Jagstang or Jaguarillo

[gblbass]

I'm looking at picking up either a Jagstang or an MIM Pawn Shop Jaguarillo. They're both around $600 shipped. The Jagstang has some electronics mods which I'm comfortable restoring to original. Any thoughts on these two models (praises and/or cautions)?

[Stephen_42]

I'm a huge fan of Jag-stangs, (though I don't own one, sadly... I've got a Mustang and Jaguar, but so far the breeding programme has been unsuccessful) but they're very love 'em or hate 'em.

If you go down the Jag-stang route, I'd advise against returning to stock though. Even Cobain swapped out the humbucker for a Seymour Duncan JB, even though it was ostensibly made to his specs. I almost bought one a few years ago, but £750, poor condition with very crackly pots seemed too much to justify. $600 shipped would be much more tempting - especially given ~10 years of inflation and a bad exchange rate! Very comfortable neck, and the weirdness (or insane coolness, IMO) of the body shape would be more than enough to swing it for me.

Jaguarillos - I've never played one, so won't comment anything more than they look cool, but not as cool as a Jag-stang cool. I'd be willing to bet that the prevailing view here is the Jaguarillo, given the more traditional shape and offset trem.

Wildcard option: If you like Jag-stangs, have you considered a Cobain Mustang? I own one and I love it. Basically the same set up as a Jag-stang, only on a Mustang body and with Coabin's mods (JB, ToM bridge) pre-installed. Probably similar price range, maybe a little more expensive. Like the other two, it comes in sonic blue. And also like the other two, none of the three colours called sonic blue look at all the same.

[Stephen_42]

PS - If anyone from Fender is reading this: bring the Jag-stang back!

[leokula]

I think this is really a matter of taste.

If I had to sum up these two guitars, I'd say the jaguarillo is a jaguar with some strat sounds and the jagstang is a mustang with a different body shape.

I'd take the jaguarillo if I was more after a jag vibe, and the jagstang if I was after a mustang vibe.

[gblbass]

" Even Cobain swapped out the humbucker for a Seymour Duncan JB"
One of the Mods to the Jagstang is an SD humbucker. The other mod is a 3 position pick up selector switch in place of the tone pot. I'm cool with the pickup but would restore the wiring to original.

[blimpage]

Do you have a preference between the Mustang tremolo and the Jag/JM tremolo? I've never played a Jaguarillo, but the fact that it has a Jag tremolo would personally have me leaning towards it over anything with a Mustang tremolo.

[gblbass]

Do you have a preference between the Mustang tremolo and the Jag/JM tremolo? I've never played a Jaguarillo, but the fact that it has a Jag tremolo would personally have me leaning towards it over anything with a Mustang tremolo.

Never used a mustang tremolo. What's the issue with the s
Satng tremolo?

[Jan Deal]

Personally, I've never had any good experiences with my Mustang tremolo, it's even harder to set up and deal with than my Jazzmaster tremolo. I'm sure some folk on here haven't gotten it to function properly, but no matter what I've tried, that damn things pops the guitar out of tune! I love Mustangs, but the tremolo system is atrocious!

[Gonkulator]

I would go with the Jagstang. Much cooler guitar.

[gofive]

Jag-Stang. And don't return it to stock. No one keeps a Jag-Stang stock for good reason. Even Kurt didn't keep his Jag-Stang, that he designed, stock.

[honeyiscool]

Personally, I've never had any good experiences with my Mustang tremolo, it's even harder to set up and deal with than my Jazzmaster tremolo. I'm sure some folk on here haven't gotten it to function properly, but no matter what I've tried, that damn things pops the guitar out of tune! I love Mustangs, but the tremolo system is atrocious!

Yeah, I just take a couple of hex bolts and bolt it down with some washers. They work fine as tailpieces.

[blimpage]

Do you have a preference between the Mustang tremolo and the Jag/JM tremolo? I've never played a Jaguarillo, but the fact that it has a Jag tremolo would personally have me leaning towards it over anything with a Mustang tremolo.

Never used a mustang tremolo. What's the issue with the s
Satng tremolo?

What Jan Deal said - I've personally never had much luck getting a Mustang tremolo to keep the guitar in tune after use. Apparently it is possible to get it working nicely with some proper setup, but it takes some work. (I prefer the Jag trem aesthetically too, but that's just a matter of taste.)

But I've heard plenty of people singing the praises of the Mustang trem too, so don't just take my word for it! Try one for yourself if you get a chance.

[Acidhouse]

Jag-Stang and as others have said, don’t go stock. I had an old JB ‘59 that I put in the bridge of mine and it’s come to life.

[gblbass]

Don't see the point of a Fender offset without the tremolo. That's one of their strongest features. I can't see why I would want the Jagstang if I'm going to lock it down.

[ThePearDream]

If it helps, I have a guitar with a Mustang vibrato. I set it up for dive only and the tuning is stable as a rock