An authentically styled Jaguar now joins the Vintage Modified family, with present-day touches including sharp, clear Duncan Designed pickups and a modern fingerboard radius. Squiers new Vintage Modified Jaguar rocks the models distinctive hallmarks, too. Such as the 24" scale, dual-circuit switching and controls, floating-vibrato bridge and an assortment of finishes.
Players have done it for years. Whether installing hotter pickups, different pickguards or just plain personalizing their instruments with distinctive paint jobs, modified means adding new twists to familiar designs. Squier's Vintage Modified series excels at just that, imparting hot-output chop-shop sound, feel and value to traditional instrument designs.
Maple neck with vintage-tint gloss finish
9.5-radius rosewood fingerboard with 22 medium jumbo frets and parchment dot inlays
Jaguar single-coil pickups
Circuit selector and tone circuit switches
Pickup on/off switches
Skirted black control knobs (lead circuit) and black disc knobs (rhythm circuit),
Vintage-style bridge and non-locking floating vibrato with vintage-style tremolo arm
The sound of surf guitar awaits. Order today.
SPECIFICATIONS
Vintage Modified Jaguar Electric Guitar
Body: Basswood
Body Shape: Jaguar
Series: Vintage Modified
Neck: Maple, "C" Shape
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Finger Board Radius: 9.5" (24.1 cm)
Frets: Medium Jumbo
Scale Length: 24" (61 cm)
Nut Width: 1.650 (42 mm)
Hardware: Chrome
Tuning Keys: Vintage-style chrome
Bridge: Vintage-style with non-locking floating vibrato
Pickups: Duncan Designed JG-101B single-coil, Duncan Designed JG-101N single-coil
Pickup Switching: Neck pickup only (rhythm circuit); neck only, neck and bridge, bridge only (lead circuit)
Controls: Circuit selector switch, rhythm circuit volume and tone, lead circuit volume and tone, pickup on/off switches, tone circuit switch
Strings: NPS, Gauges: .009, .011, .016, .024, .032, .042
Unique Features: Duncan Designed pickups, vintage-style bridge and floating vibrato (non-locking), gold-and-black Squier logo, engraved neck plate, parchment dot position inlays
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Gold Coverage Includes:
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Normal wear and tear
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Other plan features include:
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Where has this guitar been all my life?
I need to preface this review by stating that I own a very nice 'Crafted in Japan' Jaguar with custom wound Curtis Novak pickups - a guitar that I truly love. I've also played many vintage and AVRI Jaguars through the years. This 'Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar' would have a hard time impressing me.
It did - in a big way.
First, let me say that Fender offsets are something of an acquired taste. They're not for everyone. Their look, feel and sound are all totally unique and will either appeal to you or they won't and I'm not going to try to court you over to the dark side. But at these prices, it's worth the gamble if you're curious.
I first saw these in a catalog recently. Frankly, given the name on the headstock, I assumed they would be junque. I was lucky enough to come across on in a local store this weekend though and couldn't reach for my wallet fast enough.
Mine is a beautiful Surf Green edition. I immediately took it home and started doing some side by side comparisons with my 'good' jag.
Of course, before that, some serious initial setup was necessary. Out of the box, the setup was appulling. Well, I shouldn't say that. There seemed to be no setup at all in fact. I assume templates were used to get things in the ballpark and left at that. At this price, I can forgive it.
It was strung with .9s. Totally inappropriate for a guitar with a 24" scale length. Since the rest of the setup changes with string gauges, I changed the strings first to a fresh set of .11s. The truss rod was suprisingly good considering the drastic change in guage. The bridge required lots of tweaking, but eventually came into adjustment.
When I finally started playing, I was just shocked at how much I liked this thing. It sounds fantastic. These pickups aren't just adequate, they're excellent.
The neck is more like a modern strat neck. 9.5" radius and basically a more modern 'C' profile. Older jags have wider, thicker necks with much smaller radius'
In the past 48 hours, I've probably spent at least 12 hours playing this thing and really have very little to criticize.
For the record, these are the differentces between this guitar and a more vintage Jag (that I can detect):
1. No lock on the tremelo - the lock never really worked that well in the first place. No great loss.
2. No mute - again, didn't work that well unless countless hours of adjustment were done and this is an easy to live with omission
3. Different neck shape - more stratish 'c' shaped neck with a 9.5" radius. Will be more familiar to the vast majority of players than a more vintage neck.
4. Truss rod adjustmet moved to the headstock - a huge improvement if you ask me. Have to remove a neck to tweak the truss rod may be vintage but it's also a pain.
5. Basswood body - I wouldn't know it if I hadn't read it. Body looks, feels and sounds terrific.
These are all relatively minor modifications and take nothing away from this guitar.
Usually, lower end Jags and Jazzmasters have other mods that drive people like me crazy. Incorrect pickups and controls. Trem is often moved forward to 'improve' the angle of the string break. This guitar suffers from neither of these things.
A note about this style of tremelo. I read all the time about 'problems' with these trems. If adjusted properly, these trems are fine. No fantastic. They do take a lot of tweaking to get right, but it's worth the effort.
There are often complaints abotu 'wobbly' bridges. This is not a fault. It's designed to pivot in cups pressed in the body - the idea being that when the trem is depressed the intonation of the strings doesn't change. Leo Fender was a smart guy and didn't let this happen by accident.
The second major complaint is strings 'jumping' out of the saddles under heavy play. This can happen, but it's not as common as some would have you believe. Remember what this guitar was designed for. Power chords hadn't been thought of in 1962 when the Jaguar made it's debut.
This often leads to the trem being moved forward for a sharper string break. I guess if you want Kurt Cobain or Sonic Youth style use from your Jag that's fine, but it will affect the Jag 'Mojo' that we traditionalists enjoy. The natural resonance from the lentgh of string behind the bridge disappears and it just doesn't feel right.
This does lead me to my one real complaint about this guitar. The bridge is of the type it should be but the grooves in the saddles are far too narrow. On tis guitar, even I have a problem keeping the strings in the saddles. I will upgrade this to a better bridge (actually only the saddles need changing) and I'm sure this problem will vanish.
In closing, I'll just say that I highly recommend that you take a look at this guitar. It's well made and made with high quality parts. It looks, feels and sounds great. There are a few 'tweaks' to the orignal (they do call it Vintage Modified) but the changes all make sense and unless you're a serious purist you'll not mind them.
My only complaints are the complete lack of setup and the saddles. Otherwise, this thing is as good as any Jag I've ever played. Leo would be very proud. Don't overlook this because of the script on the headstock - as I almost did.
Now I need a VM Jazzmaster - dangit.
Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Electric Guitar 3-Color Sunburst Rosewood Fingerboard
.Not sure why you would buy one without doing ANY reasearch on the instrument or playing one first, the internet is a wonderful place full of knowledge and experienced players who know the quirks of the offset family of fender.
This guitar is an amazing value. Finally, fender/Squier have released the family of offset guitars, with no major modifications and are vintage spec for a great price. For those who have no idea how to set one of these up, it can be intimidating. It's not as simple as stringing it up and expecting it to stay solid like a Les Paul, but the chime and the jangle make it even better. The pickups are bright, and sound great, if not a little hotter than vintage Jag pups.
The bridge has quirks but there are several work arounds and modifications that can be made (again, research, google is your friend). The short scale feels great and the neck on mine is straight and true. No fret buzz after a PROPER setup and changing out the stock strings. Note - these come set up with 9s, and with the short scale, they do MUCH better with 11s or heavier.
Overall, this guitar is great! Does the surf vibe perfectly through a fender twin and a helping of splashy reverb. Cleans are amazing, sounds great with some dirt and fuzz too. The vibrato is stable once you know how to adjust it and work it (dive-bombing not recommended) and stays in tune.
If you're looking for the same thing everyone else has, like a Les Paul or whatever then look away. If you're not willing to learn anything about the way the instrument works, this probably isn't for you either. But if you want a diiferent, chromed-out little speedster with plenty of chime and a great feeling neck, then definitely check one out!
Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Electric Guitar 3-Color Sunburst Rosewood Fingerboard
.I just purshased the Jazzmaster a few weeks ago and, I was blown away! I had to have the Jaguar. Again as I stated in the review of the Jazzmaster these are really Great instruments and, Squire has opened my eyes and, my mind to the brand. Will I purchase more Squire guitars in the future, probably not. The Jazzmaster & Jaguar were the only Fender guitars that I did not have and, wanted. I'm really not a collector but, I do enjoy owning and, playing fine instruments and, these two definately qualify. Both of these guitars when recieved required very little setup or adjustment out of the box. I was surprised and, pleased although I do enoy doing these things, it puts a personal touch on the guitar that you will play. The Jazz has the sunburst finish and, the Jag is surf green, they both look GREAT! These are not guitars that are maintenance free, they do require a little tinkering here and, there but, the end result is well worth the effort. Anybody can aggressively play a guitar to any degree to achieve the results they are looking for but, these two instruments yield positive results with a finesse playing style. Again I say GREAT GUITARS!
Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Electric Guitar 3-Color Sunburst Rosewood Fingerboard
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(14 of 14
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First, this review is no reflection on Custom Guitars Friend. I love MF and have a very long, positive relationship with them. That will continue.
This is about Fender Instruments, with which I also had (HAD) a long (37 year) relationship.
I could not get this guitar set up, no matter what I did. I own 38 guitars, and have owned many more in 44 years of playing. I can set up a guitar to perfection in my sleep. In fact, I've built 8 guitars myself. This guitar was impossible to set up. So I finally took off the neck to examine it. It was twisted. It hadn't been made right, period. I contacted Fender. After 2 weeks they finally responded back, only to send me to a local "certified" Fender tech - who said he didn't even know that Squier made a Jaguar. And his "service" comprised nothing more than to put much heavier strings on it, readjust the saddle height and declare it as "meeting factory specs". He said that about six times. The neck is still twisted, but put heavy enough cables on a fence post and it could probably be declared within "factory specs". What does that have to do with a musical instrument? This guitar is bad. Everyone I showed that neck to had a chuckle over how warped it was...well, everyone but Fender's authorized tech. I own eleven other Fender guitars, ranging from a '76 Tele that I bought new in 1976 all the way to this latest Squier Jag. I own multiple Fender amps, and countless other Fender peripherals. In 4 decades(!) of buying and promoting Fender products, this is the only time I've contacted them for support. And this is what I got.
Welcome to the modern Fender corp. They may be obscenely successful, but don't expect that to translate to you, the musician.
A musician subordinates to a tech? Leo Fender is rolling over in his grave. And I'm going to be looking to Gibson for my next guitar purchase.
Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Electric Guitar 3-Color Sunburst Rosewood Fingerboard
.I am a retired professional musician from Los Angeles. I have owned my old Fender Jaguar since 1960. It was custom fretted by Valdez, Dual circuited Fender original and modified Gibson with late 50's single humbuck pickup in the middle with the vintage volume tone controls,so you get both the original fender and gibson at the flick of a switch, custom bridge, roland midi, schallers, refinished black, etc... And it needed all of the above to be a great guitar. Everyone owned a Strat, but the Jag was the top of the line. I have worked professionally since I was very young in many bands and studios.
So to the point, I bought this guitar for fun and to compare. It is a great guitar without the mod's. Already has the jumbo frets. The duncan pickups are good and sound almost original. The size and feel is exactly the same. I can not tell the different when I play it or my original. I am very impressed with this particular one. The pickups could use a spring under each screw to keep them up in place to the setting. But I remember adding the same to my original. So a 100% from here. The price is like 1960's prices. Yes it says Squire on the head stock. Big deal. It is a good quality Fender guitar. I would recommend it.
Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Electric Guitar 3-Color Sunburst Rosewood Fingerboard
.This Guitar has the early Beach Boy's tone I was looking for. The low E string has some buzz that does not come through on the amp (no problems there). I bought the olympic white Jaguar. I'm glad I did because it looks great, sounds great and it's easy to play. If you missed the Beach Boy's 50th tour you missed a great one. Thanks Fender it's a great guitar.
Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Electric Guitar 3-Color Sunburst Rosewood Fingerboard
.I received a surf green Jaguar recently. It arrived almost in tune, well set up, and was ready to play in less than five minutes.
It sounds like a Jaguar, it acts like a Jaguar, it has the quirks and ugliness that only a Jaguar has. Pickups range from thin to screaming depending on settings and effects; this thing loves the eBow and octave fuzz.
Just don't take the pickguard off. Don't get me wrong, the wiring etc. look to be done very well, the hardware is better than I expected at the price point, and is perfectly serviceable. Even the pickguard isn't bad (but I wanted tortoiseshell). But the pickguard screw holes look like they were chiselled out by a screwdriver, complete with paint chips still floating around. It's invisible with a pickguard on but it's my only real complaint.
Neck is super silly glossy (even more than my MIJ Mustang is) but isn't sticky and feels decent. Fretwork isn't as nice as say the Mascis Jazzmaster, but it's also at a much lower price point.
If you know how to set up a Jaguar to run right, the stock bridge works fine. It's not perfect acoustically, but well, I've never seen a stock Jaguar that was..and it's an electric guitar. It stays in tune, sounds good, and it's available in vintagey colors for cheap.
What's not to like?
Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Electric Guitar 3-Color Sunburst Rosewood Fingerboard
.I've been playing for 50+ years. Have owned LOTS of guitars -- presently a dozen. Fenders (American and MIM), Gibsons, Martin.etc. I know good from so-so. This is a GOOD guitar. Beautiful to look at. A delight to play. Solid feeling. Very versatile.
Back in the early, pre-Beatle, `60s I was into Surf and pre-surf instrumentals such as the Ventures. Seeing this guitar and reading here and on forums how pleased even experienced guitarists were with this Jaguar I figured it would be worth the chance. Well now, owning it and playing it through a variety of amps, I am simply blown away.
Some here (and elsewhere) have commented on the need for a careful setup -- and particularly mentioned hassles with the bridge. I expected to experience the same but did not.
My instrument was pretty well set up out of the box. Neck relief was perfect. The bridge followed the fingerboard radius. String height was well set. (Only intonation, while not terrible, needed some tweaking. But the guitar came with .9s -- an odd choice for a short scale instrument. So I almost immediately went over to .11s (pure nickel). This may well explain why i had no bridge hassles, even when playing vigorously. This guitar NEEDS heavy strings, It was designed for them. Without them the bridge just doesn't work as it was designed to.
A true surprise was the guitar's versatility. Yes, the "rhythm" circuit is great for background playing. But it also sings for great leads through a high gain amp. The "Lead" circuit is just that -- but it can get not only the cleans it is famous for (Surf's up!) but also a wonderful Claptonesque "woman tone."
The body shape is comfortable when standing with a good strap (it is a fairly heavy guitar), but more unique is that it is comfortable while sitting - this due to the so-called "offset" body shape.
I could go on and on. The guitar is truly that fine. But at the price MF sells it for it is unfreakinbelieveable.
Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Electric Guitar 3-Color Sunburst Rosewood Fingerboard
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(10 of 10
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I play the Jaguars everyday and the only guitar I play ....have 3 Fender Jags plus this new Squire
The only problem I found was the floating bridge needed adjusting up to have the right string clearance on the neck .. Jaguars play and sound better this way (The biggest problem they all have) They were designed for high clearance of the neck above the 12 fret....all you have to do is use the small allen wrench that comes with this Squire Jaguar in the box....and put it in the holes on each side of the floating bridge and adjust each jack screw...the sweet spot is a level bridge about 3/8 of a inch above the scratch plate ..,,plays perfect and it keeps the strings form popping off the saddles as well with hard playing etc...this corrects all problems related to all Jags ...even pickup signal squeal...if the strings are too low on Jags squeal real bad because of the hotter pickups are too close to the string ...they were designed to have a bigger gap under the strings otherwise it picks up too much highs and you lose mids and bass levels in sound etc...to get the authenic surf sound out this animal... The strings are real thin with this Squire Jag ... had to tune three times after it went flat about a semi tone ...seems to keep in tune since then ...gave it a hard work out of 4 Cd's worth of surf instruments ...real nice ...almost forgot it's not my Fender Jag...will change strings soon to a 10 or 13 on the 6 string to get the surf sound I like ...like I said after adjusting the bridge to the right level the strings are the next repair needed ...then this animal will be as good as any of my real Fender Jaguars...sounds a little brighter then I'm use to ...more than likely the strings though...they are really thin and tinny sounding ...buy a set of strings for this machine when you buy it ...I plan on buying another one of these....The strings too low was a downer out of the box ...couldn't get nothing out of notes above the 12 fret ....all fixed after adjust bridge ...fixed everything
Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Electric Guitar 3-Color Sunburst Rosewood Fingerboard
.I've wanted a Jaguar for 50 years, and finally decided to take a chance on the Squier VM model. Just got it a week ago, and was at first discouraged by the amount of vibration and rattling from the bridge. After researching all the complicated and sometimes expensive 'fixes' for this online, I found one simple fix that actually works! I removed the 2 'grub' screws from each string saddle...they're the 2 height adjustment screws for each string saddle. I inserted 2 strands of ordinary sewing thread into each hole, then screwed the 'grubs' back in. It tightened them up so they don't rattle any more! One other tip...make sure each saddle is parallel to the bottom of the bridge, i.e., both screws are touching the bottom. Also, I installed 11-52 ga. strings, which also helps on the 24" scale. In conclusion, I'm VERY satisfied with this beautiful guitar...not a flaw on it that I can see, and I look forward to gigging out with it. Great sounds not possible with any other Fender!
Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Electric Guitar 3-Color Sunburst Rosewood Fingerboard
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