NGD - 1973 BB&B Jaguar

Discussion of vintage Jazzmasters, Jaguars, Bass VIs, Electric XIIs and any other offset-waist instruments.
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AwesomeWelles
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NGD - 1973 BB&B Jaguar

Post by AwesomeWelles » Tue Apr 30, 2024 11:39 am

Well, this just happened…Very Special Thanks to our own MrFingers, who has been a true OSG bro to support this!

It’s been quite a process beforehand, but finally managed to buy this from a guy in Belgium yesterday – fortunately I was able to pick it up in person as I only live a good hour’s drive away. On a side note, it always amazes me that there’s a small part of Belgium where people speak German (although I do speak a little French)!

Anyway, what we have here is a 1973/1974 maple cap Jaguar. Serial no. dates it to early 1974, but pot codes are ’73 and I can just barely make out the last digit of the neck stamp to be a ‘3’ as well, although it’s very hard to read.

The guitar is in pretty great condition, no major issues at all, even the original frets are still in great shape. It probably needs a new nut, though, and the tuners need to be lubricated but that’s about it!

It’s fully original and I’m pretty sure I was the first person to lift the pickguard after 50 years. There are the typical era-correct QC stamps in the neck pocket, along with the factory shim, so I’m 100% sure the body is legit.

The neck has that super nice early 70’s profile with smoothly rounded edges. It happens to be a ‘Torres’ neck, who also made the neck of my ’72 Strat, so this one immediately felt right. The neck finish is pretty thick and glossy, but I don’t mind that.

I’ve only had an hour or so play time, but it plays very nice as it is, will certainly benefit from a new nut, though. Sounds totally different from my ’65 Jag, much snappier and more focused, though I suppose a lot of that is on account of the pickups, given that 70s Fender pickups are generally quite different from the 60’s ones. It’s certainly a great addition to the ‘65, as it looks, feels and sounds completely different!

I was really anxious that this would turn out to be the stereotypical 70’s ash boat anchor, as every 70s Jag I’ve encountered so far was close to 5kg…but this one’s not, fortunately. It’s just above 3.9 kilograms, which is totally in my range of comfort.

Well, that just about sums it up…Seeing as 70’s Jaguars are pretty rare as it is, and BB&B ones even more so, this may be one of just a handful in this configuration in existence. I’ve only ever seen photographic evidence of one single other Natural BB&B Jag.

Here's some pics after cleaning and with a Mastery:

 ImageDSC00055 by Lars Fred, auf Flickr
ImageDSC00050 by Lars Fred, auf Flickr
ImageDSC00049~2 by Lars Fred, auf Flickr
ImageDSC00053 by Lars Fred, auf Flickr
ImageDSC00057 by Lars Fred, auf Flickr
ImageDSC00043~2 by Lars Fred, auf Flickr
Image20240429_151755 by Lars Fred, auf Flickr
Image20240429_151736 by Lars Fred, auf Flickr
Image20240429_152034 by Lars Fred, auf Flickr

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Pacafeliz
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Re: NGD - 1973 BB&B Jaguar

Post by Pacafeliz » Tue Apr 30, 2024 11:42 am

Ok I'm gonna go change my pants and then cry myself to sleep...
:?

(Congrats, I mean...) :blush:
i love delay SO much ...that i procrastinate all the time.

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MattK
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Re: NGD - 1973 BB&B Jaguar

Post by MattK » Tue Apr 30, 2024 1:04 pm

All I can say is WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

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Axolotl
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Re: NGD - 1973 BB&B Jaguar

Post by Axolotl » Tue Apr 30, 2024 1:12 pm

Hot Damn! It's gorgeous and rare as a hen's teeth! Congratulations!

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BoringPostcards
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Re: NGD - 1973 BB&B Jaguar

Post by BoringPostcards » Tue Apr 30, 2024 1:49 pm

Holy fuck! You’ve found a unicorn. It’s amazing looking.
Enjoy in good health!
Det er mig der holder traeerne sammen.

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Rob
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Re: NGD - 1973 BB&B Jaguar

Post by Rob » Tue Apr 30, 2024 3:11 pm

This is the nicest BB&B Fender I've ever seen. The natural finish really works.

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CorporateDisguise
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Re: NGD - 1973 BB&B Jaguar

Post by CorporateDisguise » Tue Apr 30, 2024 4:52 pm

Holy moly!

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AwesomeWelles
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Re: NGD - 1973 BB&B Jaguar

Post by AwesomeWelles » Tue Apr 30, 2024 10:09 pm

Thanks, people! I'm really liking it so far. I went over his original asking price so I don't feel I took advantage of the seller or anything. Pretty hard to put a value on it anyway...

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sal paradise
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Re: NGD - 1973 BB&B Jaguar

Post by sal paradise » Tue Apr 30, 2024 10:28 pm

OSG really is the coolest site on the internet. Congrats, this is amazing.
I have nothing to offer anybody, except my own confusion?

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MrFingers
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Re: NGD - 1973 BB&B Jaguar

Post by MrFingers » Tue Apr 30, 2024 11:49 pm

I should have picked it up myself! :freako:

But that’s in immaculate condition. And a beautiful ash body as well (maybe also a reason why it sounds different).

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muffonrat
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Re: NGD - 1973 BB&B Jaguar

Post by muffonrat » Wed May 01, 2024 2:14 am

Congratulations, rare find indeed, happy playing!

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DrippyReverbTremolo
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Re: NGD - 1973 BB&B Jaguar

Post by DrippyReverbTremolo » Wed May 01, 2024 9:22 am

Funkalicious

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AwesomeWelles
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Re: NGD - 1973 BB&B Jaguar

Post by AwesomeWelles » Wed May 01, 2024 10:01 am

I found that the January 1973 price list was the last one where anything other than Sunburst was available. Custom colors on Jags (and JMs) were discontinued by mid-'73.

If Natural was a 'regular' custom color (at least from 71-73), I wonder why there 's so few natural offsets out there.

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46346
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Re: NGD - 1973 BB&B Jaguar

Post by 46346 » Wed May 01, 2024 11:47 am

holy spumoni! this is the guitar i would have lusted for when it came out, probably above any other!
i wasn't playing at the time, but this aesthetic of the '70s always stuck with me.

i loved bowling as a kid, and looking down the neck of a maple Fender reminded me of playing the beautiful maple alleys built in the '50s...

eventually i started out on bass, with a BB&B '74 Jazz Bass in Mocha - my first real instrument.

more recently, i landed an all-maple '76 Starcaster in Natural.

way to go, man! it's great to see this landmark arrive in the OSG family!
Cat Museum, ACME, Malcolm Mooney, Dream Apes, The Cooling Time, Kind Hearts and Coronets, Quarks

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JamesSGBrown
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Re: NGD - 1973 BB&B Jaguar

Post by JamesSGBrown » Wed May 01, 2024 1:13 pm

This aesthetic isn't even really for me... but I still think this might be one of the coolest guitars owned by an OSG-er ever!

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