Fender Guitars in general

Having played the guitar, albeit badly!, for the last 25 years I thought I would share, through a series of reviews, my experiences of the guitars that I have owned. This review is of a guitar that I bought second-hand nearly 10 years ago and still own and love - The Fender Jaguar. About the guitar --------------------- Model: Fender Jaguar Country manufactured: Japan Year: Circa 1980 Colour: Off cream with tortoise shell pick guard The guitar was built by Fender Japan in the 1980's. I'm uncertain of the exact date, though I am told that it is possible to date the guitar by checking its serial number, ...

Like many young teenagers, when I first started playing the guitar, I simultaneously became obsessed with Jimi Hendrix- therefore, i HAD to have a Fender Stratocaster, like he played. It was only as I carried on learning, that I realised there was more to Fender guitars than a whammy bar, and a hell of a lot of distortion Originally designed for, and prized by country players for their clean, bright tone, with a dry sustain, the first Fender guitars were born out of the lap steel electric tradition, rather than the archtop acoustic guitar tradition of their main competitor, Gibson, and surprisingly, they proved far more versatile as time and styles ...

...when it's a De Armond. Okay, so they're owned by Fender, so I say this review belongs here. ;) As some of you will know, De Armond guitars are no more, the company (owned by Guild which is owned by Fender) has recently discontinued it's guitar stock although I believe they're still making pickups and strings etc. BUT...(and this is a very big but) you can still buy the things relatively easily on places like E-bay and those little music shops which are tucked in out of the way places. If you see one, grab one. Because of the discontinuation, these instruments (those which still exist) are being sold off mega cheap - and ...