Squire Jaguar

[YnJ]

I got my Squire Jaguar delivered today, together with a Jazzmaster I haven't gotten around to play yet, both Classic Vibes models. I've been interested in these classic models, but not in paying for Fenders

 

First impression is that the build quality is excellent. It's much heavier than I'm used to, and the neck much narrower than I'm used to. The tuners seems to hold up well. The pick ups seems to have a slight phase issue, I don't know if it's intentionally or not, I like it though, it works for me. It's got this vibrato system which is new to me, used moderately it seems to work fine. I haven't tried to dive bomb the strings yet. Lots of knobs on this guitar, I haven't quite figured what all of them are used for yet, I guess I need to get on the internet at some point. It didn't take long to get used to, and the neck is really easy to play, bending notes is really easy as well, thanks to the floating vibrato I guess. All in all a lot of guitar for the money in my opinion. I might change the pick ups at some point though. Not my guitar in the photo, same model and colour though. Surf Green!

 

 

Edited August 14, 2023 by YnJ

[YnJ]

Having played it a bit more since last post, I have to say this is a really fun guitar to play. It's not a shredding machine, and as a lead guitar it doesn't stand out as much. As a rhythm guitar though, it's f'n awesome! It sounds great with everything from a little crunch to hooked up with a high gain amp. I think it's actually the best guitar I own right now for playing fast metal riffs, every note played sounds clear and the riffs doesn't get mushy no matter how fast you play. It's got this twangy, almost percussive quality to it when played through a high gain amp, which can be fixed easily with a channel strip if you want a more conventional metal sound

 

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by YnJ

[EdwardMarlowe]

Looks great! Interesting Squier have launched these models now, especially with Fender confirming a significant rise in popularity of their offsets again. 

https://guitar.com/news/music-news/fender-offset-jazzmaster-popularity/

It's one guitar style I've never had a chance to play. They've been rare enough to see in guitar shops (which themselves are increasingly rare!) in my experience, and, more to the point. I've never been in the same room as a left handed one. Fender Japan and US make a few of both the JM and JG clouty-handed - at a price - not sure if Squier include lefties or no (website suggest no, though I was sure I'd seen one somewhere. JHS Vintage do a nice run on it too, though at least for now no lefties. 

It's a style I've gotten excited by recently owing to Harley Benton. My tastes in guitars are solidly in the "vintage" aesthetic, but I'm very much retro / vintage inspired. I don't care if my guitar was available as is in the 50s, it's just that I like it to look aesthetically like it might have been, if you follow. HB do a nice variation on this guitar style. Theirs is a little smaller in the body (think those 80s superstrats that looked the same shape as a Fender til you see them side by side, then you notice they're just that fraction smaller). Obviously as with so many 'tribute' takes on the classic styles, there's an element of lawsuit avoidance potentially in there (I don't know what rights Fender may or may not still have to bodyshapes). I also wonder, though, whether there was an element of this being done to make it a little lighter in the body, or hang differently on a strap. Bearing in mind that the originals were designed with jazz players in mind, and the aim of the body was to balance better when played sitting down - weight being a little less of an issue then. 

Fascinating how these guitars have deviated from the market for which they were intended. Of course they were rejected by an ironically conservative jazzworld, to be embraced then by surf guitar players. By the late seventies, they were very unfashionable and so the likes of Elvis Costello bought them cheap, popularised them with punk and new wave fans, Sonic Youth picked them up, they became big news on the grunge scene, which is now "cool and vintage" to the kids born after the 90s.... And so the wheel turns. 

Actually the last player I saw wielding one - and to great effect - was Sarah Lipstate, touring with Iggy Pop. https://www.instagram.com/lipstate/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=6c450651-dc8c-43f1-8d89-82b68aba3189 She does some amazing soundscape stuff with these herself, too - including her all-guitar cover of the theme from John Carpenter's The Thing. Some of her work on Soundcloud - 

 
Interesting you've found these single coils great for metal. I'm not a metal player, but it did take me years nonetheless to figure out that humbuckers in general really just aren't for me - I'm looking for that clarity as well, buckers just go all to mud in my hands. (Also for years I tried to find a Les Paul that sounded to my ears like Steve Jones on NMTB.... only to find out in the last year or two that it wasn't the famous white custom he used on the album, but an older, black LP Custom with p90s in it.....).