Many people have already commented with the major differences/advantages of the Jaguar model -- it has a shorter scale so it is faster playing and/or better-suited to players with smaller hands (such as myself), it has better RF shielding than the Strat or Tele so it is noisier, it has a distinct "plinky" kind of sound that instantly evokes surf music, etc. The Jazzmaster and Jaguar also had rosewood fingerboards when all other Fenders had maple, and some people consider that an advantage. The truth is, a lot of people get annoyed with Fender offsets because they don't know how to set them up. When the Jazzmaster went on the market, modern-day slinky strings were not available. The lightest string gauge was, I think, .13. The Jazzmaster bridge was not designed to take modern super-light strings and they do not sit right on it nor do they sound right due to the diminished tension. And the Jaguar requires even heavier strings due to the shorter scale. You basically cannot play a Jaguar with strings lighter than .11s; there is so little tension that when you bend you will bring the string past the pole piece and the note will cut out. But most people put .9s on them and then complain that they're not Strats. And also, if you use light strings, the vibrato system will NOT stay in tune because it was not designed for those gauges either. And then you get a bunch of jokers trying to put Mustang bridges on their Jags and Jazzmasters (so they can use too-light strings) and that messes up the intonation. Properly set up, Jazzmasters in particular have sustain and performance that is just as good as a Strat or Tele, and a distinct sound and feel. Plus, the vibrato system (which is similar to a Bigsby) is much better about staying in tune than a Strat system, IF you use the right strings. Jags are more of a niche instrument, but they are still wonderful players and I love mine (Squier Vintage Modified). Remember, the Jazzmaster was invented because the Strat was so unpopular. The 1950s models were considered excessively noisy and were/are notorious for their "trems" bringing them out of tune. And the Strat, in turn, was invented because the Tele was considered so heavy and awkward (and again, noisy). The JM fixed those problems, and was meant to be played sitting down.
I actually own a Strat, but it's been modified to not have the issues that Strats normally have. I will never own a Tele. I live in Nashville and if I ever needed one (which I won't), I could just yell out my front door, and 100 people would come out with one for me to borrow. Prince is the exception to my opinion on Telecasters. Of course, his wasn't a Fender, and he made his sound great.
There you go, modify or fix the issues! Telecasters are the same, you can modify or fix issues that bother you. Nashville cats....they know the real deal
There is also the issue that modern Jazzmasters and Jaguars have had their circuitry and electronics changed radically from the original concept, so it's not really fair to question how they're better than a Strat. A modern Jazzmaster in the made-in-Mexico Standard/Player series has double humbuckers, no rhythm/lead split circuit, and is more of an SG than a Jazzmaster. A modern MIM Jaguar is a similar hash of components that bears little relation to the original Jaguar except in body shape and scale.
Will you share what modifications you made? I play an '58 ES335, but I'm told it's heresy to own just one electric guitar, so I've been eyeing a Strat. Would love to know what issues you overcame. Thanks
I'm not from Nashville, so twangy is a sound I despise. A Tele would have to be modified so much to remove the twang, that you might as well just get a Strat instead.
I own an American vintage reissue Jaguar and my main reason for choosing this guitar over the other fenders was the tremolo system. Have it for 10 years and never regretted my decision.
I use an Eric Johnson signature neck which eliminates the need for string trees. I also made sure the nut is carved correctly so the strings don't hang up in it. People blame the tremolo system, or the tuners on Strats for why they go out of tune. Neither of those things are the reason. It's the strings getting hung up in the string trees and/or the nut that throws the guitar out of tune when the tremolo is used. On my Strat, I can dive the tremolo bar all the way down and when I let go, the guitar is still in perfect tune. For pickups, I use split single coil rails by Seymour Duncan. They still sound like Strat pickups, but don't buzz like all Strats do.
I've had one of each in the past, and they don't work for me. I'm a bit heavy handed so the strings pop right off the bridge saddles when I get too aggressive, and frankly they are a pain in the a** to set up. I do love the sounds they make in the right hands though.
I prefer strats and teles myself, but in the right hands those jazzmasters and jaguars sound great. I especially love hearing them on countless instrumental surf albums!
Twang is all over the world now, not just in Nashville. Sounds like you need a session with my friend who owns all kinds of guitars for all kinds of musical situations. His guitar ground zero is a Telecaster even though he owns hundreds of different models from all the major and boutique builders. I've learned a lot from him. I think it's like any sport with a ball, get the basics down like the proper way to catch, throw,kick...whatever. Learning to play a Telecaster trains/prepares you about the basics because it's so simple yet unforgiving and tells you the truth.
Jazzmaster's can be a fun and versatile alternative to Strat's and Tele's. Change out the wonky bridge and vibrato tailpiece for Mastery parts, replace the 1 meg volume pot for 500k if the treble is a bit grating and good to go. I'm having one made currently a Riggio Jet, not Fender, with a beaultiful light weight one piece ash body and Brazilian rosewood slab board, all other specs ala '59 and blonde finish. Jag's have never interested me, too many switches, didn't feel right etc.
Man... He's almost as bad as Neil Young when it comes to guitar soloing. That tone is terrible to my ears. I couldn't get through the entire 11 minutes.
Why would you pick a Jaguar or a Jazzmaster over a Tele or a Strat? Because it's not a Tele or a Strat.
The Stratocaster was my main guitar from the late '70s, right up to my defection to the Telecaster in the late '90s. A number of comments here cite Punk Rock and Indie fashion as possible reasons for the revival of Jags/JMs, but to my experience the "Strat sound" was probably the most overused and abused guitar sound in the late '70s/early '80s. That position 2 / position 4 phasey tone was on everything, like gated drums. To this day, when I do take out my Strat I almost instinctively avoid those settings. If you were just starting out in the '90s and didn't want to sound like everybody else, the wise move was to play something that wasn't a Strat.
I've been playing guitar for 30 years. Nothing will convince me that a Telecaster sounds good. Nothing will convince me that twang sounds good either. Twang might be all over the world, but Nashville has so much of it (the way people talk, guitar tones, banjos, nasally vocals) that I feel like I need to take a shower every few hours just to wash the twang off.
The amp is as important as the guitar in creating a particular tone. I would not describe the guitar sound on Led Zeppelin I as "twangy". You do realize most, if not all of that, was a Telecaster.
I've been using a Jaguar as one of my main guitars for going on 20 years. The pickups are single coil, but sound nothing like a Strat (or really any other instrument). Tonally, it's actually closer to a Tele in some ways. I have small hands, so I like the 3/4 scale neck. I like the tone, but hated the weirdo switching system so I had it bypassed and put in a standard 3 position switch on the lower horn. It takes some effort to get the right amp and dial in the ideal sound, but it ends up sitting in a very unique spot in the sound mix of the band. The tremelo system on the Jag & Jazzmaster is very unique and can make sounds that no other instrument can do (think MBV or other shoegaze bands). One of my long-term bandmates had a Jazzmaster and it, too, had a compeltely unique tone that really sat in it's own spot in the mix. He's got big hands and had a lot of trouble knocking strings off the original bridge, but had it replaced with a Mastery bridge and it fixed the issues. They are both very unique instruments that don't really compare tonally to other guitars. They both have that fantastic tremelo system and work really well with effects pedals. They both also take a little bit more effort on the players part to dial in the perfect sound and playability, but if they appeal to you it is totally worth the effort.
Yep. I'm very aware of that. I'm betting the treble knobs were nearly all the way down on things like You Shook Me. I'm a bigger fan of Page's tone when he plays a Les Paul.
I love my Jags. I don't own a Jazzmaster yet, but once the Kevin Shields edition comes out I'm all over it. They look great, and the Strat, while a design classic, is a bit boring. A guitar was a thing of identity, and when I started playing in a band did you want a Strat like Mark Knofler, a Tele like Springsteen, or a Jag/Jazz like all the young upstarts of of indie rock at the time. When I gigged I used to have my old 80's Japanese Jag, a Tokai Tele and Fender Strat. While I would sometimes leave one guitar at home, the Jag was always at my side. It looked great, sounded great, and more importantly never failed me. Never went out of tune mid-song or mid-set, never broke a string, just absolutely solid. The only thing I don't like about Jags and Jazzmasters are the bridges, the strings can slip positions very easily from playing hard or just the palm of your hand rubbing it.
Thanks for that. One of the Strat-like models I'm looking at is from John Page. No string tree among other interesting features. Totally agree on a properly carved nut. On my finger-style acoustic, I use an ancient ivory nut and bridge. A John Page Classic:
