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.

Mine is a lefty. Stock it comes with a Humbucker and a single coil, both pieces of crap. Cool pickup selector switches. 1 Volume, 1 Tone. Absolute piece of shit Fender "Dynamic Vibrato". Sonic Blue(actually looks more like sea foam green) with bolt-on neck. I bought it for the great, little neck and its cool body. All of the problems with this guitar are fixable, and the good outweighs the bad.

I play music like the Stooges, Sonic Youth, White Stripes, Radiohead, Pavement, Televison, Sex Pistols, Velvet Underground, the Kinks, the Clash, Jefferson Airplane and a lot more. My usual setup is Fender Jag-Stang>Boss XT-2>EH Small Clone>Fender Princeton 65.

If you want a guitar that you can only play with distortion because of its crappy voicing, leave it stock. If you want it to be able to make more than one sound, switch the pickups. I chose a Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge and APS-II in the neck. These are two great pickups and I would recommend them to anyone. The tuners are horrible too so change them. Before the mods it would have gotten a 3 in this catergory, but I am giving a rating for after the mods

well I really can only comment on the finish, because I bought this guitars 2nd hand. Its great, no flaws I can see. Sonic Blue/Seafoam Green wouldn't be my first choice for a finish, but that really doesn't matter

Strap buttons strip easily, I've heard that the finish chips easily as well.

I don't regret getting this guitar. It's beatiful and the neck is my favorite. I forget how much I paid for it, but I'm sure it was worth it.

when i was young, dumb, and 15 it was the best guitar ever. By the time i turned 16, i realized the single coil suck and dumped a PAF into it. by the time i was 17 i realized the tuners sucked so bad that i stopped playing it. im 21 and now it hangs on my wall with 11 others.

The sound would be pretty good if i was tone def, but i hear notes, and these are not good. it never tuned right. it has a nice tone though.

the action sucks, along wiht the tremolo. The finish is pretty plain, i think it would be hard to mess that up.

reliability.. yes, this guitar is ideal for mediocre play.

dude, its kurt cobains guitar... woooaaahhhhhhhhh

For all the kids out there that are bleaching their hair and growing it out and have 100000 pictures of kurt on their wall, this is the guitar for them. It gives them a false sense of security that everything will be alright. After reading most of the 10 10 10 10 reviews, i couldnt be more sure of it. I was that stupid ass kid once, but now that ive played other guitars and moved on past the fact that he died, i realize this guitar really sucks. im sure his wasnt too crappy. ask the guy in REM since he has it now.

For the people that think he was a great guitarist, you couldnt be more blind. he was a songwriter, and lacked imensely in his guitar PLAYING ability. most of the people that got one of these probably do too, though.

Ok, this guitar was built in japan, has a humbucker ( fender dragster ) in the bridge and a sincle coil in the neck along with mustang stylee pickup selectors, mine is lefthanded and in fiesta red, which is nice. The neck is 24 scale which i love, it has a mustang tremlow that i locked down just cause i don't uses it, this improves the tuning stability.

I play grunge style music mainly ( not just nirvana , soundgarden , mudhoney, meat puppets, melvins ) the guitar sounds ok if you have a good amp with lots of gain but the pots and caps in the guitar make the humbucker sound week, although well balanced ( actually slightly bright but i like this ) , although actually its an alright bucker, so i swapped it out for a duncan full shred which i love, i reviewed that as well. The sincle coil is relly cool, nice and surfy.All the pickup selections are usable and all of them are cool locking down the bridge improves sustain as well. Once i did the mods this guitars sound gets a 10 easily .

The guitar was set up well by the shop i bought it off, pickups needed raising abit but thats all. The wood this guitar is made of ( basswood ) is very soft and dints easily, this is the only thing i really don't like about the guitar. everything was asembled soundly. On mine anyway.

I'd say it is a very reliable guitar, maybe a strap lock wouldn't go a miss , i always gig with a backup though just in case. Like i say the finish does crack and dint easily.

never dealt with them

I've owned this for about half a year , and i'm very pleased with it especially after moding it. It will always be my favorite guitar jus because it has sooooooo much character, its imperfect , but show me a guitar that isn't.

Fender fabricada en Japon...22 trastes...Mastil delgado...Volumen y tono...puente Dynamic Fender Vibrato...un selector con tres posiciones para cada pastilla.....
Y un color azul que es muy verde
?Que mas puedo decir que no se haya dicho ya?Pues que la forma es perfecta, es una guitarra preciosa, aunque la pintura salte si se te cae al suelo.

El sonido es genial. Gran variedad tonal, sirve para todo, yo la uso para hacer metal, grunge, rock alternativo... Y suena aun mejor si la conectas a un buen pedal Fuzz, me gusta como suena con el DOD FX33 o con el EH Big Muff.

El mastil es muy comodo y suave, es muy facil de tocar, las clvijas son muy precisas, aunque es un poco dificil cambiar la posicion del selector de las pastillas a mitad de cancion sin que se note

Le salta la pintura con los golpes, por lo demas bien.

Una gran guitarra que deberia volver a fabricarse, esta vez con las pastillas que puso Cobain en vez de con las baratas que venian de fabrica.

meh, just read all of the others. I just want to say that this is the most comfortable guitar on the face of the planet. i have wanted one for years because of its incredible ergonomics. i still dont have one, but my good friend does, and i want to take it from him!

okay.

why does it come in fruity blue?reds okay, but the pearl pick guard is really nice.

uh huh, reliable like an ox.

well the fender factory is by my house, and i have learned that they are stingy with blemished parts. but i guess they would be cool if they sold you a crappy axe.well, i think any plywood guitar is crap
(i had a mexican strat, and when i smashed it i was amazed to see the sides. thats right, plywood!)

nice geetar. put a sticker over the Fender and its a date. I wouldnt go on stage with a guitar that cost $300 for the name on it. get a Kramer. the striker is awesome. it didnt take me long to find out Fender stopped making good guitars in the 50's. well, im sure you could get a nice fender if you want to pay $1000. but after 8 years i know im gonna stay off of the fender wagon.

this guitar was made in japan like every other jag-stang in 1995.
it has 22 frets. 2 3-way pick up selectors. volume and tone dials. it has 1 single coil (stock) and a JB humbucker. a very thin neck.
the best neck ever IMO. came with original case with "designed by kurt cobain" writen on the front.

the sound is soooooooo good. i play lots of different styles and it suits the lot of them. there is no better guitar for sound IMO.
i use it with a small clone chours and a big muff. both pedals suit the guitar perfectly.

the guitar is set up very well. i didnt get it from the factory. the guy who owned this before me set it up and set it up well.
the pickups are fine. no buzzing or anything.
the guitar has a few chips which is expected with a second hand guitar IMO.

havent giged with it but my sister dropped it half way down the stairs and it was fine. the neck was still straight and the body got no new scratches. this guitar will definatly last.
i would use this guitar at a gig without backup. my baby would never let me down.

na

overall i think this guitar is the kind of guitar that will stay with you forever. i love it.

Going from the serial number, this is a new Jag-Stang, imported to the UK from Japan by Music Ground in Leeds.
It's totally stock.
Jap pickups which rock, I dont care what anyone says.
Versatile Switching, on/off in/out phase.

This guitar gets used for everything. The HB can really rip when you've got it overdriven. Tuning the guitar down a tone gives you a bowl churning Limp Bizkit/Linkin Park growl. The Single Coil, although typically noisy, offers a very warm authentic vintage sound. I really can't emphasise how good these pickups are, everyone seems to slate them, but I'm perfectly happy with them. I play alongside another gutarist who has a Mex Fat Strat, and tone for tone, the Jag-Stang is warmer, and much more Fender sounding. I play with Fender strings, Steel 350s, 10-46 gauge. These give a higher and clearer output that then stock strings, as well as tuning stability.
I know Kurt stuck a duncan JB into his Jag-Stang, so I may try one someday, but I think I'll keep the stock one, this will also ensure the Jag keeps it's value!!!

There were two guitars at the shop. One for #650 and one for #550. The 550 had a bad pearloid finish, and the SC pickup was corroded, otherwise if was fine. The 650 was perfect except for the body which showed the wood joins under the light. I know that this can happen with time anyway, so I got the 650 guitar : who was to say that the truss rod wasn't corroded on the other? I'd rather not risk it!
The neck was not straight, so I had to loosen the bolts and put it right, this may have been transit damage or just a shit setup from the factory. Now LISTEN UP !!! Another interesting difference between the guitars was the tuning stability. I had read up on the JS before I got it, and knew about the problems people have had, so I checked both guitars, did a few divebombs. What I found was interesting, the 550 guitar fell out of tune after a divebomb, the 650 was fine, no problems at all!!!! To quote the UK Fender guru (I forgot his name for the moment) he said at Music Live 2001 " If you set up your Fender right, it will stay in tune, no matter how hard you play it, there really is no need for a floyd rose". So there you go, it's true. Take care putting the strings on, no overlaps, stretch the strings, only tune up, not down.
Other than the finish, the guitar is perfect.

Never played live with it, and I don't know if I would dare, I would kill myself if I scratched it.

I'm contemplating getting a Cyclone as a stage guitar. (I currently have a Westfield Strat, which sucks). I think it would stand up to alot of abuse if it needed to.

If I had to, I would play it live, and I wouldn't fear the guitar would let me down, I'm just scared I would let IT down. So a 10!

Arbiter are a shit company and don;'t know their arses from their elbows, but the Fender Guru is the nicest, most helpful guy you could ever deal with, I have spoek with him frequestly via e-mail about buting the JS and my AMP, a Fender RocPro1000.
The place I bought it have given me a 12 month setup warranty, so I can take it in at any point and have the neck truss rod done, nut filed or whatever for free.

I've been playing for 9 years. This is the best guitar I have ever owned. I don;t regret buying it at all, it was overpriced, so I took a risk, but I would gladly have paid double if I had known what a fantastic guitar it was, it's worth every penny.
If someone stole it, I would kill them. Then I would find another stock JS from somewhere, which is hard coz everyone seems to modify them : NO NEED , NO NEEEEED!!!!!!
I am contemplating getting both a stage Cyclone, and a Custom Shop Jag-Stang, with a cobalt-blue flame maple top, and a Hot Vintage-Noiseless SC pickup, that's all I'd change with the guitar.

If you wann hear it, check out my webpage at www.REBORNONLINE.com, there should be some MP3 tracks to download from my band.

I think it was 1997, made in japan, volume and tone controls, 1 single coil and 1 humbucking, sonic blue with a white perload pickguard

I usually play punkrock/grunge ( nirvana style )
I have a marshall valvestate 8080 combo and use a boss ds-2 turbo ditortion effect pedal.
The humburcker in bridge is a dimarzio super distortion. It's sounds amazing, especially in overdrive

The finish is very good, the color is cool but the factory single coil pickup is a shit. The neck is the best, is very thin and playability. The unique problem is the tuning, is very difficult stay tung

I have this guitar only nine months, there is no problem. I play hard and it's perfect

I don't nedded

In my opinion this is the best guitar of the world to play punkrock and grunge, the sound is loud, the body is very hard, a very thin neck. The sounds like Nirvana. Kurt Cobain designed the best guitar

This is an update on my previous review. Here is my Jag-Stang as to the list above.
1.) Its a 1998 50th Anniversary Fender Model with the gold sticker
on the back of the headstock, and as with all Jag-stangs, it's
Made in Japan.
2.) 22 Vintage Frets
3.) Volume, Tone, 2 3-way Pickup switches (On/off/On)
4.) Neck angled single coil, angled bridge humbucker
5.) Emg SA-1 (Neck, its actually a stacked humbucker), EMG 81 (Bridge)
6.) Active Pickups (Not the cheapie select pickups)
7.) Basswood Body (Really Hard Basswood), Maple neck with Rosewood
Fingerboard.
8.) Finish (3 inch thick chip'n'go Sonic Blue)
9.) The Mustang GT of Fender guitars Jag-Stang Shape
10.) Fender Dynamic Tremelo (Correction: Fender Super Whammy 98')
11.) Schaller DeLuxe Kluson Copy tuners
12.) 24" scale fingerboard, Thin Neck, Vintage Frets (I think we have
gone over this already).
13.) Came with a Black Tolex Case

Who needs more stuff than this on a guitar.

As many probably have already guessed
A.) I am a Heavy Metal/Grunge/New Wave/Jazz Guitarist
B.) I Use an Epiphone SC28 Chorus Amplifier With a Boss ME-6 Multi-FX
Pedal and a DOD Compressor/Sustainer pedal.
and C.) I Frequently Review on this Site.

I have changed my Jag-Stang a little more sience when I got it and the things I haven't changed are getting better with age. It is silent as the midnight air, until the dark tones emanate from the dark little EMG's with a vengance. this guitar has a rich and Full sound, and sience I shortened the wiring a little, it has more output than any of my other guitars. This booger sounds like mad and hungry giant. I love this guitar and it's heavy and dark sound.

Sience last time, my little Jaggie has gatehered a few nicks and scratches and Strap Loks that have been super glued in, but this guitar leads a HARD life putting up with all of my crap. Currently it is my misalighened stringed main axe that kickes the butt out of a Floyd Crappo-Rose equipped Ibanez. I have found a crack under the pickgaurd along the wall where the neck sits, and it hasen't crumbled in pain yet. As far as aging, this guitar is like all Fenders, it ages with the grace of a supermodel blessed with permanent beauty.

For a guitar with a Fender Tremelo that thinks it will out-do a Kramer Baretta guitars Floyd Rose , what I am about to say will shock you to death if you own a Jag-stang: I SEE NOTHING WRONG WITH THE JAG-STANG TREMELO, PEOPLE WHO SAY A JAG-STANG CANNOT DO DIVE BOMBS AND SWOOPS NEED TO SIT UNDER THEIR TREE AND THINK ABOUT HOW TO DO IT AWHILE, I HAVE DONE IT AND MANY OTHERS CAN AND MAY ALREADY HAVE. So I will share this little "My Jag-Stang Thinks It's a Jackson Soloist" trick. first you must take some really thin Scotch Tape or 3M tape (The kind you tape envelopes closed with) and wrap a VERY small amount around the action screws on the floating bridge, when you do this you must carefully screw them back into the bridge and make sure they are tight enough to stay in place. Next, you unscrew the bridge plate and take a large pair of pliers and tighten the posts that hold the tremelo springs (I use pliers because the hex keys are less reliable and prone to strip the heads of the screws). Finally you reassemble the whole tremelo including the whammy bar and install some REALLY light strings like 8's or 9's and you will have travel set EXTREMELY far downward. Your Whammy bar should be more than an inch or two or three off of the pickgaurd. It will take some practice and some breaking-in before the tremelo reaches the point of tuning stability like mine has (about a month of regular play or less). By then you should maybye see (If You are a Really abusive trem user) some bending up near the pivot holes in the tremelo plate, DON'T PANIC, this is normal and your guitar should have good to excellent tuning stability with heavy tremelo use, and if you did it right you should expierence some upward tremelo travel. A key note to the tuning stability is to do a few quick dive bombs and retune when you install new strings. I will put a Disclaimer that I am not responsible if you do this and damage your guitar, i have had this guitar more than a year and have not had a problem.

Won't Ever need it!!!

I have been playing 6 years alltogether, almost a year of that with Lithium. This guitar has been my main axe sience I started playing with the band (and Sometime before). I will never get stolen because ........
A.) I Keep this guitar within my sight at all times at gigs.
B.) I Sleep with this guitar next to my bed.
C.) This guitar has done a wonderous job of hurting others (Just ask
some of my friends...).
and of course, the mother of all D.) The person who stole this guitar would be sued, arrested, booked, molested, nettled, and so tortured and punished he or she would not want to see a Jag-Stang much less he Designed by Kurt Cobain sticker again. This has been and will always be one of my main guitars, it was my first wife, my Kramer was my first date, but this one, in the words of Stevie Ray Vaughn, was and is my First wife.

Mustang with weird shape , humbucker and single in neck
Mustang style bridge
The coolest shape ever!

the sound is great and all the settings are usable , although a little noisy , with a JB this guitar is brilliant , although in stock its better than any piece of shit fucking IVE BEEN HAD (ibanez) they fucking suck, o anyway , it sounds great

Brilliant setup good lowish action and good sustain

Ive had it for 5 years and its never let me down

great

Amazing , mind blow jobing , i love it.It beats any POS ibanez they are the worst company dont buy the worst guitar ever - an Ibnez Rg
buy the best fender!!!!!!

Made: 1996
Frets : 22
Colour : Sonic Blue
Pickguard : White Pearloid
Controls : 1 Volume, 1 Tone
Pickup Configuration : S/H
Neck Pickup : Texas Special Single Coil Copy (Quite nice, twangy)
Bridge Pickup : Dimazio H-3 Humbucker Copy (Weak, but balanced)
Electronics : Passive
Body : Basswood (Soft as Hell, dings up real easy and the strap button will strip out on you)
Neck : Maple, with Rosewood fretboard
Body type : Unconventional, Mixture of Jaguar (top horn and back butt) and Mustang (lower horn, upper butt) bodies
Bridge : Fender Dynmamic vibrato (Mustang - style) [very poor for tuning stability]
Tuners : Old Mustang Non Locking style [very poor tuning stability]
Neck : Regular width, Short 24" scale
Case: Hardshell

I play a lot of alternative rock, not necessarily just Nirvana and grunge related stuff. I use it a lot in my band and we play much different style of much to Nirvana, (not totally power-chord orientated for a start). I am using it with a Small Clone, Boss DS-2, Boss OD-2R, CryBaby, and a 100 W Marshall Half Stack, and it sounds great. I did however, have to modify it significantly before I was happy with it: The neck is fantastic, but the pickups suck, particularly the bridge, so I changed them out for a Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge and a Seymour Duncan 1/4 Pounder in the neck. This greatly changes the way the guitar sounds, and it's very versatile now. However, the tuning stability was still very poor, especially with new strings, so I locked the tremelo and fixed the bridge to sort that out. For details see www.jag-stang.com .
It's not noisy at all.
It has a rich, full sound on the bridge pickup, and using the pickups out-of-phase yields a nice Mustang-esque "thin" tone. This is an extremley versatile guitar now and could be used for anything from hard rock to blues to jazz. I'd probably draw the line at thrash metal though, which I hate anyway.

Rating is post-modification

The factory setup was great, and the advantage of this short-scale, flipped tailpiece guitar means that heavy gauge strings can be played at a very low action since the tension is much higher.

The pickups were well adjusted, providing optimal output and sustain.

This guitar is an integral part of my live setup, and I love the way it plays. I'd rely on it if my life depended on it! This is all of course due to the tuning modifications I carried out, otherwise it would be less useful in a live setting.

The finish does chip off easily, it must be quite a thin coating, but that isn't really a factor for me.

As I said before, the strap button did strip out, but that only took some wood filler to fix. 2 minute job and it ain't ever coming back out.

Never dealt with Fender

Ive been playing for 10 years, and this is a fantastic guitar, the neck is the best feature and its so hard to get a guitar with a neck this good these days.

I would be really annoyed if I lost it because they are really rare and its my favourite. I like the fact that my mods make it unique. I love the sounds, I dont really hate anything, but I guess the tremelo is a bit silly until you lock it.

I also have a Hondo Les Paul copy, a squier strat and an Epiphone Riviera. This is my most played and favourite guitar. Buy one, it's worth it.

Made in 1997, in Japan. Finish is Fiesta Red. The bridge is similar to a tune-o-matic with a "floating" capability. The pickups are able to go in and out of phase with the proper setting of the pickup switches.

My musical style is fairly diverse. I play Brit-rock, blues, and some world music. I grew up on Heavy Metal though, and I will sometimes still crank it up! The Jag-stang sounds great. When I purchased it, I had planned on replacing the bridge pickup with something that would have real definition and character. However, after playing the guitar for awhile I realized that I had jumped the gun. The bridge pickup in my Jag-Stang is really ballsy! It is perfect for many subgenres of rock. It is a very quiet pickup that packs loads of punch. The single coil is suitable for a variety of smooth tones. I am running the guitar through a Digitech RP100 and a Vox Pathfinder. I know that many people have had problems with the pickups and that is why I initially planned on changing them. However, mine are just fine. Also, I own nine other electrics including several American Fenders and I have had pickip work done on all of them.

The action was not suited to my taste, so I had my local tech set it up for me. This is something I would have done anyway because I believe all guitars, especially new ones, need to be set up. Since the set up, the guitar stays in tune perfectly and there is no buzz or rattle. My tech did tell me that some of the frets were a little higher than they could be, but this has not posed a problem. The pickguard has a slight bit of warpage to it, but I knew this when I purchased it as it was a "blemished" product.

The guitar appears to be very solid. I mean hey. it's a Fender. The hardware seems sturdy and the finish is beautiful.

I have dealt with Musician's Friend many times before and they have always been very kind and helpful. I've never had to deal with Fender.

I've been playing for 17 years. If the guitar were stolen or lost I'd buy another. As I said before, I have many more guitars and this one is not my favorite, but that is simply becuse I prefer Srats. It is a very fine instrument and it was an absolute steal for the amount of money I paid for it. I have had no problems.

MIJ, not sure of date of manufacture, but it has the Fender anniversary sticker on the back of the headstock. 24" scale, 22 vintage frets, basswood body, and you can read all of the rest of the features in the many other reviews on this guitar.

I bought this guitar knowing that I would need to make some modifications to it. Fender once listed it as one of its "Collectible" series guitars (or something like that), but I bought it for playing. The original issue hardware was not very good, so my ratings for the guitar are for the guitar after modification. If you buy this guitar and plan to play it stock, you may likely be disappointed. I got the thing on a closeout and thought I would see what I could do with it. See my modifications below.

With the new pickups, the guitar can go from nice clean (almost twangy) to fire-breathing monster. Clean or high volume/high gain, it sounds just fine. I have used the guitar with a variety of amps including a Peavey 5150 combo, Mesa Dual Rectifier, and a Peavey Bandit. At home I put it through an Allen Class Act combo. Sounds great for grunge (of course), hard rock, metal, and so on. It wouldn't be my first choice for country, jazz, semi-hollow body-type stuff...

I once had a guitarist in another band laugh at me when I took my Jag-Stang out of its case (yes, I bought a nice tolex case for it) while getting setup to play a battle of the bands-type show. "What a piece of sh**," says he. Yeah, well, I plugged it in to a Peavey 5150 and this guy's jaw dropped. His next comment was something like, "Wow, that piece of sh** sounds friggin' sweet...let's see that thing." What a knucklehead! It wouldn't sound as nice stock I'm afraid.

One tone that I don't use often is the out-of-phase setting that is available with this axe. Putting the selector switches in opposite directions yields a ratty, funky, lo-fi sound that would be difficult to reproduce with many other guitars.

The guitar is not noisy, although the Texas Special can yield a bit of noticeable 60 cycle hum. All-in-all it sounds great for what it does.

I should mention modifications. First, I stripped off the vintage-style tuners in favor of some high-grade Schaller locking tuners. Next, I dumped the stock pickups and added a Seymour Duncan JB humbucker for the bridge and a Fender Texas Special single coil bridge pickup for the neck (instead of the designated Texas Special neck pickup). Then, I took electrical tape (as described at www.jag-stang.com) and secured the bridge to keep it from moving back and forth. After that, I installed Schaller straplocks. Finally, I opened up the tremolo plate, removed the springs, and locked down the tailpiece. FWIW, the tailpiece can be locked down using 6mm screws (yes, good ol' metric), metric nuts, and metric washers. After the changes, this guitar does not go out of tune.

The guitar's action on the low E measures out at 6/64" at the 17th fret without a capo at the first fret. The action at the high E is closer to 4/64 or 5/64" with very little truss rod relief. A little higher action is needed on this guitar's 7.25" radius fretboard to avoid buzzing, but even with this setup, the guitar is incredibly easy to play.

My guitar does not seem to have the same problems that have plagued some other reviewers. The paint job on mine isn't quite as fragile, the wood is holding up just fine, and it hasn't fallen apart, but then again, I'm not using it as a skateboard either.

I expect it to do well. I gig with it without problems, but I have other guitars, too. Again, everything is great after modifying the daylights out of it. The main thing for me is that the guitar must stay in tune and produce useable tones without microphonic feedback or other problems. It does what I ask it to do. Get one cheap, make the changes, and then enjoy it for what it is.

Called them on the phone once. Everything was fine and they answered my questions.

Before mods, this guitar gets a 5. After mods, it gets an 8. I have been playing for about 12 years or so. I also own a Fender U.S. Fat Telecaster, a Peavey Wolfgang Special, and a Gibson Les Paul Special. I would buy it again, knowing that I could change it. In fact, I have been toying with the idea of having Fender make me a Custom Shop Jag-Stang with a different bridge setup and some other features, but we'll wait and see about that.

Like all Jag-stang guitars my was made in Japan. 22 frets, Vol. and Tone controls, two two position pickup switches, 1 single coil pickup at the neck position and a humbucker at the bridge. The body is made out of Basswood and the finish is in Fiesta Red. The neck is a wierd "termo-shit" thing that can be lowered down to a stoptail (much better).
The guitar is beautiful!!!

The guitar sounds amazing! I play mainly blues and this guitar does the trick! The clean sounds are just perfect, You have tons and tons of different sounds with the two two position pickup switches and the vol. and tone knobs. You can boost the distortion up and this baby will handle it just fine... But if you want to creat a BEAST out of it just buy a JB humbucker and put it in the bridge and you will get the best sounding guitar ever! a Lot of people think that if you write good stuff about the Jag-stang or even own one you are stupid cuz' Kurt Cobain (RIP) from Nirvana co-disigned it, And the way he plays guitar he knows shit about them... WRONG! Even if you are the biggest Nirvana hater of all times and can forget that you should hate this guitar, Give it a try... Don't say I didnt told you that you might just get hooked! The only reason that I won't give it a 10 is that I had to buy the JB to it... But then again Kurt installed a JB on his right as he got it!

Great action, BEST FENDER NECK IN THE WORLD! Perfect for small hands and very good for playing at high speeds! Might take a little while to get used to, But you will be happy to own a guitar with this kind of small neck! The factory pickups are not the best and where setup pretty well (Humbucker had to be raised just a little). The only reason I am giving a 9 here is that the switching buttons are "at the way" when you are playing hard (Located on top of the pickguard).

This guitar is made for LIVE and LOUD playing! a Sound that will rock the audience and a look that will surly dazle them!

Never dealed with them.

One of the best sounding guitar it the world! And surly one of the most beautiful! a Real masterpiece... If you liked the Mustang BUT IT! If you have a band and want a great guitar with great looks and all the sounds you will ever want from a real FENDER!!!!

* The guitar stays in tune well after a good setup!!

The features are as sweet as can be , i mean look at the damn thing its a bueat , so features this baby gets a ten. The metal , coming out of the pick gaurd very nice , the sparkly white, very nice. The nobes are mustangy and the shape is made perfect i love it , kurts the man, and the frets are easy to hit and so on. cool head stock also, just overall kick a**!

Well i play grunge , mostly nirvana , don't care if grunge is dead it ,still agunist.Which is nice, i use a dod grunge petal , and this guitar is great for distortion and getting different sounds you can really play around and get almost and sound you want. THis guitar isn't for some one who wants a nice sound like someone who plays blues or somthing, but if you don't play shitty music then this is the guitar for you. great sound

easy to play , setups great , pickups could be better but they will do . The only flaw i can see is that it goes out of tune alot but that can be fix , easyly. The feel is really nice it fits nice when played , and is light on your neck. rock on!

This baby is as durabile as a guitar can get , every thing was made very strong and sterddy. you can most definaltely can relie on it, if i were ever to smash it , i would definately have to hit a good dozen times before it broke.

I haven't had to deal with the company yet ,

i ve been playing for 10 years and this is a kickass guitar, good if you like grunge for sure , so buy it. i choose this guitar cause it looked kickass , and i still like it cause it plays nice to. If it were stolen , i would cry a bit , then id kick the guys ass who took it after that i would probally laugh, then i would probally cry relizeing i lost my baby, then id laugh again remebering the time i hit the guy whos stole my guitar with my foot,ha ha ha , what a good time that was , ha ha ha , then id probally cry again. Ha then id laugh once more remebering the time i hit a bunny on the side of the road , then i would cry remebering the way fluffy look at me , sniff..then id laugh rembereing the time i ate a bug by acedent.