Fender Jaguar

I have 4 pre-CBS Jaguars. All stock. All custom colors..

The jaguar has its own sound in a world of faceless tone. Most Fenders of the 1950's and 60's had their own voice. It is easy to appreciate them all.

The Jaguar has a thin tone, not too much low wned at all. There are a few switches to come up with some alternate sounds, but these are surf machines. So if you want a Strat or Tele tone, walk away from the Jaguar.

The scale length is not comfortable for my hands, its too small. Gibson players would like it though, its the same scale.

The tremolo tailpiece is outdated. It basically functions similarly to a Bigsby. You only can bend a few steps with it. It also is not the best in the tuning reliability area.

Pre-CBS perfection

They are great guitars. If you avoid a heavy hand with the tremolo arm, you will be all set. It will be there for ya.

Fender has just begun making the correct replacement parts for these. Made in Japan parts do not retrofit! If you have an old Jaguar, and need parts, Fender is doing them right once again! But warrenty repairs are out of the question.

I think anyone who plays a certain guitar consistantly would appreciate the Jaguar as a nice change of pace. It will have you playing differently!

I plan on owning more of these if possible. I may even try a Made in America reissue.
I love the feel of the body, and its the most comforatble guitar to sit and play. The looks are very nice too with the flashy chrome control panels and dial controls.

1999 jap re-issue,,great syncronized floating tremlo,22frets.

good for all styles,especialy for grunge.Good clean tones and heavily distorted fuzz.

exellent finnish,good low and high action.

exellent,you can slam it down and it wont break.

Best guitar i've ever had,it will last a life time

Its a cool gitar but it has gibson pickups on it my dad put them on He Had it New since he was a teen. I souds great but Who knows what it really sounds like.The Body is great. Its curvacious and cady apple red It has a plastic and metal pickgaurd. Tons off Switches Unlike a regular guitar especially one with humbuckers.
Its original. 1970or 60 something or other.

Read the other thing i wrote.

Its great kept up great for 30 some odd yeaars.

As Dependable as Richard Simons is Homo.

No warrenty.

I have a candy apple red re-issue jaguar. its was made in 1996 and is still pretty much all stock. I got it second hand with a hard case.

Ive got wide range of style i play metal to jazz and blues. The jag cannot and should not play metal or harder rock. All you grunge people out there hoping to get a Kurt Cobain guitar will be sadly miffed at its poor efforts for hard rock. get a double fat strat or something if you want humbukers. Anyway, it is perfect however to play mellow jazz and blues. Its high end tight sound give is great for anyone hoping to pay softer stuff. I play with a multi effect pedal and any big amp i can find, other than that, my crappy fender front man amp (it may be small but size doesnt matter). This guitar gets super noisy on high distortion and squeels like a girl (crap feed back). I like to make weird sounds from a guitar like sonic youth or nirvana but this guitar just cant do it. Its floating tremelo is cool but other than that its basic sounds.

When i got the guitar it wasnt the original set up, the one i got it in was good though. The pick ups are fine except the 6th string sometimes touches the neck pick up and buzzes. Every one says basswood is a crap wood for guitars, but i cant really tell the difference. Everything else was fine

Its now got a millon dings and stuff but nothing major as yet, ill probaly brake somehting though. Its plentey heavy so if you get into fight on stage you could brake a nose or two and not damage your guitar. finish is a bit weak but not as bad as some guitars. I play this guitar sometimes 4 hours a day and its never had a problem.

Never delt with fender but i'm sure they're nice people.

Ive been playing for about 5 years, its my favorite guitar. my freinds say it rubbish and cant understand why i like it so much, but hey.... if it was stolen i would probaby try and get a vintage one. i paticually love the shape, its such a good looking guitar, a real babe magnet (an extenable penis if you will). I hate the lack of a feed back sound and the fact it cant play grunge and hard rock. probably got a jag because kurt cobain had one and they looked good, then i got it because it play and sounded good. I wish it had humbukers, no i dont maybe i do, not sure. I used to be a blue person, now i'm a shade of yellow?

Back in 1975 (when I was 17...) I answered a "for sale" ad in the local paper and found a 1963 Fender Jaguar (and a 15 watt dynochamp practice amp) for eighty-five ($85.00) dollars. It was collecting dust bunnies under a bed, three strings left on it, and the original sunburst finish was wasted beyond repair. I now know I should have left it alone, but I stripped it to its natural wood grain (which matched the neck perfectly!) and just gave it multiple coats of deft varnish. I removed the mute at the bridge (still have it in a shoebox), and use all the rest of the original pick-ups, tremelo, switches. I'd go into all the details, but just refer to other reviews or original early 60's Jags.

I've been playing in Weekend bands for the last 25 years. All styles from Country Rock, 50's rock and roll, jazz, blues, old tyme polkas, and big band. The Jag has been my main guitar over Gibsons, Epiphones, Peaveys, and an assortment of other makes (a Gibson L6S with 24 frets and 5 position pick-ups was close, but didn't feel as natural in my hands. I've played this '63 Jaguar through many different amp set ups, and I use a minimum of stomp boxes for effects. (an Ibanez tube screamer for distortion, an MXR phase 90 cuz I'm a 70's kinda romantic, and a cry-baby wah just because...) Whether I'm playing clean or dirty, thin or full, its tones are clear and controlled. There is sometimes a little buzz, but that's part of playing live. Having shorter fingers, I really appreciate the smaller scale and the contours of the guitar itself make it the most comfortable electric I've worn for hour after hour. I agree with a lot of the likes and dislikes in other reviews. The strings sometimes slip out of the grooves in the bridge, It's hard to switch a lot of tones on the fly, that's why I set it for clean mostly and then use the stomp boxes, and then adjust for tone between songs.

Since this was very used back in 1975, I was pleasently surprized, by how few adjustments I had to make after I refinished it. I did have to shim the neck when I rebolted it to better line up with the bridge. ( I didn't want to try and re-sink the bridge for a small fraction of an inch off...). Some of the chrome was showing its age, but I just left it as it was. Some of those details won't affect the sound of the instrament. The tuning pegs are still tight after 37 years, but the on/off switches do get a little hard to move at times.
The neck is straight and I keep the action at a comfortable distance.

I've played this guitar in more smoky bars and beer-soaked wedding dances than I can even try to remember. Many times it's the only guitar I've taken and other than the occasional broken string, there have been no problems. Very reliable. It's due for a refinishing and I haven't decided if I'll put on multiple coats of poly or have professionals re-apply the sunburst finish. It still has the tortous shell pickguard and all original decals on the headstock. Of course, I'd hate to admit that I put a multi-hundred dollar un-original sunburst finish on a guitar that I paid $85.00 bucks for!

Never needed repairing. Bought used back in 1975....Warranty????Warranty?????.....we don't need no stinkin' warranty!!!!!!!!!

I've been playing both full and part time for the past 25 years. (Now, it's more of a hobby.) I double on Bass and Saxaphone. I usually keep the instruments I've collected over the years including a 1963 Epiphone Coronet (double cutaway with the batwing fender headstock), a late 1970's Rickenbacher 4001 bass, and I just purchased a Fender 41 accoustic/electric with the fishman pickup system. The Jag and the Epiphone (I paid $65.00 for that including a matching Epiphone amp) would be hard to be replaced if anything happened to them. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't try replacing any of them. So, the history and emotional value makes those two '63s very important to me.

"L" series neck plate, Oct. 1963 stamped on neck. Purchased in 1969 used (and abused) from a music store (trade-in). Bridge was shot (height adjustment screw threads were stripped; fore and aft barrel adjustment - phillips cross-pattern on screw-head gouged-out) - replacement w/mute ordered. Both single-coil pick-ups worked fine, but ground wire had to be reset to stop buzzing. Hard case included.

Bad re-paint job (coral pink) with plastic stick-on flower on lower body (those were the psychedelic "flower power" days). Maple body and neck, rosewood fret board. 24" scale. Half the decal was gone and there was a crack in the headstock where the guitar had been dropped.

We didn't know better back then, so the entire finish was removed, including the remnants of the decal. The neck cavity revealed the original color to be a darker reddish-pink. The body was finished with a clear polyurethane coat over the natural wood and remained that way for three decades.

I got a replacement decal and sent the guitar out for a professional re-finish in Burgundy Mist Metallic, with matching headstock. This should be completed within two weeks. Saw another Jaguar "re-finned" in Candy Apple Red by the same guy - MAGNIFICENT! If mine comes out anywhere close, I'll be afraid to play it!

Other than the bridge, re-fin, and decal, everything else is original: pickups, controls, pickguard, tuners, vibrato tail, hardware, chrome plates, knobs, switches. I'm tempted to replace the tarnished screws, but will refrain for now.

The case, in black Tolex, needs to have the latches replaced and the leather bindings re-stitched.

I'm a refugee from the '60s "garage band" era. The Jag has a bright sound suitable for my "surfing" instrumentals, yet the sound can be "shaped" because of the rhythm and lead circuits. I have a number of tube amplifiers: most are Fender models, black and silver face from the '60s and '70s (Twin Reverb; Bandmaster; Bassman; Quad Reverb; Dual Showman Reverb) and other manufacturers (Teisco; Silvertone).

I do not use "effects" devices or circuitry on any "modern" amps.

It was not the factory's fault, but I had to make adjustments and replacements because of the abuse heaped on by the prior owner.
Fender sent a technician to Hawaii in 1995 for a set-up session with guitar owners: a free re-string and set-up for a donation to our local Food Bank. I took in the only Jaguar done at the clinic and a '72 Telecaster Thinline. The tech noted that a good "re-fin" would be beneficial as everything else was in great shape, including the cracked headstock which was repairable.

I've had this guitar for over 30 years and can't wait to get it back.

The local authorized dealer was able to get me the replacement parts without difficulty. They do stock some replacement parts for guitars and amps. Other parts can be purchased over the internet.

Playing (sort-of) for 35 years. I also have a re-issue Japan-made Jazzmaster, which I find amazingly close in sound and play-ability to the "original" vintage Jazzmasters and Jaguars of the '60s. I also have a standard (Mexican) Strat, '72 Telecaster Thinline w/Humbuckers and Bigsby tail, '73 Fender Mustang (should have kept my '66), Mosrite Ventures "knock-off," and a Harmony-built Silvertone Jaguar-styled solid body electric.

I'd certainly buy another Jaguar, original '60s model if possible, though I doubt I'd get it for a "C-note." All told, my original cost was $100, plus $150 for various supplies, parts (bridge, mute, decal) and electronics work over the last 30 years, and $475 for the "re-fin" to be completed.

My jag is an original '65 Fender Jaguar. My dad got the guitar in the late 60's and eventually gave me the guitar as my first. The jag is a sunburst with a tortise pick guard, two single coils, rosewood fretboard, and tremelo.

Well, the guitar was made in the 60's so if you like twang then this guitar is for you. Don't get me wrong, the guitar has a vintage warm and mellow tone but if you want rock/punk/metal ect. then look elswhere. I do like the fact that it makes the cheapest guitar amp sound like a vintage tube amp. But however the sound doesn't fit my taste.

I guess 35 years ago the action, fit, and finish might have been a little better but now that is one of the reasons why I don't like to play it. There is a lot of buzz in the frets and severly frets out around the 12th fret when a bend is made. One of the things that I do not like is the bridge. The strings lay over the bridge so when I pluck the strings on some Chili Peppers the strings move out of position. Also the guitar has bad intonation problems which causes the guitar to sound out of tune when played.

WOW, after 35 years the guitar is still in great condition. The neck is not warped, no bad scratches, and nothing broken. When they built them back then they built 'em good. Very dependable!!!

N/A

I've been playing for about 8 years but not much to show for it (laughs) and I own a Peavey Ultra 2X12. This amp will make any guitar sound good, especially cheap twangy pick ups like a '65 Jag. If my Jag was to be stolen I would be very upset because of the guitar's sentimental value. I would really like to try out an ESP MX-3 but no stores carry this guitar or at least none that I can find. Keep on sharing and caring!!! Peace I'm outta hear, Got Jesus?

I do not know the year my Jaguar was built, but it was made in Japan. This is my third Jaguar. I have an original 1962 model purchased new, and a 1966 that I ran across a few years ago. All of them in Olympic white with tortise shell pickguards.
The only difference between the reissue and the originals is the deletion of the bogus string mute found on the originals. I always removed this anyway and replaced the rattle prone standard bridge with a Fender Mustang bridge. Any of you out there who play Jaguars or Jazzmasters and are unhappy with the bridge, I whole-heartedly recommend this change.
The Jaguar has a lot of tonal variation. It has two thin single coil pickups with some sort of sawtooth metal shielding device on both sides of each pickup. I presume this is done to cut back on any noise and it seems to wrk as the Jaguar records very cleanly for a guitar with single coil pickups.
Like a Jazzmaster, the Jaguar has a separate rhythm circuit complete with independent volume and tone controls. This circuit gives a nice fat, mellow tone not just for rhythm use but for lead work also. It is especially nice in playing jazz or standards.
The normal lead circuit features a separste on/off switch for each pickup and a bright switch that rolls off nearly all of the midrange and bass. In live playing, I seldom if ever can find a place where the bright tone can be used, but in recording, the bright switch used in the on position with both pickups turned on gives a great thin rhythm sound especailly good for R&B or funk.
The guitar features one volume and one tone control, an excellent tremolo that feels very much like a Bigsby, and lots of chrome trim.
The most endearing feature to me is the ultra short 24" scale with 22 frets. I love some of the olng reach chords that can be played with ease on such a short scale. Even though I have very large hands, a 25 1/2" scale gives me terrible thumb cramps.
I have heard some carping about the Japanese Jaguars and Jazzmasters not being as good as their vintage siblings. This is a bunch of bunk! I will admit that I like the neck on my '62 a little better than the one on my reissue, but my '62 has thirty-seven years of break in on it. The reissue across the board is a better guitar than my '66. I cannot tell much difference in the sound of the reissue as opposed to the vintage axes. I play through a mid-sixties Fender Deluxe Reverb amp.
The tuners are copies of the old deluxe tuners found on my '62 & '66 and they work just fine. I won't change them until I need to. The guitar stays in tune beautifully.
I didn't opt for the hardshell case. Instead the dealer tossed in a very nice Fender gig bag at no additional cost.
I have found over the years that the best sounding string for the Jaguar are Darco light guage (.010 -.042). The Darcos have a nice dark un-twanggy tone even when new and they seem to last forever.
My other Jaguars have all turned the typical yellow over the years. I hope Fender has solved this annoyance with my new one.

This guitar offers a very wide range of tonality from extremely bright to wonderfully dark and moody. I find it to be extremely versatile. I also play a big Epiphone jazz box and the contrast between the two guitars I find very enjoyable. As I said earlier, I use a mid-sixties Fender Deluxe Reverb and the only outboard effect I use is an Ibanez Echo Machine.
I really like the offset waist design of the body. I do a lot of recording and the guitar is very comfortable to play while seated.

The initial set-up of the guitar was typical (read: awful)! The action was off, as was the intonation and pickup settings. These of course are easily remedied. I have never played a guitar set up at the factory that plays or sounds the way I want it to. You need to adjust the guitar to fit you and the way you play.
I have found no flaws in the guitar and the finish work is beautiful, the chrome pit and scratch free.

I have no doubt that this guitar will hold up just as well as my '62 has. I feel that the overall quality is every bit as good as the "62 or '66, but the pricing is a lot more appealing. I think the vintage thing is dramatically over blown.
I never gig without a couple of guitars, but if I were forced to, I wouldn't worry a bit about the reissue Jaguar.

I must praise Fender Customer Service. The neck on my reissue developed a hump below the fifteent fret causing the strings to touch the upper frets and mute themselves out. I took it to the local Authorized Fender repair shop and within one week I had my guitar back with a brand new and perfect neck at absolutely no cost to me. Bravo and Thank you Fender!

I have been a player for over 40 years. In addition to the Jaguars, I also play an old Epiphone Emperor with a Benedetto floating pick-up, and an Alvarez classical with a piezo pick-up in the bridge. With these three guitars, I can accomplish about any sound I desire.
If ther was one feature I would add to the Jaguar, It would be a phase switch. I don't know how that would sound, but I'd love to try it and see.
If this guitar was stolen or lost would I replace it? Yes, I would. I think for the money it is a wonderful bargain and truly a different sound envelope than any other Fender guitar. Try one, you'll like it!

22 frets, vintage white, short scale, cool offset body shape, japanese made. Vintage-style(shudder) tuners, they are going to be replaced by something that actually works soon. Also, the best feature of all, all the cool switches and knobs- great looking guitar.

i play rock music, and it suits my style perfectly, aside from a string slipping from the bridge, which doesnt happen too often. In the 'lead' circuit with both pickups on, the sound can get a bit too bright, and with the treble boost switch on, even more so. With a bit of experimenting you can get interesting sounds out of the guitar with all the switches on. Ive had some good fun palm-muting away with those settings. The rhythm circuit i use for chunky rhythm parts and most everything else, i utilize the lead for 'different' types of sounds. I play through an old sunn sceptre and a tube king, so its not like a guitar would sound bad out of the amp i play. The sunn definately boosts the bass of this guitar up a little. All you Kurt Cobain wanna-bes stay away and leave the router in the garage, this thing wasnt really meant for really heavy stuff. It sounds like a dream clean, and can get dirty when you want it to.

When i bought this guitar, the set up was absolutely terrible. The strings buzzed very badly and the action was pretty strange. In the end, you sacrafice some height of the action to get rid of buzz. Pickups were adjusted well. I dont know why people think these things suck, they sounds really great to me. The finish looks absolutely great.

This guitar feels pretty solid, kinda heavy compared a strat, my other guitar. The finish on this guitar is really really thick, i think they went overboard. I gig with it, but not without a backup. never ever gig without a backup. I baby all the guitars i play, sometimes i baby them too much. Looks built to last.

not friendly at all. The guys at the store were pretty much jerks to everyone. Fender hasnt been too cordial either. I would avoid dealing with them.

ive been playing a bit over a year, playing and learning all the time. This guitar is great for me and the styles i play, it looks great, and the 7.25 radius feels really good with my fingers. I had my eyes on a few strats, but in the end i wanted something a bit different. it just felt good. im not too happy with fender about their customer service, but im glad they re-issed the jaguar, or else i wouldnt be playing one, id be staring at a vintage one at a guitar shop.

Well the neck date is 98 the body is dated 97 and the pickups were dated 96 and 95 this guitar took a long time to build. If you dont know its a jag body. 22 frets has all the jag switches that i dont need or use so they are tapped off i got rid of the shrill sounding pickups and put hummbuckers in seymore duncan PAF in the neck and seymore duncan JB in the bridge. I did the routing myself basswood is cool Ive dropped this guitar so many times and its still in one piece. Rosewood fretboard I wish it was slab but hey. Short neck wich I love. The bridge is a tune-o-matic that fender piece of shit was a joke i threw away the twang bar cuz im not hendrix and I havent met anyone who comes close stock tuners kluson? It had interesting controls already already on it two volume and one tone I think it kicks ass that way because the switches dont work so its hummbuckers all the time and i stuck a bunch of tape in the hole where the twang bar goes cuz it buzzed like hell but not anymore oh yeah I locked down the trem with washers this guitar wont come out of tune ever it was a ok guitar but with my mods it sounds alright now it works. if you dont know already this is a reisue so that means its made in japan

I love the sound of this thing now and it can give the most awsome feedback now and it has a nice growl to it I use this old ass peavey amp its like 60 some watts it sounds great but when i hooked it up to some marshall cabs I creamed my pants my style of music is from clean to distortion from slow to fast loud and heavy. this guitar needs heavy strings

the fender settings suck thats all i can say who ever set it up the way I got it was a dork

man Ive been piss drunk and all i can do is fall on my face with this guitar under me and all it needs it to be tuned after a fall the finish is good I guess this guitar will last a long time as long as I dont smash it even then i have a '66 jag neck I want to put on it. I never had problems with strap buttons yea I can depend on it and back up thats a joke

Iam on my own man

Ive been playing for about a year I own 2 mustangs (jap) a lefty jap strat strung righty i dont let people touch this guitar thisis the one I baby this guitar used to be a bitch now its just a brat. I think i dunno what i think if you like a jag buy one if you dont like it dont buy one simple as that