Fender Jaguar Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1962), made in Fullerton, California, serial # 87013, Shoreline Gold lacquer finish, alder body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, original brown tolex hard shell case.

This fantastic original first-year Fender Jaguar is truly resplendent in one of the company's rarer early custom colors, Shoreline Gold. This early metallic finish was part of the original 1961-2 custom Color Chart Fender issued, but was replaced in 1965 by Firemist gold, a brighter less bronze-y hue. As it was only available for a fairly short time this color is an uncommon option on any Fender that seems to particularly suit the Jag's automotive-inspired style, giving this guitar a killer look and vibe. Kathy Marshall, L.A.'s Queen of the Surf Guitar in the early '60s played a Jaguar pretty much identical to this one, save for her name painted on the headstock!

The Jaguar debuted in spring 1962 as Fender's new top-of-the line 6-string; the flashy chrome-dazzled guitar soon became a serious status symbol for many types of combos in the early '60s, especially California teen bands. This one has a neck dated September 1962 with legible pot dates from the 18th week of that year. Typical later '62 features include an unbound curved rosewood fingerboard with clay dot inlay and gold "transition" Fender logo decal on the matching gold headstock.

Like other early examples from 1961-2, this original Shoreline Gold finish was applied over a Desert Sand undercoat instead of the white used later. Fender sprayed fewer layers in this period with the color coats under a thin clear nitro top coat. Not long after this guitar was finished out in later 1962 Fender changed to using the "stick" finishing system for bodies which leaves an unpainted rectangle in the neck pocket where it was attached; this guitar is one of the latest we have seen with the old "full contact" neck pocket finish.

Despite a strong recent revival, the Jaguar remains a historically under-appreciated guitar with several interesting features. The model features the same vibrato unit and rhythm/lead circuit as the Jazz master with the addition of individual on/off switches for the pickups making the "Jag" a flexible guitar with a lot of sonic options. This one has two strong pickups, with a nice twang at the bridge and a deep, rich sounding neck unit giving it a wide range of sound.

The Jaguar's scale length at 24" is shorter than the other pro-grade Fender guitars. Combined with the Jazzmaster floating bridge/tremolo unit this means the guitar is very supple to play but performs better with heavier gauge strings. The two single-coil pickups have metal "claws" underneath the coil and are optimized for clarity, punch and crispness. This combination of factors caused the Jaguar to fall from popularity in the late '60s as twang went out and heavy distortion and crunch came in!

Nevertheless these are still the top-of-the line '60s Fenders and extremely high quality guitars. This one even includes a functional original mute. This is a well cared for guitar, likely someone's gigging instrument but never abused or altered. Custom Color Jaguars are comparatively not as rare as some other Fenders, but first year examples are pretty scarce these days, especially the rarer shades like Shoreline Gold. We often find these 1962 Jaguars to be the pick of their litter and especially good instruments; this superb example is no exception.
 
Overall length is 40 in. (101.6 cm.), 13 7/8 in. (35.2 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 5/8 in. (4.1 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 in. (610 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).

This is a truly beautiful guitar, showing evidence of use but remaining relatively clean overall and virtually all original. There are some notable wear spots but the finish does not have large areas worn through the lacquer as is often found on more heavily played Fenders. The back of the neck has the most wear, it is rubbed down to the wood in the center between the second and fifth frets with a number of small dings and dents along its length. The Shoreline Gold body shows less fading than many and there is not too much checking, just some shallow lines. There are small dings, chips and scrapes overall mostly on the upper back, including some deep dinks likely caused by the buckle of an old Fender strap.

The matching gold headstock finish is relatively clean with some small dings mostly along the edges; the decal is nicely intact. The chrome shows some minor wear overall, and all hardware remains original except the snap-on bridge cover which looks like a reissue. The bridge saddles show some typical corrosion, but all the screws work fine. The mute (with what looks like later foam) and the oft-missing trem arm are intact. There was at some point an extra ground added between the control cavity and trem cavity necessitating a small channel, not visible when the guitar is assembled.

The frets are original, crowned down a bit but still fully playable (the guitar could be refretted if desired). The original brown Tolex case has some typical wear is fully intact and functional, with wear mostly to the leather ends. All-in-all this is a GREAT looking, playing and sounding early Jaguar, exactly the sort of genuine relic you can't create artificially, although folks are constantly trying these days. Cowabunga! Surf's always up with this golden California hot rod! Overall Excellent - Condition.