Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 1:14 am
IMO, Jags are kind of a love/hate thing guitar-wise. In ohter words, you kind of love them, or you hate them. There does not seem to be much in-between on them. The closest that may come to an in-between feeling, is what I felt with my first Jag back in 1990 - disappointment (it had horrible problems with microphonics, that I had no idea at the time, how to get rid of), but always wondering if maybe it would be good to get another one. I finally took a chance on my wondering, and got another Jag this year. And I'm glad I got Candi, my '66 CIJ reissue back in February. I like my Jag enough, that when I needed emergency money to pay for a new set of tires for my car, I sold my Gretsch, instaed of my Jag! But I digress.......
There are other Love/Hate issues Jags have. If you want to sound different, you'll LOVE the Jag - it sounds like no other Fender IMO. It may have the same body as a Jazzmaster, but IMO, it sounds less glassy, and when you run it through an amp with some gain, it snarls, which a Jazzy doesn't do. Also, the body sure is comfy! Downers - yes, the bridge can be a pain, but as others have said, lose the .009 rubber bands, and put on .011s (or better yet, .012s like I did), and the strings jumping off of the saddles become a bad memory. Not only that, but they'll make it sound punchier IMO. It'll also help the playing feel be tighter (sort of like a longer scale guitar using .009 or .010 strings). The pickups on some Jags (especialyy the bridge pickup), can be a dislike, due them sounding kind of bright (this is the case with my CIJ Jag). A good clean boost can can help this problem, or a pickup change (I plan on putting in a SD SJAG-2 Hot Jag pickup in the bridge, to get more grind, but still keep that Jaguar character soundwise). IMO, the downers/hates are pretty easy to deal with. It's not necessary to spend a lot of money on fixes. But, the playing feel of a Jag is not like a Strat or a Tele. So if you can, it's a good idea to try one out before buying.
There are other Love/Hate issues Jags have. If you want to sound different, you'll LOVE the Jag - it sounds like no other Fender IMO. It may have the same body as a Jazzmaster, but IMO, it sounds less glassy, and when you run it through an amp with some gain, it snarls, which a Jazzy doesn't do. Also, the body sure is comfy! Downers - yes, the bridge can be a pain, but as others have said, lose the .009 rubber bands, and put on .011s (or better yet, .012s like I did), and the strings jumping off of the saddles become a bad memory. Not only that, but they'll make it sound punchier IMO. It'll also help the playing feel be tighter (sort of like a longer scale guitar using .009 or .010 strings). The pickups on some Jags (especialyy the bridge pickup), can be a dislike, due them sounding kind of bright (this is the case with my CIJ Jag). A good clean boost can can help this problem, or a pickup change (I plan on putting in a SD SJAG-2 Hot Jag pickup in the bridge, to get more grind, but still keep that Jaguar character soundwise). IMO, the downers/hates are pretty easy to deal with. It's not necessary to spend a lot of money on fixes. But, the playing feel of a Jag is not like a Strat or a Tele. So if you can, it's a good idea to try one out before buying.