Fender Jag-Stang

sonic blue standard late 90's jag-stang

picks up radio signals sometimes ...
cool variety of tones ..
goes from tinny to fat and full with the flick of a switch..

strings are wayyyy to light i blame this on previous owner.. bridge cant be messed with much or will need to be retuned right away.. action is low.. all else is sweet tho

its a fender what can i say i could use it to paddle a boat and plug it in and play after.. thanks fender.

who knows?

traded guitar even trade for a 1978 musicmaster (modded) been playing guitar in the "indie rock" style for about 10 years.. makes me want a jaguar and a mustang too.. already have the jaguar bass! a solid bridge like on the teles would have been better..thats my only complaint.. this guitar is wayy more versitaile than the musicmaster was..

I have a 1994 Jag-Stang in the orange-red color. It was made in Japan. The neck is maple/rosewood; standard controls. I think the body is probably basswood. It has a Mustang-style bridge and tremolo. The finish is somewhat thick poly. The body is the hybrid Jaguar shape without belly or forearm cut; I believe you call this a slab body. It has a white pearloid pickguard that has a tendency to peel apart in layers, leaving sharp corners. The Jag-Stang body shape is kind of appealing, but the pickguard was not well-designed to fit the body shape.

The original feature set is not particularly good. The Mustang tremolo is almost unusable, so most players will wrap the bridge piece posts with tape to stabilize it and not use the tremolo bar at all; it very quickly will put the instrument out of tune and will even break strings.

The stock pickups are rather weak single coils and the body cavity shielding is poor, so the guitar as shipped is relatively noisy (mine would pick up radio stations). Even the knobs aren't all that good. The switches are wired like the original Mustang switches, which aren't all that useful, because out of the various settings there are several that turn both pickups off and several that configure them the same way. The Kluson-style tuners are not terribly good. It has a really flimsy stamped-metal string tree for the highest two strings which probably does nothing to contribute to tuning stability. The nut seems rather cheap.

I bought this guitar because my first electric guitar was a Fender Mustang and I love the Mustang neck. The Jag-Stang has some of the "vibe" and feel of the Mustang but does not take advantage of many years of advances in tremolo design, locking tuner design, pickup design, etc. It is also worth noting that, like the Mustang, you cannot adjust the truss rod without removing the neck.

The original features did not produce very good sound; however, ultimately I had the guitar completely rewired, changing out all the parts including the pots and switches. I had a "Lil' 59" put in the neck position and a JB humbucker in the bridge position. The wiring was changed so that I could use the switches to enage or disengage the volume and tone pots. I attached my Roland guitar synthe pickup, and also changed the setup and began using 11s, and raised the action slightly. With these modifications the guitar actually sounds pretty good; I can get some hot rock tones as well as smooth jazzy tones. The Roland works well with the 11s (less false triggering, easier to trigger). I also replaced the stock knobs with chrome knobs.

So, I'm not quite sure how to qualify this; the stock setup I'd only give a 6 (the very light and resonant body makes up for some of the low-quality electronics), but the heavily modified guitar gets a 9. I'll report the stock setup. I believe most players who are not collectors trying to keep the guitar in original condition will probably want to modify their Jag-Stangs over time, or just trade up. Note that it is NOT cheap to make all these mods, unless you have the skills to do it all yourself. A comlete rewiring job is not a good project for a beginner. You will most likely screw it up and wind up paying a guitar tech to help you finish it up.

The fit and finish of the Japanese-made Jag-Stang was quite a bit poorer than my original Mustang. The metal parts feel cheaper, the chrome plating thinner. Everything worked reasonably well but just did not quite have that hand-built feel. The fret corners were not nicely smoothed and would snag the fingers, although they were reasonably flat and even.

The body finish was very solid and smooth.

I mentioned the pickguard above; for some reason the Jag-Stangs were build with flimsy pickguards that tend to peel apart at the corners, leaving sharp edges that stick out.

I beat this guitar up a bit, as I played it out weekly and dropped it a few times.

One thing I have noticed is that the body wood is relatively soft. After removing the neck a couple of times, to adjust the truss, the finish around the neck pocket developed some cracks. The screw holes in the neck also got a little torn up. It seems that the quality of the maple is not quite all that. My old Mustang did not have this problem!

The neck pocket had paint and sawdust in it and was not as smooth as it should be (you want a solid smooth wood-to-wood join). After removing the pickguard a couple of times some of the screw holes became shredded and I had to shim them with toothpicks. The much harder wood used in the Mustang never gave me this trouble. Again, somewhat mediocre.

Never dealt with Fender.

Overall, the stock Jag-Stang gets only a 6. While some people may try to call this a "vintage" instrument, it does not have the "vintage" build quality. It is also not truly a player's instrument; at least the stock model is not. Let me be very clear: these instruments are _not_ worth a lot of money!

I am not actually a huge Nirvana fan, but I am a big fan of the original Mustang. That was the reason I bought the Jag-Stang. I also like the body design, although not the lack of contours.

I have been playing on and off for about 25 years. I had an original Mustang and various strat copies and acoustic instruments.

Would I replace it with another Jag-Stang? No. Instead what I am considering doing is replacing the neck with a Warmoth-made neck with an ebony fingerboard and satin finish and locking tuners. Then I'll probably replace the body. At that point the only parts that will be original will be the bridge hardware. But the bridge and tremolo hardware isn't actually very good... hmmm. Maybe I will see if I can get a luthier to custom-build me a Jag-Stang -shaped instrument from scratch, with the same scale length and body shape, but better hardware all around.

fender jag-stang in fiesta red, mix of mustangand jaguar, maple neck feels great to hold and play however its not for shredders!!
jap model, 22 frets
1 volume, 1 master tone
selector for each pickup!
S/Hpickup configuration
fender pickups!
passive
got mine second hand so a few dings, but has held out well!!

bought for a change in style but doesnt get played as much cos im into heavy metal!!
wah wah used cos it sounds awsome!!
bit o string buzz
not much varietyin the guitar, nirvan and grunge
not so versitile!!

action is too high, but will change that!
pretty well adjusted pickups, sounds good
bridge was just fixed, brill now!!

will withstand being droped on its nose from a great height, strong guitar!!
hardware is lyk new!!
would be my mortgage on this guitar lasting a v long time!

iv been playin for three years nd i usually play a dean ml for metal, however tis has changed that nd i now play some rock 2!!
the bridge is my fav part, cos i fixed it wen i got it with ease
a looking trem wouldnt go a miss!!!

Gloss finish over a light blue paint. Body seems to be basswood. It's a non-contoured Jaguar shape with a 3/4 size neck with a rosewood fingerboard. Mustang-style floating bridge with some rather cheap vintage-style tuners. It has 3 pickups (S-S-H) with independent phase controls and on/off switches. One volume and one tone knob.

I use this to play surf music, so it works for that. It has a pretty good range in that you can get a good variety by playing with the polarity on the pickups. The pickups themselves (which are stock) don't have the greatest output, but is very servicable through a decent amp. I play through a Fender Twin Reverb and a Spider II simulaneously to get a slight natural delay, and the guitar sounds great under this configuration. Pickups are rather noisy (unshielded), so you want to have a lot of headroom in the amp to minimize buzz on the single coils.

This is one of the '94 models made in Japan. The setup and the workmanship of the guitar is top notch. The neck radius seems to be a bit more curved compared to the American models I've seen. I've found no finish flaws -- the only downside I've seen is really in the design itself. 1) The body is not contoured on the back, and 2) the pickup controls (which are above the pickups) are a bit high and can get in the way if you are strumming over them. Until I got used to this I actually turned off my pickups while playing out once.

Seems very solid. I've played it regularly and it seems to do well. I always have a Strat as a backup, however.

I bought it used, so I've never had to use support.

I own a couple of Gretsches, a Mexican Strat, a Tele, a Schecter Stilletto bass, and a variety of acoustics (Martin, Yamaha, etc.) I also build my own acoustic guitars, so I'm keen on action, fit and finish when I buy something. When I do buy, I usually seek something like this model, which is something a bit off-the-radar. It certainly works for what I use it for, and so I've been really satisfied. I particularly enjoy the variety of sounds you can achieve with the pickup wiring, and I enjoy the 3/4 size (my first). I wish the pickups were a bit better, so I'm considering swapping them out with some SD Antiquities and sheilding the body cavity to reduce hum. Also, I really like the bridge in comparison to a vintage style bridge I have on my strat. This bridge seems to stay in tune better, and I can do slight dips by simply pushing on tailpiece rather than using the whammy. This helps in alternating between muted, tremolo picking and doing the slight "hawaiian" style dips. Frankly, I'm surprised these didn't take off more than they did considering the features it has for a relatively inexpensive guitar. Extremely playable.

early '95fiesta red guitar, original texas special single in the neck and whatever that factory bridge pickup is, most hate teh switches, i however love them, lets me mix my tones whichever way i want

incredebly versitile, this is one of the old japanese ones, no tthe bull shit new ones, i can play regeah to hardcore on this bitch

action was wonk when i got it but it was used so i tinkered, i love the neck feel and the action on it know, comfiest guitar i've played that didnt cost a grand

the jack is a little fidgetty adn teh switcehs get bumped sometimes,you ahve to keep and eye on the nuts holding the pots in, they get loose quick, electronic components have never failed me

if its an old one, there great, but dont buy anyhtign past 96 of you want a quiolity instrument, mines the shit, your might be to

As its listed in all the other reviews no need to elaborate alot.

I play just about everything, Funk,rock,Grunge,Blues and even country.Guitar is very versitile, and the single coil neck with humbucker in the bridge is about as perfect a combination as you can get in my opinion.I try to avoid using effects as much as possible,preffer to plug into one of my all-tube amps and give the amp a good kick in the guts for some nice REAL o/d and distortion.The neck pup sounds best clean, mostly due to the increase in noise as you crank the gain,clean the bridge pup sounds very poor, plugged directly into a cranked 1/2 decent tube amp it does sound passable. The neck pup is on the weak side as well as being a bit noisy, especialy if you amplify that noise by running through noisy high gain effects. Tone wise this guitar sounds like your typical bright fender, allthough not as bright as a strat say due to the poor bridge and trem design. If i chose to keep this guitar i would have done a couple of what i consider essential mods to make it from a average guitar into a good one: Fit a TOM and upgrade the pups.

I purchased this guitar of evilbay, and original and only owner was only a youg kid, if he set the guitar up i have no idea, but the action was WAY to high when it arrived, and the truss rod also had no tension on it what so ever.After a good set-up and taping fo the bridge post's it improved immensly.Overall finish on the guitar was A1, the neck is still to date the best neck i have every played.

The only part on the guitar that would concern me with live use would be the pick-up selectors.

N/A

Only really got right into playing guitar when i decided to purchase this guitar about 8 months ago,i do not gig or even play very well.I have a number of top quality point to point wired vintage tube amp's.
The Jagstang was my guitar of choice untill i got a Squier Cyclone for 1/4 of the price, i liked the Squier so much more than the Jagstang that i put the Jagstang on eBay within a couple of weeks and sold it.If you are obsessed with the Kurt connection and dont mind paying the extra $ for that, by all meens buy a Jagstang, but you will have to mod it to turn it into a playable guitar,the pick-ups are below average, the bridge is complete junk and the trem is a big annoyance, we all know Kurts were far from stock.The pick-up's are way better in the Squier, the pick up selector is way better placed and more reliable, the only thing the Jagstang had over the Squier was a killer neck.Squier stays in tune, has better tone and sustain with the strat trem than even a modded Jagstang could ever dream about. In short if i could go back in time to before i purchased the Jagstang i would just buy a Squier, throw a couple of hundred into some new pick-ups and harware and have a better guitar than the Jagstang could ever dream of being.Stock the Jagtsang is nothing special,if you care about your playing more than your image save a few hundred and get a Squier.I was happy when i sold this guitar for what it cost me.

I dont know what year it was made but was crafted in japan. I recently baught it off ebay in mint condition color sonic blue, absolutley bautiful. The first thing i was intreaged by was the georgeous neck and the headstock it is so well made. the neck is very
smoothe but very thin that can mess me up when playing lead but im mainly for rythemest anyways so im arsed. I gave this baby a 10 because it just has so much character.

Well let me first start off by saying, if you are a heavy metal player or some shreader then you can forget it. The jag-stang is definately a rythem/slow lead guitar and is made purely for punk or grunge and nirvana imitations. It has the perfect sound for my style which is very nirvana influenced but due to my crappy Amp i cant really get a perfect sound from it.

When i picked up the guitar and played it for the first time the action was quite low just perfect for me, not so sure if it was factory set up though. the finnish was beautiful no floors here. there is a little bit of fretbuzz on the lower frets but its nothing. The bridge is actually better than i thought. I was thinking about putting a tunamattic in there but i cant really see the point, the barrel saddles are just as good.

I have yet to gig with this guitar and i am very confident that she will do me proud on the night. I play it a lot at home for practise and it seems very sturdy and reliable.I personaly dont use strap locks cos i dont need to as for the leathery bits on my strap are very tight and secure. im giving it an 8 due to the fact i havnt gigged with it yet. I am never going to use the whammy bay cos its shit and will probably throw it out of tune instantly.

N/A

I have been playing guitar for over a year now and this is my third electric guitar. I also own a Squire strat my first ever geetar and a Dean Z79 explorer shaped metal guitar (im selling it cos it just dont cut my style. The Fender jagstang is by far my current favourite guitar she plays well when standing and playing and the ballance is perfect I just absolutly love this guitar if anything ever happened to it i would hang my self. FENDER SHOULD REISSUE THESE GUITARS THEY ARE AWSOME AND THE COMPATITION MUSTANG.

2003 (maybe 2004?) Japan model. Everyone else has put all the specs and stuff! The neck is gorgeous, the bridge is a bit tricky - not the easiest guitar to re-string. Obviously looks great, but looks arent everything. Came with a gig bag which i would like to replace with a hardcase but i'll have to spend a fortune on a Fender one that will fit the damn thing in!

Don't really play a massive range of music styles but used it for the 'Nirvana Immitation' years when i was mid-teens but play very different stuff now; sort of a poor mans Mogwai with more lyrics. Didn't have any influence or guidance in terms of sound when i got this and have only really in the last year or two learnt a thing or two about what sound i like/where to get it from. Have a Fender Classic 60's Telecaster (Mexican) in the post which, after actually testing it before buying, is much more what i am after.

Not a guru, but obviously the pickups are a bit lame on the Jagstang - i like a kinda bridge twanginess, which is lucky because thats roughly the only sound you can get out of this guitar and even then its not very defined or overly pleasing. My fault but still not really sure on what configuration to set the pickup switches to get oposite sounds, but this is more likely to be the limitation of tones the guitar offers.

Went to Uni and mingled with people who have taught me a thing or two about sounds and guitars so have increasingly got frustrated with my Jagstang. Don't get me wrong, i'll always love it and would never sell it (girls love the look of it :P) but ever since i picked up my friends Strat and actually played a great sounding guitar ive been looking for a guitar that actually makes me happy and satisfies me in terms of sound. As i said, that one is ariving next week! Yey!

Dunno wether 5 for sound is too harsh - its just too limited and doesnt nearly have the "wow" factor that you should at least have a little of for #300

Again, not an expert, but rfom stuff ive read and everything its clear that Fender have just thrown it together so its not a 'great' at all. I love the neck (love rosework fingerboard and the finish it has - my very first guitar, a squier bullet of some sort, had this neck - weird to say its an appaling guitar - so have been in love with these fender necks ever since that)and the frets are good. Have quite small hands but i dont really think it matters. Remember it took a little while to adjust to the mini frets, but soon got used to them! Makes me smile when my friend with the Strat has a play on it and is a bit confused why his fingers are a bit out of place!

Looks and feel wise its great - comfortable to play and everything. I dont have a clue what to do to it but someone said once you "set it up properly" it sounds and plays a bit better?! The bridge is a bit annoying - its ok now but in the early days i had to get the alan key out every time i played it and raise the bridge to stop the strings buzzing and the action is a bit dodgey. My highest pitch E-string goes out of tune the when i play the octave - apparently i can sort that out but dont know how!

If i had a bit of spare cash i'd defiantely replace the pickups - had some suggestions what to get but thats personal really! A bit paranoid that the jagstang would only fit a certain pickup as it is a unique shape but will have to chck that out. Im sure it would be a great guitar if you got it all sorted and setup like you yourself want it. Wont have the money or chance to do that in the near future though sadly!

Has been my primary guitar for practise, gigs and studio for a good few years, not that i have a choice! Only broke one string on it live so had to borrow someone elses guitar! Its niec and heavy, the same if not heavier than a standard telecaster - the is good cause you know its not gonna nsap or anything if you give it a good thrashing. Its great for staying in tune, even if you give it hell a few times during your set as i do. Few problems on the tuning front although i do have a tuner pedal, as everyone who plays live should, so im sorted anyway.

The finish hasnt faded at all - a few marks on the back from belt buckles but no chips yet. Never had a problem with strap buttons although im cursed for my straps jumping of the guitar whenever they feel like it but about a year ago i solved that by taking two of the little red rubber ring things on Grolsch bottles and slipping then on the strap buttons over the strap and they work perfectly to keep your strap on!

Never got intouch with anyone about my little questions, and nothing major has happened to it to make me need to get in touch with anyone.

It looks great - and i will always keep it and be in love with it to look at so im not gonna ditch it or anything when my telecaster comes. Being really honest if i could turn back time to when i was shopping for this guitar i would have tried to find a mustang instead as they look pretty much just as good but although someone i know has one i have never played on it - im sure it sounds a lot better than the jagstang though. Then again im pretty sure the price difference is a bit too much.

I would be absolutley gutted if anything happend to my jagstang i.e it got broke or stolen, but im pretty sure i wouldnt replace it. Its insured so i would get the money to simply replace it, but id be sooo tempted to get a mustang or another fender model instead.

So, the jagstang looks amazing, absolutley gorgeous and cool as funk - BUT, the sound lacks variation and there are a number of potential probems with the bridge and action which are just annoying really when youve forked out a load of cash for a guitar!

Bought it the first day it was available in Montreal( mid 90 ).. Sonic blue..
The vibrato bar is way too high so i dont use it... pretty smooth vibrato but not my style of playing.
I love the neck with their vintage frets.. but they wear rapidly for this kind of playing

I play extremely loud music, grungy naturally..
I love the pickups which are perfectly designed for Nirvana style
Incredible thin sound .... on phase mode wow..
The bridge pickup tested at 8.6 when cold...
THe neck pickup looks like a Texas specail to me..
This guitar is not noisy at all....
I use a mid 90 Fender Stage 112 160 w with a 4x10 Tweed Cabinet...which is powered by the stage 112 too..
Run Ds-1, Hm-2, Tech-21 i love this fuzz...
Sounds incredibly Loud and with good definition... a rare trait
This guitar delivers well through my amp which is quite good sounding...

Nice neck
Body not perfectly routed
Nice paint but should have been Aqua Seafoam

Soft basswood body ...soooo.....
Repaired the humbucker (solder) due to abuse with my palm..

Suits my style but more of a specialty guitar..
This is Real punk guitar designed by a real Punk which is not designed to be accepted by popular mass. Thanks for this guitar to exist...

This guitar should have a painted peghead...
And shell pink.

I've got a 2k4, sonic blue, stock, reissue Jag-Stang. 22 vintage size frets (I love these frets!) on a maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard. The neck has the awsome small 24" scale which my small hands love. The body is basswood, which was surprizingly heavier than I first expected. It only has two pickups. A special design humbucker in the bridge meant to copy the dimarzio pickup on Kurt's original and a Vintage Strat single coil in the neck position as they don't use Texas Specials on Japanese guitars (Kurt's Custom shop Jag-Stang had a Texas Specail). Its got a very simple control configuration that yields a very versitile range of tones: one master volume knob, one master tone knob (both situated on a very cool looking control plate), and two 3-way slide switches; one for each pickup. The first slide switch controls the bridge humbucker and the positions are: on, off, on. The second slide switch controls a fender Vintage Strat single coil in the neck postition and the positions are: on, off, out of phase. Vintage style tuners, which hold their tuning well, so long as you take care of them. The bridge stays in tune well as long as you never use the tremelo, but if you do, it better have been an intentinal excuse to go off and make noise or other avant-garde piece as you will no longer be in anything close to in tune. While it may be a horible bridge design, it is one of the main reasons for this guitars unique tone and is absolutely essential if you are after that "Cobain" tone.
Came with a gig bag, which I replaced w/ a hard case as soon as I could find one that fit the guitar. WORD OF CAUTION: to anyone who wishes to purchase this guitar, be prepared to spend a long time searching for a hard case as most guitar cases wont fit this guitar's oddly shaped body. Bass cases are also way too large, so you can't take that route out. Your best bet is to get the Fender case for the Jag-Stang (which you still have to CRAM, and I do mean CRAM, the guitar in to fit it).

I play alot of blues, rock, and punk type styles. It suits all these styles well. The out of phase single coil neck with the bridge humbucker yields a wonderfully thin sound that is great for Greatful Deadish jams or avant-garde/experimental tunes. It's a very unique tone to play with. I play mostly through a Fender Twin Reverb reissue, and I use all settings quite regularly. This guitar is definatly NOT a metal type guitar at all. If you play metal, you will not enjoy this guitar's sound at all. It's very bright and punchy, with a bit of growl in the humbucker.

The setup on mine was great right out of the box. Very low action, perfect intonation, had to adjust pickup height to my liking, but thats to be expected. I suggest switching the standard strap knobs with strap-locks as I don't trust standard strap knobs at all. I've had the guitar for almost six months and put the same guage strings on it that it shiped with and intonation is still right where it should be. No truss rod issues, or neck bows of any kind. I've heard many accounts of paint chipping off easily on the Jag-stang, but something tells me this happens only with the original nineties issue of the guitar, as mine has been accidentally dropped and has clipped a few corners and still has a pristine paint job w/o any scratches or wood showing.

I really cant comment here as I have yet to gig with it. It's the guitar I baby, and it only travels with me to the studio. I never play without a backup as no audience likes waiting for you to fix a string. But it seems like a very solid guitar, like most Fenders are known to be.

it's apparently limited lifetime warranty, so thats a very good thing. I doubt I will have to ever deal with Fender as all my other Fenders have survived much use and abuse.

Ive been playing about six years and am a complete gear nut. I own mostly fender gear as it is reliable and for the most part, inexpensive. The quality vs. the price is incomparable to other brands on the market today.
I bought this guitar b/c my mustang had been stolen and wanted to see how similar/different this guitar was to my mustang. I miss my mustang. I do love this guitar, but my mustang is my most favorite guitar I have owned to date. I am still fervently hunting the thief of my mustang and would do the same to anyone who would dare steal my Jag-stang. I would definatly buy another one if stolen, but only if it came up cheaper than another competition blue mustang. I love everything about the Jag-stang except for the lack of rib and arm contours. Even w/o the contours though, it is surprizingly comfortable, thanks to its shape which almost goes just under your rib cage. The body shape also has a balance that is as close to perfect as I have found on any guitar. When on a strap, it balances itself to the perfect angle to your arm and hand.
This guitar is perfect for the indie guitarist with small hands, who focuses mostly on chords and progressions, and who doesn't want a death metal sound or anything super heavy like that. It also would not suit a shredder-type at all. So if "Eruption" is part of your ruitine, pass on this one. Luckily, I'm not a shredder, I'm not into playing anything super heavy sounding, have small hands, and am into mostly indie type stuff, so this guitar suits me perfectly (other than my stolen competition Mustang floating around somewhere in the world...) For Me personally, it's a ten, but I know that for most other people it will be less than perfect to thier needs, so I give it a eight here to compensate.