So I've been playing guitar for almost 2 years now. I own an epiphone Dot, and an LTD EC-50(which is a piece of crap). I wanted a high end guitar so i was looking around and what did i find?
A Fender Jaguar! Fender recently released the Fender Classic Series Jaguars and Jazzmasters. I am a HUGE fan of Nirvana, Sonic Youth, The Cure, and My Bloody Valentine and i thought "Wow, this could be the guitar!" So i went to my local guitar store and tried out the "Classic Player Jaguar". It was amazing!
Now heres where my questions come in.
1. What exactly is the difference between a jag and a jazzmaster? i realize the jaguar has all the switches and buttons for the lead/rythm circuit and stuff(which, judging from pics of a jazzmaster, they either dont have the buttons/switches or they have considerably less(cuz a jag has like 7 lol))
2. Well after some more research i found out that there is another new jaguar called the "Classic Player Jaguar Special HH" or somethin. it is the same as the classic player jaguar except is has humbuckers and it has a coil tap system AND it has a killswitch. and it is the same price as the regular classic player jaguar. The only thing is: would it be good for some heavier music? because i also like to play extreme metal soooo yeah i was just wondering.
3. Is the tremelo arm on jags/jazzmasters any good? becasue i've seen some players use it a lot(such as sonic youth and my bloody valentine) and other people completely take it off the guitar(such as kurt cobain). I kind of like to use tremelo arms so i was just wondering if the jag/jazz tremelo arm is any good?
anyways im sorry this is so long. thank you for your time. :)
1. The Jaguar is a "2nd generation" Jazzmaster, if you like. It has different pickups to the jazzmaster, which are brighter sounding and it has a 24" scale as against the Jazzmaster's 25 1/2" scale. The Jaguar also has the much maligned string damper.
2. Humbuckers, generally, have a higher output than single coils and are easier to drive to distortion - which is what the heavy brigade look for. To get the distortion, you sacrifice the clean end of the output - humbuckers never give you the same clarity as a single coil - splitting a humbucker only gives an approximation of a single coil sound.
3. Trems are subjective. Some players love them, others hate them. As far as heavy stuff goes, you may be disappointed in the Jaguar/Jazzmaster, as it won't do big dive bombs, like a Floyd-Rose. For the shimmer, beloved of many trem users, the Jaguar is excellent
The Jaguar has a trem lock, so, even if a string breaks, the remaining strings will still be in tune - but you can't use the trem, anymore.
You need to play them.
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
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couple other things:
the updated CP Jag also has Fender's version of the Tune-o-Matic (the Fender "Adjust-o-Matic," heh -- no shame these guys) bridge. this eliminates one of the very annoying "features" of the Jaguar (and JM): strings popping out of the saddles. if you play hard, you may want to consider this version for that alone. but of course the 'buckers do not sound like the original SC pups.
Jag and JM trems are not really "players" trems. they are not that well designed. I have an Eastwood Ichiban with the same type and a roller bridge that simulates the Fender version, and except for adding a bit of shimmer to chords, I leave it alone. BUT, that cheezy trem design is one of the keys to the Jag/JM tone and so many love. use it or not, no trem, no funky thin Jag tone. BTW, the Ichiban has mini-humbuckers, which seem to be a cool way to get that thinner, cleaner SC tone w/o Mr. Hum.
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okay, thank you. i tried them both out today. personally i like the trem, i think it's fine. no dive bombs but still pretty neat. i am getting the single coil classic player jaguar. :)
SO what do you do with the trem if you don't do divebombs ? Vibrato ?
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SO what do you do with the trem if you don't do divebombs ? Vibrato ?
Actually, the device IS a vibrato unit, not a tremolo. Tremolo varies volume, whereas vibrato varies pitch, so, even a Floyd Rose does vibrato.
Outside of metal, there are few, if any, dive-bombs, as far as I know. The vast majority of trem users use it to give a vibrato "shimmer" to their music. If you use heavy strings, you can use it to help you get bigger "bends" (assuming it's set up up to float) - trem gives some of the "bend" and your fingers do the rest.
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
Greybeard's Pages
My Articles & Reviews on GN
Hmmmmm, Jaguar...! I just recently got my first electric, and that's what I got; see this thread.
If you do get a chance, try a head-to-head of the humbucker version against the single coil.
And apparently, you have to post photos if you get it :wink:
FT
I think I can rock and roll
Probably just twisting...
I passed down the Fender J that I had when I was...like...15...to my own kid who's just turned 16...a 1965 model, I think. Back then I noticed that the sound was pretty ordinary so I put on a Gretch Country Gentleman at the bridge and a Hummer at the neck. Before passing it on I had it completely worked over and it curently plays and sounds as good as it ever gets!
So, okay, the styling's a bit weird...bearing in mind that cars had those huge tail fins around that time...but, ultimately it's a great choice!
Cat
"Feel what you play...play what you feel!"
