Fender Player Jaguar

TOTAL GUITAR AUGUST 2018
102
BODY: Alder
NECK: Maple
SCALE: 610mm (24")
FINGERBOARD: Pau
ferro
FRETS: 22
PICKUPS: Player
Series Alnico III
Jaguar humbucker
(bridge), Alnico II
Jaguar single coil
(neck)
CONTROLS: 1x
volume, 1x tone,
3-way pickup
selector switch,
coil-split switch
HARDWARE:
6-saddle vintage-
style adjustable
bridge with floating
tremolo, synthetic
bone nut
LEF T-HANDED: No
FINISH: Black
(shown), 3-Colour
Sunburst, Tidepool,
Sonic Red
CONTACT: Fender
EMEA 01342 331700
fender.com
AT A GLANCE
T
he Jaguar has always been a
curio among Fender’s range,
and its Player edition is one of
the line’s more intriguing
off erings. Rather than the
traditional SS layout, Fender has spec’d
an Alnico 3 humbucker in the bridge
and Alnico 2 single coil in the neck. The
plot thickens with that diddy plastic
switch on the upper horn, which splits
the humbucker for wiry single-coil
tones. It’s styled after the original’s
underused rhythm circuit, which is
wisely absent here – we’d rather have a
coil-split any day of the week.
The tweaks don’t end there: a
Mustang bridge replaces the original
Jag setup, which was prone to popping
strings with aggressive or fi ngerstyle
playing. Returning is the fl oating
vibrato and trademark 609mm (24")
short scale length, resulting in one of
the better-spec’d Jags we’ve seen.
For anyone who’s never played a
short-scale guitar, we implore you to
get your hands on one: they’re a breeze
to play, especially with this satin
fi nish. The same goes for the pau ferro
fretboard. While some early examples
could be a little patchy, the grain on our
review model is not dissimilar to
rosewood, so there’s certainly no
feeling short changed here.
Engage the neck single coil and have
a play with the fl oating vibrato, and
there’s a very familiar feel – that
widescreen, crystalline single-coil
sound is present in abundance. For
those unfamiliar, Jag pups aren’t as
snappy as a Strat or Tele’s, but make an
excellent base for eff ects. That bridge
humbucker pays homage to Kurt
Cobain’s modifi ed Jag, and although
the Alnico 3 magnets can’t come close
to the output of the ceramics in
Cobain’s DiMarzio Super Distortion, it
can approximate that Teen Spirit snarl.
The utility of the coil-split could be
called into question, however. The split
humbucker is pretty thin with clean
tones, and is noticeably quieter than
the neck, while it yields a hollow tone
in the middle position, which is
unlikely to see much use. Given the
pickup height on our review model was
as close to touching the strings as we
dared to take it, we wonder whether a
higher-output ’bucker might have
been better suited here. Nevertheless,
the split certainly comes into its own
with dirt, as it provides a handy preset
gain cut. In fact, every position fi nds a
purpose in this context, and it’s clear
that’s this Jaguar’s natural habit:
rolling in fi lth.
FENDER PLAYER
JAGUAR
Cat got your tone?
WIDESCREEN, CRYSTALLINE SINGLE-COIL
SOUND IS PRESENT HERE IN ABUNDANCE
£599
The Jaguar is one
of the Player line’s
more intriguing
offerings
FENDER PLAYER
TGR308.gear_test.indd 102 6/21/18 12:30 PM