Fender Jaguar

This is a review of a 2004 CIJ Fender Jaguar. It has all the same controls, switches etc as an original '62 but minus the mute pad. A few things to note about these Japanese Jags. Firstly, the designation of CIJ/MIJ is totally meaningless. This was an arbitrary and cosmetic change that does not in any way relate to a difference in specifications in the models. Therefore, many of the earlier CIJs were identical to the MIJs. Secondly, the more recent models such as this one were upgraded to incorporate materials similar to the American ones, such as the use of an Alder body instead of a Basswood one. In fact, bar some of the wiring and the pickups, it's near enough identical to a US '62 re-issue.

Fender Jaguars have traditionally been tempermental beasts and this particular incarnation is no exception. I give this a 10 rating based on the mods I made and not on account of what it sounded like straight out of the box (6/10).

The main change to be made is the pickups. The stock aren't atrocious but hardly inspiring either. There are many after-market pickups out there so choose one that best captures your style. For me, I wanted the sound of a Fender Jaguar as it sounded in 1962 BRAND NEW (ie NOT vintage) and so accordingly I went for Fender's American Vintage '62 Jaguar pickups. And a sound investment it was.

Now to the sonics. Plugged into a Vox Cambridge 30R, it growls! Not the type of adjective one would immediately associate with a Fender but then Jag pickups tended to be over-wound presenting a 'hotter' sound than a Strat or a Tele. The frequencies are perfectly balanced, no real ice-pickery except occasionally on the bridge but then maybe you need that kind of feel for surf. Actually, I didn't find this axe particularly well suited for surf. I mean, it works if you want growly surf (which sounds terrific, btw) but if you want to mimic the legends, the Strat will do a far more authentic job. The Jag works best as a garage punker, a dirty, impolite and almost unmusical tool. Use of a good '60s-style fuzzbox such as the Vox ToneBender yields White Light/White Heat syle disgust. No smooth, warm distortion here - just all-out violence and unsociability.

My favorite position is both pickups on together which gives the axe a nice full sound. Also don't neglect the rhythm channel! Many of the less-cultured owners of this instrument tend to ignore it but you're losing out if you choose to follow their example. Invoking the rhythm channel beefs up the sound immeasurably and gets the Link Wray sound and vibration in no uncertain terms.

Sustain is limited on these things and that's a good thing. It forces you to approach it from a different angle to other guitars.

This is where the hard-work and research come in. Out of the box, I'd say 3/10. Do not buy this guitar unless you are prepared to make the relevant changes required to get it to play not at an optimum, but just getting it to play at a basic level.

First issue is the bridge. No matter what you do, no matter what gauge strings you use or how professionally you get the guitar set up, there's no getting around it. It sucks and has to go. The rattling isn't such a problem since you can't hear it once it's amped up but the strings continually slip in the saddles, the saddles themselves tend to rotate at the command of their own free will and the result is that many of the notes end up having a 'plunk' quality (and that's if you can even get a sound out of them at all). Solution: stick on a Fender Mustang bridge. This one change will revolutionise your guitar and turn it from ugly duckling into beautiful swan.

Secondly, I'd recommend minimum .11 gauge strings. It will never stay in tune otherwise and generally that's what these tremolo bridge style guitars were built for. I seem to have finally settled on Thomastik JS111s which is an ultra-classy set of flatwounds - great for surf and rockabilly.

On the positive side, the action is great, arguably the best of any guitar I've ever played. The neck is a full, C-shape and funky as hell. Great for little soul licks and snarling riffs though I wouldn't recommend it for lengthy soloing excursions (why would anyone interested in that kind of playing be reading this, I wonder). And the vibrato system on these current Japanese Jags is much improved. No tuning instability and really great dipping effect too.

I've owned this for around 18 months and I went through a period of really loathing it. It takes time and research to figure out the flaws and the fixes. So to sum up, adjust the following:

1. Pickups
2. Bridge
3. Strings

And get a professional set up. Once these tasks have been accomplished, you will have an instrument that sings, baby! By far away it's my favorite in the Fender family. The tele is too tinny, the strat too mainstream, the Jazzmaster too mild. This is the tough-guy Fender, an axe that adds grunt to yer surf tones and chaos to your garage riffs. It does a pretty mean soul 'n' funk workout too. The retro vibe is awesome and it only takes about a week to figure out how to operate the switches.

Although it is a versatile instrument, I would say that this guitar will appeal primarily to those who want to capture a '60s Fender single coil vibe without the tedium associated with their more popular models. Popularity has pretty much killed the appeal of those instruments for me and what makes the Jaguar special is that, like a Danelectro or a Gretsch, it will always be an instrument for connoisseurs and not the average clod who cannot figure anything but the most obvious systems out.

Even with the mods, it still works out cheaper than the US version is almost identical and hence I'd have to say that this is fantastic value for money.

This is a review of a made in Japan Jaguar that I've been borrowing from a friend for the last few weeks. It is two tone sunburst with heavy flame pattern. I suspect this flame is fake, as this guitar dates to the time when Fender unfortunately used their photo-flame process to print seemingly amazing, but fake, wood grain directly onto their bodies. If I had to guess I would say the body is basswood.

This guitar has all the standard Jaguar features, except the bridge pickup has been replaced with a mini Seymour Duncan humbucker (not sure what kind), and mustang bridge saddles have been installed.

It has vintage style slotted tuners, which I usually like, but these are pieces of junk. If this were my guitar I would replace these tuners with real Klusons or at least decent reproductions immediately.

The neck is a little thin for my tastes, and the frets are tiny. On top of that I usually prefer maple fretboards, and this (and every other Jaguar I've ever seen) has rosewood. I like the short scale, but overall the neck is not really my cup of tea.

This guitar rates high in the number of features, but not so high on the actualy usability of those features. My favorite one on the guitar is the strangle switch.

I play in folk-rock band with lots of jamming. I play through a Rivera M60 1x12 combo, usually with only a clean booster and a tubescreamer for effects.

Ok, the best sound on the guitar is the neck pickup on the lead setting, with the strangle switch on. This is the sound of surf rock, and it's great for other stuff too. Without the strangle switch the neck gives an ok full Fender sound. It's not as round and well defined as a Strat neck sound, but still sounds fine and is usable. I can even get a very good jazz tone with the strangle switch on and the tone turned all the way down.

The Seymour Duncan humbucker sounds good too, if just a little too trebly. The pickup is not a smooth humbucker tone, but a little more harsh. It's kind of fun to go from happy surf tones to heavy riffs with the flick of a switch.

Everything I've said so far has concerned the lead settings. That is because I think the rhythm setting sounds terrible. Too bassy with a real lack of definition to the sound. Your playing just disappears. To be fair, the rhythm section on this guitar may not be wired as stock, so that might adversely affect the tone.

As I said before I suspect that the body of this guitar is basswood. I've owned a Japanese guitar with a basswood body before, and in my experience this wood has to be the worst for tone. You can get all the same sounds out of the guitar, they just aren't as full or lively. I never found a tone I loved from my last basswood guitar (even after changing pickups), and I haven't found any tone that I truly love on this Jag.

This is where this guitar really fails. It's one of the worst quality Japanese guitar I've ever seen. The tuners are crap, the switches are cheap as possible (one was broken when I first got the guitar, the internals of the switch had just fallen out), there are gaps between the control panels and the pickguard that are so big you can look down into the control cavities.

On the other hand, the action is nice, the frets are finished nicely and it plays nicely. The finish is well applied, even with the tacky fake flames. Still, this is a Fender product and I would expect them to get the hardware sorted out better.

A final good point for the Jag is that it has excellent electrical shielding. Each control cavity has a copper plate at the bottom and the pickguard has a copper plate on the underside, all connected to ground. This guitar is very quiet as far as hum is concerned.

Will this guitar withstand live playing? Yes.

Will this guitar be a pain in the butt to play live with? Yes.

It's a solid guitar, but it doesn't stay in tune well (those damn tuners) and the switching system is a joke (in my opinion).

I've been playing for 14 years with a strat as my main guitar for the last 9. I like the short scale of the Jag, as it can make some things more comfortable to play, but I'm not a big fan of some of the uniquely Jag features.

My dream Jaguar would have Strat pickups and switching, the Jag bridge with Mustang saddles, and a maple fretboard with medium jumbo frets. Unfortunately I doubt anything like this has ever been made by Fender, so I'm out of luck.

When it's stock, though, it just doesn't have the playability or variety and quality of sounds that I prefer. I wouldn't buy one for myself, and when my buddy asks for this one back I'll give it up without too much worry.

After playing this Japanese Jag for a while I can say this: it really makes you appreciate the solidness, sound and reliability of a good American Strat.

1965 Jaguar / US made / 22 frets / All original ( Nothing is modified or altered or replaced )

The exact same model as appears in the book " Electric guitars, the illustrated encyclopedia " / Page 73 ( The middle one with 3-color sunburst ) / Also appears in the same book ( Page 75 ) / Farthest right one in the Fender's 1965/66 catalog

An original hard-shell case included / An original guitar strap & wiping cloth included /

I played through a Musicman amp 112 RD with a foot switch. / Rich & bright sound created /

Guitar is in excellent condition / Everything was set up right by the previous owner. He bought it in 1965 and put it in the storage since 1975.

No rust visible. The body ( Wood ) is 99.9 % excellent since very tiny dings are visible.

Everything is durable and solid. I assume that this Fender Jaguar 1965 guitar will last another 30 to 40 years.

One of my associates is an excellent electrician. He can repair anything, therefore, I do not need any warranty. He has repaired some of my guitars in the past.

I have been playing guitar since 1965.

I was born in Tokyo, Japan. When I was a teenager, we copied the Ventures music from the US & the Shadows from the UK. My father bought me a Japanese electric guitar in 1966 and he paid $ 165. In those days, an university graduate's 1st month salary was $ 150. The Fender guitars were $ 2,000 to $ 2,500 since there was no import and export of US guitars. The Venture's model Mosrite was also $ 2,000 to $ 3,000.

I came to San Francisco, California in August, 1971 and started to look for a Fender Jaguar guitar. I found one but the paint was almost off and too many dings and dents were all over. The seller asked me $ 2,000 for that 1966 Jaguar guitar. I did not buy one since the condition was terrible.

We have over 30 electric guitars at home.

In my humble & one-sided opinion, the Fender Jaguar guitar is one of a few best guitars in the world. I wish I knew how to restore guitars. I know how to restore Japanese swords but I do not know how to restore guitars. I know that the Japanese swords are the best weapons in the world. So are the Jaguar guitars.

its a 62 reissue. made (not crafted) in japan in the late 80s. you know the features. a shit ton of switches. this thing was a pain to rewire. the shorter scale can be fun for finger stretching, but not especially good for high neck chording.

the sound is great, however the stock pickups are not. bridge pickup squeals horribly. if you replace the pickups or find alternate ways to use this effectively it is a very versatile insturment.

factory set ups are always bad, and the bridge is an atrocity as everyone already knows. ive heard the mustang saddles can help. i dont care much for the trem system, i lose tune when i use it. everyone says to use heavier strings and i agree. i generally use .11 on my other guitars but on this i use .12 or .13 gauges. i personally dont know what Leo was thinking on this one.

it is a fender and it really is a little tank, however if i were to choose a guitar to gig without a backup, this would probibally be my last choice. not because i am afraid it would break down, but more so because it has alot of problems with intonation and noise.

never dealt with fender, but only heard great things.

been playing for 8 years. i also own a custom strat and a 72 reissue thinline tele. next to those this guitar seems incredibly crude. there is a time and a place for the jaguar, and i appreciate it for that. i have a love - hate relationship with the jag, through all of its shortcommings i still love to rock this thing out as long as i can before something messes up. dont buy this as a starters guitar. you will know when you are ready.

I got a USA '62 Vintage Reissue in 3-tone sunburst. Alder
Neck Maple, ?C? Shape, and Nitro-Cellulose Lacquer Finish.The neck is Rosewood, 7.25? Radius (184 mm)and has 22 frets. Scale is 24".

You get the standard P/U switch and tone slide switches, and 2 Special Design American Vintage Jaguar Single- Coil Pickups (Neck & Bridge). Also comes with Vintage Style Floating Tremolo and
Fender/Gotoh Vintage machine heads. Chrome hardware (NICE) and 4-Ply Brown Shell pickguard. Unfortunately you also get the RUBBISH threaded bar style bridge saddles (more on that later). Got a hard case with it and after spending a grand I would have demanded it! But it comes as standard anyhoo

I play indie rock'n'roll and was looking for a different sound and to the usual suspects (this means you Strat and Les). I use a Marshall Bluesbreaker combo, Wasabi AO-1 OD, Crybaby Wah, Boss Phaser, Boss Flanger and Boss DD-6 delay.
THIS IS PERFECT FOR ME. You have to mess around a tad to get a sound you like but with the switching tone controls its worth the effort. Nothing sounds like a Jag so some my hate it. It's not super versatile like a Strat but the bright, sometimes twangy tones I get out of it suit my setup like a hand in a glove..thats been made specially for that hand..by a team of crack scientists in Poland....There are some (in my opinion) rubbish settings..like when the guitar gets too muddy and no definition, these pickups are at there best on higher frequencies. They are also weaker than what i was used to, but any excuse to crank the amp giving a sweet tone

ARGGGHHH...absolute rubbish..the shower of fecal matter that are the Jag style bridge saddles...sod Vintage they are just BAD..quick remedy though replaced the saddles (NOT THE WHOLE BRIDGE THAT IS JUST SILLY AND EXPENSIVE) with Mustang saddles (Part no: BP-2146-001 #18 from www.allparts.com or www.allparts.uk.com). DO NOT REPLACE THE WHOLE BRIDGE ITS JUST A RUSE TO GET MUSIC SHOP RETARDS THAT EXTRA SOMETHING FOR THEMSELVES. Other than that the guitar is flawless, superb action, excellent finish everything is SWEET..rating is 4 with the original saddles and 10 with the refit...its that important

This will never break in normal use..never its FENDER!! I'd never gig without a backup as a matter of course but IF i really had to...not a problem this beauty could withstand the flak..EASY

Not delat directly..used the website however...informative and easy

Been playing for about ten years now. I own a Yamaha Pacifica 112 and a Epiphone Les Paul Goldtop with a Seth Lover model P/U in the neck and '59 in the bridge. The Pauls ounds good but the Epiphone factory is obviously full of chimps who cannot make a guitar...wiring fails, tuning heads pop off..rubbish compared to my #180 Yamaha nad the Jag whoops them both.
Wish Fender would stop being sentimental and just replace the saddles maybe I'm crap but the guitar is infinity billion times better with the Mustang saddles. If it were lost or stolen I'd weep and weep some more..the Jag is essential to my setup and my music. I love everything about it...now. I didn't like the...well you know

My Jag is a '62 reissue made in Japan(shocker)I think its an '03 but I'm not sure. 22 frets short scale with a thin neck.It has all the regular controls, woods, a.d factory pickups.It's Red sparkle or glitter or something. It has the regular Jaguar bridge and saddles,which I hate.I'm going to put a Mustang bridge on it.It has Kluson tuners.I didn't get any accesories with it at all.They weren't even going to give me the trem arm, I had to ask.But I got a case at a different place.

I play punk/grunge/and everything from beatles zeppelin and plus I like to use a glass slide and the trem arm lots of distortion and make 30 minute noise/sound collages.I have a shitty crate right now but I'm gonna get a fender amp soon.It squels w/distortion but I'm gonna get seymore duncan hot for jag stacked humbuckers to fix that.Other than that it sounds good.

I got the action set-up the best I can until I get a professional set-up done.Other than needing a set-up(as most new guitars do) It's been great.

I think I might put straploks on it,but thats the only thing keeping me from beating the shit out of it completely.

Never tried CS.

I've been playing a few years and I've always wanted one, and with a few tweeks it'll be my dream guitar.If it were stolen I'd cry.This is the best guitar ever.For me at least.

Mine is a 90's Japanese Reissue. It is a nice off-white with a reddish tortoise shell pickguard. It's a great looking guitar.
The pick-ups are selected by the upper switch. Next to this toggle are two dials, one for volume, the other for tone. The bridge pickup features a knob for volume and another for tone, but can be further shaped by three switches. they are: on/off for neck pick-up, on/off for bridge pick-up, and a hi/low boost. You can shape the sound quite nicely with these, though it isn't incredibly practical. The fact that the bridge on/off switch is directly in the path of your strumming hand means that it's not uncommon to find your guitar turned off mid-song. It only has to happen a couple of times before you smarten up, though. I would hope.
22 frets, nice hardware, etc.
The Jaguar bridge is a joke, and I recommend replacing it with a Mustang bridge. It's a common mod, one that I wish I'd considered in the ten years I used the Jag bridge. The problem? Strings routinely pop out of place, and the saddles slip down (see more on this later).
The thin neck is great for playing, and takes nice heavy strings really well.

Wow, this is where one begins to run into trouble, almost immediately. The pick-ups that come with the guitar are, to be totally honest, shit. They will squeal at the slightest provacation, can't handle distortion, and the output is laughable. You'll find yourself turning up your amplifier by a fair amount to get a matching sound to your other guitars. And we all know how bad that can sound, especially with an unruly guitar given to fits of shrieking. Luckily, replacement pick-ups are easy enough to get, and do a remarkable job of fixing all of these problems. I used the Hotfor Jag by SD.
There is no sustain on this guitar, which can be very disappointing. However, the guitar has so many idiosyncratic qualities that you tend to accept it's shortcomings, and even begin to appreciate them. Sounds odd, I know.
Post-mods, I've used the Jag with all kinds of amps, and it always retains it's Jag sound. Any Jag owner can even begin to pick out the guitar on recordings. It's a very textured sound, you can hear the whole body and neck of the guitar, as well as the bridge. It has a brightness and cut that makes it unlike any other guitar. Except the Jazzmaster, of course.

How well was the guitar set up at the factory? I'm not even sure that it was. Here's the thing: you'd better buy a box of locktite or threadglue. The guitar is loaded with tiny screws that want nothing more than to collapse. Seriously, there's 14 in the bridge alone. Be sure that your tech knows this as he sets the guitar up--before you take it home. Or get the Mustang bridge.
The finish was flawless.

I played this guitar for years without any mods. It was an absolute horror to gig with, but I had no other option, so I made do. The aforementioned strings popping out of place, squealing feedback, and difficulty to set up/intonate made for some interesting moments. I learned to love the guitar regardless, but was relieved when I was able to afford my next guitar, the Guild S-100. I found I missed the Jag's unique sound, and with the mods (Mustang bridge, HotforJag p/u's, as well as trying heavy gauge strings-Recommended) I found that there was a beautiful guitar in that snarling mess. Who knew? It's now more reliable, durable, and I could gig without a back up, but why? Are guitars really that heavy? Bring two guitars if you have them, lazy.

Can't say I tried. What would they say? Sorry about the design? They've probably been saying that for 40+ years.

I love this guitar. If you are just starting, or are trying to select your number one guitar, the Jaguar isn't the wisest choice. There are more well-rounded guitars out there that have almost as much cut and tone. A Tele perhaps? But if you are after a truly unique guitar that will provide you with a lot of resentment and rage, but also a deep admiration, it's this one. It's like entering a relationship, no joke. Good luck. Oh, and be prepared to spend a chunk of cash fixing this guitar up.

Ok so my Jag is a Japanese '62 reissue. I guess it was made in the late '90s but it was second hand and I haven't checked out the serial number so I can't be sure.
22 frets short scale, all the usual controls (rhythm/lead circuit, dual volume and tone, alder body (although if you look closely at the graining it seems to have been made from two pieces glued together!!!)
Classic three-tone sunburst with red tortoiseshell stratchplate.
The standard floating trem (although the locking mechanism doesn't work). Kluson type tuners. Plastic nut. Blah blah blah.

The sound is pretty good and has a lot of flexibility. I also have a korean squier strat (my first guitar) which is a lot more brassy and has more bite. But the Jag's sound is quite delicate. Some of the pickup settings can be a little thin espectially compared to my Strat, the sustain is also a problem. I mostly play post-rock, shoegazing, etc, with a balance between quiet and loud. I play through a Marshall 80W combo (not valvestate sadly) with an effects loop containing a Boss DD-6 delay and a TC Electronic phaser (set to stun!). I can get some great sounds on it when turned right up. There was some terrible highpitched and uncontrollable feedback when I first got the guitar; I found the strings were too thin. Changed them for 10-gauge Slinkys and never looked back. Feedback is varied and controllable (although there is quite a lot of noise off the pickups when using a treble sound)

Factory set-up: can't comment. The action is great once you get the strings at the right height.
The bridge is a big problem (and I think contributes to the lack of sustain which a lot of people complain about.) There are two problems really: the 'screw-thread' saddles which do not hold the strings properly, even if you play really carefully, plus the 'floating' bridge does not stay still, which can put the guitar out of tune. If you play chunky damped chords at any point you NEED to put the side of your hand back against the bridge - this is pretty much impossible with the floating bridge. I fixed mine temporarily by enlarging the ideal position for each string on each saddle with a file, plus i lowered the bridge right down and used a couple of small coins to hold it rigid against the body. This does the job for now (although there is still some buzzing fron the bridge as the saddles move around sometimes, also the allen bolts in each saddle can loosen themselves (mostly happens with the low E) but I'm going to get the Mustang bridge saddles sent over from the US, plus a Buzz-Stop bridge attachment.
Other problems - the sliding volume and tone controls on the rhythm ciruit are a quite crackly with some dead spots. This is a shame as the guitar is not that old - I'll have to replace them at some point.
The tremolo arm that came with the guitar is too short, too. It seems shorter than the arms on vintage Jags I've seen, plus it's bent in a different place. I lengthened the arm that came with my Strat and I'm using that one at the moment until I get a replacement vintage arm.

I couldn't have used this guitar live until I fixed the problem with the bridge. It still needs some TLC, not like my Strat which I could beat hell out of without any problem. But it stays in tune pretty well. Strap buttons are very solid, couldn't understand the guy who said he had a factory new Jag where the strap buttons came out with some 'pink plaster' (body filler?) Nah - that's been (badly) repaired at some point. My Jag is definitely my #1 guitar, once I have the new bridge and saddles it'll be fine.

n/a (second hand guitar)

I've been playing for more than ten years before I got this guitar. I always wanted a Jag more than anything else (honestly mostly because of the look... they are just the coolest guitars ever made). I totally understand some people would buy Teles because they are solid, reliable guitars - but I would rather die than own one - they are ugly ugly ugly!! The problems with Jaguar bridges are well documented, it's not that difficult to fix, and once you do you have a versatile, playable, and above all cool-as-f*** guitar. Considering the price I paid for mine (about $400) I'm still over the moon about it. I love my Jaguar. If it were stolen or lost I'd cry. If I had the money I'd buy a pre-CBS '62/'63 vintage Jag to replace it... but I'd probably still have to replace the bridge saddles.

A good old japanese re issue jag, Stock pickups, vintage white with tortoise shell scratch plate. Purchased a few or a couple of years ago, im sure I put a review up for it when I got it but I can't find it anywhere, it was singing the guitars praises thats for sure. Anonymous at (02/23/2003 15:04 on the 62' reissue page) Reason for this review, I'm so pissed off with the thing, It basically does nothing well which I would refuse to admit back in my first review as I loved the thing. it could be just mine as everyone else seems to love theirs and have had success with them but I thought I'd share a few problems that appeared a little later after I had bought it. It has the usual jag type things, Annoying floating bridge, pointless tremalo lock that does aboslutely nothing. 2 single coils etc

It sounds alright clean, when distorted the sound is very gainy. Anyone who is getting one as Kurt Cobain had one and the guitar sound for Nirvana was so big be warned. Its not going to happen. Luckily seymore duncan do Hot for Jaguar, which are stacked humberkers to fit in the single coil slots so that can fix it if your like me and didn't want to cut up the guitar as It does look lovely. It is a cool sound for surf music or something twangy. I personally don't mind the sound of it as when clearn it has body and when distorted it gives off a good snarl wich is perfect for the kind of music I play, 60's stuff like kinks, beatles etc. I use a marshal DFX250 with a rat pedal or when recording a digitech valve pre amp plugged into amplitude valve amp simulator which does the trick nicely. For some reason the electrics have a bad connection so I have to turn the lower volume knob a bit to get it to stop crackling which is everytime I use it. The most annoying thing is that I really looked after the guitar and all this stuff just happened with nothing to instigate it. The thing just started to fall to pieces.

Yeah it was set up nice from the factory but as you will find out because the bridge was designed by small chimps after a while of playing the individual nuts come loose and vibrate, mine has lost several which I have had to replace and basically when you have to adjust it it has to be just right so as it says on websites it should only be adjusted by either someone who knows guitars very well or a tech. This happens so often its unbelievable, remember the sound you got from it when you first purchased it as this is the only time it will sound that good. The rest of the time it spends with you it will sound buzzy and horrible. sustain in nil! I've sat for hours tring to do the action, I almost had it at one pointbut whatever I tried the high E would not stay in tune down the fretboard. I've played guitar for many years and know how to set guitars up and know what I'm doing but this is just stupid.

Well this is where I rant more than ever. If you want to play this guitar live then you might as well take it to pieces, hit it and use it as percussion or alternatively if you like big endings to your gigs, this could be your throwing guitar, if you want get into contact with me and I'll throw it for you as I refuse to throw mine as I refuse to let that shit of a guitar get the best of me. I paid money for it and I'm going to sort it out! but back to the point, I was in a gigging band a couple of years ago, we played grunge/punk/rock so the music was kind of lively so much rocking out on stage was required. If you choose to rock out on stage with this be warned that there are many bad consequences. Floating bridge is the main problem. The strings sit in the threads of screws which aren't deep whatsoever so you might have only strummed the guitar twice and you would have knocked the strings down of up a couple of threads thus making the guitar out of tune. The first ever gig I played with it this happened after the first couple of bars of the first song. I just couldnt understand why everything sounded so nasty and then I looked down and realised. luckily if you realise quick enough you can just as easily put the strings back with your hand but really if this was a good guitar you shouldn't have to. Next is about the little flick switches, a cool part of the jag i think but somehow during gigging I've managed to knock 2 off, it didnt even take that much to do so, I wasn't beating the crap out of it just strumming quite fast. The strap nut at the bottom of the guitar also fell out after a while taking some of the pink plaster type stuff with it what ever that was, the hole that it screwed into just turned to dust. I was able to screw it in again though using a bigger, heavy duty screw which is much better than the original as it is stronger, wider and goes a bit deeper. I was gutted though as it made the guitar fall to the floor and ding the paintwork. If you use the tremalo arm, good luck cos if you so much as move an inch the thing will fall out. The guitar looks brilliant and has potential but if you want to get the most out of it you have to be willing to spend money on it, replace the bridge and pickups. As I can remember it was everything I wanted and expected the guitar to be when I first recieved it but this is very short lived so be warned.

If I had rang up customer support everytime I had a problem with it I would be on first name terms with them. Hell I'd probably be sending/recieving christmas and birthday cards to/from them. I might have built a great friendship and gone on holiday with them. Who knows.

Has potential but really fails to deliver. I'd love to give it a 10 but it just seems they had the opportunity to make a great guitar and completely blew it. Shame on you fender, shame on you. If it was stolen I would miss it for some reason as it was one of the things that people remembered about my band, the fact that I had a nice guitar (jags are very rare around here) and someday I hopefully will get it sorted out to make it the guitar it should have been. I think if I had known about the problems back then I still would have purchased it because it has character and is more than just a guitar, its an interesting thing to look at. I wish it didnt have the floating bridge, that is the source of a lot of it's problems really. If it was fixed, chances are this re-review wouldn't have happened. My advice to anyone who wants to buy one is that if you really want one then go for it as I probably would've kicked myself if I had turned down the offer later on. But remember that there is a high chance you will be having a lot of trouble with it later. I don't know, considering how angry i was with it at the beginning of this review I'm looking at it now, I just can't stay mad at it.

Mine is a CAR(candy apple red) MIJ(made in japan) built in (i believe) 2002. It has the standard Jag/Jazzmaster Dual-circuit wiring; a warmer rhythm circuit and a brighter punchier lead circuit. This means more tonal possibilities, but I've heard many people complain that with more wiring, there's more that can (and sometimes does) go wrong. But so far mine has been solid and faithful.

It's got two passive single-coil pickups with a serrated "keeper" or "claw" that is supposed to boost the mids and make it more punchy.

The stock Jaguar/Jazzmaster bridge is notorious for being unstable in tuning and intonation, though I've had guitar techs swear that they just need to be set up right and that they are among Fender's finer bridge/trem designs. I don't agree. A common upgrade for these guitars is to put a Mustang bridge in place of the stock one. (the mustang saddles have a single string slot, whereas the stock bridge has several slots that the string can undesirably slide around in.) I bought my Jag partly because it already had this mod done. Although the radius is supposed to be diiferent and that's supposed to affect intonation and whatnot, again, mine is aces. I've had no problems. They do sell Mustang saddles with adjustment screws to counteract this if it's a problem.

Here are the official specs:

Fender Jaguar-

Body: Alder
Neck: Maple (7.25"/184 mm)
Machine Heads: Vintage Style
Fingerboard: Rosewood
No. of Frets: 22 Vintage Style
Pickups: 2 Single Coil
Controls: "Lead" Circuit, Volume, Tone, "Rhythm" Circuit, Volume, Tone, Circuit Selector Switch

Bridge/Tremolo: Floating Tremolo with "Tremolo-Lock"
Pickup Switching: Lead/Rhythm Slide Switch, Bass Cut Slide Switch
Pickguard: Brown Shell
Scale Length: 24" (609 mm)
Neck Width @ Nut: 1.625" (41.2 mm)

One of the main selling points for this particular model of guitar for me was the unique tremelo. It has a long arm that makes for smoother vibratos than many other trems. I like/play a variety of different styles of music, but I bought this one with Shoegazer Pop in mind. You can hold the trem arm in your hand while you strum and occasionally dive the bar down creating a warpped tape sound that, by itself or under a mountain of fuzz, reverb/delay, and modulation, makes for unique and psychedelic sound not easily duplicated with another guitar. (see My Bloody Valentine)

Lately I've been running it into a Boss GE-7 EQ into a Danelectro BLT Slap Echo into a Boss DS-1 Distortion into a Boss DD-5 Digital Delay into a 70's Fender Vibrolux(silverface) tube combo. Sometimes I put a reverb in front of the distortion to get that grainy ominuous soaring crunch when playing single notes. (see Godspeed You! Black Emperor)

These pickups definitely have their pros and cons. Pros: middy, punch, bright sound that cut through the mix and gives you a nice chimey plucky tone. Cons: they are noisy. I love feedback, but these often squeal and give your eyes an unhealthy shot of unapplealing banshee scream if you stop playing while running through a high gain signal path. This can be rather frustrating. Seymour Duncun sells replacements that are a bit hotter and less noisy. I've been researching putting SD Quarter Pounder in the bridge, but wired in such a way so as to get the same hum-canceling you do on a strat in the 2 and 4 positions (the in-between settings). I think it can be done relatively easily.

The sound, especially when strummed clean, can be very surf-rock. If you're looking for the warmth and richness of a strat in the neck position, You're probably not going to get quite that sound. But these(or at least the neck position) have a charm and character all their own while still being very Fender.

These guitars are notorious for being set up poorly and loosing intonation and tone fast. Mine has been a complete exeption. I have no electrical qualms, the thing holds a tune rather well, and is as intonated as a guitar not in the hands of a tech will be. (see above for bridge issues)

The scale is a little smaller than that of the Jazzmaster, making it a bit faster. To tell you the truth, although I'm all about the baseball-bat-sized-neck, I don't really notice a huge difference. But i don't shred at all, so maybe the difference is huge to someone who plays leads exclusively.

Not that I care all that much about the finish, but it's nice. This is a pretty guitar. All the extra chrome plates and whatnot, shiny red finish... I get a lot of compliments. But I am a sucker for Fender finishes. (as long as it's not a squire) I had originally wanted a Jag to modify to the hilt, but this thing is so pretty I'm afraid to mess with it.

I don't know if I'd gig without a backup. So far, it's been great, but I'm always a little leery of all the wiring.

Three of my friends own Jags, and they've all had problems. Two with wiring, one with the bridge/intonation. But maybe they don't have my skills for finding a killer guitar at a great price? Mine has been used as a backup more than once.

I guess you sacrifice reliability for versitility. I'll always carry a strat as a back up, but I could never get the sounds out a strat that I can with this.

Bought it used. N/A

I've been playing for about ten years. For guitar stuff, I have a Mexi Strat, a Crate GX-60C solid state combo, a Fender Vibrolux Tube combo, and a host of pedals and effects. If it were lost or stolen, I'd be a very sad boy. Until I bought another one. Only, with locking Kluson tuners. And a Jazzmaster pickup routered into the bridge. And a microphonic pickup behind the bridge (as the strings are stretched about four inches from the bridge to the trem. ideal for those ethereal higher pitched filler noises.(see Sonic Youth)). And possibly a graphite nut. Maybe.


I compared this to a Strat and a Jazzmaster. The strat is a bit smoother, but less bright and middy, has a bigger scale and all around a simpler guitar. The jazzmatser is smoother as well, but has a bit less output. It also has a bigger scale. Beyond that, the Jag and Jazzmaster are virtually the same.

I Love this guitar. I can't say anything about other's Jags, but I give my own a 8.999.