Jaguar Baritone Custom

[Akami]

Has anyone tried one of these? Fender lists the strings as - Bass VI 5350/6 P/N 073-5350-000 Stainless Steel, (.025, .035, .045, .055, .075, .095.) Nice!!


[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I played one of these today, although it had two chrome covered humbuckers on it. I also saw the one in the pictured here and took pics of both.

The one I played had a really stiff action and the strings were spaced just like a guitar, which made it really tight fitting my fingers in there, but I suppose one could get used to it.

It was tuned just like a standard guitar, albeit an ocatave lower, and it appeared that strumming would be acceptable on the upper parts of a chord, it turned to mush if I tried to hit a chord the same as you would on a guitar.

Someone asked about price and apparently they're showing a list price of ￥95,000 with a selling price of ￥79,800. To convert Japanese prices to dollars, the not-perfect-but-close-enough method is to just delete two zeros, so that would be about $790 at Ishibashi in Yokohama.

I'll try to post the poor pics I took today next week when I should be on a better internet connection.

 

[Ankhanu]

The Jag Bari with the humbuckers, tuned E-E is probably a "Bottommaster" rather than a "Baritone Custom"/"Jaguar Bass VI"; while essentially the same, the circuit is a little different as well as the obviously different pickups.

But, yeah, the string spacing is pretty narrow on these beasts. They don't feel bad, but they're not really set up for standard bass playing; nor are they well set up for standard guitar playing, and take some getting used to.

As mentioned, chords, at the bass end, will be muddy, while using it as a bass will lack substance (without some major EQ work)... these are a special instrument, designed, like the Bass VI (but somewhat different than the Bass VI), to be used for ornamentation (ie. Tic Tac), melody augmentation (ie. similar role to brass horns), or for an unique sound, filling a role somewhere between bass and tenor guitars, requiring a different approach than either instrument.

It doesn't sound or feel quite like a Bass VI, but it is kind of similar... The neck circuit has a fairly dark tone, while the lead circuit can allow for a fair degree of flexibility, switching between the neck and bridge pickups, with a strangle switch to dampen mids as well as the standard volume and tone knobs. It certainly has more twang to it than most people might want in its register, but it has its place in certain styles.

All in all, I rather like the Jag Baritone Custom, but, it should be approached with caution, it's not for everyone, nor all styles.

 

[EpicSoundtracks]

I've played all the variants discussed in this thread: Bari Jag, Bari Jag Custom, Hellcat VI, actual Fender VI (original and RI), as well as my own VI clone (the Miller VI).

Aesthetics aside, the bari Jags don't bear much resemblance to the Bass VI. The main issue is the scale length -- 28 3/4" or whatever =/= 30". What feels smooth, spongey, and comfortable on the VI just feels weird on the Jag. And the humbucker-equipped custom was just a pure mud machine. Sounds *nothing* like a VI. Seems to me like Fender was trying to make it all things to all people (bassists and guitarists) and failed at both.

The Schecter, which I owned for a while, was a great VI-alike, and unbeatable for the money! Altho it has minihums, they're tappable, and the sound is very crisp and unmuddy. I recommend the Hellcat VI for anyone looking for the VI thing on the cheap.

The actual Bass VIes I've played are definitely their own thing; I like the reissues I've played more than the originals. Components, setup, etc, have been better, but of course YMMV. My own clone, the Miller VI, has lots of issues (it was my first-ever build, from parts sourced from USA Custom Guitars, Bill Lawrence, and elsewhere), but I like the way it plays and sounds.

Hope that helps someone.