NGD!! Wheeee!! I've been mauled by a Jaguar..

[araT]

WEW! Forgive me Jetty fathers, for I have sinned! I've been mauled by a sexy sexy Jaguar!

I know I've been saying that I'm trying to shed gear, and I've been doing so pretty successfully the last year or so, I've gone from 18 guitars down to 12 (Even the Les Paul Deluxe 30th Anniversary is gone now!), the last guitar I bought was my Dyna Jet.. nearly 2 years ago now.

Well today I took a step in the wrong direction, I've bought a MIJ Fender Jaguar Classic '66RI Limited Edition in Candy Apple red.. I've GASsed after one for a long LONG time & I finally found one I instantly fell in love with at a price I couldn't say no to ...

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(click to enlarge)

To repent for my sins I've put my Gibson Robot on the market a little sooner than I had planned to - now I resolve to have it sold before I leave Australia... maybe... If I get a decent price.

Onto the review:

I had a lot of apprehensions about the hardware & electronics thanks to fellow MIJ Jag owners trying to put the fear of the gods into me, but I can safely say that Japan came through on this one - it is a limited edition top-shelf version though, which the price reflected.. and maybe that plays into it.

The pickups are wonderful, they're full & beefy on the rhythm circuit, and really cut through the mix nicely on the treble circuit, I'm loving all the tones I'm able to pull out of it with my Dual Terror, and after spending some quality time with it I'm happy to say the pickups will be staying unless/until I hear something REALLY EXCEPTIONAL worth swapping to.

It's absolutely dead silent when plugged in & without touching strings/hardware, which really surprised me, I was expecting to have to do some tinkering in there to take care of the typical single coil hum.

With a good setup, the bridge doesn't rattle at all, and I'm having no issues with the strings jumping out of their slots (both "common" problems), Jags are amongst the hardest guitars to get a GOOD setup on, but once you do they play fantastic just the way they are.. I won't be needing to cough up $200 for a mastery bridge like I feared, and there's no way I'm putting a buzz-stop on as I hear they do more bad than good.

The playability is amazing, I have the action incredibly low with no buzzes, and it all-but plays itself.

What can I say, I'm SERIOUSLY impressed

[Van Cleef]

i'm looking at getting a CAR jazzmaster (with matching headstock) - i regret selling my jazzy - and want another one

[Randy Bass]

You only have 13 guitars ? I don't feel so bad now. Nice Jag!

[ScottyDanger]

Aah! That thing is niiiiiice! As someone who used to spend a lot of time on the Ultimate-Guitar forums, let me just say that it is a huge pleasure to see a NGD with a Jaguar that does NOT have humbuckers. What a waste of a Jaguar, putting humbuckers in it. Yours is gorgeous, and I am insanely jealous!

[misterMagoo]

Awesome guitar! I love offsets, and those block inlays are sexy. Also, you are way better at naming threads than I.

[baytamusic]

Those MIJ big block Jaguars and Jazzmasters are awesome. I like them better than the USA ones when I was shopping around last year. Congrats!

[indianDYsummer]

Awesome guitar, block inlays on offsets are sweet looking. I have to say it was a step in the right direction...

[araT]

Thanks guys! definitely feeling the offset love here you've all got excellent taste!


Van Cleef: Good luck on your jazzmaster quest! Can't wait to see pics when you get it

Randy: Hahahaha!! down from 18!!! I sold a bunch this year, I'm going for quality not quantity now and besides, I need to slim down for the move to Berlin, though once I'm there I suspect the numbers will start climbing again.. What's your current tally? you can't shock me, I know a guy here in Sydney who has ~300 or so.

ScottyDanger: Thanks! I totally agree, those HH Jags are a joke, the factory-equipped versions look more like Jazzmasters anyway!

misterMagoo: Thanks! I fell in love with those big blocks, that's what sealed the deal! (as for naming threads, it's proof I spend FAR too much time on forums! hahaha)

baytamusic: I agree 100%, I've played a bunch of US ones in my quest for Jag-dom and none of them ever really spoke to me, not the vintage ones (not for their prices, anyway) and not the modern RIs either, this one outplays them all in my opinion, and looks SO MUCH sexier!

indianDYsummer: Thanks! I thought so too

[Randy Bass]

...What's your current tally? you can't shock me, I know a guy here in Sydney who has ~300 or so...

I'm pretty sure it's at 12 for electrics, but more quantity than quality. I'm slowly trying to move towards fewer and better, but I really like cheap guitars for some reason. The sad thing is that I have more amps than guitars.

[araT]

...What's your current tally? you can't shock me, I know a guy here in Sydney who has ~300 or so...

I'm pretty sure it's at 12 for electrics, but more quantity than quality. I'm slowly trying to move towards fewer and better, but I really like cheap guitars for some reason. The sad thing is that I have more amps than guitars.

Oh, that's not too bad! I was expecting to hear ~80! hahahaha
Cheapo guitars are fine as long as you feel they play well, and if you mod the crap out of them most usually do!

More amps than guitars? *drool* man, that's a luxury I'd never even be able to dream of, I simply don't have the space - though I'd love to have 2 decent amps, one for in my studio, and one for out here in the living room.. it's not that much of a hassle to move the DT around though, so I can't convince myself to pony up the cash (that may change once I'm in Berlin - those Rocker 30s are tasty!)

If you're curious here's a link to my mate Ajay's collection - he's around ~300, but that number is constantly going up It's all mostly Fender Telecasters, but there are a few other Fenders & even a few other brands in there.. he scares the heck outta me... whenever I go up to see him I feel like I've walked into a Fender factory, he has more guitars than most stores here!! - http://forum.fendertalk.com/showthread. ... and-Pieces.." onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

[chinese fork tie]

If you're curious here's a link to my mate Ajay's collection - he's around ~300, but that number is constantly going up It's all mostly Fender Telecasters, but there are a few other Fenders & even a few other brands in there.. he scares the heck outta me... whenever I go up to see him I feel like I've walked into a Fender factory, he has more guitars than most stores here!! - http://forum.fendertalk.com/showthread. ... and-Pieces.." onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

[brianr0131]

I see that guy on TGP all the time. He seems pretty nice too. Always helpful.

[araT]

Inorite? that's what I said the first time I went up to his place.. I nearly fell over!

I see that guy on TGP all the time. He seems pretty nice too. Always helpful.

Yeah, Ajay's a legend - I met him on a forum, went up to buy my '89 MIJ '72RI Custom from him, and have caught up with him a few times over the years since, he's a lovely chilled out guy, but his collection seriously scares me, that's some unchecked GAS problems right there!

[David Verb]

If you're curious here's a link to my mate Ajay's collection - he's around ~300, but that number is constantly going up It's all mostly Fender Telecasters, but there are a few other Fenders & even a few other brands in there.. he scares the heck outta me... whenever I go up to see him I feel like I've walked into a Fender factory, he has more guitars than most stores here!! - http://forum.fendertalk.com/showthread. ... and-Pieces.." onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Soooo... Who does all the maintenance on all these guitars?

I struggle to keep the rust off of four guitars!

[araT]

Soooo... Who does all the maintenance on all these guitars?

I struggle to keep the rust off of four guitars!

I've done a bit of work for him (I'm a tech - http://www.rockinrepairs.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) but I imagine he does most of it himself, I'd love/hate to be responsible for all ~300