Fender Jaguar
Encyclopedia
The Fender Jaguar is an electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...

 introduced in 1962. A descendant of the Jazzmaster, the Jaguar quickly caught on in the emerging Surf music
Surf music
Surf music is a genre of popular music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Orange County and other areas of Southern California. It was particularly popular between 1961 and 1965, has subsequently been revived and was highly influential on subsequent rock music...

 scene. It, the Jazzmaster, Mosrite
Mosrite
Mosrite is an American guitar manufacturing company, based in Bakersfield, California, from the late 1950s to the early 1990s. Founded by Semie Moseley, Mosrite guitars were played by many rock and roll and country artists....

 and Stratocaster became the guitars most associated with the style.

The Jaguar became popular during the alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 and indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

 movements of the 1980s and 90s.

History

The Jaguar was based on the Jazzmaster, with the same, "offset waist" body and "floating tremolo"
Tremolo arm
A whammy bar, tremolo arm/bar, or vibrato arm/bar is a component of a guitar, used to add vibrato to the sound by changing the tension of the strings, typically at the bridge or tailpiece...

 system. Unlike the Jazzmaster, the Jaguar was fitted with a shorter 24-inch scale, 22-fret neck (the first Fender guitar to have 22 frets) and featured smaller single-coil pickups with notched side plates that improved RF shielding, making the Jaguar less prone to interference than the more popular Stratocaster and Telecaster.

Although the Jaguar and the Jazzmaster shared the same dual-circuit scheme, the Jaguar had a more complex second (lead) circuit consisting of three switches on the lower bout: the first two were on/off switches for the neck and bridge pickups, respectively, the third switch engaged a capacitor that served as a high-pass filter. This switch was often called the "strangle" switch among players, due to the fact that when it is switched on, the Jaguar attains a treble-accented tone quality that easily cuts through a full band soundhttp://www.webrocker.de/jaguar/cms/the-history/. The rhythm circuit, set into operation when the upper bout switch is flicked upwards, gives the guitar a bassier, neck pickup only sound, with individual volume and tone rollers to preset. Another of the Jaguar's features was a spring-loaded rubber string mute, which was flipped upwards from under the strings by a lever. The mute was designed for guitarists who had to palm mute for extended periods, which was difficult or impossible on the Jaguar's floating bridge without knocking the bridge out of position. This feature proved unpopular as it sent the guitar out of tune when it was used improperly. When properly adjusted, the mute will apply light pressure to heavy-gauge, flatwound strings without sending the guitar out of tune.

Like the Jazzmaster and Bass VI, the Jaguar has an unusual floating tremolo arm
Tremolo arm
A whammy bar, tremolo arm/bar, or vibrato arm/bar is a component of a guitar, used to add vibrato to the sound by changing the tension of the strings, typically at the bridge or tailpiece...

 mechanism that was a complete departure from the "synchronized tremolo" system found on the Stratocaster. Leo Fender
Leo Fender
Clarence Leonidas "Leo" Fender was an American inventor who founded Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company, or "Fender" for short...

 believed that this new design was superior to previous designs since the bridge actually moved backwards and forwards along with the strings during tremolo use, thereby maintaining proper intonation even under duress, and preventing strings from binding. This floating bridge concept was also later used on the Fender Mustang
Fender Mustang
The Fender Mustang is an electric guitar by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, introduced in 1964 as the basis of a major redesign of Fender's student models then consisting of the Musicmaster and Duo-Sonic. It was produced until 1982 and reissued in 1990.In the 1960s, it was used in Surf...

. The floating tremolo mechanism also features a built-in tremolo lock, which helped the player preserve the guitar's tuning in the event of a string breakage and easing removal of the tremolo arm.

Released in 1962, the Jaguar never enjoyed the popularity of its Stratocaster and Telecaster siblings. After several upgrades - which included custom finishes, a bound neck, pearloid block inlays, maple fingerboard with black binding, and block inlays - the Jaguar was discontinued in 1975 after a thirteen year production run.

Resurgence

In the 1990s the popularity of the Jaguar & Jazzmaster exploded when they saw heavy use by various alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 and grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...

 bands such as Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...

, Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...

, Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...

, Placebo
Placebo (band)
Placebo are a British rock band from London, England, formed in 1994 by singer and guitarist Brian Molko and bass guitarist Stefan Olsdal. The band was joined by drummer Robert Schultzberg, who was later replaced by Steve Hewitt after conflicts with Molko. Hewitt left the band in October 2007 and...

, Bush
Bush (band)
Bush are an alternative rock band formed in London in 1992 shortly after vocalist/guitarist Gavin Rossdale and guitarist Nigel Pulsford met in a London nightclub. Realising they shared a love for such diverse artists as the Pixies, Bob Marley, The Jesus Lizard, MC5, Nirvana, Hüsker Dü, and Big...

, My Bloody Valentine, The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...

, Stereolab
Stereolab
Stereolab are an alternative music band formed in 1990 in London, England. The band originally comprised songwriting team Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier , both of whom remained at the helm across many lineup changes...

, Pixies, Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3 were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce. Their music was "colorfully mind-altering, but not in the sense of the acid rock of the '60s; instead, the band developed its own minimalistic psychedelia"...

 and The Calling
The Calling
The Calling is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, best known for their hit single, "Wherever You Will Go." The group formed in 2000 and have released two albums. They have been on an indefinite hiatus since 2005.-Band history:...

.

One of the reasons the Jaguar became so immensely popular among indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

 artists is because they are one of the few solid body tailed bridge guitar
Tailed bridge guitar
Some electric guitars have an extended bridge for their tremolo system, named a tailed bridge guitar because of its shape. Most of these tailed bridge guitars were designed in the sixties and used in surf music....

s produced by a major manufacturer. The Jaguar and the Jazzmaster both have a design that (perhaps incidentally) creates an ad hoc third bridge
3rd Bridge
The 3rd bridge is an extended playing technique used on some string instruments , that allows a musician to produce distinctive timbres and overtones that are unavailable on a conventional string instrument with two bridges...

 mechanism in their floating bridge, with limited timbre
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...

 when used in an extended technique
Extended technique
Extended techniques are performance techniques used in music to describe unconventional, unorthodox, or non-traditional techniques of singing, or of playing musical instruments to obtain unusual sounds or instrumental timbres....

. When the strings are strummed behind the bridge, a characteristic chiming sound is created, which has been exploited by artists like Sonic Youth. Even when strumming in front of the bridge, the long string length behind the bridge coupled with the low break angle over the bridge functions as a "sink" for vibrational energy, producing sympathetic resonance
Sympathetic resonance
Sympathetic resonance is a harmonic phenomenon wherein a formerly passive string or vibratory body responds to external vibrations to which it has a harmonic likeness. The classic example is demonstrated with two similar tuning-forks of which one is mounted on a wooden box. If the other one is...

 which can function as a counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...

 when power chords are played on different string pairs.

It has also been known that Jaguars and Jazzmasters were popular with late 80's indie artists precisely because of their unpopularity with more traditional guitar players at the time. This meant that Jaguars and Jazzmasters were far cheaper than vintage Stratocasters or Telecasters and therefore struggling musicians like J. Mascis and Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...

 could afford to own a high quality vintage Fender guitar where they could not before. In the 80s, pre-CBS models from the early 1960s often sold for under $100 at a time when their more popular contemporaries went for ten times that amount.

Jaguars have also found favor among players with small hands. The Jaguar and Mustang are two guitars in the Fender lineup with a short (24 inch) scale length and slim neck. Players with small hands find these necks easier to play when attempting difficult chords and long stretches.

Reissue

Fender reissued the 1962 version of the Jaguar in 1999 as part of its American Vintage Series (lower cost Japanese-made versions have been available since 1986/87, originally made of basswood, now of alder
Alder
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...

 like their American counterparts). Several other variations have been released within the last decade, including several humbucker versions and a Jaguar bass guitar
Fender Jaguar Bass
The Fender Jaguar Bass is an electric bass guitar manufactured in Japan by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.-Design:In appearance, the Jaguar Bass is largely faithful to the original Fender Jaguar, with exception of the neck, bridge, and pickups taken from the Fender Jazz Bass...

 in 2006. Fender of Japan also produces Jaguars for its own domestic market with numerous special editions including an accurate version of Kurt Cobain's modified model. As of 2007, the main difference between Japanese and American models is the electronics - American models use higher quality chrome rather than stainless steel parts and have brass shielding plates installed in the cavities (Japanese guitars made before 96/97 also have brass shielding). American Jaguars have nitrocellulose lacquer. No standard US made AVRI Jaguars sport matching headstocks unlike their vintage counterparts, however many Japanese models do, and also offer some custom colors not found on American models.

Although Fender has many signature Stratocasters and Telecasters designed in conjunction with famous players and the first signature Jazzmasters were introduced in 2007, Kurt Cobain's signature Jaguar was introduced in 2011 (20th anniversary of release of Nirvana's Nevermind
Nevermind
Nevermind is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991. Produced by Butch Vig, Nevermind was the group's first release on DGC Records...

 album). In the past, a Kurt Cobain replica Jaguar was made for the Japanese domestic market and the Fender Jag-Stang
Fender Jag-Stang
The Fender Jag-Stang is an electric guitar designed by Kurt Cobain, of the band Nirvana, intended as a hybrid of two Fender electric guitars: the Jaguar and the Mustang. Cobain suggested his idea for an instrument to Fender, resulting in two left-handed prototypes built by former Custom Shop Master...

, intended as a Mustang/Jaguar hybrid, was built for Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...

 with his design input.

In May 2008 Fender introduced the Classic Player Series Jaguar and Jaguar HH with dual Enforcer humbuckers, which are made in Mexico and sold for under $1000. Fender have made numerous changes to the classic design, however, replacing the bridge with a Tune-o-matic type, giving it a 9.5" fretboard radius, moving the tremolo plate closer to the bridge and installing high output pickups. This Classic Player guitar is also available as a "1966" limited-edition version with a bound neck featuring rectangular block inlays and CBS-style decals as of 2009.

In September 2010 the Black Top Jaguar HH has been introduced as part of the Mexico-made Black Top series. Features include a solid alder body with gloss polyester finish, chrome hardware, dual Hot Vintage AlNiCo humbucking pickups with chrome metal covers and black skirted amp knobs. Other refinements include a maple neck with a 9.5”-radius rosewood fingerboard, 22 medium-jumbo frets, 24"-scale length, an Adjust-o-Matic stop tailpiece and a 3-way toggle switch.

Variations

Fender Jaguar Special HH
Has the same body shape as the standard Jaguar, but is equipped with two low-output Fender designed Dragster humbucking pickups, a fixed adjusto-matic bridge (similar to a Gibson
Gibson Guitar Corporation
The Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...

 Tune-O-Matic
Tune-o-matic
Tune-o-matic is a name of fixed bridge design for electric guitars. It was designed by Ted McCarty and introduced in the Gibson Les Paul Custom guitar in 1954. In 1955, it was used on the Gibson Les Paul Gold Top...

), a 24" scale length, and chrome knobs. It is made in Japan.

Fender Jaguar Baritone Special HH
Similar to the Jaguar HH, except that it has fewer switching options, and a longer 27" scale length (as opposed to the normal 24"), and is designed to be tuned a fourth below a standard guitar (B E A D F# B, low to high). This guitar is only available in black with a matching black headstock and chrome hardware to emphasise its unique design.

Fender Classic Player Jaguar Special HH
A Jaguar modeled after the guitars of players such as Kurt Cobain. This Jaguar has two Fender Enforcer humbuckers which are able to be coil-tapped, a Gibson-style "adjust-o-matic" bridge, and the whammy-bar tailpiece has been moved closer to the bridge. It is made in Mexico.

Fender Jaguar Baritone Custom
Fender Jaguar Baritone Custom
Not to be confused with the Fender Jaguar Bass or the Fender Jaguar Baritone Special HH.Fender's Jaguar Baritone Custom electric guitar, also known as Fender Jaguar Bass VI Custom is more or less a combination of the Fender Jaguar electric guitar and the Fender Bass VI electric bass guitar: Its...


A MIJ combination of a Jaguar and a Fender Bass VI
Fender Bass VI
The Fender Bass VI, originally known as the Fender VI, is a six-string electric bass or Scale Baritone Guitar by Fender.The Fender VI was released in 1961, and followed the concept of the Danelectro 6-string bass released in 1956, having six strings tuned E-E, an octave below the Spanish guitar...

 with additional features. It has a fixed bridge, a 28.5" scale length and heavier strings (the same set as the slightly longer Bass VI) to achieve an E-E tuning one octave lower than a standard guitar. Renamed the Fender Jaguar Bass VI Custom (some Fender catalogues omit the word Jaguar) a few months before it was discontinued.

Fender Jaguar Bass
Fender Jaguar Bass
The Fender Jaguar Bass is an electric bass guitar manufactured in Japan by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.-Design:In appearance, the Jaguar Bass is largely faithful to the original Fender Jaguar, with exception of the neck, bridge, and pickups taken from the Fender Jazz Bass...


Essentially a Fender Jazz Bass with a Jaguar-shaped body and Jaguar-styled switching options. Features a switchable on-board preamp with bass/treble controls.

Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar
A Jaguar, with two Duncan Designed humbuckers, basswood body, top-load bridge, and Jazz Bass controls. A Jazzmaster is also offered with similar styling. The only difference is the Jazzmaster has P-90 pickups, instead of humbuckers and a Maple fretboard.

Fender Blacktop
A Jaguar with high-output humbuckers, alder body, maple neck with rosewood fretboard, 9,5" radius, T.O.M./STP style bridge, volume and tone pots and a 3-way Gibson style pick-up switch.

Fender Kurt Cobain Jaguar
A unique Fender Jaguar model; a replica of the 1965 Fender Jaguar that Kurt Cobain used. Equipped with Dimarzio humbuckers, Gotoh tuners, and an Adjust-o-Matic bridge. It is currently the only active Jaguar that is sold left-handed along with right-handed.

Fender Modern Player Jaguar
Basically a stripped-down version with 2 Fender "MP-90" pickups, 2 Jazz bass knobs, and a adjust-o-matic bridge. It is crafted in China.

Further reading

  • The Fender Electric Guitar Book: A Complete History of Fender Instruments. Tony Bacon. Backbeat Books. 3rd edition (September 1, 2007) ISBN 0-87930-897-4
  • Fender: The Golden Age 1946-1970. Martin Kelly, Terry Foster, Paul Kelly: London & New York: Cassell 2010 ISBN 1-84403-666-9

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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