Fender Jaguar Solid Body Electric Guitar (1964)

Fender  Jaguar Solid Body Electric Guitar  (1964)
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Item # 8697
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Fender Jaguar Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1964), made in Fullerton, California, serial # L41597, Lake Placid Blue lacquer finish, alder body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, original black tolex hard shell case.

This beautiful JUST-pre-CBS Custom Color Jaguar shows only light wear for its 55 years on the planet and remains in superb playing condition. The instrument was the top-of-the-line Fender guitar available in that prime year of 1964...a Jaguar finished in Lake Placid Blue, one of the more popular 1960s Custom colors. This guitar was being built just as the Fender sell-out to CBS was happening in January 1965, and although likely sold early that year is still in all practical ways a Pre-CBS example.

The stamped neck date on this guitar is November 1964. Despite this it has the pearloid dot inlay generally thought of as a 1965 feature-this shows again that the change from the unbound "clay" dot style began before the sale of the company. This is actually the earliest dated pearl-dot Fender neck we have ever seen-some clay-dot fingerboards can be found on necks dated the first months of 1965.

The pots in this guitar date to the 50th week of '64. Other typical late '64 features include the unbound rosewood fingerboard, pickguard made of heavier "green" celluloid and blue lacquer finish on the body and matching headstock. The headstock carries a gold transition logo decal and the traditional Kluson Deluxe tuners, replaced with Fender-made units in 1966.

Even having undergone a revival of sorts in recent years, the Jaguar remains a somewhat under-appreciated guitar with several interesting features. The scale length is shorter than other professional-grade Fender guitars at 24", a feature designed to enhance playability. The twin-circuit wiring and floating vibrato are shared with the Jaguar's ancestor the Jazzmaster, but the guitar actually feels and sounds quite different.

The unique Jaguar pickups with the metal "claw" baseplate are optimized for clarity and crispness, factors that led to the guitar losing popularity in the late '60s as twang went out and distortion and crunch came in! Nevertheless, this was the top-of-the line '60s Fender and a very high quality guitar. With its deep blue finish and chrome accents, this is a real California hot rod -- one of the classiest Jaguars we have had.
 
Overall length is 40 in. (101.6 cm.), 14 in. (35.6 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.). Overall a very clean guitar, and nicely original. The Lake Placid Blue finish retains excellent color without much fade or greening to the overcoat and only some light checking. There are small dings and chips mostly around the edges, and some buckle wear to the back. It has obviously not sat in the sun much, and is one of the nicer LPB's we have had recently.

The guitar is all original and complete except the snap-on bridge cover is missing; the mute foam is hardened to a solid block but it could be re-foamed if desired. The only oddity is the letter "F" in the Fender logo decal has been patched in with a piece from another decal; we can only guess the original flaked away and someone decided to fix it long ago. The job is nicely done and only really noticeable on close inspection; under blacklight it can be seen more easily. This is a great playing and sounding Jaguar and super sharp looking to boot. Includes the original black Fender case and a letter from the '90's detailing some provenance. Overall Excellent Condition.