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Probably a noob question...Jaguar love

I like Jaguars for a few reasons.

The body shape is super cool, very much a retro vibe. It totally looks like something Fender made in the 50s/60s, even though they only made Jag guitars then.

I love lots of buttons and knobs and controls. My VM doesn't have either of the extra switch plates the MIA has, but the stacked knobs are nice and the bass was cheap bran new.

The necks on Jags tend to be Jazz-style and the fingerboards look great with block inlays.

I like the P/J configuration. Not every Jag has it, but it seems like Fender is settling on P/J as "normal" for Jags. I want a P-bass sound but I don't want to buy a P-bass. Jaguar = solution.

A few years ago I seriously considered the MIJ Jaguar, but I heard mixed feeling about it with the shielding, etc., and it was J/J anyway. The VM was cheaper and made more sense for me at the time. But these newer MIAs might just be the thing. I wish Fender's "build a bass" website had Jaguars as an option.
 
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I like my 5 string frankensteined Jag basses ...

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That short run of MIJ actives are the bomb. Fortunately, I picked up one in Oly White. Plays and feels like a well-built Jazz to me, and the aesthetic is uncommon and way cool IMO. Once I got the buzz under control (many of them had a shielding issue, totally curable), the active electronics are killer, but it sounds amazing in passive as well. Even my guitar players notice. One of the best investments I've ever made in a bass guitar.
 
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P's and J's have been around for 50 or 60 years. Jaguars have only been around for 10 or so.
The Jag body style has been around for a long time (see rare garage band photo circa 1968). Making Jag basses must be a lot more recent. That's me on the right, with the Kingston bass. I now have a Sq. "VVM" Jag SS now. (Very Very Modified). I too really like the Jag body style over the others.
Edit - I accidentally inserted the photo above the quotes. Sorry Monster Truck. This was not an attempt to embarrass you by inferring you were a teenage geek. I WAS a teen geek as was the rest of my band mates. We could've called our band The Teen Geeks, but that would have been redundant.
Edit Edit - Back then being a geek involved a chicken. It would be retro for regular geeks but ahead of our time band-wise. We weren't into harming animals, just trying to be them. :laugh:
 
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I've wondered about neck dive with these basses. And are all those dials and switches really necessary ?

They all seem to do something useful, so I'd say yes. :D

As for neck dive, I haven't noticed it's particularly a diver (it certainly will dive if I encourage it), but you can judge from the pic. That's where it hangs on me with a 2" Ernie Ball nylon strap. FWIW, a Yamaha BB 5 string is a DIVER, for comparison.

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image.jpeg
I've wondered about neck dive with these basses. And are all those dials and switches really necessary ?
Yes! All of the dials and knobs are necessary. They help with neck dive. :bassist:
Top to bottom: Volume, Balance, Series/Paralell, Phase, Tone.
The control panel looks gold in the pic, but is actually copper. It will eventually be black.
DiMarzio pups, gold Grover tuning pegs (trust me), D'Addario Chrome Flats. Future mods... different bridge also in black. End result... all black with gold trim. Do they make gold tort pick guards?
 
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jagbass.jpg


Here is a shot of my American Std. Jag from when I picked it up last year. I've always liked the body style in guitars, but never really looked at the basses. For whatever reason, when I saw this one, I just had to have it. It plays well, and sounds great, although I would prefer a bit more output from the bridge pickup, as there is substantial volume drop from P to J. A matching headstock would have been nice, too. I've been considering getting a matching Jazzmaster guitar. Somewhat funnily, I normally hate tort guards, but actually like this one on the white body.
 
jagbass.jpg


Here is a shot of my American Std. Jag from when I picked it up last year. I've always liked the body style in guitars, but never really looked at the basses. For whatever reason, when I saw this one, I just had to have it. It plays well, and sounds great, although I would prefer a bit more output from the bridge pickup, as there is substantial volume drop from P to J. A matching headstock would have been nice, too. I've been considering getting a matching Jazzmaster guitar. Somewhat funnily, I normally hate tort guards, but actually like this one on the white body.
That's the one I played in the store!!! It was incredible!!!