Pre CBS Jaguars, Why so inexpensive?

[bigjim]

Besides the fact that Hendrix didn't play one. Why are they the most affordable pre CBS Fender? I mean do they sound bad? Let me hear your thoughts.

 

[benjammin420]

cant say from experience, but ive read alot about how problematic they were (bridge, sliding switched,string dampener)

 

[Dave Orban]

I have to go with the "no guitar hero played one" vote.

Of course, Leo was a tinkerer, and not every "improvement" he made to guitar was actually an improvement, as is the case on the Jags and Jazzmasters. But still, if Page or Slash had brandished one for any substantial length of time, it would have made an impact on the highly impressionable minds of teenage boys everywhere...

 

[ross]

The short scale length, I think that it is just 24 inches.

 

[MrBoZiffer]

I'll second the "no-hero" theory, as well as the short scale theory. People automatically dimiss it based on the scale. Also, if you've ever played one, you'd know they are extremely bright. I owned a '66 for a short time and it was the brightest guitar I ever played. More so than Strats or Teles. Although, Joe Pass did play one at some point and managed to get some decent jazz sounds out of it. Personally, I think the old Jazzmasters are some of the best guitars on earth... well beyond the Jaguar. They are very comfortable and they are much warmer sounding than any other Fender... unlike the RI Jazzmasters which are brighter. JMs are very versatile guitars, IMO.

Jazzmasters and Jaguars do NOT have setup problems. They just take a while to figure out. Once setup properly, my Jazzmaster will play better and stay in tune longer than any other guitar I have, even when using the vibrato for long periods of time. I'm using stock parts too... no fancy replacement tuners or bridges.

 

[Dannc6]

Scale Length...

 

[zhivago]

I agree...most people dismiss the guitars because they have no idea of how to set them up, or because they played a badly setup example once in a shop.

I also find that most people reiterate what they've heard from others, without actually having played a properly set-up Jaguar or Jazzmaster.


the reason the Jaguar is so inexpensive is that it's short-scale, and people like the Fender scale when buying Fenders...also Fender made loads of them...lastly, the old stories about unreliability haven't done it any favours...but at the same time that hasn't stopped hundreds of musicians of other genres making great music and touring the world with them.


so I guess the bottom line answer is: "because they are not Stratocasters or Telecasters"

 

[hogy]

Interestingly enough, they were the flag ship of the Fender product line at the time and cost more than a Strat or a Tele.

 

[yellowecho]

i love the sound of jaguars and jazzmasters, but i sold mine because of the neck.
it wasn't necessarily the length as much as it was the shape (too thin)- since I have longer fingers, my hands were often cramped.
i'd really like to own one again some day, but i couldn't use it as my main player as i once did.

 

[MrBoZiffer]

You'd think this would have helped sales...

 

[Radax]

1964 Jag was my #1 in '65-'66. Terrific neck & playability, Hernia maker.

Mike

 

['70 RS]

Scale Length...

That hasn't stopped interest in this little thing:

It's the 'My Idol Played One' theory of what makes a good guitar. Plain and simple.

 

[HeyMrTeleMan]

1964 Jag was my #1 in '65-'66. Terrific neck & playability, Hernia maker.

Mike

I had one in that time too!

My CAR '64 wasn't too heavy, but it was bright. And my neck was too slim. Unfortunately, I thought my problem was no talent. It turned out my lack of talent was due to the neck. Yeah, that's it...

BTW-I paid $180 for it in '65 and sold it a few years later for more than double that. I shoulda recognized the trend...

Man, what I'd give to get that gorgeous axe back. It was my first good guitar.

 

[clothwiring]

I think there's not much more to this than...

...the fact that Hendrix didn't play one.

IIRC they sold for more and were considered a better guitar than the Strat back in the day (or was that the Jazzmaster??)...then Hendrix played a Strat most of the time. My 1966 Strat came from a guy that said he wanted a Jag or Jazzmaster but couldn't afford it so got a Strat as a "good enough" guitar.

 

[turtlesoup]

i love the sound of jaguars and jazzmasters, but i sold mine because of the neck.
it wasn't necessarily the length as much as it was the shape (too thin)- since I have longer fingers, my hands were often cramped.
i'd really like to own one again some day, but i couldn't use it as my main player as i once did.

I had the same problem, my '65 had a pencil-thin neck. Those slide switches are annoying as hell too.

maybe no guitar heroes used them, but it seemed like jags were popular in the 90's, maybe since Kurt Cobain played one. not to mention Sonic Youth, who played them with knives and screwdrivers and kept them all in a cardboard box.

 

[Boris Bubbanov]

"My hero didn't" is, to me, a circular theme.

Sometimes well regarded players chose dogs to play, but generally our "Heroes" sussed out which guitars were worth having and which ones were not.

When you pile on all the problems associated with Jaguars, you start seeing right away why certain individuals who had a choice in the matter avoided them.

 

[benjammin420]

maybe no guitar heroes used them, but it seemed like jags were popular in the 90's, maybe since Kurt Cobain played one. not to mention Sonic Youth, who played them with knives and screwdrivers and kept them all in a cardboard box.

werent theres modded with HBs and stuff? i cant picture anyone whos played a straight jaguar

 

[Timmo]

Just go play one and you'll answer your own question.
It won't take you long to figure it out........

 

['70 RS]

I will never pass by an opportunity to post this clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34ju8nyihXM

 

[Structo]

I have a 63 Jag I bought around 1973.
I got it for around $150.
It was sunburst and the finish was pretty bad so like a young dumb kid I stripped it and put a walnut stain on it and sprayed clear Varathane on it.
In the last 6 years or so I have built and finished 8 strats and tele's.
So I have plans in the distant future to restore the Jag back to sunburst.

The frets are absolutely shot on the neck so I need to re-fret it.
Back in the day they installed the frets on those by pressing them in from the side so that will be a challenge to replace those. That and the thin veneer rosewood might not be thick enough to re-surface.
I think the bridge is the weak point on Jags.
There isn't a lot of down force on it so the bridge tends to wobble as well as the threaded saddles like to move around.
I have heard you can put a Mustang bridge on these to cure that, not sure about that.
There is the buzz stop device that bolts on and puts more down force on the strings.
Also you can wrap tape around the bridge posts to cure the wobble.