Thursday, July 8, 2010

1962 Fender Jaguar Guitar


This 1962 Fender Jaguar is not the Holy Grail of collectible guitars, despite being a pre-CBS model.

The original run of Fender Jaguars were built from 1962 to 1975. They were intended to be the top of the line model, but never became as popular (or collectible) as the Stratocaster and Telecaster. They were, of course, popular with the surf crowd and later with the grunge bands.

This one is all original and 100% complete. That means no changed parts, and no modifications. There is a lot of finish wear, with nicks and dings, but this vintage Jaguar is structurally sound with no cracks, breaks, or repairs. One of the tuners is chipped on the end, but it still works ok, and I chose not to mess with its originality. I hope I look this good when I am 48.

It has a very nice straight neck with great frets. The finish is worn off the back of the neck and it feels great. There are faint impressions along the top edge where someone wrote the names of the notes along the top of the neck. This is not a big deal, and it does not affect playability at all. Actually, it is kind of cool (I think).

The serial number is 94XXX, dating this one to 1962.

All of the electronics work fine and it sounds great, perhaps with less hum than other guitars of the era I have played. When I had it, it had a pro set-up with 9s, and I think it played as well as it could. It has a nice mojo, and was a good catch for a guy that actually likes Jaguars.

However, I did not like it very much. I had trouble adjusting to the shorter scale, and was never fond of the goofy tremolo set-up and had a very hard time finding strings for it that worked well for me. Add in the horrible control layout, and it was a pretty easy decision to move it on to another owner.

Live and learn.

2 comments:

  1. Hello Rex...

    I was wondering how much u sold your Jaguar
    for.? I have a pre CBS Jag that I am
    currently selling that was my fathers. Hard
    times have given me no choice but to put it
    up for sale and Im not sure what to ask as
    a price. Any help with this would be greatly
    appreciated. Thank you for you time.

    KB.

    I know without seeing the guitar it would
    be hard to give a current value and I know
    that its only worth what someone else wants
    to pay but it would be nice to know a
    estimate value. The condition of my Jag
    is close to the one u posted here. I would
    say judging by the pictures that mine
    has about the same amount of wear on the
    finish. My father bought this guitar in
    63 and played semi-pro with it for many
    years. Thanks again for your time. KB.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi KB. All-original sunburst Jaguars in this condition are selling in between $2500 and $3500 nowadays. Custom colors go for a bit more. Thanks.

    Rex

    ReplyDelete