NOT a metal type guitar at all. If you play metal, you will not enjoy this guitar's sound at all. It's very bright and punchy, with a bit of growl in the humbucker.

The setup on mine was great right out of the box. Very low action, perfect intonation, had to adjust pickup height to my liking, but thats to be expected. I suggest switching the standard strap knobs with strap-locks as I don't trust standard strap knobs at all. I've had the guitar for almost six months and put the same guage strings on it that it shiped with and intonation is still right where it should be. No truss rod issues, or neck bows of any kind. I've heard many accounts of paint chipping off easily on the Jag-stang, but something tells me this happens only with the original nineties issue of the guitar, as mine has been accidentally dropped and has clipped a few corners and still has a pristine paint job w/o any scratches or wood showing.

I really cant comment here as I have yet to gig with it. It's the guitar I baby, and it only travels with me to the studio. I never play without a backup as no audience likes waiting for you to fix a string. But it seems like a very solid guitar, like most Fenders are known to be.

it's apparently limited lifetime warranty, so thats a very good thing. I doubt I will have to ever deal with Fender as all my other Fenders have survived much use and abuse.

Ive been playing about six years and am a complete gear nut. I own mostly fender gear as it is reliable and for the most part, inexpensive. The quality vs. the price is incomparable to other brands on the market today.
I bought this guitar b/c my mustang had been stolen and wanted to see how similar/different this guitar was to my mustang. I miss my mustang. I do love this guitar, but my mustang is my most favorite guitar I have owned to date. I am still fervently hunting the thief of my mustang and would do the same to anyone who would dare steal my Jag-stang. I would definatly buy another one if stolen, but only if it came up cheaper than another competition blue mustang. I love everything about the Jag-stang except for the lack of rib and arm contours. Even w/o the contours though, it is surprizingly comfortable, thanks to its shape which almost goes just under your rib cage. The body shape also has a balance that is as close to perfect as I have found on any guitar. When on a strap, it balances itself to the perfect angle to your arm and hand.
This guitar is perfect for the indie guitarist with small hands, who focuses mostly on chords and progressions, and who doesn't want a death metal sound or anything super heavy like that. It also would not suit a shredder-type at all. So if "Eruption" is part of your ruitine, pass on this one. Luckily, I'm not a shredder, I'm not into playing anything super heavy sounding, have small hands, and am into mostly indie type stuff, so this guitar suits me perfectly (other than my stolen competition Mustang floating around somewhere in the world...) For Me personally, it's a ten, but I know that for most other people it will be less than perfect to thier needs, so I give it a eight here to compensate.

I have a Fiesta Red Japan made model with the Serial starting with "U" so I have dated it to either late 1995 or early 1996. Regardless, since Kurt only developed it in 1993 and Fender only had the Sonic Blue ready for him to test, he only played it a couple of times people! It wasn't like he slept with the damned thing. Anyway, Fender was working on a Fiesta Red in 1994 for Kurt to test when they learned of his death. So, with this, I think I have one of the original ones, at least original as you can get from Japan. It's got all of the original factory features as well (take this as you will Fender lovers, I think the pickups suck). I have since gotten a hard shell for it, I think it originally came in a pretty flimsy gig bag. The damned tuning pegs are crap and I have had a few guitar doctors check it out to make sure it wasn't something that I was doing, and they all said its a terrible mix of guitars. I agree. The premise was very noble indeed, especially if you have small hands and fingers but if that is the only reason you get one then I recomend going for a regular Mustang. Anyhow, I have since had it prepared for storage because playing the damned thing frustrates me so much that I can't get through one song without getting pissed at the guitar. So, I probably ought to sell it since it is one of the early ones but all those guitar gurus around me tell me to hold onto it, especially since they made some minor modifications and re-released them. I haven't seen any of the new re-issues but from what I hear they are 100 times better than the first ones. I ran into a 2000 Sonic Blue just yesterday at the guitar shop, plugged it in and the action on it was terrible. Someone probably just strung it wrong. Oh yeah, for those who say that I hate it because I play out of the wrong amp---WRONG!--I have had this thing plugged into over 20 different amps, even Fender tube amps, and it just doesn't get it done. Sorry. Maybe it's my guitar, maybe they shouldn't have made them, unfinished (without Kurt's comments--from what I hear he had the same problems that I have). Oh well. I'll be as nice as I can and give it a 6 or 6.5

See above. You have to have one hell of a head or at least a decent box to get this thing to rock. Amps have no effect, at least in my experience with this year jag-stang

Without sounding too harsh, there is a good thing about the pickups and that is that they are easy as hell to change and adjust, same way with the bridge, I think Kurt had that in mind. The strings are easy to change as well. The guitar is as good as it can be as far as manufacturing. It wasn't the factory problem, it was the overzealous decision makers at Fender to push out a guitar just because they could sell it to any moron kid who worshiped Kurt Cobain. They pushed out an unfinished guitar and you can really tell. Maybe I ought to embrace this, maybe it is part of its charm and distinction.

Hell no I would never use this at a gig, especially without backup. One of my favorite guitars is a cheap little 1992 Washburn, which I would rather play 9 out of 10 times over this Fender JAg-STang. As far as the durability it's very good and very strong. I have had no problems with it falling apart or parts breaking. I have played it enough in jams and practice that it will prove to last, however, as I have said, I am ready to put this thing to bed and maybe one day my kids or grandkids will find it in the attic and maybe someone will pay them for it. If not, it will rest in peace but I don't worry that it will fall apart.

The warranty is long expired. I never had to use it. The only interaction with Fender that I had concerning the guitar was that I called them once, in 1998 or 99 and voiced the complains that I have stated above. But, since I was only 21 back then and had high expecations for this guitar, I wasn't as nice or as clean as I have been here. Off the record, the poor guy who had to sit through my rampage about this axe ended up agreeing with me and said that his experience with them was similar. I have been on numerous web-sites and have found very little negative response, why? Is everyone so afraid that Kurt might have not made the perfect guitar? Well, he didn't. And to my knowledge, and when I saw Nirvana in 1993 in Akron, Ohio for the In Utero tour with the Meat Pupets (it was Halloween eve and Kurt came out on stage dressed as Barney the dinosaur) all he played was his collection of Mustangs.

If it were stolen or lost I would try to find the guy and really let him have it, not because I would miss the guitar or would die because it was gone, but simply because of all the crap that guitar has put me through I am going to be the one to decide its fate, not some punk thief. If it is to be destroyed, I must be the one to pull the sleg hammer down. There is nothing you can do or ask about this guitar. You have to know that an idea like this hybrid of two classics (the Mustang and Jaguar) is a neat idea but theoretically impossible. If you didn't figure it out by now, I am going to start to collect Mustangs. The Mustang is the best Fender and in the top three of my collection. Like I said, surprisingly that cheap Washburn is a hell of a guitar.

2003 model sonic blue made in japan
22 frets(i tink), very solid and versitile body
has volume, tone and a 3 way selector switch for each pickup
comes with fender floating tremelo
came with a padded fender gig back and more strings :D
has bass style tuning pegs( stay in tune to the max :P) the neck is thin and feels like so much fucking quality.
single coil in the neck and humbucker in the bridge!!
i bought this to be different im sick of seeing all these rich boys who think they can play guitar with their les pauls and strats ( pisses me off so much)

My band , we play grunk(grungy punk)and i think it suits our style like hellll( beautiful sound love this thing)

im using a PA system but im gettin a tube amp or a valve amp i use a boss ds2 and a ehx small clone full chorus pedal.
no problems with the sound of this

The guitar was set up by the shop really well , dont know why all these fuckers are whining about the tuning issues(WHAT FUCKIN TUNING ISSUES-these people must be usin the tremelo like fuck)should just shut up.
it had no flaws and the body is nice!!

i replaced the strap buttons with locks but id do this on any guitar anyway :P safety first.
I can see this guitar lasting me an ageeeee
id deffo gig it without a backup no problem i can resting this guitar in 2 mins without a string winder so i wouldnt waste time if i snapped a string!

never delt with fender but it has a 10 year warranty

ive been playin a yeer, and i own a start copy, tanglewood i think and the jagstang wipes the floor with it ,
i have played a gibson les paul and jagstang kicks its ass by milesss.

i wish it had more colour variety thats all :D

Sonic Blue 2004 Jagstang. I like the features on it, the vibrato is really cool. The pickup selectors are a little odd, but overall it's a really well done guitar. The volume/tone knobs are kind of ugly, but those can be replaced. ^ ^ Came with a gig-bag, which was nice. Got the retailer to knock off 60 or so bucks, so it cost me a nice 699.00 (CDN).

It his a very full sound, probably because It's made of basswood. It can have a bit of a twang, but by adjusting the tone you can get an awesome sound. However, it does have a bit of a buzz from the low E string. I'd say it's perfect for the grunge sound, which is what I'm into right now.

The guitar has a very nice finish. Everything is very well done.. Can't find a single dent on the guitar.

This guitar is built incredibly solid. It could probably take several strikes against the ground from Kurt. :p I can see this guitar lasting a loooong time. Unless a string broke, I can't see any reason for a back-up guitar.. After playing with this guitar for a while, I must say the finish looks just as good as when I first got it. The reliability and durability that this guitar his is definitely the best feature it's got.

N/A

I've been playing for almost 2 years, and have played on several different guitars in that time. My old guitar was a Baracuda Strat copy, and that thing doesn't even compare. :p I've also played on some other nice guitars, some twice as expensive, and they play as well as this one, but feel less solid. For the relatively cheap cost, I'd say I'm going to be playing this guitar for a loong time, or at least until something as unique looking as this one comes along and catches my eye.

Pretty standard Fender feattures. The red glossy body is nice but the finish shatters like glass when its knocked. Doesnt stand up. A good feature to put in would be a kickstand.

Real nice for twangy sounds and sloppy post rock. The neck pickup is amazing, fat when clean and rough as hell with the filth. The bridge 'bucker IS rubbish though.The switches give lots of variety but the tones are difficult to control with the muddy tone knob.

Plays real well with big fat 0.12 strings. All pretty good, but the finish is way too delicate. Ive replaced my nut once as it broke. Plays nicely all along the neck and its got a nice deep neck with isnt too wide.

THis guitar is weak and the switches are shite. Not only do the crackle and buzz but they get punched through the body when strumming a little hard and the sharp edges have cut up the side of my hand. I know a couple more Jagstang owners and they have all had problems with the switches. Plus the horn strap button just fell out the body leaving it with a loose fit. The tuning on mine is pretty sound though...

Repair is not easy cos its a little bit differnent eg:the switches and fiding replacements

I love this guitar for its easy neck and unique sound. Its makes you play in a certain way.

2003 Sonic Blue. Bought Used but still had the shrink wrap on the pickguard.

Okay, all of you who bitch about the pickups sound like crap- look at the amps you are using! No wonder. Get a real damn amp with tubes! Run mine through a 1969 Fender Deluxe Reverb and it kick royal fucking ass! The humbucker growls a deep gritty tone (thin???) and the single vintage coil sounds just like a Strat or Mustang coil should. So quite your bitching, can those stupid Crate pieces of shit and get a real goddamn amp you wimps!!! Then your Jag-Stang will sound great. Get it dumbasses???

Flawless. The CIJ are probably better thant the MIA Fenders!

Gig with it all the time!!! It Rocks like a bastard!! Blow a fricking Les Pauls ass across town buddy!!!

Haven't needed any.

This is probably one of the most under-rated guitars of all time. The only reason a bunch of people don't like it is that they think you want to be a Kurt Cobain wannabe. Obviously, they are morons with a successfull lobotomy operation! Let's see, the Jag-Stang came from the 1962 Jaguar and 1964 Mustang. Hmmm, a little before Kurt's time right? So, Kurt had the taste to choose something different than a goddamn Strat that every momma's boy plays or panty waist Les Paul wimp. He loved the Mustang (I have 2!) and Jag (got a '64 Red one). However, both could use a little more grunt. The Humbucker in his custom Mustangs and Jags set the design for the Jag-Stang. So, the sound he copped was really from two historic vintage guitars that you don't see every dumbass out there playing!!!

The other bitch you mamma's boys need to get over is the Dynamic Vibrato and tuning issue. Here's the deal girlie-men- take the damn whammy bar off, and use your palm on the bridge! That is what Kurt did and I do it. You get the nice vibrato and it NEVER EVER EVER goes out of tune! I use this on both my Mustangs and the Jag-Stang. You don't have to be a pussy and lock the bridge down for Chris-sake! Learn to play the goddamn instrument you woosies!! So there.

So if guys like Buddy Rogers and other wanna chuck ther Jag-Stangs, send'em my way. I will take them all off your hands!! The guitar looks like it would not be comfortable to play, but it really is the way it hangs on the strap. I thought I would hate the fact it is not contoured like the later Mustangs and Strats, but that doesn't bother me at all. Lemmee tell you one more thing- for Friggin Blues, this axe rocks ass- and hard you motha-fuckas!! So start appreciating what I think will be a definite classic guitar someday.

Now, you have been set straight!!!!

first thanx to mr. kirt cobain for making the best guitar any one has ever made! sence kirt is the best guitar plyer of all time its only right that he should make the best guitar ever. my dad has a startocaster from the early 1940s and is wirth a lot of $ but this jagstang blows it rite away. ill never play a nother guitar.kirt is a guitar genuis!

it sounds fcking AWSOME! way better than my buddies 65 les paul wich is a wimp ass tone. the jagstang is a MANS tone! im amazed that kirt found time in his buzy scedule to make so many great guitars! i see them evrywhere! the man nows tone and the man nows how to biuld a guitar!

fit like a glove! pickups are AWSOME i dont now what evry one is biching about - kirt made GREAT pickups! hes a genuis. he nows his shit!

i havnt played live. will start soon. if it can stand kirt playing it on stage then it can stand N E one playing it on stage!

i wont never need them. this guitar will NEVER dye!

im not some snot nowsed 15 yer old kid thats trying to be something that thay are not. ive been around with YEARS of ixpeereance. im 19 and played for 5 whole years. so you now that i now what im talking about. if you are not awere of kirts genuis than you woodnt be here reading about his guitar.kirts the best.his guitar is the best! nice to hav something made buy his one hands.

Take a look at the other reviews.
Nothing special here.
The switches aren't easy to handle during playing.

The pick-up are pretty bad.
Maybe it would sound a little better if got them replaced. I never replaced them because i dislike the vibrato-bridge as well and i don't think this guitar will ever suit my needs.
Got myself a Gibson Les Paul now, don't even wan't to use my Jagstang for backup.

The action was pretty bad as well, can't get a decent solo out of this one. But for rythem i think it's ok....don't go past the tenth fret.

Don't really know, didn't use it much.

Don't know

Advice: Don't buy a Jagstang. Ain't worth the money, unless you want to do KC-imitations (just the looks, not the sound).
I bought it because I was obsessed by Nirvana at that time, but the guitar is just crap.....waiste of money.

I just want to clear something up about the pickups. KURT COBAIN'S JAGSTANG DID NOT HAVE A DIMARZIO SUPER DISTORTION PICKUP BY THE BRIDGE. Kurt's guitar had a DiMarzio H-3. Many people that know this can't find the H-3, and the reason is that DiMarzio makes the pickup exclusively for Fender and neither of them will sell it (except fender using it in their guitars). If your desperate enough you might be able to find some cheap used guitar with that pickup in it but if not you can use the super distortion or the fender copy of the H-3 that's in the jagstang.

You know what it's got stock. Mine is stock. Mine is Red. Mine is the 96' model. I bought this bastard in 98' at a Pawn Shop for $250 and I'm happy with it. The Blue one I bought at a music store for $600 and I hated it so I sold it. I loved the color but you can't play the color. The color doesn't mean it's not a lemon just because it isn't yellow. So I sold it. When I seen the one I have now, I played it at the Pawn Shop and it was different. I sounded different. It played different. The sound is not the best by far but for the price and the difference I felt in it, I bought it. I will change the pickups one day but not now. I have other irons in the fire and this isn't my main guitar or even my backup. Hell, it's not even my backup's backup.

You've read the review. Yeah, it's true. The stock pickups pretty much suck but it's still a fun little bastard to have around. Just change the pickups if you're that serious about the 'Cobain' way of doing it. Super Distortion in the bridge and Texas Special in the Neck. Presto.

Action if pretty cheesy to be honest, esp for playing up high on the neck. If you use the whammy bar you might as well just fuck off for the rest of the diddy coz' you're outta tune. But then again, alot of the shit you're playing probably sounds good either way whether you're in tune or not because I bet you're just fiddling around in front of a busted amp making feedback jackoff tones. A lot of fun I know but it won't get you laid unless you're playing for a chick named Pandy Fackler.

I wouldn't use this guitar for a main axe. Break it out for the last song. You know the one I'm talking about. Endless Nameless.

Fug em'.

If you were ever into the 'school of grunge' or post punk bullshit, buy this fucker. Run out and get a reissue or hop onto the ebay bus and get an original. Yeah I love playing that shit myself so I'll quit talking trash.

The Fender Jag-Stang is a japan-made beauty. In terms of controls, we have trick looking volume and tone knobs straight off the Fender jazz bass. Even better are the three-way pick-up selectors above each pick-up, which allow you to put them Off, On, or out of phase. A lot of the fun of having this guitar involves these switches, as the sheer number of tones you can get is a science in itself.
The headstock is a very cool looking 60's/70's chunky headstock which gives the guitar a classic Fender look. Added to this, we have vintage styled Fender/Ping machineheads. Very snazzy indeed, and they hold their tune for a long time, which is also a bonus.
As for the neck, we have a maple C-shaped neck with a rosemary fingerboard and vintage styled frets. The inlays are simple but classy circular jobs. The feel of the neck is, for want of a better word, spot on. The radius is thin, but not so thin that you don't have anything to grip. All of the frets can be accessed easily and the guitar is balanced enough not to make removing your fretting hand a danger. Lovely.
Moving down the guitar, we have the pick-ups. While I'm not sure what type they are, Fender have a reputation for engineering great pick-ups at any price, and this is no exception. They have a bright, rich, thin sound that cuts through any mix.
The body itself is great too. While this isn't exactly the purpose of the guitar, no-one wants their axe to look like a piece of driftwood and this certainly doesn't. What we do have, however, is a slab of basswood which sounds beautiful even when unplugged. The body is actually relatively quite small which is nice for the smaller guitarist to feel more proportionate to their axe.
The Fender Dynamic Vibrato bridge is my only slight niggle. On it's own, it does it's job and holds your strings nicely, while maintaining a nice long sustain. However, when you start using the tremolo bar (which is optional) you'll find it putting your strings out of tune stunningly quickly.
Finally, the guitar comes with two nice extras: A gig-bag and some 'Kurt Cobain memorabilia'. The gig bag is the standard functional Fender affair that holds your guitar and some other stuff besides. Nice. On getting my guitar home, I realised a lack of 'Kurt Cobain memorabilia'. On checking with the store about this, it turned out the this actually meant a little picture of the original Jag-Stang drawing that was hanging from the machineheads by some string. Cute.

As a player, I use many different styles in my playing. A bit of rock, a hefty dollop of funk, some acoustic and a smidge of punk. I wasn't nearly expecting the Jag-Stang to cope with all this. If I'd have expected that, I'd have bought a Telecaster. So with a great deal of suprise, I found the guitar toppling all of the styles I usually play, and a few more besides. This really is a very versitile guitar. I ran it through a Jim Dunlop crybaby wah wah to a Crate GX-15 practice amp.
"But this was Kurt Cobain's guitar! It was meant for grunge!" It sure was, so it'd be cruel not to pay homage to Nirvana. Suffice to say, it took mere seconds to nail the distictive tone that made Smells Like Teen Spirit such a huge hit.

I inspected my guitar thoroughly after I go it. Nothing. No defects, no scratches, nowt. The finish is immaculate, which is a testament to the care that is taken at Fender to set the guitar up.

I haven't yet gigged my Jag-Stang, but a number of band practices have shown that this guitar is very reliable and will be for a long long time. So far (after these practices), no part of the guitar is yet showing any signs of wear or tear. I'm looking forward to gigging this guitar because I believe that as long as it's set-up right) it'll withstand it nicely.

I haven't dealt with this side yet so I can't really comment.

In my 3 or so years of guitaring, I have owned 4 other guitars, and none of then are nearly as good as this one. I'd recommend anyone to at least try this guitar.

Hey George Martin, the one talking about the Dimarzio and vintage Fender pups, unless you put those in, you only THINK you are using those pups. Kurt's Jag-Stang had a Dimarzio Super Distortion in the bridge position and a Fender Texas Special in the neck position. So unless you put these in yourself, you're pretty tone deaf unless the Fender pickups are actually any good which usually, they're not on the foreign models (i have a MIJ Mustang) Have a nice day.

1996 LH Jagstang, 1 volume/1 tone control, 2-3 way pickup selector switches. Stock pickups and tuners. Fender dynamic vibrato bridge. Green with rosewood fretboard. Body shape and small neck make for comfortable playing for me. Changed pickup switches in 04. Pots are loose. Will probably change them out this summer.

Play 70's/80's rock and some older surf tunes through Peavey Classic 50 with standard tuning. NO FX other than reverb. Get a very nice bright sound with presence at 8 or 9, bass7/mid5/treble8. Good for light to moderate crunch. Play on the humbucker only (back position). Vibrato bar stays in the case. The pickup selectors give a good variety of sounds, I just haven't figured out what the heck to use them in.

Bought used (and abused). Couldn't get sound out of it in the store (other than hum). Neck was straight, so I bought it cheap as a project. Original(?) wiring was a butcher job, looked like it had been done with a torch. so I rewired it from the ground up. Wrapped electrical tape around bridge posts to stop it from moving around. Setting the intonation is next to impossible without doing this. Raised the action a bit, dropped the pickups, and now I have a perfectly playable guitar.

Seems solid and generally plays well enough. Have to be careful when hard strumming, as I tend to hit the volume knob. It will occasionally go out of tune when bending. Definitely requires a backup.

Never dealt with Fender directly.

I've been playing for 4 years. This was my second guitar, bought about 6 months after I'd started, on advice from a guitar playing friend (hey, it's a left hand Japanese Fender. You'll never find another one that cheap). I appreciate the simplicity of the controls, and how comfortable it is to play. Hate the bridge. Love the sound. Since purchase, I've bought an Epiphone LP, older Charvel, Stratocaster and Ibanez RG. Keep coming back to the Jagstang though...