New Guitar - Fender Jaguar

[Pete C]

I've had GAS for months for a Fender Jaguar and finally took the leap and bought one from the new Fender Vintera range. Built in Mexico so a lot cheaper than a US model. Arrived yesterday and I've been well impressed with the tones just playing through a clean amp. Looking forward to trying it out on my next band rehearsal.

It's exactly the same as the one in this video:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHIkJXbBrlo

Pete

[Jean Pierre]

Dear Pete
I had a fender jaguar (american) in the 66's . I was then very young and lead guitarist of our band "the red roosters", we were obviously fans of beatles and rolling stones
This fender jaguar was the only specimen in Lyon, France. It wasn't mine but only on loan and all the local rock bands wanted to have me with them not for my guitar skills but for the prestige of having a fender jaguar in their band

[bruno]

That looks the biz, and sounds better - very good purchase.
B

[Flash Harry]

It is a thing of beauty.

I'm rather envious.

[Speed Demon]

Does it have adjustable string saddles? As I recall, earlier Fender guitars had hard tail bridges which made
them impossible to get more than two strings to properly tune to concert pitch.
The early Gibsons suffered from the same Intonation Disease.

This is one of two reasons that, to this day, there are no Fender or Gibson guitars in my herd.
Years too late fixing the intonation problem and much too expensive, to add insult to injury.

[Pete C]

Does it have adjustable string saddles?

Hi Gene,

The saddles adjust for height for the action and backwards and forwards for intonation.

Pete

[Speed Demon]

Glad to hear that.
Enjoy your new guitar. I'm looking forward to hearing it.

[WarpCanada]

Been GAS-ing for a Fender Jaguar ever since I first saw one played.  Am I insane but it's the switches that get me.   As a 12 year old, I remember thinking that a jacket was cool because of the sheer number of zippers on the thing.  This would have been 1982.

Anyways, the offset body, the switches, more the better, and the odd vibe of the thing are only two of my three favorite things. My absolute favorite thing is the trem system on this thing.  Although I'm told that the bridge design on classic Jags is problematic, modern Fender bridges on Jags, or the retrofit "mastery bridge" plus a Jag trem system is a thing I have been pining for for years.

Either an MiM Fender (Vintera or similar) or the American Pro II Jaguar (2020+) are the two I'm considering.

[BerryPatch]

Awesome! I love the look and sound of these guitars but recently I tried out a Squire Jaguar and wasn't too impressed. The whole thing felt a bit cheap and the pickups were brittle sounding. I hear there's a large difference in quality between the Squier Classic Vibe Jags and the MiM Vintera series. They sure look beautiful, especially with the matching headstock on those sort of "aqua" finished ones.

[Pete C]

It's nearly 18 months since I started this post so I can now give some feedback to the recent posts as I've now used it at loads of rehearsals and one live gig before lockdown.

The switches look complicated but I soon got used to them - there's a few videos on Youtube explaining them.  Basically there's two circuits - Lead and Rythym.  The upper roller knobs and switch control just the neck pickup when the switch is set upwards. When you flick it down you're then in lead mode where you use the lower set of controls - the 3 switches at the bottom are on and off for each pickup and a strangle switch which cuts the mids and lowers. The 2 knobs control tone and volume.

I've not tried the Squier versions, though I've always heard they're good. Build-wise the Vinteras are not quite the level of a US model but certainly on a par with other makes at the same price range - very similar to the Reverend Jetstream I bought a few months ago which I think is an execellent guitar for the price.

The only problem I've had is with the bridge saddles on the vintage style bridge so I switched the bridge for a Staytrem bridge which is the one Johnny Marr had developed when he started using Jags. Its similar to a Mustang bridge so the strings don't slip on the saddles.

Sound-wise, Jags can be very bright but I've found it suits most of the songs on our set list except Sweet Child of mine as it doesn't sustain well for that type of solo.

The neck radius is 7.25 inch which might feel different if you're use to a flatter radius like the 12 inch on most Gibsons.

Overall I'm loving playing the Jag and the way it hangs on the strap I find is really comfortable.

Here it is in action...

Pete


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t1qHcxu6Xw