Fender Jaguar Classic Player Special

This is a follow-up on my earlier review, now almost a year later. Mine is the candy apple red s/s Jaguar, which is made in Mexico. It is still in perfect playing condition, also still tremdous sounding and looking great as well. I play this almost every day and still doesn't show any ill effects so do they hold up ? Yes, they truly do ! It is a real treat to play with it's shorter neck and it intones spot on.

I play 50-s and 60's country, rock-n-roll and rock-a-billy and it serves up a sweet Fender tone. I especially like the neck pickup when played by itself, rock solid yet mellow and well balanced. It's perfect for mimicing Duane Eddy. I add alot of reverb and tremolo from my Line 6 Flextone 2x12 and they nail it. The bridge pickup is typical Fender twang. I still use 09-42's strings. No feedback, no rattles, etc. Bright if needed, mellow if needed. As you know, a Jaguar has it's own sound.

My only regret is that I have to remove the neck to set the neck's relief, no big problem but this chore could be eliminated by adding a neck that would allow the player to adjust the truss rod via the peg head. I really like the medium jumbo frets over the USA/MIJ/CIJ narrow vintage frets, these jumbos play great. Still no flaws or other dislikes on this guitar.

This will and does hold up with the best of any guitars. It holds it's tuning perectly. I use the trem's lock button to lock out the trem at the bridge and use it as a hardtail. Very dependable !

Never have had to use an support. Dealer will take care of any problems.

I can't brag enough on this new guitar, it plays as well as any USA/MIJ/CIJ Jags plus the price is cheaper. I use this Jag along with 2 Logan Custom teles and they make all the music that I need. I still thank Leo Fender for inventing this different but great guitar back in the early 60's. The earlier Jags were a bear to play with their string rattle, strings popping out of nut or bridge, etc. The newer MIM Jags are a real treat to play now that the factory has perfected and improved this model more.

My made in Mexico Jag was bought new in December 2008, this is the 2nd wave of new MIM Jags made with the first ones put out for sale in August 0f 2008. It's candy apple red which is very nicely finished, fret work is tops despite rough finishing/sanding of the rosewood board. Everything else including electronics, finish, etc., was very good. The alder body handles the Jag pickups real good, gives a nice ping when using both pickups. Neck pickup is smooth and it does compliment the bridge pickup when both are used. By itself, it is so so in my opinion. The back of the neck finish is great, smooth as silk. I do really like the 9.5" radius neck the MIM models offer with medium jumbo frets. Very nice and fast !

I use my Flextone III 212 with this guitar and they both sound great, no noise with lots of sound options mostly due to the Flextone. I keep the tremolo locked out and use it like a hardtail. The shorter than normal 24 inch scale does intone great, it fits me great and it plays like an expensive custom made model. Sounds go from strat like pings to bluesy Les Paul. Pretty good guitar for the money. Great for older country, early rock-n-roll, rock-a-billy, etc.

No real complaints here, everything was put together decently, frets were finished very well, back is neck is super smooth, rosewood fretboard plays great despite a few rough sanded edges. No real flaws anywhere, the guitar was put together much better than I had hoped for, so gotta give credit where credit is due. It's candy apple red finish is sharp and done very nicely. Saddles work fine and as intended, tuners run smooth and hold, nut is well done, frets well done. No noises, rattles, etc. Pretty solid guitar.

No problems with this guitar holding up, it seems well built and well put together. It is hefty for an alder body. Finish looks like an inch deep and is well buffed. Will use any time and any where with no backup, seems very reliable. Strap buttons have been replaced by strap locks. I bought a new Fender Case to fit this Jag and I really wasn't too happy with it's quality for the price. Poor padding, cheap locks, etc...but the wide 14 1/2 inch body of a Jag limits what cases a guy can buy for it. American Musical offers a RockCase for $63 shipped that is just about as good as the Fender case. I bought a RockCase for my MIJ Jag H/H, great fit !

Buy your Fenders thru a good reliable dealer, let them deal with Fender for replacement parts, have never had any problems doing this and have never had to go to Fender. All credit goes to the Vox Box in Marshall, MO who is the dealer. They are great to work with and will make things right.

Been playing 60 + years, owned a USA Jag in the mid 60's that wasn't the best guitar in the world. Strings rattled, saddles rattled, string flew off saddles, tremolo was always out of tune, etc. This MIM Jag is much better than my old Jag and a lot cheaper to boot. This guitar is sharp looking, well balanced, nice playing and nice sounding...everything I had hoped for. I would replace it for another one exactly like it, yes ! I also have a MIJ Jag H/H black beauty and it is a piece of perfection, it prompted me to try this MIM CAR Jag. Glad I own both.

Interestingly enough, I picked this up because I didn't go to Cologne/K??ln (where previous reviewer is) as I had planned. With some extra money in my pocket, I decided to see if guitar center had any which of course they did. Features? It's a Jaguar, the guitar with more features than almost any other guitar on the planet. This is the HH model, so the Rhythm circuit is gone and replaced with a master kill and two splitters. Lower panel is normal with two on/off switches and a mid-cut, and there is the normal volume and tone knobs. They seem to work for both pickups. There is no manual for this thing, so you have to figure it out, I guess. The tremolo is a little different as it screws in, but it still locks, so that is good. I've seen many complain about the reconfiguration of the top control panel, but I think it's pretty good.

I'm already sick of all the traditionalists whining that this guitar has been butchered. I think it's a breathe of fresh air into a stagnant and over priced line. I've been wanting a Jaguar for over ten years. I like the way they sound, but at the same time feel that I would more than likely rather have humbuckers. The feel of the guitar is most important to me here. I didn't want to pay well over a thousand dollars for a guitar that I would probably swap the pickups and bridge out on. This guitar sounds great and I think that the humbuckers and splitting features greatly enhance the sonic capabilities of this guitar. It is a lot more well rounded now. In "Single coil mode", this guitar sounds close enough to a "traditional" Jaguar in my opinion. With the bridge moved up and the neck tilted more, it still doesn't sustain like a Strat or Paul. I typically play hard rock and blues (this guitar sounds GREAT for blues), but will at times slip into a little Metal or Punk Rock. This guitar will suit all fine.

Here's where MIM shines. Yeah, the finish is nice and shiny and well buffed. There was a tiny touched up ding on the bottom of the lower bout from the factory. Also, the top control panel wasn't placed perfectly. It seems to have been assembled in a hurry and the control plate was put on in such a way that it slightly caught on the pickguard and was screwed in slightly over the pickguard. I easily fixed this at home, but the fact that this slipped through their Q.C. bothers me. Also, the control plate with the Jack in it doesn't perfectly align with the pickguard. Action is surprisingly good being MIM and for some reason, the trem doesn't seem quite right to me. I will have to delve into that later. The guitar itself feels like a normal Jaguar and plays nice. The feel of the guitar is what has drawn me to it, and I am happy with that.

I've only had it for a couple of days now. We'll see what happens when I begin to gig it. The finish seems to be good and durable. I tore the strap buttons off immediately for strap locks.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing for 15 years. I have pretty wide assortment of Fender and Gibson guitars and typically play through Fender and Marshall Amps. Overall, this is a nice guitar and an even more versatile Jaguar. I am impressed at the level of quality in this guitar for being MIM. At the same time, for being MIM, it's still a little high priced. I think I would like to see even more quality for $800. This one, I feel belongs in the $650 range. Things that I love/hate? I love the new setup with the humbucking pickups and was impressed by the factory setup. I love the tonal range and feel of the guitar. I hate that I buy a brand new guitar and have to re-fit certain parts of it.

This Model is a new one from the Classic Player Series of Fender. Introduced in June 2008. I asked my local Dealer in Cologne, Germany, to get one to look at. As i looked...I played it unplugged...plugged it in...and had to buy it !
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The finish is candy apple red with a mint green pickguard, lightly aged Hot Jaguar single coil pickups, 22 medium jumbo frets on a rosewood neck, Cluson-style so called pin-tuners. Haven??t changed the strings yet, so no experience with those...
The tremolo-arm is a screwing one, which is a big improvement in my opinion - and the bridge is (did Fender listen to the guitar-god ?) a tune-o-matic style.
The guitar looks fantastic, not cheap as I expected, ??cause it??s a mexican made. Comes with a light unusable gig-bag, no cable, no strap, no case, pretty poor for that amount of money! I will look for a nice case. This baby needs to sleep well...

I play since 1984 and own a lot of different guitars, most Fender, Gretsch, Gibson - I am too poor not to buy qualitiy in life.
Among the expensive stuff I collected an use so far this instrument is outstanding. Because: for that money it is incredibly finished and sounds simply as a good Jaguar should sound like. Typical Surf and Psycho, Spy, Rock-Sounds.
I wasn??t shure if the new pickups would be tooo hot wounded, ??cause a Jaguar should Sound thin with less sustain than other Fedners for example. But the output is still weak enough for all that surf, the pickups sound very clear and full range - it??s easy to control them with a good tube-amp. I prefer the Blues Deluxe (with 12AY7 tube in position 1 instead of a 12AX7) and Fender Twin Reverb. Magic combination, I??m pleased...
Actually it??s a versatile guitar and even crunchy sounds are good, distorted also. The pickups are not noisy, waxed and as I said:perfect guitar for all the surf-sounds. You donm??t need one of the Ameican Vintage Series, ??cause they still have??nt got all the little improvements realised on this model. Little things - that make the guitar the first perfect Jaguar in Fender history...manufactured in Mexico. Good Job, boys and girls !

Well built instrument, seems to be solid. I didn??t gig it so far, but this guitar is as well manufactured as my Stratocaster special edition 1993 (USA) and my ??52 Telecaster Reissue (USA). Wiring is historically corect with the rhythm and lead units. You don??t have to go to university to understand that kind of wiring. The unit up on the instrument is for the bridge-pickups, tone and volume control plus the on/off-switch.
The setup from Fender was very bad (we all know they simply don??t care about it), but my dealer in cologne is an expert. After his adjustments its beautiful and smooth to play. With the medium jumbo frets it is pretty easy even to play modern fast styles on it. And the shape of the neck is a light C - very comfortable for me and my small hands.

If it??s still alive after a hundred gigs I will write a second review. Please wait after World War 3.

Fender sucks with its support. In Germany they are simply arrogant. Where do you guys come from, ey ?

As I said I play since more than 20 years, I constantly played in bands, semi-professional and nowadays just for fun and the girls.

I wish this guitar would come with a solid case, ??cause this babe is worth it. But all in all, anybody should judge just the naked guitar and not the bloody accessories and add-ons etc...and this instrument is better than the american vintage Jaguar stuff and half the price. I love it for the sound (1st) and look (2nd), anybody intersted in good and authentic surf and psychobilly-sound should check it out. It??s worth a try, I??m so happy I would buy it again, if it gets stolen.
But: Fender ! Please offer it in the old surf-colours like sonic blue, surf geen, torquoise and so on. With matching headstocks. And I would by a second one.