surf guitar lives on (Fender Jaguar 62 RW VW LTD)

Member Name: Bruce McSteel

Product:	Fender Jaguar 62 RW VW LTD
Date:	01/06/03 (1132 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: looks, sound

Disadvantages: worksmanship, price

the first thing you say when you look at this guitar is "cool".

Because that's what it is. It's cool.


The guitar in question is a white fender jaguar, made in japan. And visually it's stunning, the tortoiseshell pickguard goes great against the white, and the control panel looks lovely. I'm not a fan of rosewood fretboards, but this one looks really good. The two white pickups look classic too, and that headstock confirms that this is a true 60's guitar.

Cosmetics over with, the sound. The sound is quite odd. There is room for quite a bit of variation with the switches (there is a switch for each pickup and numerous others). At times this guitar sounds like an electric razor. Which is cool, because it has it's own unique sound. It is very cutting and very trebly. But I like it.

Playability wise it's ok. It's nothing special, no big flaws - there's the standard fret buzz, and the bridge makes a lot of noise (and the strings fall off the posts) but it's ok I guess, nothing you wouldn't expect from a mid priced guitar. The bridge is pretty cool for some warbling, but it goes out of tune at times, so it's best to lock it.

Worksmanship - now this is where the manufacturers have let the guitar down a little. The pickguard does not line up too well with the control panel. This could easily have been rectified. The bridge/tremolo system don't feel very solid to me, which is probably why it goes out of tune. The fretwork is ok, nothing too shabby.

Price - the price isn't that great. Persoanlly I don't understand why this guitar is so much more expensive than, for example, a stratocaster? There are not too many differences! Having said that, you can't complain too much as the quality is fairly decent, and these things are pretty rare.

Overall i'd say this guitar is lovely to play and looks great, but could do with some better qualit
y control and maybe an option for a more bassy sound, but that's just what i'd like: it's sound is unique and definately a positive thing.

Summary: