JG66-85 Japanese Jaguars - any good?

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auxiliaryjoel
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JG66-85 Japanese Jaguars - any good?

Post by auxiliaryjoel » Sat Oct 16, 2021 7:18 pm

    I was wondering if the JG66-85 model Japanese Jaguars are a good option for Japanese Jaguars. Or if there is other eras of janaese production that are better. ?
    Also, how are the current model Japanese jaguars?.
    I've played some Japanese jags in the past. Some sounded awesome and some had some really crappy pickups.
    I'm on the look for another but don't want to wind up with a dud.
    I'm not keen on modding so looking for something that's quite playable from the get go.

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    Re: JG66-85 Japanese Jaguars - any good?

    Post by timiscott » Sun Oct 17, 2021 2:23 am

    I bought a 2021 Trad. 60s LPB Jaguar and it is excellent: not far off the quality of my AV65 JM but far better than a '93 JM I own. They have really upped their game in terms of pick-ups and electronics - no comparison!

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    Re: JG66-85 Japanese Jaguars - any good?

    Post by adamrobertt » Sun Oct 17, 2021 4:02 am

    Yeah they seem to have fixed the problems that Japanese Jaguars used to have by upping the quality of the pickups and electronics. Probably the only downside is the Japanese vibrato, which is OK but not very durable.

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    Re: JG66-85 Japanese Jaguars - any good?

    Post by auxiliaryjoel » Sun Oct 17, 2021 4:06 am

    timiscott wrote:
    Sun Oct 17, 2021 2:23 am
    I bought a 2021 Trad. 60s LPB Jaguar and it is excellent: not far off the quality of my AV65 JM but far better than a '93 JM I own. They have really upped their game in terms of pick-ups and electronics - no comparison!
    Oh that's good to know.

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    Re: JG66-85 Japanese Jaguars - any good?

    Post by auxiliaryjoel » Sun Oct 17, 2021 4:07 am

    adamrobertt wrote:
    Sun Oct 17, 2021 4:02 am
    Yeah they seem to have fixed the problems that Japanese Jaguars used to have by upping the quality of the pickups and electronics. Probably the only downside is the Japanese vibrato, which is OK but not very durable.
    Oh ok. Is the current model Japanese jags vibrato worse than older Japanese jags. Or similar?

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    Re: JG66-85 Japanese Jaguars - any good?

    Post by auxiliaryjoel » Sun Oct 17, 2021 4:13 am

    timiscott wrote:
    Sun Oct 17, 2021 2:23 am
    I bought a 2021 Trad. 60s LPB Jaguar and it is excellent: not far off the quality of my AV65 JM but far better than a '93 JM I own. They have really upped their game in terms of pick-ups and electronics - no comparison!
    Actually I should ask - do you think they jg66-85s from early 2000s we're still poor or had the improvements already started at that point?

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    Re: JG66-85 Japanese Jaguars - any good?

    Post by adamrobertt » Sun Oct 17, 2021 4:24 am

    auxiliaryjoel wrote:
    Sun Oct 17, 2021 4:07 am
    adamrobertt wrote:
    Sun Oct 17, 2021 4:02 am
    Yeah they seem to have fixed the problems that Japanese Jaguars used to have by upping the quality of the pickups and electronics. Probably the only downside is the Japanese vibrato, which is OK but not very durable.
    Oh ok. Is the current model Japanese jags vibrato worse than older Japanese jags. Or similar?
    It's the same AFAIK. I've used them before on builds and they aren't great. I've had problems getting them setup properly, and I've also had reliability issues with them. If you don't use the vibrato it may not matter to you though.

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    Re: JG66-85 Japanese Jaguars - any good?

    Post by timiscott » Mon Oct 18, 2021 8:56 am

    I think it's a fair point that the MIJ trems aren't as great as the US ones but the 2021 Jag came perfectly set up and the trem stability is excellent. I was astonished. It's not as supple as the one of the AV65 but it's still a pretty good trem unit (as opposed to an outstanding one).

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    Re: JG66-85 Japanese Jaguars - any good?

    Post by garyfanclub » Tue Oct 19, 2021 8:50 am

    timiscott wrote:
    Mon Oct 18, 2021 8:56 am
    I think it's a fair point that the MIJ trems aren't as great as the US ones but the 2021 Jag came perfectly set up and the trem stability is excellent. I was astonished. It's not as supple as the one of the AV65 but it's still a pretty good trem unit (as opposed to an outstanding one).
    Agreed - swapped the MIJ trem in my 2017 MIJ Trad JM for an AV65 trem and it's a big improvement. Seems like the spring is a bit stouter, which lends better control and subtlety when using the arm. The original isn't terrible, but you'll immediately notice the difference with the USA unit. Pickups also swapped (AVRI 65s) and bridge is a Staytrem - expected to have to make these adjustments though, so no surprises here.

    Fit and finish, astounding - extremely solid and on-par with contemporary MIA Fenders. No qualms here, so long as you're cool with poly finishes and a thin D-shape glossy neck.

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    Re: JG66-85 Japanese Jaguars - any good?

    Post by auxiliaryjoel » Tue Oct 19, 2021 3:09 pm

    garyfanclub wrote:
    Tue Oct 19, 2021 8:50 am
    timiscott wrote:
    Mon Oct 18, 2021 8:56 am
    I think it's a fair point that the MIJ trems aren't as great as the US ones but the 2021 Jag came perfectly set up and the trem stability is excellent. I was astonished. It's not as supple as the one of the AV65 but it's still a pretty good trem unit (as opposed to an outstanding one).
    Agreed - swapped the MIJ trem in my 2017 MIJ Trad JM for an AV65 trem and it's a big improvement. Seems like the spring is a bit stouter, which lends better control and subtlety when using the arm. The original isn't terrible, but you'll immediately notice the difference with the USA unit. Pickups also swapped (AVRI 65s) and bridge is a Staytrem - expected to have to make these adjustments though, so no surprises here.

    Fit and finish, astounding - extremely solid and on-par with contemporary MIA Fenders. No qualms here, so long as you're cool with poly finishes and a thin D-shape glossy neck.
    Any idea when the Japanese ones upped their sound /build quality? As in , are the early 2000s Jags still a gamble, or were they on par with current Japanese Jag quality by that stage?

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    Re: JG66-85 Japanese Jaguars - any good?

    Post by Johno » Tue Oct 19, 2021 10:36 pm

    I'd save my.momey and buy a Mexican Jag if I was on a budget.... I've had a lot of Japanese Fenders and the Jag was by far the worst of the bunch...
    Neck was nice but if I had kept it I would have had to swap out the pups switches wiring and eventually upgrade the trem.... by that time prolly in 2nd AVRI money.... Japanese Fender seem to have doubled on price on the 2nd hand market I've no idea why.

    Ok guitars, throughout the early 2000's I owned

    Jag
    Jazzmaster
    Mustang
    72 Thinline Tele
    Tele Custom

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    Re: JG66-85 Japanese Jaguars - any good?

    Post by auxiliaryjoel » Tue Oct 19, 2021 11:34 pm

    Johno wrote:
    Tue Oct 19, 2021 10:36 pm
    I'd save my.momey and buy a Mexican Jag if I was on a budget.... I've had a lot of Japanese Fenders and the Jag was by far the worst of the bunch...
    Neck was nice but if I had kept it I would have had to swap out the pups switches wiring and eventually upgrade the trem.... by that time prolly in 2nd AVRI money.... Japanese Fender seem to have doubled on price on the 2nd hand market I've no idea why.

    Ok guitars, throughout the early 2000's I owned

    Jag
    Jazzmaster
    Mustang
    72 Thinline Tele
    Tele Custom
    oh OK, so based on that it's fair to say the early 2000s Jags were still not at the level of quality that the 2021 model Japanese jags are then. Everything seems to comment that the quality is a major improvement, but I wasn't sure at which point this improvement started. Sounds like it's fairly recent then

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    Re: JG66-85 Japanese Jaguars - any good?

    Post by timiscott » Wed Oct 20, 2021 12:45 am

    I think it's a price-point strategy these days. The MIM stuff is about £800, the MIJ about £1200 and the US about £1600. I think that, on the whole, the price reflects the quality, but it's minor tweaks all the way. I'm not entirely convinced that, when you're totally focused on playing, these things matter hugely. You can feel the difference between a US Jag or JM and a non-US one but it doesn't have much impact when you're caught up writing or recording.

    The prices for second hand MIJ/CIJ are insane, given that you might need to upgrade some things. That might reflect the way that US stuff holds its price but I'm not sure. Overall, I don't think any of the new guitars across the price range are going to be anything less than very good indeed. I haven't played a Vintera but a MIM Classic Player Jaguar SS I had was a seriously good guitar. I'd visit some shops and see what looks, feels and sounds good to you... but try not to be swayed by pricing or reputations.

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    Re: JG66-85 Japanese Jaguars - any good?

    Post by auxiliaryjoel » Wed Oct 20, 2021 12:54 am

    timiscott wrote:
    Wed Oct 20, 2021 12:45 am
    I think it's a price-point strategy these days. The MIM stuff is about £800, the MIJ about £1200 and the US about £1600. I think that, on the whole, the price reflects the quality, but it's minor tweaks all the way. I'm not entirely convinced that, when you're totally focused on playing, these things matter hugely. You can feel the difference between a US Jag or JM and a non-US one but it doesn't have much impact when you're caught up writing or recording.

    The prices for second hand MIJ/CIJ are insane, given that you might need to upgrade some things. That might reflect the way that US stuff holds its price but I'm not sure. Overall, I don't think any of the new guitars across the price range are going to be anything less than very good indeed. I haven't played a Vintera but a MIM Classic Player Jaguar SS I had was a seriously good guitar. I'd visit some shops and see what looks, feels and sounds good to you... but try not to be swayed by pricing or reputations.
    Yes I. Know what you mean about price not being the total indicator of quality of usability.
    I live in far North Queensland which is about a 19hr drive from nearest capital city. We do have guitar shops but they often have 1 or none offset guitars and usually it's just the latest squire or MIM. So I have to rely on reading a lot of forums to try and gain some average consensus on player experience.
    I do own a mid to late 90s olympic white jag that I love but I did have to shield it to avoid excessive hum. It is awesome though.
    I also own a American made 2017 Jazzmaster (I think it's a "pro" it has the dark neck colour that continues into the headstock and 65 pickups). It is definitely awesome and the most fun and playable guitar with little to no play issues. It's awesome.
    Yet the old Jag is still more inspiring to write songs on but I also had to swap the bridge and to stop it slipping out on the low E all the time and the shielding that I mentioned.
    My gut instinct is that I can't afford an American jag but I do want to veer towards a 2020/2021 model Japanese jag (probably the Traditional 60s for my budget).
    Part of This reasoning is that the only other MIM fender guitars I've played both had absolutely terrible to the point of almost unusable necks on them. They were models from 10uears back though so I realise things change but it's really turned me off MIMs.

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    Re: JG66-85 Japanese Jaguars - any good?

    Post by timiscott » Wed Oct 20, 2021 2:26 am

    Fair point. I wonder if it's to do with quality control? The 2021 MIJ I got was a Traditional 60s LPB Jag and the neck is pretty full. Not the thinness of my '93 MIJ JM but also not quite the heft of my AV65 JM. I find it pretty good to play on but the AV65 took a while to get used to - love it now though!

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