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NBD Fender American Standard Jaguar

#23
I am Soma said:
Howdy all,
So the minute the news came out that Fender was making an American Jaguar I knew I'd eventually have one. I had a MIJ Jaguar as one of my first basses and had great memories of soup'ing it up. Sure it was a pain dealing with the hum and the neck dive - but I loved the sound and trying to figure out ways to shield it among other things.

I swore off Fender basses for about 10 years, but ended up trying a Fender AM Dlx P-bass about 2 years ago and that has been my primary bass since then. I know a lot of people have had issues with Fender's QC, but I must be lucky as I've had nothing but good luck.

I was going to wait to purchase this bass until I saw one come up used, but I saw a demo model pop on Sweetwater so I pulled the trigger. If anyone hasn't dealt with Sweetwater in the past you are missing out. They are close to any prices you find on Ebay and their customer service is second to none. My rep is Ben Porter and the dude rules.

Anywho on to the bass. It arrived yesterday and we just happened to have a jam scheduled. So I got to jump right in. I play sludge post-metal.

General:
Bass came double boxed with free candy. Only thing better than opening a new bass? Eating a tootsie roll while opening a new bass. Although this was a demo model it still had plastic on just about everything. Case candy had not been opened yet. The new Fender hardshell cases are some of the nicest cases I've ever had. Very well built and sharp with the red handle. It looks like the case isn't molded to the Jaguar specifically - looks more like a P-bass form, but it fits great. If you haven't played a Jaguar it can be a bit intimidating as the bass has about a million different controls on various parts of the body. Just use the manual that comes with the bass to help guide you....wait....it doesn't come with a manual explaining the layout and what the controls do. So, yeah, that was annoying. Fender does have a PDF on their website that you can download and print off. Once you see the diagram it's actually pretty easy - still I don't know why they can't just throw those in the case.

Looks
I've always been a fan of Jaguars so I'm sure I'm biases, but this thing is a head-turner. I went with black as that's really the only color bass I buy. It comes standard with an off-white pickguard which I plan to convert to black. Apparently pickguardian has the AM Jaguar temlate so no biggie. This is just truly a unique bass in that you have this nice shiny black body with three metal control plates. In addition to that you have a rosewood fretboard with REALLY nice inlays and a maple headstock. Needless to say this bass has A LOT going on when you look at it. For those who like subdued bass aesthetics this probably isn't for you. It's probably my favorite looking bass I've owned, but I'm sure it will be a 50/50 split in those that think these basses are gorgeous vs butt ugly.

Playability
If you like simplicity this is NOT the bass for you. As you can tell this bass has a ton of options and if you don't like fiddling or having more than one knob you are not going to be happy. I'm one of those bassists who has a huge pedal board so tweaking knobs and sinking time into tone is one of my favorite things to do. Once you get dialed in this is one smooth bass. The neck seems to resemble a P-bass but a tiny bit thinner. Def not as thin as a Jazz but somewhere in between. This neck is the fastes I've played and just has a nice/unique feel to it. Very easy to fly up and down the fretboard. I play finger style and the spacing is great. There was no neck dive to speak of so I'm glad they addressed that. Only had about 4 hours to jam on this bass but it feels great. Felt about as heavy as my P-bass which is great for me.

Sound
This is where the Jaguar shines. You could spend days playing with the different tones you can get out of this bass. First thing i did was play with everything on ten and alternate between passive and active mode to decide which route I wanted to go. I went with active as it really cuts through (18v). Next I played with the pickup configuration. You have the options of turning each pickup on/off or running the pickups in parallel or series. You then have sliders to cut/boost the bass/treble. I went with the parellel configuration as it just spoke to me - seemed to cut through the mix more. After all of this you have a master volume and a tone knob. Very unique tone knob. On most basses I find the tone knob just kind of cuts the mids. This tone knob really give the bass a unique sound depending upon where you dial it in. Gosh it is really hard to describe all the sounds this bass can pull off. From jazz to p-bass to ibanez I was able to dial in their respective tones rather quickly after remembering how the controls work. I play with a lot of mids and tube distortion and was able to get a great tone that I'm happy with. I also can't wait fiddle more with the tone. Also of note there is no hum to speak of.

Overall
Would I suggest buying this bass? That honestly depends on what you are looking for. If you prefer simplicity and like to plug and play you should avoid this bass. If you like experimenting and diving headfirst into a project this is for you. If you need multiple tones this bass fits the bill in that you can adjust on the fly through the multpiple controls right on the bass. Personally I'm stoked I bought this! A freaking American Jaguar man!
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It appears to be a jazz neck. Are you sure it isn't a jazz neck?
 
#30
I am Soma said:
American Dlx Jazz has 21 frets, Am Std Jazz has 20, the Am Jaguar has 20 :) Strange...the deluxe gets you one extra fret lol
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OK I see, y'all were doing a Deluxe vs Deluxe thing. Don't or didn't the other Deluxes have 22 frets?

Oh and Congrats on the New Jag. Retro Cool vibe, way versatile.

I got an '06 Jag and went Mod Mad on it to bring it up to American Deluxe standards. I've been tempted to put a P pickup in it but it sounds really incredible as it is with the Fender CS '60s pups.
 
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#33
Grissle said:
OK I see, y'all were doing a Deluxe vs Deluxe thing. Don't or didn't the other Deluxes have 22 frets?

Oh and Congrats on the New Jag. Retro Cool vibe, way versatile.

I got an '06 Jag and went Mod Mad on it to bring it up to American Deluxe standards. I've been tempted to put a P pickup in it but it sounds really incredible as it is with the Fender CS '60s pups.
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yeah crazy tones. still not sure if itll take the place of my '13 am dlx p-bass, but its super fun. fenders craftsmanship has really been on point the last few years!
 
#38
I finally got all of the pieces in for my build using a brand new American Standard Jaguar body and a Select Precision flamed maple neck. I was waiting for a pickguard from Pickguardian. It came in yesterday and fit perfectly. I put it together and now have a local luthier giving it a good setup with Fender Flats. I'll start a new thread tomorrow.

As for video, I'll see what I can do.
 
#39
drummer5359 said:
I finally got all of the pieces in for my build using a brand new American Standard Jaguar body and a Select Precision flamed maple neck. I was waiting for a pickguard from Pickguardian. It came in yesterday and fit perfectly. I put it together and now have a local luthier giving it a good setup with Fender Flats. I'll start a new thread tomorrow.

As for video, I'll see what I can do.
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congrats my friend. stoked to see a vid and/or pics :)
 
#40
jbednarski said:
Man, I love my CIJ Jag. Is the American one that much better? I followed the tutorial on TB and shielded it and it has no hum (except for the single coil pups). The preamp is quiet as a mouse and gets some great tones. I'd never sell this one but may have to check out the new American version.
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The build quality, fit and finish were tops on the CIJ's. it was the cost cutting to meet their price point goal that hurt them, inadequate shielding + cheap, cheap pickups, and some neck dive. Some lightweight tuners, nice pups and proper shielding solves these problems.
I felt strongly that Fender should have released a US version along with the CIJ one. Then people would have understood why the compromises for cost better.
 

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