Just the Facts
In the early ‘60’s the Jaguar was Fender’s top of the line instrument. It was introduced in 1962 and was similar to the Jazzmaster in shape and appointments. However it had a shorter 24” scale, and two newly designed single coil pickups. It also had a sophisticated two channel tone system with four switches and two sets of pots, a floating tremolo system and a spring loaded mute.
While Fender Jaguars did not have the lasting impact of Strats and Teles, they were quite popular for a while especially with country guitar players and surf bands like the Astronauts and the Surfaris. Both Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys and Buddy Merrill of the Lawrence Welk orchestra sometimes played a Jaguar, as did session legend Billy Strange. More recently Jaguars have been played by punk, grunge, and alt performers including Johnny Marr and Kurt Cobain. Fender used Cobain’s highly modified Jaguar as inspiration for the popular Jagstang model.
Where and When
I got this guitar in Flagstaff, Arizona in 1983. It is in really good shape and came with a period correct case.
Why it’s Cool
It has a kind of a thin, percussive sound that is great for retro music, especially surf and rock-a-billy. I used to play it quite a bit in several groups that specialized in fifties and sixties rock and roll
On the Other Hand
Some people don’t like the short scale and small frets. Also the tone tends to be thin and percussive and it does not sustain as much as some other guitars.
All in all It’s a great guitar and a lot of fun to play.
No comments:
Post a Comment