Original jagstangs

Discussion of newer designs, copies and reissue offset-waist instruments.
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sa1126
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Original jagstangs

Post by sa1126 » Sun Apr 15, 2018 6:57 pm

Can we talk about the OG fender jagstang's from the 90's? I remember them from when I took guitar lessons as a teenager but never got to play one, but always wanted one because of nirvana.

How are these guitars? A pawn shop by the house has a near mint one for $750 with HSC. Seems high to me, but that appears to be the going-ish rate. Are these worth the money or are they just overhyped pos's with Kurt's name?
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Re: Original jagstangs

Post by Mechanical Birds » Sun Apr 15, 2018 7:20 pm

It’s an MIJ Mustang with a Duncan (I think?) in the Bridge. It was the first Offset guitar I ever owned, before I knew Shit about any differences between offsets. Never got to use a whammy bar with it.

I lost it two times to a pawn shop, having to buy it back the first time. Couldn’t afford to do so the second time around but I’m told it went to a kid who idolized Kurdt, so that’s cool. It’d be nice to have it for collection solidarity, but I honestly don’t miss it in terms of sound or function or how it felt to play it. I thought it was my dream guitar at the time but it ended up being kind of a bust looking back.

A few months ago I ended up with an MIJ Mustang and while it was a fun guitar, for $700+ dollars, Jesus you could do so much better. I know the typical response is always “save up X more dollars and buy an American version of whatever” but it almost always seems to make sense haha.

What do YOU like about the Jag Stang? What are you looking for in a guitar?

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thatfenderguy
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Re: Original jagstangs

Post by thatfenderguy » Sun Apr 15, 2018 7:25 pm

It’s one of Fenders oddball guitars for sure. See, I’m not a fan of the Jaguar or the Mustang so combining the two didn’t do anything for me. I’ve always found them to be very small guitars and sonically left a lot to be desired. For collection purposes, I have to have one. But otherwise, I would pass. As for the price, I’d say you could do better. I see them come and go locally for as little as $450.

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sa1126
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Re: Original jagstangs

Post by sa1126 » Sun Apr 15, 2018 7:25 pm

I really don't need a new guitar, but you know how that goes. I'm a big dude and always thought mustangs would make me look stupid on stage so I never pursued one.

The jagstang is just nostalgic for me, and it is cool to see one in person after all these years. I doubt I'll buy it but was just looking for a "dude go buy that asap" if it was a deal. I agree -- you could probably buy two better guitars for the moola but they wouldn't look as cool :D
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Re: Original jagstangs

Post by andy_tchp » Sun Apr 15, 2018 8:34 pm

Quality of build/components on par with any other '90s era Fender Japan instrument (superb build quality with decent-but-not-amazing hardware).

Aside from that, absolutely, utterly hideous to look at.
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Re: Original jagstangs

Post by spacecadet » Sun Apr 15, 2018 10:48 pm

They are freakin' ugly. But they do look pretty faithful to Kurt Cobain's original sketch. So I guess you can blame him.

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Re: Original jagstangs

Post by daysleeperjeff » Mon Apr 16, 2018 9:46 am

If you like the look of it and it is nostalgic I say get it.

With guitars, personally I think looks are super important. You can make any guitar sound great with a good setup, swapping pickups or necks, but try making an ugly or boring guitar look cool. I don’t care how good a guitar sounds If I hate the look of it, because I know I can get one that has both. Or make a cool guitar sound good.

If you love the look of these things get it because there’s nothing else that looks like them. $700 seems a little high but mint condition and HSC...I’d think that would be pretty much what it would go for these days.

Have you tried Courtney Loves Venus? ;)

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Re: Original jagstangs

Post by Mad-Mike » Mon Apr 16, 2018 1:51 pm

I love mine, obviously. She's beat to hell but still going perfectly. Just like any Japanese Fender they are battle tanks for the most part.

The OG Jag-Stangs (MIJ & CIJ) I think differed a little from the later reissues in the 2000's

- They had a DiMarzio H3 or H8 bridge pickup in them, which was a weak little ceramic 7.14K humbucker similar to the Fender Dragster in the Jaguar HH Specials. Most people ripped those out and put a Seymour Duncan JB in theirs to be like Kurt Cobain. I bought mine with EMG's in already in it, which is what I prefer personally. When the reissues came out, Fender started selling them with a Fender Santa Ana humbucker which from what I read in reviews is a much better pickup. I think some of the later first run CIJ's may have had alder bodies though since most of the Basswood guitars I've found were Fujigen Gakki builds - but someone on here revealed to me it may have been a market thing.

- The first run had Basswood bodies instead of Alder, which made them very wooly and overly bassy guitars for some people. They have a naturally scooped midrange that can kind of kill their ability to cut in a mix. I always twist the midrange way up for that reason. They also take dents like those foam blocks used for fake boquets.

- The tuning keys on the original CIJ/MIJ guitars tend to wear out. They were made by Ping and not particularly durable. Mine have been replaced with Kluson Revolutions.

And yes, they are going for high sums, but I think it's equal parts being a Nirvana/Cobain guitar as it is that they are not that common. The Jag-Stang is kind of like what the Katana and Performer are - they are one of those models that has sort of dissappeared into the sands of time with Fender.

What gets me is over 2 years ago Fender's Hollywood office had what looked like a Indonesian VM series Jag-Stang in their office when it first opened. I always wished they put those into production.

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Re: Original jagstangs

Post by blackbox » Mon Apr 16, 2018 2:47 pm

I always felt like the 90s was a pretty bad decade for Fender. Virtually any post-2012 Fender offset is going to be a far superior guitar for the money.

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Re: Original jagstangs

Post by spectredude » Sun Apr 29, 2018 1:50 pm

I have two Jag-Stangs, one is a 96 Sonic Blue, and the other is a 2003 reissue Sonic Blue. I love both of them. They are not my number 1 guitars. I have a Jazzmaster that is my baby. BUT with regard to the Jag-Stang. It is a FUN guitar to play. Now notice i am not saying its the best guitar ever made, or the build quality is amazing or terrible or anything like that. Honestly it comes down to one thing for me. The Jag-Stang is super fun to play. The price honestly can vary a bit depending on if your getting a Sonic Blue or a Fiesta Red model. It seems the blue ones get an extra 100 bucks thrown on to them out in the wild. Next would be the condition. A lot of Jag-Stangs look like they have been through a lot. So if your looking for a pristine condition Jag-Stang especially in Sonic Blue, a 1000 dollars isn't out of the question. But i have also seen them as low as 650. Another factor is who is actually selling it. Jag-Stangs are some times called ugly or what ever but personally i like "ugly" guitars. I think a standard white strat is the most boring thing in the world so its all relative. SO if the person selling it is a Jag-Stang fan then you can obviously expect a lil bit of a premium on the guitar.

Good Luck !

PS If you want it... and have the money. Buy it. Enjoy it.

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Re: Original jagstangs

Post by SAVEStheDAY » Mon Apr 30, 2018 5:49 am

I really wanted a Jag-Stang when they were announced. After saving every penny for about a year I finally bought one in Fiesta Red. It was my second guitar (My first was a MIM Strat) and it never could have lived up to my lofty expectations. The neck was great, though, and I learned how to mod because of it. The guitar community specific to the Jag-Stang was pretty great at the time, and I spent a lot of time convincing myself I loved it. So much so, that I bought another one in Sonic Blue a few years later. Looking back I could say it was a gateway guitar for me; it got me into a serious offset habit.

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Re: Original jagstangs

Post by armyofbees » Wed May 02, 2018 2:37 pm

I passed on one of the first models (lefty) for $400 because I didn't like the colors. last lefty I saw for sale on reverb was aorund $1,500. :w00t:

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Re: Original jagstangs

Post by Stephen_42 » Thu May 03, 2018 3:43 am

I've wanted one for about 10 years now. If Fender don't reissue it soon (remember the pictures of a new one going around about a year or so ago?) I'm going to lose patience and build myself a Warmoth.

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Re: Original jagstangs

Post by thatfenderguy » Thu May 03, 2018 3:57 am

I would probably be more apt to purchase a Squier Jagstang if that ever became a reality.

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Re: Original jagstangs

Post by Stephen_42 » Thu May 03, 2018 7:08 am

Fender or Squier, I'd buy one either way. But I'd prefer lower end price for modding, like with the Jarman Mus-uar. (Still kicking myself for missing out on them.)

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