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Why aren't Jaguar basses more popular?

#81
nismaniac said:
My Jag had the shielding noise. Yesterday I got the copper shielding tape in the mail from stewmac. It took me about 20 minutes to fix and the hum is gone. It's an easy fix and the hum issue should not deter anyone from buying and enjoying this bass. The cavities are shielded with conductive paint. The only problem is that you have to ground them to each other. It just takes a small amount of copper shielding tape to accomplish this.

rllefebv took the attached picture. It's pretty self explanatory and works great. The Jag is a great bass and anyone who is interested should definitely buy one.
Click to expand...

Great post about a great bass! I've got part of a roll of stewmac copper tape downstairs - I guess if you own Fenders for a while, this just goes with the territory. (I briefly owned a '62 RI Jazz that buzzed ridiculously, too. Come to think of it, I can't recall owning a Fender that I haven't had to give the copper shielding treatment, except my 4 part Urge saga.)

I agree that the buzzing problem looks to be an easy fix, but I still say that it will turn a lot of people off from buying it in the first place.

I'd be curious to see how its sales numbers are when you compare buy-before-you-try v. try-before-you-buy. I'd bet that this bass sells a lot more on the internet than in does in a local store - because of the buzzing issue.
 
#82
TheChristoph said:
It's actually kind of hard to see what he did there. Obviously the tape is peeking out from behind the upper horn's chrome panel, but what is he taping it to? it just looks like he yanked the wires out from the middle cavity and taped them to the body. I can't imagine the pickguard can sit right like that.
Click to expand...

The tape actually goes from cavity to cavity, up and over the top of the bass, connecting the cavities electrically. It lays flat on the surface of the bass. The tape also contacts the shielding on the back of the pickguard, completing the entire shielding path to ground.
 
#83
At one time I owned a "Geddy" and a Jag.
The Jag has a tone of it's own. Plays very well and fit and finnish are second to none.
I also had the buzz problem that I fixed in 10 minutes.
It's a great bass that I really enjoy playing.
The Geddy was a plain jane Jazz with a skinny neck .Weighed a ton to boot.Painted on blocks. Way over hyped.
I sold that pig. But I still have my Jag.
It ain't going anywhere.
 
#84
sedan_dad said:
At one time I owned a "Geddy" and a Jag.
The Jag has a tone of it's own. Plays very well and fit and finnish are second to none.
I also had the buzz problem that I fixed in 10 minutes.
It's a great bass that I really enjoy playing.
The Geddy was a plain jane Jazz with a skinny neck .Weighed a ton to boot.Painted on blocks. Way over hyped.
I sold that pig. But I still have my Jag.
It ain't going anywhere.
Click to expand...

Shhh! You are about to be terminated.
 
#87
i used to play jazzmaster guitars, so I had a jag bass in red for a while.

it always turned heads and got lotsa compliments (which, let's be honest, many of us like), it did look cool, and it felt okay to play, and mine was actually pretty quiet..but it just didn't sound so good.

in paralell it was too thin (especially in passive), and in series too woofy, and it was hard to dial in the right active sound... i just didn't like the pre-amp at all.

it had to go. i loved the way it looked, but for all its versitility.. i couldn't get a good sound.

maybe they should make a jazzmaster bass (with the white PU) and make it a bit more user friendly.
 
#89
I'm a big fan of Fender's offset waist guitars (except for the Jazz Bass), and own a Jaguar Bass VI (a 28.5" six string bass) that I simply adore. And, if the four string Jaguar came with a shorter scale length (32" or 30"), I'd probably buy one. They are great basses, though, despite the scale length.

And to answer the OP, Fender's offsets in general (again, except for the Jazz Bass) are what I'd call niche instruments, with a cult following of dedicated fans. For some reason, they seem to lack mass appeal. I wonder why.
 
#91
I've had a love-hate relationship with my Jag for two years. Looks great, but the noise was killing me; I took Lug's advice and shielded the cavity and added Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups, which really tamed it. Unfortunately, it also took a little of the original character out of it. Some nights I love it, some nights I don't. It's the only bass I've owned that I think of as a woman.
 
#93
For me it was the electronics that put me off.

I really wanted one in Hot Rod Red, thought it would look retro-killer on stage. But I went to 3 separate stores and demoed 3 basses, probably spent close to an hour at each one and I couldn't get a single sound that I really loved out of it.

Sounds very electronic to me, not "organic" like a P or J at all.

Can't use that.
 
#95
I was also kind of put off by the electronics in the two I've tried. I like simple control schemes so I can adjust my tone on the fly while still thinking about what I'm playing instead of which knob or switch I'm reaching for. I guess if I was going to shell out for a Fender I'd just prefer a Jazz Bass.
 
#97
bad_andy said:
I was also kind of put off by the electronics in the two I've tried. I like simple control schemes so I can adjust my tone on the fly while still thinking about what I'm playing instead of which knob or switch I'm reaching for. I guess if I was going to shell out for a Fender I'd just prefer a Jazz Bass.
Click to expand...

I hear you. I don't think its very complicated myself (especially with the preamp bypassed), but this was clearly a case of "the guitar version has 2 knobs, 4 switches and 2 roller wheels, so we have to find a use for these on the bass version."

Without this as a design constraint, the same controls could have been given a much simpler configuration. As it is, the controls are literally all over the place.

I still like 'em though.
 
#98
No switches to contend with either.

sjmb34fl3ts5.jpg


Speaking of looks... I really dig it. I also like that its a bit unusual looking.
 

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