Classic player Jaguar or Jazzmaster?

[twotimingpete]

Been saving my pennies for a fender offset. I like both of them, and while I'm entertaining the idea of going with one of the low end "blacktop" models I'm also considering the idea of saving a bit more for one of the classic player MIMs.

 

I'm pretty familiar with the most important difference: The scale length. the shorter 24 inch length of the jaguar will feel a bit slinkier than traditional strat/tele scale length of 25.5 that the JM has. Amplified sound may not be much different between scale lengths (feel free to correct me, but in my brief experiences with jags, this seems to be the case) but the feel is definitely different.

 

What I'm interested in discussing are how and whether the shorter scale length of the jag amplifies any of the issues (particularly saddle jumping) often associated with jag/jm bridges.

 

both guitars also use their own proprietary single coil pickup design. I'd also be interested in any assessments of how these pickups (jag vs. JM) sound compared to eachother, in general, or possibly specific to the classic player line if anyone has experience with them.

 

Wouldn't it be fun to be wealthy?

[EllenGtrGrl]

I used to own a '66 Reissue Jaguar, and at the present time, I have a CP Jazzmaster. I have also played a CP Jaguar. The Jag body is slightly larger than a Jazzmaster body (it's also a little heavier). Soundwise, the CP Jag I played, was a bit brighter sounding, than my CP Jazzy. Both CP guitars have the vibrato closer to the bridge, than their more traditional counterparts. The pickups are hotter too (which you may or may not like - more than a few Offset Guitars forum members replace them with vintage voiced ones [although I like the higher output stack Jazzy pickups in my CP). The tune-o-matics on the CPs help lessen the chance of strings jumping out of saddles, but IMO, using a set of 11s (or even 12s on the Jaguar) helps to eliminate string jumping. It also helps sustain.

[Beyer160]

As I'm sure you know, the Blacktop Jag doesn't have the trem. To me that defeats almost the entire purpose of the guitar, but if that isn't important to you, consider the Squier Jazzmaster which has the traditional JM pickup configuration but also deletes the trem.

 

It's kind of amazing that Fender has so many offset models now, none of which seem to be exactly what anyone wants. The Blacktop is a nice guitar at an attractive price, but I'd still want to swap out the bridge pickup. I like the CPs the best of the (sub $1K) bunch, but for nearly half the price I'd be perfectly happy heating up the iron for a BT. If I had any money, which I don't.

[twotimingpete]

As I'm sure you know, the Blacktop Jag doesn't have the trem. To me that defeats almost the entire purpose of the guitar, but if that isn't important to you, consider the Squier Jazzmaster which has the traditional JM pickup configuration but also deletes the trem. It's kind of amazing that Fender has so many offset models now, none of which seem to be exactly what anyone wants. The Blacktop is a nice guitar at an attractive price, but I'd still want to swap out the bridge pickup. I like the CPs the best of the (sub $1K) bunch, but for nearly half the price I'd be perfectly happy heating up the iron for a BT. If I had any money, which I don't.

 

if I go blacktop it'd be the JM --- mainly for the reason you describe. there are certain considerations, though, such as the humbucker bridge and the bridge route only being large enough for a humbucker. wonder if fender is intentionally making these difficult to turn into real JMs.

[lolque?]

As long as you play with 11s or 12s, you'll never really experience saddle jumping.

 

In my experience, shorter scales have less sustain than a longer scale. I own both a '66 duo-sonic (24") and a jazzmaster I built myself (25.5"). You'll probably notice the same thing with jags/JMs in comparison.

 

Jaguars are very, very, very, very, trebly. While a JM still has a lot of high end, it is the more mellow of the two. They're two very different sounds.

 

The bridge on the classic player jaguar is a tune-o-matic bridge, and not a normal JM/jag bridge. It's put on there to avoid the issue of saddle jumping. The trem is also moved closer to the bridge, which increases the break angle, and subsequently reduces noise behind the bridge. Some, like myself, like the original specs, and hence don't really care for the classic player JM/jags. That's preference though, tradtional JM/jags have a lot of imperfections, but those imperfections make the guitar sound the way it does.

 

That being said, the classic players are great guitars for the price. If you have the opportunity, go to a store and play both side by side so that you can hear for yourself.