Fender Jaguar

I bought this 1966 Jaguar used with the original black hard shell case, no modifications made to the guitar. 3-color tobacco sunburst. Mute and bricge cover missing. A couple of spots where the paint has chipped off, but at least it still has its tremolo arm. It has the neck with the white edge around it. It has lead and rythm circuits, the lead circiuit with pickup selector and high/lowpass filter. (You all probably know this, so no reason to go on and on)

I play mostly punk/heavy rock, but also classic rock. This guitar i really needs thick strings. The sound is very bright. Almost a little too trebly, but only almost. I play it thru my `65 reissue Twin Reverb Amp with GHS boomers 11-50 strings. I originally had plans to replace the pickups with some humbuckers (junior sized) but i changed my mind once i first played the guitar. It was not as noisy as i had expected, and i was blown away by the sound this thing makes thru a distortion or sustain pedal (or both at once, which I like the best). I have a EHX Big Muff for that Mudhoney sound and also a Boss DS-2 to lighten things up a bit. Of course you can also use it to get that famous surf sound. Also, changing the pickups would be to ruin this guitar, it's been like it is for 37 years, why change it now? Besides I think I would regret it later if i was to modify it. Better to buy a newer Japanese made one and experiment on that. (I have 2 other Fender guitars that have had pickup changes, but I just don't feel right about touching this one)
It could use a little more sustain. The tones die a little too fast. All in all this is my idea of a perfect sounding guitar.

The bridge on this guitar is a strange bird. I can't understand why Fender didn't just use a Mustang bridge in the first place. During rough playing, the strings are easily knocked out of position leading to detuning and so on. The tailpiece is also a story on its own. I didn't want to use the tremolo system, as I don't love tuning guitars that much, so I decided to take the tremolo arm off. Easier said than done. It was stuck! I had to take the whole tailpiece off and use a pair of pliers to get it off this pincer-like system that holds it in place. The trem arm looked like it had never been taken off before, (layer of old dust/filth) so maybe that explains the tight fit. The bridge/tailpiece has a superb design though, the strings running almost the full length of the guitar. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
The vintage pickups are very magnetic. A lot of pulling from them on the strings here. The knobs and swithches are surprisingly quiet other than a slight noise on the pickup selector. But what can one expect from electronics that are about to hit its 40s. No rust on this one. One of the tuners is a little hard to turn, i think this has to do with that it was hanging from it in the store(!!) Other than this, and a few small chips in the paint, this baby is perfect.

Well it's held up for almost 40 years, it will probably hold for another 40 at least.

Never dealt with Fender directly, but I have heard customer support isn't their strong side.

I have been playing for 8 years soon. This is my 3rd guitar and my favourite so far. (the other two are also Fenders) I have dreamed about owning this guitar since i was 14. If it were stolen I would buy another one. The combination of sound, the shape and the colour on the guitar is my idea of a perfect guitar.

This is Japanese made Jaguar. It's a very nice sunburst with reddish shell pickguard. I don't really know about what woods were used specifically, but it looks to be a very good quality. It has three pickup switches (two selectors and some kind of phase switch), another switch and volume and tone control on the upper part of the body, and the same tremolo setup as the jazzmaster. I got it with a case.

I love playing garage rock, blues, alt-type country, and just about anything else. I have a nice Fender solid state (hey, it's loud) and a variety of effects with it. I mostly use Fenders and have some strats and a tele.

I've played with this guitar endlessly, and for what I do and the tones I like, I can't take it out of lead mode. Everything else is just too thin and wirey. This obviously limits the functionality of this guitar for me. The lead mode seems to have a slight volume jump and rounds the tone out a lot better. I find myself leashed to this setting especially when playing clean.

Distortion helps this guitar out a lot, and I can jump around with the settings a bit when I overdrive it. It maintains its trebly character pretty well, but seems to prefer heavier overdrive, rather than all out distortion. One reviewer mentioned how the guitar seemd to get sucked away when distorted, and this pretty much sums up my experience. But with an SD-1, you get a great thiuck bluesy wail.

Very well crafted. Switches and knobs feel substantial and solid. Doesn't seem like a guitar which would be easily messed up...though I wonder about the bridge, which rocks back and forth (this is part of the design I'm told).

I think this guitar will prove to mostly be reliable. A bridge is not supposed to move, but I don't that effects it too much, I just have to be careful changing strings.

I have been playing 14 years, and have settled on Fenders. They just do what I want them to do and feel great. In terms of feel, the Jaguar is definitely a Fender, but for me it just doesn't seem as versatile as it should. I'm not looking for a thousand different tones at the flip of a switch, I'm not even looking for ten. The Jaguar just seems "timid" compared to the rest of my stable. It doesn't seem to have any authority or grind like my favorite strat does when pushed.

It is a nice guitar though. I like it for general songwriting, and jamming, and it does great little surfy tremolo dips. I would not hesitate to bring it along to gig as a backup. I don't know that it would be my main guitar live though.

I can see why this guitar has appeal...it looks great and feels great. And though it's tones don't work for me in an overall sense, they are certainly not bad or unusable...this is guitar that's used by a lot of pros for a good reason - it has personality. Unless you got a real dog of a Jag, you can't go wrong.

I have a 2002 Candy Apple Red "Crafted In Japan" model, which looks good enough to eat. The Guitar has a LOT of controls, which are essentially 2 systems: a rhythm cicuit (top controls) which is a bit dull. The lower controls are where all the fun is to be had, switching the two pickups on and off, and cutting the low frequencies out. Everything on the guitar is standard, and I don't intend to change it... except the bridge. The bridge is the stupid crappy one that everyone here complains about. It is REALLY bad. I got a gig bag thrown in

The guitar isn't spot on for my style, but it is a very interesting play. I've not been using pedals with it, just my vox amp, although I have had it on a tremolo setting to get that 50's sound (Bo Diddley/whoever). The guitar sound itself makes you play stuff you wouldn't ordinarily. My other guitars tend to be more resonant than this, but of course I therefore get a sharper sound from my Jag. The Jag does make a lot of different sounds, but a really sonorous resonance isn't really one of them

Someone has meddled with the bridge, to try to stop it rattling. They failed. The bridge is just a design disaster as far as I can see, and so don't want to really consider it on what is otherwise a superb piece

This guitar is v solid. I can't imagine that it won't last forever. The Fender style of strap buttons don't get me excitd: they're designed to slip straps off them (not such a good idea, if you're accident prone)

N/A

I've played for 12 years and got 5 other stringed instruments. I prefer my Epiphone Dot, for its rich sound, but still appreciate this guitar, which is a bit iconic. Not sure if I would buy a telecaster instead if insurance paid out. Favourite feature: colour matched headstock. Least favourite: bridge. The guitar is a lot of fun, but some people on this page have gone overboard. Maybe they never played another guitar, but it just isn't that amazing. If all my guitars went, I'd much sooner get my Dot back than this

It's a 1968 bound fingerboard green w tortoise shell pickguard. I bought it in 1976 for $400 Canadian. It is original except I lost the mute.

It sounds like a garbage can full of rocks being thrown down a flight of concrete stairs during the battle of Berlin. Then I hit the Rat pedal. Soundmen openly weep at the sight of it. I play it through an old Caliphone record player (tube, of course) which sounds better than any Fenderamp of any vintage. It is the most microphonic guitar in the world. I love it with all my heart; nobody else can stand it or keep it in tune.

I bought it when it was 8 years old. I have put new frets on it a decade ago, and have had to replace a switch and the volume knob, the victims of relentless gigging in hot, wet, smoky clubs. The action is easy to set up as is the intonation.

It is indestructable. I have worn through the finish to the wood and all the chrome is but a memory, everything is now brown with rust. It doesn't matter. Not only can I depend on it, I'd be lost without it.

If it were stolen or lost I would be beside myself. I own about 8 other guitars but they areall so different from the J ag that it would be unlikely that I could use them as a replacement. I wish Fender still made them with the bound fingerboards ( the necks are a hiar flatter)

Made in Japan with all the traditional Jaguar trimmings. Sunburst finish looks very nice. It's got a shorter scale (24 and 3/4?) neck with a nice slab o' rosewood on it and lots of chrome. It seems like it has endless switching features, with an on and off for each pickup, some kind of phase/bass cut switch, and then the famous lead circuit on the top near the neck pickup. Has the whacky Jag/Jazzmaster bridge and tremolo too.

I had always heard that Jaguars and Jazzmasters sound kind of plunky with below average sustain. And that's the truth. But it's great plunk.

The guitar is very bright, and doesn't seem to warm up all that much unless you adjust the controls of your amp. I've fiddled with the tone knobs mercilessly, and the guitar just keeps pouring out treble frequencies. But they're not really harsh or thin. I think of it as a mellowed-out Telecaster with a bit of an acoustic flavor to it. You do get a variety of tones being able to blend the two pickups or turn on the lead circuit for the neck pickup, but they're basically all derivative of my above description. It seems like a guitar that would appeal to those who have a base tone that they really enjoy, but like to make slight tweaks and have exacting control without losing that foundation.

I don't particularly care for the lead circuit all that much, because it doesn't really seem to change anything...it's just a seperate set of controls for preseting a volume and tone level. If anything, I use it to set a slightly lower volume, but I find I don't switch it on that much.

The phase/bass cut switch is a fun little option. It basically makes the guitar sound thin and wirey, but it's great fed into a fuzz pedal for some cool garage blues jams. Switching it off puts you right back into "mellow twang" mode. A definite plus.

I pretty much use this guitar with Vox and Fender amps, and have played it through a Marshall. It seems to gel real well with the Fender clean. Putting it through the Vox seems to accentuate the more gritty qualities of it, but it just doesn't have that clank that a Tele has that sounds so good (to me anyway) through a Vox amp. It sounded pretty good through the Marshall too.

Whereas the Jag has a very lovely and versatile clean sound, it seems to loose a little bit of ground when you crank up the distortion. I have all the standards (SD-1, DS-1, TS-9, Big Muff) and many others, and it seems like the pedal simply takes over, as if to compensate in some way. It doesn't seem to want to exert its own tones the way my Teles and Strats do. The plunkiness of the guitar adds a great attack element though. It adds a little extra pop to rhythm lines and coupled with the brightness, makes single lines cut nicely. The subtleties of the the clean tones get flushed in distorto-mayhem, however...so unless you use the phase/bass cut switch the tones sound mostly similar from setting to setting.

Basically, I think it's a great guitar tonewise, and definitely a great way to go if you're sick of Teles and Strats and the like.

I bought this used, so I won't really rate it, just describe it.

This guitar looks like it was pretty well taken care of when I got it. The usual little knicks and dents, but nothing major. IT looks like it was played a fair amount, but certainly not thrown around or mistreated or anything like that.

I have yet to use this guitar live, and it seems like it hold up nicely. I do have some niggles about it though. The bridge shifts back and forth in its slots (which is what it was designed to do). This kind of troubles me a bit, as it seems like it moves fairly easily even under the tension of the strings. This could, at the very least, screw up your intonation and make you look kinda dumb if you don't watch it.

Everything about it otherwise feels very substantial though. The switches and knobs all feel very solidly and put together very well.

I've been playing a while, and love everything from blues to punk.

This guitar is a fine addition to my collection, but I'm not really all that attached to it. It doesn't exude that workhorse ethic my Telecaster and Strat have about them. To me, it's a guitar that I go to when I need something different and need to be inspired in a certain way. Just as its a quirky instrument, it brings out some of my more creative edges. It kind of seems to say "That line would sound ridiculous played on your Telecaster, but I gladly take up the cause."

I kind of wish it was the longer traditional scale (I guess I could've gotten a Jazzmaster). It certainly doesn't feel like a short-scale guitar, but sonically it drops hints all over the place.

I almost wish the lead circuit wasn't there...it just seems like too much. I feel like no matter where I put my hand, I'm going to end up knocking it on or something. I do love that phase switch though :)

Overall, I think this is a guitar that everybody will have a different opinion about. Everybody can somewhat agree in the most basic sense that Teles have great twang, Les Pauls have fabulous sustain, Rickenbackers have great jangle, and so on. I think there are some out there that would find this to be the worst guitar ever made, while others would wonder why anyone ever bothered making any other sort of guitar after this one. Even my buddies seem to be decidedly split on how much they like or hate this guitar.

It's definitely a killer rhythm instrument that seems to love complex chords (helped by the short scale). It's hard to say how guys who play primarily lead would react...it's a little too spongy for me to really go nuts on, but on the toher hand one of my buddies always grab its and does nothing but solo on it.

These Japanese ones seem to be had a pretty killer prices now. I'd say if it interests you in the slightest, and you can find one at a good price, go for it.

rating 10

Paid $400
Japanese reissue 1995
dual factory single coils triple sunburst blood red marble pick guard
all the factory bells and whistles and lots of chrome If I was another guitar I would make love to it. I've played many makes and models over the past twenty years, nothing comes close. Purchased from Chicago Music Exchange where the store boys bought it to strip parts to refurbish an original to get full price, can't blame them. All it was missing was the tremolo bar and string post nut. I custom made an oak bridge to accomodate heavier gauge strings which the guitar seems to enjoy. It never fails to amaze me the soul that seems trapped inside the instrument, I believe the two rails that run along the sides of the single coils, which have a magnetic pull like the center poles give the pick-ups a sort of triple-bucker effect, at first I thought it was just extra chrome decor but it has a strange secret, a wonderfully strange secret.

The limitations to the sound are endless if you know how to listen to the instrument's inner voices and modify and pull them out, it will outshine any other guitar at any style of music where an electric guitar is mandated

I own a white MIJ reissue jag. still have the orginal factory pickups. It's got all the switches and knobs mentioned in previous reviews. you know the deal. It could use a better nut and some locking tuners. It would help its little flaws. A bridge screw popped out on me too but thats a small problem. besides, what you really want to know is what it sounds like.

I used to run it straight into a solid state fender princeton chorus. don't make that mistake. you won't get the sound you want...no matter what your style is. Now, I run it through a mesa boogie v-twin. Good god. It sounds awsome! Like many have mentioned before, this is not a metal guitar. Youre not going to get the bottom end that you would get from an ibanez thats for sure. But you will be surprised by the tones you can squeeze out of this thing. I think it might be the size of the single coils that give some meat to it, Im not really sure. but whatever it is, its good. Clean, it sounds like a dream. Keep in mind that your choice of amp is going to make a huge difference in sound. The pickups are pretty squealy, but plugging it through the v-twin takes care of alot of that. I do wish it had a tighter bottom end though. I would have to say that would be the one thing I would change. In the future I may get a couple hot jag replacement. But as for the time being I'm content. You can get a nasty growl from it. and it doesnt sound like anything else.

I bought this guitar used from music-go-round (i know..crazy isnt it?) And surprisingly it had not one bit of fret buzz, played great. although it was set for 9's. Believe me, you want 11's or at least 10's on this monster. its not made for rubber bands. I figured that out pretty quick. White was not my first choice but it grew on me.

Ok, we all have heard about the bridge. it bites. Again I think i must have gotten a good one because I dont have much trouble keeping it in tune and Ive never had the strings jump out of the saddles when I play. Its always good to have a back up, no matter what youre playing. I dont care if you have a 3000 dollar custom PRS. have a backup. you never know what will go wrong. Far as I can tell this guitar holds up really well. No finish problems or major hardware problems. The frets kinda suck on mine though. It could use some more durable jumbo frets. WOuld definately use it play out though.

never dealt with fender. If something goes wrong Ill fix it, my friend will fix it, or a guitar tech will fix it.

I have been playing for 11 years, and I wouldn't trade this baby in for anything. It feels great, looks great, sounds great, and plays great. I used to have a mustang reissue. and compared to this, the mustang is a joke. they were student guitars for cryn out loud! For what I payed for this guitar, I doubt I could find anything that compares to the sound and look and feel. I hear mustang bridges are a cheap mod you can do to fix the problem of the faulty jag bridge. I might just do that. The MIJ jags (if you can find them for a reasonable price,) are a great guitar for the money. Ive never played the american reissues, but they are ALOT more expensive. So much more that I can't understand why you wouldn't just buy the real vintage model. All I can say is I love my jaguar. You might love yours too. If it was stolen I would hunt the SOB down and make him eat his own liver. Dont mess with my Jaguar!!

2002 Candy Apple Red Jaguar, Japanese but probably the most beautiful guitar I have ever seen (apart from the White Gibson Les Paul custom a la James Dean-Bradfield). Normal 2 single coils, floating trem blah blah blah blah blah. Full of stuff, I don't even know where to begin. I have a Squier Venus which has a volume knob and a selector and now I've got this, some fat red thing with umpteen-squillion rollers and shiny bits and switches and ARGH! Oh, the headstock is the same colour as the body, which rules! And the neck is maple with a rosewood fingerboard. Pearly dots, rather than blocks and no binding.

I've used it with my Marshall Valvestate and have been thrasing out some barre chords with just the amp's distortion. I'm not really good at describing sounds but if you listen to "The Truth Is No Words" by the Music I've managed to get that tone out of it (geez I'm hopeless at this!). I like the way it plays though it buzzes sometimes and I've only just realised what this is - the saddles. They have little grooves so you can just push the strings over them. This is the main problem I have found with this guitar (oh, and the confusion with the controls but that doesn't matter because what other guitar has that sorta stuff? Go on, FIND ONE!! :D).

The action is good, seems nice and low and pretty good. I don't think there's been much done to it but it plays OK, not quite as well as my Gibson Les Paul Studio does but I think that was set-up bigtime before I bought it.
The finish is flawlessly applied and there are no problems with anything, no slightly loose screws, no nothing. There is buzzing but as I mentioned before, this is due to the saddles thing. You can move the strigs back easy enough anyway.

I would rely on this guitar with my life, probably, unless I was playing a ten hour gig, in which case I would probably break my collar bone. I've played strats and looking at the Jag you'd expect it to be the same weight, but it isn't. It ways an absolute ton, and I know, as I had to carry it round Music Live with me when I bought it. Still, it's good, it shall serve me well, I'm sure.

The guy I bought it off was nice, I bought it direct from Fender at their stand at Music Live and he gave me a free gig bag, so I was pleased.

I've been playing 5 years and as well as this Jag I have a mid 90's Gibson Les Paul Studio in Wine Red, which is good, a Squier Vista Venus is seafoam green which is the most fun I have ever had, a Takamine EG560C which sounds a bit crap plugged in (well, through my VS65R anyway), a Peavey Milestone bass, a 70's Fender Solid Top acoustic and an old Hohner Classical guitar. I have to say my Gibson is the best guitar, it just feels completely perfect. The jag is my second favourite though my venus is more comfortable. All in all, The jag is up there with the best, a very VERY close second to my Gibson. I think it's just the fact that the Jag seems to weigh more than the Les Paul! What's going on there?!

it was made in the grand ol' US of A.... i think its about 5 or 6 years old... i really cant remember. its got all the standard stuff everyone else has mentioned, and i cant be bothered repeating it when noone will read it anyway! put it this way.... no other geetar has as many features as a jag.... NO geetar at all!


i have just one problem.... the bridge, although a wonderful design and great sounding..... has crap saddles on it which have very shallow grooves in them. this means that sometimes when i'm playin, and this might just be me as i'm a very vicious player, well i knock the bottom E string out of its groove and this can be a real pain. i may file the saddles down a bit so the string fits better - BUT THATS THE ONLY PROBLEM WITH THIS GUITAR

(its fitted with two seymour duncan 1/4 pounders, which increase its output whilst still keeping the original tone, although i still own the original single coil efforts)

the sound is gorgeous... at first i only really like the rhythm and neck pick-up sounds.... i hated the bridge pick-up so much i was considering putting in some sort of di-marzio or seymour duncan humbucker once i got the money.... since then i had a change of heart n i now actually LOVE the bridge pick-up! i guess it just takes a while to get used to it as its so unusual.... please dont hack up your jag with humbuckers.... i really think you'll regret it at a later time......

well its second hand so it was set-up pretty good..... personally i cant really see much wrong with it at all. i really like it!

its very reliable, no problems with it at all, even when i jump around like a goon...... like i said, the only problem is the saddles... thats it really

i dont have a clue seeing as i've never had a problem with my jaguarrrrrrrr

i've been playin six years now..... i also have a les paul studio which is crap compared to this motha!
if stolen i would contemplate suicide.
i lurve pretty much everything about this geetar.... its well sexy!
the best feature is its sound and variety of sounds, and its GORGEOUS look!

some people complain about its sound when combioned with distortion pedals.... all i can is that in a way i do agree with you and in a way i dont...... i have a DS-1 which is good for solo-ing but rubbish for rhythm.... doesnt really give u a bluesy or punky/grungey sound whatever you try with it, although it works fine with my jap strat and les paul. i then went out and bought a metal zone and its great with the jag! gives a fantastic crunchy sound (the lead player in elastica used one, so go check out their debut album to hear how it sounds) and its great for a variety of tones.... (maybe i should do a review for this pedal too?)

final note: this is just my life story basically...... a week after i bought this geetar i saw a music man axis sport come in for 700 quid. shit! still glad i bought this though - even though it was expensive!

My beauty is a '98 re-issue of the '68. It has dual controls for the two pickups (tone and volume for each), and a pickup selection switch.

I play all sorts of music from Neil Young to Nirvan, and everything in between. The sound of this guitar is just so damn versatile that it fits anything you could even try to play. It is the best sounding guitar I have ever heard played.

I bought this guitar in an auction. The only problem I came across was two of the knobs coming loose. I plan to replace the bridge with something I can get a little bit better use with the tremolo bar out of. There were no factory flaws, just common wear and tear from everyday use.

This guitar will bring down the house played live. I recomend running it through either a Marshall tube amp or, even better, an Egle. If I were to ever gig without a backup, this would be the guitar that I would choose. I have put no money into it, and it holds tune phenomenolly.

None so far!

I have been playing for about two years and this is by far the finest piece of equipment that I own. I used to play out of a suped-up strat-replica, and even stock parts blow that out of the water. I highly recomend this guitar to an music enthusiast, because it's a fricken Jaguar, the most versatile, unique and beautiful guitar ever designed.

1995 - Japanese-made - 22 frets - Rosewood fretboard - Lead circuit: volume, tone knobs, pickup selector, phase reversal. Rhythm circuit: volume, tone. 2 pickups. Very smooth fretboard!

All the features I need plus more. The guy at the shop had no idea what all the controls did. Believe me, they're not just for show! This thing is versatile. I just saw my cream Jag with turtoise shell pickguard hanging on the shop wall and I stopped breathing. I've had for 6 years and I still feel the same way.

I play clean. I play alone so it's mostly rhythm. This is a complete tone machine. Nothing else sounds like a jag. It's bright and smooth with rich lows and peppy highs. I play through a princeton chorus but I'll buy a tube amp someday.

You can play anything with a Jag, plus nothing else looks like it. I play seated and it's very comfortable. I never have to adjust it or try to get the right position. It just stays put.

I love the shape of the neck and the body as well. I bought it new and the bridge can drive you to drink unless you strap on some 10 guage strings and have the saddles adjusted. I had 30 dollars of work done and now the strings never pop out anymore. No real flaws on the axe at all. Vintage tuners aren't the best I've ever used but it does stay in tune all the time.

I don't use the tremolo very often. With a little bridge work and some heavier strings you're ready to roll.

I've never had any problems aside from the bridge, but that was because I used 9 guage strings for 5 years. Doh! I bought strap locks because there's no way this grrl's hittin' the ground. The finish is just fine. Sexy guitar.

The saddle screws rattle once in a while. Other than that it's a nice piece of lumber.

I'll never lose this guitar. I even put a lock on my gig bag when I travel just to slow down a would be thief. I'd never sell it. If I own 15 guitars before I die, I'll always keep this one. Best feauture: SOUND QUALITY. Worthy of a really nice tube amp.

I've been looking for a Jaguar since I started playing guitar. Here, in Argentina the Jaguar practically doesnt exist, its very rare. Fortunately I got one for 300 bucks. It's a Japanese Re-Issue special edition for Fender's 50th anniversary from 1995.

Its a very versatile guitar, I play from Incubus to BB King and it sounds awesome. I think its the best guitar ever made, if you've got one, dont you ever sell it, and if you dont own one, then you should.

I didn't modify it much since I bought it used and the original factory set up was already modifiyed. I took it to a local store to have the tremolo adjusted properly as well as the annoying bridge, I had it set up for 0.10's, it sounds very "Frusciante" like now.

think its the best guitar ever made, you can play whatever you want and use it live, to record or to play for fun. Definitely a fine instrument.

dint try to get support yet

Buy a Jag, you wont be dissapointed at all.

a japanese one bought & crafted in 2002
so many controls! i love it

i play some alternative/noise rock and it fits very well to this kinda music there are huge sound possibilities and i can have a jazzy sound , or a surf music kinda sound , and with the amp's distortion , i can get a fuzz-like sound or a very high and noisy sound and , of course everything between this.the vibrato is also fantastic.

allright but not great

it looks ok

i play for a few years and i've alaways dreamt of this jaguar now that i own it i m the happiest man in the world i can do everything i want with it i love everything in this guitar

I bought a reissue 1962 Fender Jaguar, no less than candy apple red, always my dream guitar. I used to drool over Jags I saw in stores, on TV, and on album covers. Other Fenders are alright, but The Jaguar is the Jaguar. Along with my reissue '62 Fender Twin Reverb amp, my 1980(ish) Tube Reverb, I can flat make some kinda surf music, my favorite being the Astronauts from Denver, Clorado. I don't need fuzztones, phasers, choruses, flangers, etc. Just gimme that tube reverb sound. Oh yeah, gotta kick the reverb (pronounce Reee-Verb)now and then.

Sounds like a Fender Jaguar

Never had to.....

Love my Jag, too bad we can't get married

My first ever baby was this '65 jag i found for half what it was worth. it has all the usual jag characteristics, two pickups, nice small frets, dot markers. all the hardware is stock, but the body has been refinished (not by me but looks fucking gorgeous, esp. under lights). also, one of the previous owners was obviously short sighted (or perhaps just stupid) and has had mega fret dots 'installed' (even i could do better woodwork than this...) in the side of the neck. they look real goofy. and for some reason the trem bar refuses to be removed from the body (i'd only lose it...). in general i reckon the jag is a great guitar, and cannot see why it has been so maligned. i really don't think that a strat is any comparison; it may be more slimlined that the jag but it is lacking in the personality dept. jags have the edge. (besides, who wants to play the same guitar as iron maiden or yngwie?)

plinkety plunk goes the jaguar. when i got it home and plugged it in the first thing i noted was how goddamned sharp the sound was. being such an old guitar, the attack was quicker and harder than anything i'd ever played before. What it lacks in sustain it more than makes up for in it's bright attack. sound wise it might help to think of a jag as the anti-les paul. pauls are warm n creamy, where a jag is an ice pick. that being said, the neck pickup is the sweetest damn thing i have ever heard. everything that is good about fender tones is concentrated right there, in the rhythym setting. the breadth of tones available with all the switches is impressive. from fat, sweet n bluesy to the thinnest chicken-funk twang imaginable. adding distortion can make things real interesting. clean is obviously it's bag, but run dirty the jag can offer some left of centre distorto-tones. i find the pickups to be fatter sounding than any other fender i have played (although i have never touched a jazzmaster). the neck pickup can do overdriven blues leads nicely (i don't move from this setting when playing in my blues band), and will even approach a kyuss-like sound (but with more definition) when put under extreme distorto-duress. the bridge pickup has some serious girth for a single coil. through a rat pedal it will cut like a knife, and through a big muff it sounds awesome, corpulent while retaining it's edge. i have used the jag to play every kind of music that i can think of, and it always has something interesting to offer, sonically. great for blues, funk, rock, jazz, punk, country, metal (yes, the jag can play metal, it just needs a little prompting. metal-style chunking and fast pickwork can be a little difficult on that bridge). great for just making noise, too. better through old amps, as it's edge can get a little surgical through those modern pre-master volume amps. the trem is too die for, think bigsby rather than strat.

old as it may be, the jag is in A1 condition, the exception being the saddles. with over thirty five years of playing, the strings have worn nasty little grooves into them. i was recently informed that these cost a princly Aus$25 EACH to replace, so i'm saving up for that little mod. apart from that it plays like a dream, although big benders will hate the jag. you'd be very lucky to bend a note over a step; because the neck profile is more rounded than modern guitars (including jag reissues) notes bent with bravado die a quiet death.

The jag is one solid motherfucker. It never goes out of tune, even with some creative tremming. so tuff, that if i were drafted, i'd take this little baby to war.

never had it looked at, but it was difficult to even find a quote on replacement saddles. bits for jags (well, anything that's not a strat or a tele) are hard to come by down under.

I bought this when i was sick of playing shitty sounding toy guitars and i just wanted a tone machine. it is certainly that. real nice guitar sounds, that's what you get with an old jag. if it were stolen i would violate the geneva code several times over. The thing i love most about it is the sound (OH THE SOUND!), and also how it's real comfy to play. it could always do with a little more sustain, though that's not a handicap. if you need sustain, buy a gibson. if you want real guitar tones, with a spiky immediacy to them, look no further than a vintage jag.

Year-Unknown, Made-in japan, 22 frets, I think solid top, Volume knob,2 other knobs and 4 swicthes, Two humbuckers, I think avtive, Maple, Transparent finish, Jaguar shape, Unknown brige.No tuner, thin i think,with gig bag

I suites my style I play from oldies, modern rock, and punk
I use chorus
It is louder on rythm setting
Rich cool clean sound when I have new strings
$ different sounds
I like

set up good
pickups are good
routed brige
no flaws

Withsand live playing
Everthing but maybe the brige
finsh a little thin
stap buttons are solid
dependable
yes

Never delt with company
no

the first owner unknown yrs me 2yrs. I also own an ovation
no
I would want it back
no
no

Ah.... My Jag of which i recently purchased in 3 colour sunburst. The pickguard is tortoise shell and a beutifully smooth neck with a rosewood fretboard. It came with a case coz my mum said "Its so expensive so it can't be broken". But i asked the person at the desk if it came with a mute and bridge cover but i was sadly disappointed. It has a cool rhythm/lead switch and a hell of a lot of buttons!

Oh, it produces grand mellow sounds in the rhythm circuit and in the lead circuit with the lead modifying swithch and the bridge pickup on you can really whip out those vintage beach boys tones. I love to play wipeout the '60s surf tune.

The whole guitar was a success from when i played it in the store! One bad point though was the was the way strings could skip saddles if you played it hard and how the bridge could vibrate. But that was fixed in 5 minutes and i was off playing again!

It should last on gig and i wouldn't back it up with an extra. But a bad point with all fenders is that the sraps can fly off inadvertantly with your instrument flying to the ground but ive cought it every time!!! I need some Fender-Schaller straplocks bbut #18!!

Oh yeah, recently went into the shop i bought it from and asked for the fender bridge and mute cover.. The called them up and said they could provide tem but for #48!!

I had always been keen on the fender guiters but was going to buy a super strat, that was until i found out 100 jap jag's were coming to the uk, the shop had two and a jazz master which is still here a month later!! I wish it had the mute and bridge cover and i'd get another one if it was stolen. If you can buy one it's great!!!! Its' the best guitar ive played!!! :)

The guitar in question is a contemporary (2002) re-issue Jaguar made in Japan. Most of the other features have been well described in the other reviews.. so no need to reiterate. I would like to say that this particular plank has an immaculate blonde finish and is of absolutely astounding build quality. Vastly superior to all but the Fender USA models I suspect. I'd also like to add that whilst "Blondie" is decidedly right handed, I'm not so lucky.

I never bother buying lefties though, so merely hours after buying my long-sought after Jag.. I tearfully wielded my toolbox in its general direction in order to turn the nut around, swap the bridge saddles over and, worst of all.. relocate the strap button to the lower bout. The result is that this 'unusual' guitar now looks even wierder.. like what a Jag-Stang *should* be.

Testing the guitar in the shop was hopeless; someone had put rusty fusewire on it for strings, and the testing amp was a tinny little transistor jobby. To make matters worse, I was feeling increasingly crowded by the flock of wallet chain wielding 18 year olds that had been drooling over the guitar before I came along as though it was some Di-Marzio toting metal machine.

As I mentioned earlier, I'd been looking for a Jag for ages, so I decided to lose the money and take my chances. The faces of several of the shopkeepers were very dark as I completed the purchase, I think I must have just bought their favourite guitar or something. My incompetent attempts to play a right handed instrument in the shop probably didn't help their opinion of me either.

After I'd got Blondie home and performed the necessary surgery, I strung her with my customary 10-52's and introduced her to the rest of the gang. Namely my Laney LC30 valve amp, and my ever growing array of chorus, tremolo, delay and wah pedals. She took some time to wiegh up the opposition whilst I sorted her out a strap and lead; Fernandez, my trusty Bitzer Strat and Blade, my hot-headed young Delta-T telecaster.

I play alternative music and I mean alternative, If it sounds odd and/or cheesy, the chances are I'll like it. Plugging Blondie in initially resulted in a splending tumult of wailing and clanging.. I particularly like the way she headed straight for feedback country. I also liked the excellent 'rattlesnake' sound you can get by wobbling the 'wang-bar' rapidly in its mounting.. the large amount of string behind the bridge really helping those eerie scratching noise outings as well as proving great for a-tonal high pitched stabs. The body seems very reasonant, which no-doubt helps the amount of liveliness on offer. In short.. I had the feeling I was attempting to ride a very frisky young filly indeed (ooh err).

Easing off the gain and effects a little, Blondie also showed her softer side. The 'rythm' circuit gives a very pleasent wooly tone, suitable for some light Jazz chords (greatly facilitated by a wonderful vibrato system). Switching to the lead circuit, the tone is toppy, but very tight. Sustain isn't great.. but clarity and definition are excellent. The guitar works very well clean with chorus, the 'transparent' tone suits modulation effects superbly. Although some might find the sound a little too bright, you can easily tone it down using the controls. I found some of the distortion sounds alarmingly reminiscent of a 'hot rodded' strat tone. Particularly, the bridge pickup gives out an icy blast of a sound under gain.. responding well to palm muted 'chugging'!

Above all, I'd say the Jaguar is a versatile guitar; it has a very wide range of tones, but never ever comes close to sounding quite like anything else. In this way it reminds me a lot of a Danelectro U2.

I can't really comment on the factory set-up, as the first thing I did was turn it all upside down for left handed use. The Build quality is simply outstanding though.. utterly brilliant.. flawless.

Fender really needs to stop shipping all of its guitars set up with 9 guage strings though. The Jaguar needs at least a 10 guage, preferably with a wound 3rd, or the strings will just pop out of the saddles.

The neck is very straight and properly finished (none of this bare wood nonsense) and the fretwork is brilliant. The guitar will actually take a much, *much* lower action than I've set it up with, at the usual cost of tone and sustain though of course.

Overally the durability seems excellent.. although I'm a little worried about the tremolo arm becoming 'floppy' with use.. I like it to stay where its put.

Don't know.

I've been playing 8 or 9 years (I think). I've gigged a fair bit too.. and I'm frequently complemented on my sound by others. I keep things relatively simple, and make sure there is never any duff gear to get in between my fingers and the punters ears.

I love the Jaguar for its individuality, I'd been looking out for one for a long time before buying this, so I guess I knew what I was getting myself into. The best thing about the Jag is that whatever it does, it seems to do it rather well.. it never sounds cheap or lifeless. Even with a wah pedal cutting out all the bass it sounds edgy and keen rather than thin. It works great upside down too; balancing unexpectedly well on a strap and feeling generally more comfortable to play than my leftie strat. The bridge/trem has come in for a lot of stick but, honestly, on a new or well maintained Jag its fine for light tremolo work and doesn't go out of tune unless you abuse it.

I dont really care what year a guitar is made so I didnt bother finding out, but this was obviously used and had been partially re-painted (dark navy blue). Other than that a typical Jaguar with all the switches (I think they are passifiers of some kind) and knobs. I'm not really up on terminology but the neck is kind of thin (nice). Whenever I buy a new guitar I replace the pick-ups. Stock pick-ups are always too bright (even for a single coil) on guitars higher up the range so I fit pick-ups from shitty cheap guitars to get a nice muddy sound.

I play mainly my own songs in a band, but we also play covers by Mudhoney and the smashing pumpkins and is perfect for both. I love noisy pick-ups and get a beautiful muddy sound on the neck, and a nice chug on the bridge (I fitted pick-ups from a damaged Squire Bullet [I wish you could buy shitty pick-ups somewhere]). With the new additions it is nice and warm on the neck which I use most of the time. The switches take a bit of getting used to and if you have had too many beers when you are performing on stage and you knock one it is very bewildering trying to focus on why your guitar has stopped making noise. I use a Marshall 100CDR head (I hate fucking valves what's the point of paying double for inconsistency?) and it sounds lovely

When I got this guitar it was beautifully worn. I dont give a shit whether you've got birds on your fucking fret-board, you are obviously a fucking mug for paying too much for a guitar (one man's trash..). I play in a dropped tuning and had to get my friend to set it up (it was terrible when I got it). Surprisingly the switches work perfectly. One machinehead needed adding (it was missing the high "e"). Satisfactory, good second hand if looks aren't important.

This has looked on its last legs since I first bought it but it manages to still work after a year. It looks like it has been dropped on the floor thousands of times but I havent yet dropped it (it would probably dematerialise if I did). I like the dark navy finish that was added buy the previous owner. You can see that it was red before.
I never gig with a back-up as it looks like you are saying "check-out how rich my parents are" (yes I mean you you fucking 15 year old american wankers with your gibsons).

Whenever I have a problem I just get in touch with my mate so this is a non applicable. Anyway I dont count a split gig-bag or chipped paint work as a problem. Fender would think I was joking if I handed them this anyway. What's a warranty?

To some middle aged, PRS weilding snob who plays 60's covers in the dead man's tuning of "e" whilst drowning his sorrows with pints of Gregor's dead olde Ferret ale this guitar would be left in the shop. But I love its character and originality, and I have managed to get a nice warm sound out of the thing. If it was stolen I would kill the cunt because this is 1 in a million. Lovely. Maybe a tad expensive for its condition but good for a Jaguar that works.

I believe mine was a '66, purchased used in 1986, white , Heavy!, probably an alder body, 4 bolt maple neck with rosewood board, MOP dot inlays. the previous owner put a middle pickup (Dimarzio stacked humbucker, made for a strat replacement) with an additional mini toggle to engage it, and Schaller mini tuners. no vibrato bar and a crappy aftermarket case, not bad for $300. I stuffed the case with foam and wedged a standard cheapo Fender bar in the tailpiece and off I went!

The guitar had one basic sound , though the three different pickups changed the tone a bit with regards to treble/bass. the filter cut switches did nothing in my opinion. The guitar is TWANGY, a nice twang, deep and throaty, and very satisfying for that type of 60s vibe. I recall really loving the heck out of playing "Wild Weekend", Duane Eddy tunes, and blues. A very authentic vintage vibe!!
HOWEVER; this guitar has no real sustain, and no chance of playing metal, fusion, etc. GREAT for garage punk/noise when cranked through a cheap amp a la Peavey, etc. I would not try to get a "Good" sound out of this or play it through a Marshall, etc. It is a one trick pony, period. The main things working against it are the crappy roller bridge, the lame pickups (Microphonic, lots of string pull magnetically, no matter how low you adjust them) and the short scale (24"). On the plus side, the bridge and pickups give it the twang, and the short scale is nice for much smaller hands.

This one was set up quite nicely, low action with little buzz, and the schallers kept it in tune very well, even when cranking the whammy bar. The BEST thing about this guitar for me was the body shape (same as a Jazzmaster, etc). I felt it was extremely well balanced and despite its considerable heft, one of the most comfortable guitars I've ever played, standing or sitting. Again, I felt the 24" scale, despite the ease in stetches, made the feel too mushy. You could put thicker strings (11-52) on as I did and get a nice rhythm tone but that kind of kills the twang factor - so what's the point?

Built like a tank overall, though the bridge was pretty cheesy and the electronics were too complicated for their own good. (too much crap for so few tone varieties); lots of crackling and fizzing, which I don't think a simple clean and lube would have fixed. Had I kept it back in 1987 I would have ripped the guts out and slapped a single DiMarzio super distortion in, nice and simple with one volume knob. I think Fender's stolen my idea and done that since then, though.......

never dealt with

If you want a specific vibe, you really can't go wrong with one of these - they have THAT sound - if you have to ask, make sure before buying! I think the reissues seem just as good as the old ones, maybe not quite as nice re: body wood (remember these were top of the line for Fender back then!).
I would NOT however recommend one as an only or main guitar, or for someone who wants versatility or a very rich sounding instrument. You could modify it but you'd probably be better off getting something else that gets the twang along with other sounds (Hence the greater popularity of the Strat, I gather!!) I would not buy one again only because of the scale length; I had thought for awhile about getting a Jazzmaster instead to get the 25 1/2" scale but there are other choices; long scale Mustangs, the newer imports (Jag-stang/etc hybrids from Fender and Squier) and even the same body shape from custom parts suppliers. I may just get me a nice light weight Jag body from Warmouth but slap a Super Distortion in the bridge, one vol. knob , better bridge and tuners - and off I go!

Other reviews have features listed, sunburst finish, oversized headstock, single coil...

The sound is very, very thin. It possesses very, very little bass, especially through a Vox Series 90 solid state and an AC30. It does sound better clean if you need a bright, poppy tone, but anything with depth it just won't kick out the mellow mids or any real bass. With the distortion on, it is just abnoxious, very sharp and lacking any real definition, sustain, or tone.

The guitar is a Fender. It was a new Custom Shop Jag, and the sunburst finish was beautiful. The whole guitar had a clean cut look with the natural oversized headstock, dot inlays were well apportioned with medium sized frets, off white pickguard and chrome plates were very clean and well constructed. The action was a hair high, but it had light strings on it, it played easy. The body shape gave it a funny feel when you had to stand up and play it, it was far from evenly weighted.

Being a solid body fender, this would double as stage guitar and self defense weapon. Though it was never used to fend off drunken hecklers, I knew that she would be there in a pinch. The guitar was used for live playing, my other guitars being a Coronado and a Sheraton, and I knew she wasn't going to fall apart.

I fix my own problems or take it to a good local shop in Quincy, Ill if any major work need to be done, mso I don't really deal much with the Actual Fender Company.

Other gear I had at the time I had it were the Jag, A 66 Fender Coronado II, and Epiphone Sheraton, and a Gibson Jumbo. I used two stage amps, one being a Vox Series 90 and a Fender Showman. At home, an AC30 was used to reherse. I have since sold it for two DeArmond M72's, and that was the best bet I ever made. The guitar was very limited to a bright, poppy, surf tone. It could do the surf tone, but really couldn't change it into much else. I also tried it through a friends Hartke bass amplifier, and it still just wouldn't produce any sound of depth. Very little midrange tone either. It is just a bright punky sounding guitar.

Japanese Jaguar , reissue of the 60s , as "good" as the american one.
Never saw such a poor hardware!!!
Nothing useful , effective.

If you want the sound of the smells like teen spirit's intro , it's your guitar , for the others go away!
The output level is so low that when I put it in my DS2 , it gives me a kind of crappy crunch (even in turbo mode).

BUT BUT BUT , he's not so bad , if you like clean sounds , and ONLY clean sound , she can be ok.

In a general way , think of a thine sound than a telecaster(you should choose the tele)

used guitar , no gig bag , nothing.

This is Fender , it can be ok for years and years.....

You can take the jag for gig , but as a complementary sound , not as your main guitar.

I started the guitare in 1997.
I bought it when i was a beginner just because i like nirvana.
But as you know nirvana is really easy to play , so I started playing Hendrix , or later Satriani , and I realised how this guitare sucks.
Now I have a strat , an ESP , and a JS1(ibanez) , and I'm an happy man.

Dont buy it , try the telecaster or the strat , with a good mutlieffect , you'll can make their sound thiner , just like the j'aguar's one!

July 1963 Jaguar: Bought the guitar beat up with knicks,dings and a bad baby blue refinish that had chipped half way off, one of the pickups had been replaced with an emg single coil. The reson I bought the guitar however was the fact that all that could be repaired. The main thing was besides that all the hardware was in great condition and all original. I have recently gotten the guitar profesionally refinished, and reffretted, the emg was removed and replaced bye a reissue pickup and a replacement tremelo arm has been put on. I am proud to say it's completely restored.

Some might disagree but for punk rock this guitar sounds great! Clean or distorted

The only problems whith my Jaguar is the bridge, the jaguar bridges were not leo fenders best idea, but It does not give me many problems when playing, the guitar is great for 38 years old

I got this guitar horribly beat up and it still sounded great, and way better after it was restored! The pre cbs fender is a guitar that will last!

Great guitar! although I would not recomend it for heavy metal. Grunge is as far in as it will go with the single coil pickups so if you want metal go for an esp or a jackson. This guitar has a wide veriety of tones and was fenders top of the line of pre cbs as they deserve to be one of the most classic guitars ive played

Not sure of the year,but, purchased used in 1965.

It sound unlike the other guitars that I own. Eg. strat, carvin.

The action on this guitar is very good. The neck need to be adjusted, it is slightly off. This guitar has been thought a lot with bumps and scrapes, but over all it is a pretty amazing guitar that get many good comments.

This guitar can be taken and played anywhere. the only thing with this guitar is I need to take into a shop to get the electronics worked on and also the neck. Once that is done I wouldn't have a problem playing without a backup.

I don't know at this time. Fender is in the area where I live, I'll check it out and get back to you.

Been playing 35 years. I also own a american standard strat, A185 carvin, ovation acoustic and classical guitar, fender p-bass. No. It would be very difficult to replace this (popular) blue guitar. The Metallic paint job and shape. I hate that I didn't give this guitar the care it deserves.

Totally nonmodified japenese made Jaguar bought recently used in mint condition.....and its great.

Im using a Marshall JMP late 70`s 2x12 combo and a fender Twin reverb
Sounds like it should, allthough Im thinking of replacing the bridge pu due to its a bit too-bright-for-me sound. A bit noisy but compared to my strat its acceptable. When I it my RAT od I know I`ll never sell her.

I did some adjustments. First of all I put on 011-049(3rd plain),lowered the action just a bit and then blocked the tremolo with a piece of wood. I bought it used so I dont know what the past owner(s) did or didi not. But now its great.

Live its a killer and for now it hasnt let me down-,and the attitude of this guitar is what its all about

I\ve been playing for 15 years, pro for the last 6. Ive always played modded strats`and the jaguars neck suits me perfect and the body is a major bonus.