Who owns a Tele and a Jaguar???

Haze · Post by **Haze** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 3:48 am

Owning a Telecaster and a Jaguar I see/hear a lot of overlap. Feel and playability are totally different of course.

Anyone else own a Jaguar and switch to a Telecaster? Owned a Tele and switched to a Jag? Own both? Whats your thoughts on having both and where do they overlap and where do they part?

It may just be that my Jaguar is a Hardtail... Maybe that should change soon...

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 3:50 am

Give me a week or two and I will be able to answer that question for you.

serfx · Post by **serfx** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 3:54 am

i dig having both and i find they both have their advantages and disadvantages, the tele bringing that wonderful twang and highend (my jag being the cp hh) but i find no trem on the tele means that i play it a lot less then i'd like to. also as i was so accustomed to the short scale of my mustang and jag i ended up putting a conversion jagmaster neck on the telecaster, i like it that way and it works really well for me.

generally i find that my telecaster, (and previous tele the tele elite) i hardly play live, but use them more for recording overdubs, where as live i rock the jaguar or brostang a whole lot more.

i know this doesn't really answer your question, but maybe gives you some insight?

SKC Willie · Post by **SKC Willie** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 4:25 am

I owned two Jags and switched to Teles. I used to absolutely love the tone and feel of the short scale but found that I liked the longer scale better. I like guitars to really "fight back" so to speak and I found that a Jag with 11s just wasn't doing it for me. Also, I just generally like having more options on color/fretboard word/pickups with a tele. I think if there were more Jag options, I would be more likely to own a Jag. All of that said, I'm really lusting after a Jag to try it with like 13 round wound strings. I think it would make for a really unique jazz tone with a Fender bassman. some day.

MikeG · Post by **MikeG** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 8:48 am

I have two Teles. I'd like a Jag one day. Would be nice to have a decent trem.

Post by **Mike** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:17 am

Used to play Telecasters ('72 Deluxe RI, Baja) now play Jaguars (CP - sold, '66 - current), although I'm also playing my Mustang loads.

The Telecasters I owned were solid fantastic guitars, I loved them to bits and both were complete workhorses. In a lot of ways the shortscales I play now are much more fussy - but I still love them and don't regret a thing. Weird how that goes.

I've never gazed longingly at a Telecaster.

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:26 am

I own both; had the Tele two years before getting the Jaguar.
My Telecaster is an Aerodyne (vintage style bridge and soap bar in the neck, 3-way upper bout toggle), and doesn't quite sound like a standard Tele, however. It's a darker sounding guitar than most Teles (I play it mostly on the neck pickup) and is quite nice

I bought my Jag in January and it's a jangle machine

It's very different than the Telecaster, and has become my go-to guitar. I'd say "I love the short scale", but, honestly, my fingers barely notice the difference (I'm a bass player and I play from long scale bass to ukulele and mandolin... 1.5" just isn't a big deal), but it does feel great and plays pretty awesome. I love the switching options and the trem on the Jaguar, it lets me do lots of things I've never been able to do with my Tele and Godin Exit 22; I'm getting sounds that those guitars were just never able to produce, and I wondered HOW others managed it (just basic tone wise, not even weird experimental stuff). Love it.

I love owning both, they're very different machines, with different applications in my playing.

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:32 am

I've pretty much always had a tele, have a Jazzmaster now, and had a Jaguar in the past: I loved the Jag to bits (and was gutted to sell it), and was struck by sonically how much crossover there was with a telecaster; plenty of spank at the bridge, woody sort of sounds from the neck etc. What does differ for me though is how I play them: the Jag (and now my Jazzmaster) demands at least a little finesse - I tend to go a bit gentler, play in a more exacting way. When playing a tele, by contrast, I'm much more 'elbows on the table' - I rest my hand behind the bridge, lean into the guitar much more. Differences between a thoroughbred and a workhorse, I suppose.

My apologies for the several entries for pseuds' corner I've made in this post.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 10:01 am

i've never owned a tele, and have only had a jag for a couple of weeks, and while it's everything i hoped it would be and more i do definitely see a CV tele custom in my future. i'd been looking at the japanese ones for a while but thought they were just too expensive, now i can justify it. it's hard to beat a good tele bridge pickup, and i could live with the slightly clumsy aesthetics in exchange for that.

Simon · Post by **Simon** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 11:11 am

I love my Telecaster. The best guitar to beat the shit out of and always comes back for more. I've never had the opportunity to play a Jag but I don't think I'd ever sell my Tele. I can remeber how desperate I was to save for one and I've never had the same feeling towards a guitar since so It'll probably never go.

Not really into the sound of Jaguars personally.

vincel · Post by **vincel** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 12:55 pm

My Tele is, to be perfectly honest, an utter wreck, and I only keep it to hump around in the boot of the car when I'm working away from home. I don't think I'd ever play it in preference to my Jaguar.

In contrast, I bought my first ever Stratocaster this year, a guitar I've studiously avoided in the past, and I absolutely love it. The Jaguar has been very neglected over the summer, although it's creeping back into favour now.

SKC Willie · Post by **SKC Willie** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 2:09 pm

A tele is a high class hooker that you don't feel to bad for beating on.

A Jag is a girl you love, take out to dinner, and respect.

xShifty · Post by **xShifty** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 6:29 pm

portugalwillie wrote:A Jag is a girl you love, take out to dinner, and respect.

And jerk around your wang bar on her.

soundofseventythree · Post by **soundofseventythree** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 7:11 pm

What a cool thread! I've always loved playing Telecasters and looking at Jaguars. Haven't really played any Jags. Perhaps I will get a Jag one day and I've actually been considering the seemingly much lothed blacktop Jag, but I picked up some guitars at Guitar Center yesterday and I have to say nothing even came close to the feel of my two original Reverend Warhawk HBs. I've always felt that the original Warhawk was almost like a mix of Jaguar (body shape), SG (pickguard, pickups, and bridge/tailpiece), Firebird (the center 'block' with 'wings' on the body), Strat (reverse headstock) and Telecaster (general feel, playability and the 'workhorse' quality). Its a real mix but all comes together beautifully.

Still want to try a Jag out one of these days and who knows maybe a blacktop Jag will find its way into my collection? I've also been lusting after some Telecasters lately like the CV Tele (but 21 frets is a bummer) and also the Squier Tele Deluxe (could see really loving one of these with the pickups switched out).

peecheeclean · Post by **peecheeclean** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 11:20 pm

i usually play one of my friend's nashville deluxe tele for certain gigs.
he put a fender lace in the neck and a sd hot lead in the bridge...it sounds amazing...but the bastard refuses to sell it to me.

avj · Post by **avj** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 4:29 am

I have a Tele Deluxe reissue, a MIM Tele with upgrades, and a Classic Player Jaguar. (Oh, and I had a Squier 20th Anniversary black sparkle Tele that was stolen.)

► Show Spoiler

I've sort of fallen out of love with the Tele Deluxe, but I don't mind keeping it around as it's my only guitar with humbuckers. I've been toying with the idea of putting some super heavy cables on it and tuning it like a baritone.

The MIM Tele has the Lace Tele pickup set, which is a Red (hot) bridge and a Blue (vintage) neck. I love the piss out of this thing, and a maple-necked sunburst Tele was something I had long considered to be a classic piece. I love it for its absolute beauty through simplicity, and there's just something about playing the Telecaster that makes me feel like it's happy to be of service as a metal and wood vibration tool and pleased to stay out of my way while doing it. I'm not sure if there's a more useful tool on any guitar I've played than the lone Tele tone knob.

I held onto it for a long time for nostalgic and ridiculous reasons, so I decided I would sell or trade the Teal Green Transparent American Deluxe Strat for a Jazz or Jag. Eventually I took it to Elderly Instruments with the hopes of finding something nice, and there was a "used" Classic Player Jag that was marked at $650; I gave it a play and loved it. (Looks like the Strat sold!) It may be sacrilege, but there were a few nice pre-CBS Jags there at the time that I played for comparison's sake but I just didn't get on well with them -- and certainly not for over three times the price of the CP. I opted for the CP Jag and got it for an even trade.

It's my first short scale guitar, but I do love that Jaguar. I've been playing it as my number one at almost every opportunity lately, and the lesser string tension, percussive attack, and trem give it a feel and sound that make it a totally different beast from the Tele. It took some work for me to get used to the fret spacing when doing some chord work higher up on the neck, but I'm completely acclimated now and it's wonderful.

Teles and Jaguars are two of my favorite guitar sounds, and it's a great feeling to have them both available.

Post by **Mike** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 8:06 am

It ain't sacriledge to prefer a CP Jaguar over a vintage one, they're pretty different beasts, and what works for you is the most important thing.

avj · Post by **avj** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 11:25 am

Mike wrote:It ain't sacriledge to prefer a CP Jaguar over a vintage one, they're pretty different beasts, and what works for you is the most important thing.

Thanks; I know you much enjoyed yours. For me, the biggest selling point was getting the CP on an even trade for a guitar I didn't care for anymore. I had about forty minutes of time between playing the CP and a few vintage models, but it ultimately would have meant taking the trade value and shelling out an additional $1800+ dollars for one of vintage Jags they had on hand. Even with all the differences (neck radius, jumbo frets, hotter pickups, different bridge/trem), I still found it a risky proposition with a large chance of buyer's remorse if I ended up not getting on well with the form and function of a Jaguar.

I started writing a ridiculously wordy (even for me) post in the style of my other "Thoughts on..." (Alesis Micron, Jaguar bass, bass amplification) posts where I detailed my experience, but I never finished it. Perhaps I'll dust it off tonight.

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 11:50 am

i have owned both, currently tho, no jag, but a jagstang, and a tele.
i love them both. neither one is destined to ever be, "the only fucking guitar i will ever play!"
but they are always fighting eachother for number one.

Post by **Mike** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 11:51 am

Do it, it's always nice to hear people's thoughts on this.

Vintage Jaguars are not cheap, even though they are when compared to Stratocasters and Telecasters of similar vintage, and so purchasing one without falling in love with the guitar would be a real bummer. I played mine before buying it and loved it, but I still felt stupid and guilty for shelling out all the cash for it for a while afterwards, especially when I looked at my CP Jaguar and realised I had a guitar there I loved that was pretty similar (at least aesthetically) to the '66. But time and the amount I was playing the '66 (and not the CP) made me realise that I'd made the right decision for me, but definitely not for everyone.

The CP Jaguar is more stable with hard strumming, louder/hotter in the pickups and handles gain better. It's a great playing lead guitar also.

The old Jaguar had a jumpy bridge, lower output, hums more and is harder to play up the dusty end of the neck, but something about it makes me smile a whole lot, and I love playing it in the band - so decision made really.

Having said all that I recently bought a Mustang which I'm in love with and tonight i'll be playing a cheapo Epi Gold Top at rehearsal.

Go Figure.