Fender Jaguar Solid Body Electric Guitar (1964)

Fender  Jaguar Solid Body Electric Guitar  (1964)
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Item # 9838
Prices subject to change without notice.
Fender Jaguar Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1964), made in Fullerton, California, serial # L36436, sunburst lacquer finish, alder body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, original brown tolex hard shell case.

This is a *very* well worn but truly great playing and sounding pre-CBS era Jaguar, showing quite a bit of wear everywhere but still in fine playing condition. The stamped neck date is June 64 but the pots date to the 8th week of that year. This guitar shows a bevy of the classic 1964 Pre-CBS features: the unbound rosewood fingerboard with the old style "clay" dot inlay, nicely blended 3-color sunburst lacquer finish on the body, and gold transition logo headstock decal. The pickguard is the older nitrocellulose tortoiseshell style, soon phased out at Fender in favor of a thinner (and less flammable!) ABS plastic. The guitar still lives in its original Brown Tolex hardshell case, which is equally heavily worn but still functional.

Even having recently undergone a revival, 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 "offset" body style, two-circuit wiring and floating vibrato are shared with the Jaguar's ancestor, the Jazzmaster, but the guitar actually feels quite different.

The unique Jaguar pickups with the chrome-plated "claw" baseplate are optimized for clarity and crispness, factors that led to the model losing popularity in the late '60s as twang went out and distortion and crunch came in! Nevertheless, these are top-of-the line 1960s Fenders and very high quality guitars, still a relative bargain in a vintage Fender instrument. This super heavily played guitar is not a closet queen but one of the best playing Jaguars we have ever had. The twang of the ages lives on!
 
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.).

This guitar shows wear practically everywhere with dings, dents and scrapes, and the back of the neck heavily worn down to the wood. Despite decades of use it retains all original finish and hardware. There appears to be a tight crack repaired at the forward treble side neck pocket screwhole; this presents no problems but is visible. Someone likely overtightened that screw long ago. There are no other repairs, just honest wear.

The original flip-up mute lever and chrome bridge cover are missing; all other hardware is original, intact and complete. The neck has had a fairly recent correct style refret and show hardly any wear. A Stew Mac full-contact shim is fitted in the neck pocket and the bridge and pickups are properly set making this a truly excellent player, with a lovely sound that seems rounder than some Jaguars. Sometimes the really worn-in ones seem to have the most soul; this great feeling and playing Jaguar from the very moment the surf era had peaked and Beatlemania was taking over is a fabulous example of that adage.

Very Good + Condition.