What's That? The Fender Jaguar

What’s That? The Fender Jaguar

Thursday January 25th 2024

Most families have a difficult child, or an Uncle Fester who doesn’t quite fit it, the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company of Fullerton, California was no exception. Buoyed by the instant success of the Telecaster and Stratocaster, Leo Fender set about expanding his range with what he thought the public wanted. He was wrong.

Released in 1962, the Jaguar was $379.50, which equates to about $4,500 in today’s money or £3,500 sterling, making it quite the investment. At about $100 more than an equivalent Stratocaster, it represented over three quarters of an average American’s monthly wage. Based on the advertising of the time, the guitar was aimed at the surf rock community and was styled on the popular automobiles of the era, all sweeping space age lines and chrome. Leo was an engineer, not a guitar player though, and the technical upgrades, scale changes and innovations the Jaguar offered were not appreciated by the wider guitar playing public. By 1975, production had stopped.

The thing about being rejected by the mainstream though, is that it makes it appealing to the underground. By the 1990’s, the enduring popularity of the Telecaster and Stratocaster had driven vintage prices through the roof, making guitars like the Jaguar virtual style statements, and affordable options of comparable quality. So began the Jaguar’s resurgence, as a popular choice for punk, new wave, indie rock and grunge. Production restarted.

So, if you check out the roster of notable Jaguar players, it’s a pretty weird and wonderful mix. Yes, there’s evidence of their use across the entire musical spectrum from Hendrix to Roy Clarke, but it’s the model most synonymous with Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, and Johnny Marr from The Smiths, both of whom have signature models.

Any gear that I talk about in these blogs has a personal edge for me, so yes, I’m a proud owner of a 1996 Candy Apple Red, Japanese built Jaguar, (pictured top, and btw, nowhere near the price of the U.S. built equivalent). Am I a member of an underground musical movement shunning the mainstream? Hardly…..(well maybe slightly….) I did however commit one of the biggest no-nos of guitar purchase, I bought it simply because it was the coolest thing I’d ever seen. It was 1996, internet research wasn’t really a thing, I was about to buy a flat and I thought, “it’s now or never”...... 

And I don’t like Strats - there, I’ve said it, and I’m not sorry.

Catch you next time!

Yes....but what do all the switches do?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c90Htzq7E5k