You may want to hold off buying that new bass you've had your eye on until you've read this. Our friend Dave Molter at Music Gear Review's been at it again. This time he serves up a review of Fender's new/old-style Squier Jaguar.
Fender Squier Jaguar
Back in the 1960s, the Fender Jaguar guitar had a heavy presence in the surf scene, and bass players like me wished long and hard that we had a bass to match. Turns out we had to wait 40 years for Fender to listen to us, until the release 2006 release of the Jaguar Bass. Quickly adopted by players such as Pino Palladino, the Jag Bass nevertheless was not among Fender's top sellers, and rumors of its demise surfaced in 2009.
As of mid-2010, the Jaguar Bass remains on Fender's website, and Fender has made no official "discontinued" announcement, but trying to find one can be difficult. At $599 street, the Jag Bass was good deal with its active/passive capabilities and Jazz-bass style neck and single-coil pickups. However, Jag Bass lovers will soon have a opportunity to pick up a very similar modle at a very reduced price from Squier Guitars
The Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Bass doesn't have the Fender Jag's active/passive capabilities, but it does present an intriguing pickup choice: Duncan designed P- and J-bass on a black (the only color option) Jaguar-style body with matching painted headstock. Squier has also decided to offer ’62 Jazz Bass stacked-concentric volume/tone controls, rather than the slider switch pickup controls on the Fender model. The one-piece maple neck will have a 20-fret rosewood fingerboard with Pearloid block inlays and three-ply tortoise/white/black pickguard.
I like the look of this new Jag, and the best part is that its street price will be $299 without bag or case. The new Squier Jag is available for pre-order online at Sam Ash Music and other music dealers with an expected arrival date of erly September 2010. When the bass is released, I look for it to sell well. Might even grab one myself, but I wish they offered it in CAR.
Specs
Body Agathis
Neck Maple, C-Shape, (Polyurethane Finish)
Fingerboard Rosewood, 9.5” Radius (241 mm)
No. of Frets 20 Medium Jumbo
Pickups 1 Duncan Designed™ JB102B Hot Single-Coil Jazz Bass® Pickup with Ceramic Magnet(Bridge), 1 Duncan Designed™ PB101 Split Single-Coil Precision Bass® Pickup with AlNiCo 5 Magnets (Middle)
Controls Stacked Concentric Controls: Volume 1. (Neck Pickup), Tone 1. (Neck Pickup), Volume 2. (Bridge Pickup), Tone 2. (Bridge Pickup)
Pickup Switching None
Bridge Standard 4-Saddle
Machine Heads Standard Open-Gear Tuners
Hardware Chrome
Pickguard 3-Ply Tortoise Shell/White/Black
Scale Length 34” (864 mm)
Width at Nut 1.50” (38 mm)
Unique Features White Pearloid Block Position Inlays, Matching Black Painted Headcap, Knurled Chrome and Black Concentric Control Knobs, Duncan Designed™ Pickups, Synthetic Bone Nut
Dave Molter ("Laklander") is Managing Editor and Bass Guitars editor of MusicGearReview. (http://www.musicgearreview.com)
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