Members turnstylepoet Posted February 17, 2015 Members Share Posted February 17, 2015 I've been a Tele guy for many years and have not really been interested in other guitars up until recently. Over the past few months I've become intrigued by short scale guitars after playing one and liking the feel. I've also been interested in 3 pickup guitars as of late. Enter the Jaguarillo. I was at Guitar Center picking up strings and I happened to see a used Jaguarillo hanging on the wall and gave it a test run. I really liked the feel of the neck, the offset body and loved the sound. The guitar had what I was looking for and offered lots of tonal diversity not possible in my Tele. That was a two weeks ago, and I have not been able to stop thinking about that guitar as I continued shopping for my next guitar. I went back in yesterday and bought it. I don't have pics of it yet, but mine is has the faded sonic blue finish and looks brand new. There is not a scratch or scuff on it anywhere, including the pick guard. I don't think the thing has been played much at all. I need to restring it and give it a good set up, but even with the 10's on it it sounds and plays great! I've gone through countless pedals over the past few years but this is the first electric guitar purchase for me in about 10 years and so far I am completely satisfied. In know, its still the honeymoon period, but I still don't see my opinion changing. Here is a pic of what mine looks like: P. S. Thank you to Phil for a great review on the Jaguarillo. Your article is what initially sparked my curiosity in the guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Thanks for reading the review, and for your kind words. I really like the Jaguarillos a lot. I kind of understand why they didn't become a huge hit (guitarists being far more "traditional" in our tastes than our reputations might otherwise suggest), but it's really a cool and versatile guitar. I'm glad you found one and that it's working so well for you! http://www.harmonycentral.com/expert-reviews/fender-pawn-shop-jaguarillo Please post some pics when you get a chance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted February 18, 2015 Members Share Posted February 18, 2015 Congratulations and Happy New Guitar Day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stubacca Posted February 18, 2015 Members Share Posted February 18, 2015 That's a beauty, congrats!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pine Apple Slim Posted February 18, 2015 Members Share Posted February 18, 2015 Hmm. I kinda like that. HNGD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members penelope twee Posted February 19, 2015 Members Share Posted February 19, 2015 What is the neck like on the Jaguarillo? Is it similar to that of other recently produced Fender/Squier short scales? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members turnstylepoet Posted February 19, 2015 Author Members Share Posted February 19, 2015 Thanks everyone! I am pretty excited about it. Regarding the neck, it is a comfortable C shape neck, and was easy to get used to coming from playing teles. I unfortunately don't have experience with other Fender/Squier shortscales other than the shortscale Teles and Strats, which I was not crazy about. But that may just be that I am not crazy about those guitars in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 What is the neck like on the Jaguarillo? Is it similar to that of other recently produced Fender/Squier short scales? Check out the review I wrote (linked to in my earlier post) - I list the various dimensions of the Jaguarillo's neck in there. In short, it feels a lot like many other modern C-profile Fender necks with a 9.5" radius in terms of its profile, width and thickness; it just feels a bit smaller and easier to extend your reach on it than it is with a Strat or Tele due to the slightly shorter 24" scale length. Compared to some of my other 24" necks it's about average - overall it is really similar to my 1971 Compstang's neck, not as narrow and thin or as curved / thin in the shoulders as my '75 Musicmaster neck, about as wide but not as thin as my MIJ Mustang neck from the early 90s, and nowhere near as chunky as my U-shaped vintage '65 Mustang neck. Of course, those are all 7.25" radius necks, so that's also going to have some effect on overall feel, but in terms of the other dimensions, that's how the Jagarillo compares. I've played some of the other modern USA, MIJ and MIM 24" scale Fenders, but not enough to give you direct comparisons with specific models - sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members penelope twee Posted February 20, 2015 Members Share Posted February 20, 2015 Check out the review I wrote (linked to in my earlier post) - I list the various dimensions of the Jaguarillo's neck in there. Cool, I'll take a note of that and see how it compares to my CIJ Jaguar, which is my main guitar. I'd like to try some other short scale guitars but it isn't always easy to identify a shop that has more than one type of model available. In short, it feels a lot like many other modern C-profile Fender necks with a 9.5" radius in terms of its profile, width and thickness; it just feels a bit smaller and easier to extend your reach on it than it is with a Strat or Tele due to the slightly shorter 24" scale length. Compared to some of my other 24" necks it's about average - overall it is really similar to my 1971 Compstang's neck, not as narrow and thin or as curved / thin in the shoulders as my '75 Musicmaster neck, about as wide but not as thin as my MIJ Mustang neck from the early 90s, and nowhere near as chunky as my U-shaped vintage '65 Mustang neck. Of course, those are all 7.25" radius necks, so that's also going to have some effect on overall feel, but in terms of the other dimensions, that's how the Jagarillo compares. I've played some of the other modern USA, MIJ and MIM 24" scale Fenders, but not enough to give you direct comparisons with specific models - sorry. Which is you favourite? Do you consider the 9.5" radius to provide any advantages? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I like the profile and shapes of my early 90s MIJ Mustang neck and my '75 Musicmaster's neck the most, followed closely by the '71 Competition Mustang's neck. I don't like the vintage '65 Mustang neck at all - it's all "wrong" for my small hands and short fingers. The advantage of a 9.5" radius is that it's a bit flatter, which means you can set the action lower without having the strings fret out when doing string bends. The larger frets on the Jaguarillo also help in that regard. I also find that larger frets make it a little easier to create and control pitch vibrato than it is with the smaller vintage size Fender frets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members turnstylepoet Posted February 27, 2015 Author Members Share Posted February 27, 2015 Both work and vacation trips prevented me from having much time with my Jaguarillo but I brought it in to work with me so I could run it by a local shop to get a replacement vibrato arm. I figured I'd snap a quick pic while I had the chance. I'll be home all weekend so I'll get to run it through my rig at volume and take a few more pics. But until then, here she is.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members turnstylepoet Posted February 27, 2015 Author Members Share Posted February 27, 2015 Thanks Phil! Man, I really do love this guitar but I've received some interesting opinions about it lately. I talked to a old friend of mine about the guitar and he absolutely refuses to call it a Jaguar and was actually upset that the headstock says "Jaguar" and not "Jaguarillo". He epitomizes that traditionalist attitude you mentioned in a previous post. I guess I am bent in the other direction as I tend to gravitate to non traditional takes on traditional guitars, hence the Jaguarillo and even my Tele, which is modified to my own version of an Esquire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Well, I can kind of understand his comment about the headstock logo - I kind of wondered a bit about why Fender didn't use a "Jaguarillo" decal myself, but let's consider whether it's a "Jaguar" or not... Based on body shape, contours and size it is definitely a Jag. Scale length is definitely Jag, and that's a BIG defining feature of the model IMO, along with the body. Main volume / tone controls and chrome plate are definitely Jag. Vibrato system is definitely Jag, although placement is slightly changed (as it is on the Classic Player), and bridge is non-floating. Pickguard shape is Jag-ish; more so than some other "Jaguar" models, although less so than a traditional '62-'75 Jaguar. Pickups are definitely different, as is the lack of the rhythm circuit. We could also discuss other variations, such as the different fretboard radius and fret size compared to first-run vintage Jaguars, but the Jaguarillo is hardly the only model to incorporate those variances. I'd say it has as much claim to the name, if not more so than some of the other "Jag" models with different electronics and / or bridges such as the Squier Vintage Modified models, Fender Marr and Cobain sig models (which also vary from the stock electronics of the '62-'75 models), Special HH, Blacktops, Modern Player, and Jaguar Thinline models. Replace the pickguard and switches, route under the guard for the "rhythm" controls and add them and the two metal plates, and it's as much a Jag as the Classic Player is. Questions for your friend - did the Les Paul stop being a Les Paul when Gibson ditched the original 1952's trapeze tailpiece and P90 pickups in favor of humbuckers and a stop tailpiece? Is a Les Paul Custom no longer a Les Paul model since in addition to those changes, the cosmetics are noticeably different than the earliest goldtops? IMHO, they're still "Les Pauls", although once they went to the '61 SG / Les Paul I'd say the differences in body shape and construction were significant enough that it's really no longer the same model... YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 I guess I am bent in the other direction as I tend to gravitate to non traditional takes on traditional guitars' date=' hence the Jaguarillo and even my Tele, which is modified to my own version of an Esquire.[/quote'] That's a good point. The Tele and Esquire have different names, but are essentially the same guitar... one vs two pickup versions. The same could basically be said for the Musicmaster and Duo Sonic, and (after late 1964) even the Mustang... but OTOH, are the Tele Thinline, Tele Custom and Telecaster Deluxe not "Telecasters" because they have a few significant differences from standard Telecasters and Esquires? Heck, not only does the Telecaster Deluxe have extra controls, a different pickguard and bridge, and humbucking pickups, it even has a different headstock shape... BTW, I'd love to see some pictures and read a description of your Esquire sometime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members penelope twee Posted March 9, 2015 Members Share Posted March 9, 2015 I've just bought a Pawn Shop Super Sonic, it will be interesting to see how it compares to my CIJ Jaguar. I gather that the neck will have a bit more girth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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