Good price for a Jag-stang?

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:07 pm

I saw a Jag-stang on Craigslist. The guy wants $400 for it. How good a deal is that? I know typically Jag-stangs for around $600 and it seems in good condition.

My plan after buying my Jaguar was to try to get a Baja Telecaster and I found a deal for $499. I also like Squier Supersonic, but is subject to eBay availability. But this guitar is cheaper and I have often toyed with the idea of a Jag-stang. I love the Sonic - Blue!

Craigslist description
The guitar isn't in mint condition...but I would say it is in excellent shape. It has two minor flaws. One...the very corner of the pickguard is chipped off on the corner that is just below the neck...an area covering less than 1/4 inch. The neck also has a small chip in it on the 2nd fret. Neither of these defects are noticeable unless you look for them and they certainly don't affect the tone of the guitar.

How versatile is the Jag-stang? I don't have a humbucker guitar any more and the Jag-stang might foot the bill? My Squier Duo Sonic has a Basswood body like the Jag-stang, so I know it's lightweight ,but I have also heard the Jag-stang is thick and not very balanced. Comment away

Post by **Mike** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:08 pm

Walk away. Shit guitars

endsjustifymeans · Post by **endsjustifymeans** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:10 pm

The neck is awesome, the body is goofy and the pickups are a love it or hate it type thing. It does have a pretty good tone range though with all the switch options. I goofed on one at the mom and pop for a while, and it just didn't do it for me. $400 seem to be the low end of average, and it's probably worth it just for the neck. Really choice neck for fretting.

Noirie. · Post by **Noirie.** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:13 pm

I've only played two both 1990s models. Didn't like them, same thickness as a tele but smaller body shape put me off.

Still i'd like to see a red one setup like Robroe's one i.e. Single neck pickup with torty.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:14 pm

$400 is a good price, even though the JS market rises and falls more times than a ho's drawers.

Personally i like the JS, as do others here. The awkward shape and superb neck are my favorite things about it. If you like some 'bucker rawk with Fender neck position twang its worth a shot, i find that set up very versatile. Some models suffer a 'dull' sound though, production seems inconsistent in this area so you may be better off playing it before you buy it. Its NOT a bright sounding guitar but you can improve things with a Capacitor upgrade.

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:15 pm

Mike wrote:Walk away. Shit guitars

Mike,

Didn't you own a Jag-stang? What exactly did you not like about ? I am just curious.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:16 pm

endsjustifymeans · Post by **endsjustifymeans** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:17 pm

I'd go the $499 Baja route. I wouldn't buy a supersonic. I love them, probably my favorite shortscale... but they are WAY overpriced right now for what you get. It's a 300-350 dollar guitar no matter how you cut it, but people are getting upwards of $600 with no problem.

Noirie. · Post by **Noirie.** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:20 pm

taylornutt wrote:
Mike wrote:Walk away. Shit guitars
Mike,

Didn't you own a Jag-stang? What exactly did you not like about ? I am just curious.

I'm pretty certain Mike did all he could to get his JS to where he was happy.
Even going as far to straighting the humbucker route.

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:21 pm

if anyone, buy the j.s. wait a couple months(christmas time) and flip it on ebay.
i love my jagstang! BUT! i have moified it a bit to my tastes so its not really stock...
new pots, switches, and bridge bucker. besides those things(and the guard) its completely stock and i love it!
i think the only ss.orger to have played it so far is mo rawka, but soon enough rob, ends, mezz, and james will be able to chime in about the awsomeness that is my jag-stang.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:24 pm

Noirie. wrote:Even going as far to straighting the humbucker route.

Pointless.
I've owned 4 JS's and the Basswood is to blame imo. They all sound different.

James · Post by **James** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:25 pm

Aren't there other basswood CIJ Fenders? I don't think it could be the entire cause on the Jag-Stang.

Mo Law-ka · Post by **Mo Law-ka** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:27 pm

im not a big fan of the standard js, but as ROBOG said, i love his.

luke · Post by **luke** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:30 pm

Yeah, you can't go wrong at that price. Buy it, try it, because some people do like them and if you're one of them you won't get this opportunity again. If you don't like it, I don't think you'll have too much trouble recouping $400.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:31 pm

James wrote:Aren't there other basswood CIJ Fenders? I don't think it could be the entire cause on the Jag-Stang.

Not sure. I've owned Basswood stuff before that was fine, it may be the grade or batch they used. One JS i changed the Pups and pots etc and it was still 'dull', another one was fine in stock form. Oddly, my mahogany model is really bright even with the angled 'bucker.

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:32 pm

i did have an 04 re-issue that i sold to fran about 2 years ago, i was going to make a dead on copy of my og j.s. out of it, but i sold it instead.
it just didn't do it for me i guess.
i think part of the reason im in love with my j.s. is becuz i have been playing it for about 9 years and it was my number one for 6-7 years, played about 50 gigs with it and never had any problems, i have thrown it against the wall, broken beer bottles on it, put ciggarettes out on it, it even got shot with a rifle! and the best part.
it never went out of tune, but at the same time, im the only person that can tune it... the tuners are pretty well worn out. there are a few tuners where you can detune half a full turn and it won't catch the gear.

floydian8834 · Post by **floydian8834** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:26 am

is the guitar worth 400?? no. but for todays market thats a pretty good price. i'd get it because wcs if you dont like it hang onto it for a few months and sell it and you'll def. get your money back.

Post by **Mike** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:30 am

Noirie. wrote:
taylornutt wrote:
Mike wrote:Walk away. Shit guitars
Mike,

Didn't you own a Jag-stang? What exactly did you not like about ? I am just curious.
I'm pretty certain Mike did all he could to get his JS to where he was happy.
Even going as far to straighting the humbucker route.

I loved playing it but hated everything about the sound from the amp. No spank, no bright attack, no nothing. Just muffed wool like you've rolled the tone back. Undefined filth.

It's the basswood. It's the body shape. It's the build of the thing. It's everything.

The pickups in a different guitar sound great, and the neck pickup is one of the best neck pickups I've played.

I did the following all without being satisfied.

1. Maybe the misalignment of the bridge humbucker is causing the wool? Straightened the route, made a brand new guard for it - no good.
2. Replaced pots with 1megs for maximium treble retention. Nope
3. Had bypass option on controls for max treble. Nope
4. Tried a TOM. Nope.
5. Tried various pickups. Nope.

Fuck this guitar.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:39 am

I love mine to bits. It has become probably my favourite guitar.

The neck is awesome. Super comfortable and just quick enough. The neck single coil is just right for the bluesey tone I want. I don't use the humbucker much at all, but I don't really use any bridge pickups much, to be honest. I'll sometimes use the bridge pickup for the switching options it allows with the neck. The bridge humbucker by itself sounds quite thin and trebly, which is fun, but not much use to me. Other people have said that theirs sounded muddy though.

I like the shape. It's different. I only played a Mustang for the first time a few weeks ago, and it just made me realise hoe much I prefer my Jag-stang. The Jag-stang body is a good bit thicker (can someone else confirm this? I didn't have the two guitars beside each other to compare).

So, basically, it's a Mustang except better on account of the shape and the pickups.

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 1:29 pm

This debate is both interesting and confusing at the same time. While I am a fan of Nirvana, I don't want to buy this guitar for that reason. In reality, Kurt barely used it before he died and his guitar tech made numerous changes to it such as different pups, TOM bridge, etc. The guitar is an unfinish custom guitar. There were plans to further tweak the guitar but Kurt and the guy from Fender both passed away

Positives of this guitar
1) It's actually in decent shape. Most Jag-stangs I come across are beat to crap because of the soft basswood and people wanting to act grunge.
2)Sonic Blue. (very sexy color)
3) Decent Price (If could get it cheaper, it would actually be a deal.)
4)Low risk (Could probably resell without loss)
5)Local

Negatives
1)Inconsistent (Definitely not a one size fits all guitar)
2)Weird Body shape (no body contours, very thick)
3)Basswood body (I like basswood on my Squier Duo Sonic, but Kurt's Jag-stangs both were Alder and I think the denser Alder would be idea for the pickups.)
4) Never played one. (I just bought a AVRI Jaguar without playing it, but I have played other Jaguars and I can return it if I wanted to)

I think the biggest thing stopping me from pulling the trigger on this one is simply that I still could get the Baja Telecaster for $499. If that deal goes away, then this deal might become more appealing. The other thing holding me back is I also want to rebuild my pedalboard (Pedaltrain pro + Voodoo Labs Pedal power2) and this money could completely pay for that. I rarely get money to spend anyway I want on guitar stuff so I am trying to do my due diligence.