Fender Jaguar Solid Body Electric Guitar (1964)
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Item # 9481
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Fender Jaguar Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1964), made in Fullerton, California, serial # L21687, Olympic White lacquer finish, alder body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, original black tolex hard shell case.
This is a super cool JUST Pre-CBS custom-color Jaguar that looks and sounds fabulous and carries a serious 1960s vibe. The features are typical for late 1964: the unbound rosewood fingerboard has the very earliest pearloid dot inlay, the matching headstock bears the gold "transition" logo decal, and the pickguard is still the tortoise celluloid used since fall 1959. The neckplate carries an "L" serial number, a feature that would disappear in 1965. This Olympic White Jaguar shows some signs of the times from the 1960s but still looks and sounds great.
The signs of the '60s are particularly strong with this one: The name "Tom" is applied to the headstock under the strings near the fingerboard on a small Letraset strip. He wanted you to know it's his guitar, but discreetly! The shadow of at least one '60s floral sticker can be seen on the finish, though you have to look pretty hard. There are marks along the body edge showing that a Fender "bodyguard" was once fitted. This piece of Fender esoterica was a plastic shell designed to protect the back finish from wear; unfortunately the strip of foam that lined the rim often reacted with the finish of the guitar, causing small disturbances or staining often still visible today. A Fender irony, the very piece designed to safeguard the finish actually caused damage itself...there's a lesson there somewhere!
The once-ignored Fender Jaguar has returned to favor in the last decade but remains an under-appreciated guitar with a unique feel and several interesting features. The model uses the same floating vibrato unit and rhythm/lead circuit as the Jazzmaster with the addition of individual on/off switches for the pickups, making the "Jag" a very flexible guitar with a lot of sonic options. The third switch engages a small resistor that emphasizes the highs to cut through even better. The 24" scale length is much shorter than the 25 1/2" on other top-line Fender guitars, giving the Jaguar a much suppler feel. The instrument performs better with heavier gauge strings compared to the other pro grade Fender models, something often lost on previous generations.
The Jaguar single-coil pickups are similar to Stratocaster units. They are optimized for clarity and crispness, with a solid metal cage underneath the coil intended to concentrate the magnetic energy. This was a factor that led to the Jaguar losing popularity in the late '60s as twang went out and "heavy" distortion and crunch came in! Nevertheless this was the top-of-the line Fender in 1964; extremely popular with surfers, twangers, country, and R&B players when new and a very high quality guitar. This Olympic White model is reminiscent of Beach Boys' lead guitarist Carl Wilson's main stage guitar in 1964-5, but has a bit of history of its own with "Tom," wherever he was playing it.
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 14 in. (356 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
Overall this is a nicely original guitar, showing general wear and as noted, some "signs of the times", but maintaining a cool '60s vibe. The lower volume pot is a very old replacement; everything else on the instrument remains original. The finish shows dings, dents, and chips overall, with some deeper dinks into the upper top. There are several larger belt buckle spots on the back, one of which was once covered by a sticker.
The small dirt and melt marks at several places along the edge from interaction with the bodyguard foam are visible, but none melted deeply into the lacquer. A couple of floral stickers were added and removed on the upper body long ago; this left fade marks that are visible on close inspection but did not cause any major finish disturbance. The "Tom" applique remains on the headstock.
The back of the neck shows some relatively light wear. The original frets have been crowned down a bit, but the instrument plays very well and sounds great. The patented Fender mute is still intact; the foam has hardened to the consistency of old chewing gum, but can be easily replaced if desired. The original black Tolex "no logo" case is included with some general wear (mostly to the leather ends) but still fully functional. Very Good + Condition.
This is a super cool JUST Pre-CBS custom-color Jaguar that looks and sounds fabulous and carries a serious 1960s vibe. The features are typical for late 1964: the unbound rosewood fingerboard has the very earliest pearloid dot inlay, the matching headstock bears the gold "transition" logo decal, and the pickguard is still the tortoise celluloid used since fall 1959. The neckplate carries an "L" serial number, a feature that would disappear in 1965. This Olympic White Jaguar shows some signs of the times from the 1960s but still looks and sounds great.
The signs of the '60s are particularly strong with this one: The name "Tom" is applied to the headstock under the strings near the fingerboard on a small Letraset strip. He wanted you to know it's his guitar, but discreetly! The shadow of at least one '60s floral sticker can be seen on the finish, though you have to look pretty hard. There are marks along the body edge showing that a Fender "bodyguard" was once fitted. This piece of Fender esoterica was a plastic shell designed to protect the back finish from wear; unfortunately the strip of foam that lined the rim often reacted with the finish of the guitar, causing small disturbances or staining often still visible today. A Fender irony, the very piece designed to safeguard the finish actually caused damage itself...there's a lesson there somewhere!
The once-ignored Fender Jaguar has returned to favor in the last decade but remains an under-appreciated guitar with a unique feel and several interesting features. The model uses the same floating vibrato unit and rhythm/lead circuit as the Jazzmaster with the addition of individual on/off switches for the pickups, making the "Jag" a very flexible guitar with a lot of sonic options. The third switch engages a small resistor that emphasizes the highs to cut through even better. The 24" scale length is much shorter than the 25 1/2" on other top-line Fender guitars, giving the Jaguar a much suppler feel. The instrument performs better with heavier gauge strings compared to the other pro grade Fender models, something often lost on previous generations.
The Jaguar single-coil pickups are similar to Stratocaster units. They are optimized for clarity and crispness, with a solid metal cage underneath the coil intended to concentrate the magnetic energy. This was a factor that led to the Jaguar losing popularity in the late '60s as twang went out and "heavy" distortion and crunch came in! Nevertheless this was the top-of-the line Fender in 1964; extremely popular with surfers, twangers, country, and R&B players when new and a very high quality guitar. This Olympic White model is reminiscent of Beach Boys' lead guitarist Carl Wilson's main stage guitar in 1964-5, but has a bit of history of its own with "Tom," wherever he was playing it.
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 14 in. (356 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
Overall this is a nicely original guitar, showing general wear and as noted, some "signs of the times", but maintaining a cool '60s vibe. The lower volume pot is a very old replacement; everything else on the instrument remains original. The finish shows dings, dents, and chips overall, with some deeper dinks into the upper top. There are several larger belt buckle spots on the back, one of which was once covered by a sticker.
The small dirt and melt marks at several places along the edge from interaction with the bodyguard foam are visible, but none melted deeply into the lacquer. A couple of floral stickers were added and removed on the upper body long ago; this left fade marks that are visible on close inspection but did not cause any major finish disturbance. The "Tom" applique remains on the headstock.
The back of the neck shows some relatively light wear. The original frets have been crowned down a bit, but the instrument plays very well and sounds great. The patented Fender mute is still intact; the foam has hardened to the consistency of old chewing gum, but can be easily replaced if desired. The original black Tolex "no logo" case is included with some general wear (mostly to the leather ends) but still fully functional. Very Good + Condition.