Unexpected Guitar on Layaway Day

[ellengtrgrl]

As most of you probably know, Fender Japan started making a Thinline Jaguar last year. It's a cool guitar, but has generally been unavailable for sale outside of Japan. Recently, Fender is made it available elsewhere as a limited edtion model (only 250 will be sold), to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Jaguar, as the Special Edition Jaguar Thinline.

I was bored last Saturday, so I paid my favorite indie guitar shop (Cream City Music) a visit. This can be toxic to my finances, due to them carrying all sorts of cool stuff, you don't find at your run-of-the-mill Guitar Center. And, true to form that turned out to be the case for me! What did I find at Cream City Music? Not one, but TWO of the Jaguar Thinlines (a black one, and a three tone sunburst one), hanging from the wall! Of course having a soft spot for Jaguars (I've had 4 of them over the past 22 years), and a soft spot for semi-hollow (and hollow for that matter) guitars, I HAD to try both Thinline Jags out. Both sounded great clean (with the sunburst having a little more low end), so it was acid test time for me - full on high gain tones. I plugged into a Peavy 6505 half stack, jacked up the gain, and proceeded to rage! Yeah! Lots of grind, but with note clarity. I kept the treble down around 5, and shrillness (which Jags can have at higher gain levels) was kept at bay. Both guitars were a little feedback prone (almost bordering on microphonics, but nowhere near as bad as my first Jaguar was back in 1990 [which was so bad, I had to keep gain levels in the lounge jazz territory, and roll the tone control waaaay down - a pickup change didn't even cure this problem]), but was controllable. As is often the case for these guitars, I suspect that much if it was due to shielding claws (which are notorious for inducing feedback in Jags), since pressing on them with my index finger, seemed make the feedback rapidly diminish. Nonetheless, both Thinlines sounded great. They also played great, and I wanted to keep on playing them. I liked them better than my current CP Jaguar, and my old (and most lamented - I had to sell it due to being in a financial bind) '66 CIJ Jaguar Reissue. The price was a little steep for me financially ($1350 - as a regular customer, I got a discount below the $1500 tag price), but I felt that I'd wind up kicking myself, if I didn't get the Sunburst Thinline Jag (my favorite of the two). So, using my CP Jaguar as a trade-in, I put the Sunburst Thinline on layaway, so I can get together the money for it. It's gonna be a long wait for me!

Here's what the one I put on layaway looks like (this is a Fender photo - Cream City Music didn't have a photo posted on their website [they'd only got mine in 2 or 3 days before I bought it])




F.Y.I. - the bodies on the thinline Jags are a bit thicker than the solidbody ones, and there is no gut cut, or upper bout forearm bevel on them. The body is also double bound like a Telecaster Custom.

[Ankhanu]

Beauty! I'd love to test one of these out... I love them and don't at the same time

F.Y.I. - the bodies on the thinline Jags are a bit thicker than the solidbody ones, and there is no gut cut, or upper bout forearm bevel on them. The body is also double bound like a Telecaster Custom.

This is one of my main contentions with the Thinline; how does the giant Jag body feel without those contours??

[ellengtrgrl]

Beauty! I'd love to test one of these out... I love them and don't at the same time

F.Y.I. - the bodies on the thinline Jags are a bit thicker than the solidbody ones, and there is no gut cut, or upper bout forearm bevel on them. The body is also double bound like a Telecaster Custom.

This is one of my main contentions with the Thinline; how does the giant Jag body feel without those contours??

I didn't have any issues with the lack of contours. But then again, most of my guitars over the years have lacked contour cuts. I have a hollowbody Gretsch Country Club (it does great jazz tones, and also kills tonewise with the gain cranked up - you just have to know how to control feedback), that makes any of the Jags I've had (including the Thinline) look small by comparison.

[serfx]

very cool, once it is in your hands i'd love to hear some demo clips/video/whatever

also, good to see you posting again!

[theshadowofseattle]

Very jealous!

[damienblair17]

this thread makes me happy. Congrats on the cool guitar (on layaway)!

[Ankhanu]

Gretsch Country Club

Fair point. No idea why I didn't think of that sort of comparison

[Phil O'Keefe]

I really am happy for you - those guitars look really cool!

[DGNR8]

Oh my. That's a fine guitar right there. I have posted on Gretsch before. I just sold a Streamliner. Have a WF with neck issues.

I think I have seen Cream City on ebay from time to time. Def Warp Drive. Same place?

[TheBurbz]

Beautiful. The Jaguar sound lends itself perfectly to semi-hollowness.

[ellengtrgrl]

Oh my. That's a fine guitar right there. I have posted on Gretsch before. I just sold a Streamliner. Have a WF with neck issues.

I think I have seen Cream City on ebay from time to time. Def Warp Drive. Same place?

Yep, it is. Warp Drive Music is the internet side of things. Cream City Music is the brick and mortar store. I only live like 5 miles from the place. I remember years ago, when they used to be in a different location, and were called Crown Music (when the present owner's father owned the business). They are also a major Gretsch Dealer (I've bought Gretsches from them over the years), and in general, sell lots of cool gear you don't normally see at Guitar Center, etc. (I'm still kind of kicking myself, for not buying that 7-string Gibson Flying V from them). Hmmm, what's wrong with the White Falcon? Is it a neck twist, funky frets, or a hump in the neck? While my 'Club has been as stable as a rock neck, and tuning-wise, guitar necks can sometimes act up with humidity and temperature changes (I had an Eastwood Airline Coronado, that would hump up in the neck whenever I drove it to gigs or jams, in cold weather - I had to let it warm up, before, the neck would settle back down).

Unless you're willing to pay beaucoup bucks to import a Thinline Jag from Japan, the 250 guitars that Fender authorized for release outside of Japan, are the only way to get them (not that, it won't change in the future - it's happened before with Fender). Brian at Cream City told me when I saw the Thinline Jags last week (and commented to him, that I was surprised to see Thinline Jags in the US), that Fender only authorized Cream City to have 2 Thinline Jags for sale. As far as I know, the black Thinline Jag is still for sale. It was late last Saturday, when I tried out both Thinlines (it was almost 4 PM, when I made my decision, and they close at 4 on Saturdays). Because I've done business with Cream City over the years, they were willing to hold the guitar for me, until Tuesday (when they re-opened for business - their business hours are a little odd, they're closed on Sundays and Mondays), when I could bring in my CP Jag, to use as a deposit for the layaway. I took, my CP Jag to Cream City Music on Tuesday, did the deal with it, and I now have a Thinline Jag on layaway. Oh yeah, I got a chance to spend another 20 minutes playing it, before it was taken in back, and put with the other layaways. Yeah! Nice, smooth and ringing (sort of bell-like) tones clean, and great sounding grind with excellent note separation, when the gain is jacked up. I plan to make soundclips of the guitar, when I get it (I'd do the YouTube thing, but I don't have an adequate setup video and sound-wise to do so).

Edit: Oops! I forgot to mention! - since the figuring of the grain on my Sunburst Thinline Jag looked suspiciously like ash, I did a little research. It turns out that the top and bottom caps on the body are ash, while the core is alder (like your typical solidbody Jag).

[taylornutt]

PGS Demo
[youtube][/youtube]

[ellengtrgrl]

Yep, they sound that nice!

[Phil O'Keefe]

Based on Andy's demo, it sounds REALLY nice - congrats again on the cool score!