Brutally Honest Gear Reviews! #2: Fender Jaguar "Classic Player Special" HH
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- čas přidán 6. 06. 2021
- Hope you enjoy these Brutally Honest Gear Reviews. :)
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I've never been exposed to Jaguars before but that versatility is insane! Never seen a guitar do all that so smoothly before
I have this guitar, i´m so falling in love, and this price es great, i buy this guitar for 800 dollars (no new but in a 9.8 of 10) es mi favourite guitar (sorry i speak spanish)
@@jselmo4968 no need to apologize! :)
I am happy you're enjoying it, another reason to buy it!!
Fender stat. The goat
@@jselmo4968 24" scale means chords are slightly easier than on a Strat or Tele
Was my first electric guitar (in sunburst). Bought many new guitars now, even a "Gretsch Falcon PE Midnight Sapphire" and more similar expensive ones. Still one of my favourites - the Gretsch pickups are a lot better from my perspective, but the guitar is not as versatile.
This is going to be a great series, can’t wait to see more
yassss
He has this calming, sincere tone to his voice. It makes me think he’s probably a really teacher, especially for kids. That’s a gift.
i agree man i adore him and his videos. what a great youtuber
He did that stuff yeah
Can’t wait to see what you say about the Les Paul and the Explorer.
Something odd is happening in my life...I watched a few YT videos of the greatest guitar players. Really enjoyed the Texas Blues/soul stuff. Well, last qeek, I went out for my evening walk after dark, and someone had put a Stagg SW201N-VT, in near perfect condition, out on the curb. I was kind of stunned as to why anyone would toss such a nice looking instrument out for trash night. So, I took it home. It was quite dusty, like it hadn't been touched in some years.I carefully cleaned it using a dampened washcloth and mild dish detergent solution, .using moistened Q-tips around the more detailed parts.
Then, TONIGHT i decided to take another after dark walk and about 3 blocks away from where I found the guitar was a Peavy Rage 158..with several wires...I just bought THAT home as well. It works!!!
Does God want me to learn to play a guitar? This is crazy!!!
Do it man, you will love playing guitar. I've been playing guitar for nearly 4 years now and i can't wait to get out of hospital to play my Meteora.
Someone's partner was angry, and someone else got lucky (you!). You'll be shredding by next summer. Keep on keeping on 🤟
@@simonfinch9277 I'm so jealous that you got a meteora, did you get the one with humbuckers or single coils?
Yo that’s crazy, yeah man, you really should try and learn and have some fun!!
@@simonfinch9277 Wow, maybe you're playing guitar a little too hard.
I bought a sunburst one of these as my first “real” guitar in 2009 when I was 14 and it’s still my huckleberry to this day.
Best color by far.
I also bought it back then except it was my 30th birthday gift, as close to the K Cobain as my wife could afford, however It’s an amazing guitar
I would immediately reverse the Strangle and Kill switches:
Strangle - Down should be not engaged, and up should be engaged, just like the pickup switches.
Kill switch, down should be on so if you accidentally strum down and hit it, you dont kill your sound.... its also easy to do the Tom Morello stutter sounds when down is ON.
On a standard Jaguar, the strangle switch is engaged in the up position not the down position. That's even true on the other Classic Player Jaguars. It would be easy to remove the pickup selector plate and flip the switch over. I forgot how incredibly versatile this guitar is. While I miss not having the rhythm circuit, the coil splitting makes total sense.
Get a tremolo spring. If you use the tremolo bar, you definitely should get one of the little springs that Fender sells for their trem systems. It’s meant to be dropped in the hole before you screw in the bar. It will make the bar stay wherever you position it. When you unscrew the bar to take it off, the spring should stay inside the hole. It does that because there’s a plastic plug at the bottom and the spring gets lodged into the plastic and won’t fall out.
Great to hear more about this particular type of guitar. Such a versatile sounding instrument.
I've always dug these but knowing it has a single/hum blend just sold me on the model.
This review didn’t mention how you can blend the pick up sound to be a veritable blend of single and Hum bucker sound. This is the only guitar I’ve ever seen where you can vary the amount of hum er versus single coil
Man, I wish this video was up when I bought mine! Have had the same one for almost a year now and can't put it down. This was such a comprehensive review thanks!
I’ve owned this guitar for about 11 years now and it’s become my workhorse. You can find a way to fit it into almost anything you want to play. I swapped out the bridge for a Mastery but otherwise my only complaint is the switches feel loose and cheap. It’s a brilliant instrument.
This is a nice series you've started Mike. Look forward to all the honest reviews!!
As a lifelong guitar player, I have to agree with all the good, and less good, points you made about this guitar! Throughout the years I’ve collected USA made Strats, aTelecaster, Jazzmaster, Gibson SG, Les Paul, PRS, Rickenbacker, etc. And while I’ll grab each one every once in a while I find myself always coming back to this same Mexican assembled Jaguar Classic Player HH (in Sunburst) as my “go to” guitar! The overall playing comfort, balance, and wide-variety of tones I can get out of this guitar seems to stand out over and above all the others in my collection.
As I watched your video I was amazed that I was in complete agreement of each pro and con you made, including neck shape acceptability, truss rod placement, excessive neck varnish, confusion of humbucker knob controls and switches. I was also glad to see that it just wasn’t me who had such a high regard for this guitar, and a guitar that didn’t have to “break the bank” to own either! Great assessment, playing, and overall video!
I played this guitar in a store years ago and it was an amazing experience
I love how most Fenders are almost tailor made for any type guitarist instead of Gibsons which need you to conform to their body shape.
I mean, that's the exact opposite of "tailor made". It's one-size-fits-all (vs. one-size-fits-some-people for the Gibsons) xD
@@jasondoe2596 think he’s saying it feels like it’s tailor made
Fenders are more comfortable to play than Gibsons.
In my humble opinion Les Paul's are the perfect shape
I got mine (without humbuckers though) about two months ago and I'm still so proud 😍 It's my first electric guitar so I don't really have a valuable opinion, but so far i love it!!
Outstanding video. I own a Jaguar and Jazzmaster and have the same issues with them that you pointed out, but still enjoy both. Thanks for an honest review
I have that same guitar. It's a super versatile guitar as you say. If anyone is interested Fender do still make this model (pick up and switching wise) in sonic blue and surf green. They now call it a "vintage modified HH" i believe. Still one of my main guitars. My favourite setting is with the bottom switches all up, Bridge in full humbucking and neck rolled off about half way on the top dial. Great video.
I love the Jaguars also! A little trick for if you accidentally hit the switches, pop the switch plate, and put a small washer in between the switch and plate on each screw, bringing the switch down in the cavity and reducing the height from the front. 👍🤘
I also am not a fan of gloss necks, so I hit them with a little 0000 steel wool till it's nice and smooth. Doesn't take much, no need to go down to bare wood either
Great review! I’ve owned this model in sunburst for years and it’s great. I really like having the pickup knobs somewhere in the middle to get a sound in between single coil and humbucker.
That’s a really good point; all the reviews I’ve seen (including this) I’ve not realised (not had it been pointed out) that you can blend one pickup to find a position somewhere between single coil and humbucker. Thanks!
One mod I had a guitar tech do on my jag was to file down the switch at the top. It works just fine not protruding as much, and it helps avoid the issue you mentioned of accidentally hitting it when playing live.
Mike, your videos are great in that they make you feel like you're just hanging out with another guitar bud that a lot of us married, older(me) or younger couch guitar players don't really have. Thank you. Appreciate what you do. 🎸👌
Welcome to the hang! :)
@@TheArtofGuitar thank you
This feels way more authentic than other reviews. Just a dude talking about a guitar he actually owns and plays. Good stuff :)
I’m really looking forward to the flying V, or the Ibanez Jem
That is a seriously versatile guitar! You got some killer tones, sounded amazing!!
I love the different functions of the controls from a normal Jag. Having the split coil humbuckers makes this the most versatile guitar ever.. If I ever get a Jag I'll try to put in split coil too.
Wow, so many styles makes and models to choose from. Thanks for explaining.
That’s my baby! This guitar was my first serious guitar and I have to totally agree with you it’s definitely the most versatile guitar I’ve ever played. It won’t get a strat tone perfectly but it will do a damn good try and on top of that dozens of other tones.
Have had the same model for years (and also love it). I honestly never noticed the tremolo lock. Thanks for that
Thanks for the review’ I just brought the exact same jaguar the same color and everything and I’m stoked to have u do I review on it’ thanks heaps they really are a fantastic guitar and so multipurpose ✌️💯
Removing gloss finish from the back of the neck is easy. Use a green kitchen scrubby (a new, clean one ... duh). Best to take the neck off and tape over the place where you want the buffing to end. Be gentle, wipe with a damp cloth, and test feel frequently. Remember - is is a lot easier to take more off than to add some back. Within a few minutes you have a super smooth, non-sticky satin finish. I've done this on 4 different guitars and never regretted it. In two cases I found I needed truss rod adjustments within a week after because the neck back bowed. Sort of freaked me out, but after adjusting, all guitars stayed stable for years.
As a 30+ year guitar player, I discovered this guitar when trading in a bunch of outboard gear that I wasn't using as I went further ITB. I always grabbed it as my stuff was being appraised and after checking out the wiring, I had to have it. You are right, the versatility is amazing. I've always been a Gibson/Epiphone/ESP guy, but this Jag and a Nashville Tele are my only Fenders. The only guitar I have found I can get nearly as much tonal options out of would be my Nighthawk, followed by the Epiphone version of the Thunderhorse. Having the push/pull AND independent volumes gets you SO MUCH.
I feel in love with the Jaguar after seeing kurt Cobain play one... In my opinion, it's the best looking guitar I've seen.
Thanks for this review. When you talked about the comfort of this guitar, I knew exactly what that is. It is hard to beat a Fender offset on that front.
Besides the incredible versatility of this thing, the sounds themselves are absolutely incredible! That thing sounds killer!! Fender has completely nailed down that huge humbucker sound! Excellent guitar and equally good review.
Fucking love your videos 🙌
So informative, relaxed and easy to approach!
The anxiousness and all the other shit just go away when I put your videos on 🔥
Going on 10 years of heavy use with this guitar, have only had to set it up once in a whole decade and it still sounds amazing, and gig with it all the time. I got it used for $650, only damage was a cosmetic dent on the back. GET ONE
I’ve been playing this exact model (and colour) for a few years now as my main guitar and I’m in love with it. That said i have the same qualms with the heavy lacquer and killswitch. Still a gorgeous guitar I will never get rid of
How much do you think it's worth? I found one for 750$. Is it too much?
This might be the best CZcams review of this guitar. Thanks bruh.
I have one of these, 2012 HH Sunburst. What a fantastic guitar it is. It can do basically anything
I've had one of these for 6 years, and I absolutely love it! Besides my MIA Strat (hot rodded with DiMarzios), this is one of the best guitars I've played. Such a versatile instrument for recording and perfroming!
Nice to see some Offset love, Mike. I have a traditional Jaguar and a Duo-Sonic HS, probably all I'll ever need.
I think this is my favorite out of your guitars. It’s so beautiful🥲
I'm digging this series!
I have the black hh special with the dragster humbuckers. I absolutely love it. It's one of those guitars that you sweet swear was made for you.
I got one a couple months ago and can confirm it's a fantastic instrument
Great brutal honesty, Mike.
This was really informative since I have a Jazzmaster and I never really bothered to check what the buttons and dials actually do ha! so thanks!
I play in a nirvana cover band and wanted to get a sunburst jag to really punch the nostalgia with kurts and people love it, I get so many compliments and it feels so good to play def one of my favourite guitars
Love my Jag! Great review. Keep it up. Thanks.
I had one of these in sunburst about ten years ago and I foolishly sold. It is one of few guitars I've gotten rid of that I truly regret it and would take it back if I could. I replaced the pickups with the Seymour Duncan JB/Jazz pair, as well as knocked a lot of the finish off the neck for the reasons you mentioned.
They regularly fetch way more on Reverb than what I sold it for, and I can never justify it with the amount of guitars I have now.
I have one of these and it's a workhorse. The variety of tones is great. I agree with everything you said about it. I've freaked out over the kill switch (even though I knew about it already). The neck is a little sticky but not too bad. The blenders are a little annoying without numbers but it's some of the coolest tech I have in a guitar (second to my Fernandes Sustainer in the Ed O'Brien Strat). I like a nice bridge humbucker with single coil neck sound myself so I usually keep them in place and flip the switches if I want quick changes. Dig the video and I'm now a subscriber!
Thanks for this explanation of the controls. I have one these. I had no idea what the roller controls did. I thought they were broken!
I have upgraded the trem arm and collett to a staytrem push in arm. The screw in arm started to rattle. Not good.
Also the tune o matic bridge rattles on the G string. I order a replacement and got the same thing with the replacement. The thread on the saddles are poorly machined. I fixed it with some light strength thread lock glue. It now plays pretty well without having to shim the neck.
out off curiousity what was ur favorite sounding guitar that one off your student brought in for lessons?
I always wanted a jaguar since the early nineties. I finally got a used one last year. The one I bought is identical to the one you are playing in every way. I was surprised at how many sonic options are available. It's become my main go to guitar for most of what I do. I love it!
How much did you pay?
but not as versatile as a Strat
@@vincentl.9469this one is better I think than a Stratocaster , I was in the market for a strat/tele/Jaguar & after 5 months of listening to all kinds of tones on all 3 I finally decided on the Jaguar and I'm glad I did , arriving any day now
Damn, now I really want one to go with my JMs!
Great review!
Super Informative mate - thank you!
Thank you for this! I've been thinking about getting one of these for our overseas mini tours to replace two Jazzmasters, one stock and one woth WRHB. It won't be the *same* but I feel lile this will capture the vibe enough for the material to only have to travel with one guitar and minimal tonal compromise.
Wake up to see this!! What a coincidence I was curious about how Jaguar’s work with all their little controls and cause of Johnny Marr I can’t wait for more videos in this series
You can always paint white lines in those dials (or mix colors from white to red) to know more or less in what position they currently are.
For sure, the kids got the most honest face in the biz.
Nice guitar, I just bought a fender bullet mustang and It is an amazing quality for under $150…!
Somehow knew your reviews would be brutally honest and its refreshing to hear, keep it up Mike! BTW - This review came in literally the day after my Kurt Cobain Jaguar arrived...
Glad I made the right choice!!
This is what i play on and its awesome. I still dont really get all the switches and stuff but the neck pickup jams
great channel, great content, awesome playing.
I bought same model and it is the best guitar i ever played. The sinlge coil sound is so amazing
Thanks, Mike! I love shorter scale guitars!
'i love the way it feels, whether i'm standing up or sitting down...'
*snicker*
always wanted one of these; now i want one even more. it's much more versatile, sound-wise, than i thought - i, like most, associate it with surf, and that treble-y, warble-y tone. i'd definitely flip around the bottom switched, so the 'down' position is 'on' instead of 'off', and swap the kill switch for a non-latching button, more like what buckethead uses. but that's just preference.
Use a magic eraser on the back of the neck to get rid of the glossy stickiness. I did it and it is perfect. Feels exactly like one of the new ultra necks.
Neat, I have a single coil Jaguar made in Japan that I bought in 97 but it’s set up completely different than the HH.
I really thought the HH was a humbucker version of the classic Jaguar. Didn’t realize the top switches were set up the split the coils! Awesome sounds and versatility. I’d love to check one out now.
Jaguar is definitely one of those guitars that I really want to own one day. The shorter scale length sounds nice too for us small hand havers.
Once you try short scale there's no way back. It's like playing a 25,5" with capo on the 1st. Seems insignificant, but if your fingers are short every millimeter counts (I have a Bullet Mustang and a replica)
love the fly by night at 9:19!!
First of all, awesome review! As for the thumbwheels, I have an idea - maybe you could stick or paint something bright on them, like a white dot? Or even UV or phosphorous ink if you want to be able to see them in the dark or under UV light?
I really think you should review more of the Fender player series!
good to hear fender addressed the bridge on the jag. i had one about a decade ago and strings would fly off the bridge with any tremolo usage. it was infuriating
I love the versatility of Jaguars, even my single coil squire can get me a range of sounds from full bright tones to scooped heavier tones!
Nice review thanks!
Great video thank you! 9.5!! That’s nice!
Some of the most interesting pickup sounds are the in-between humbucker and single coil sounds. Huge number of variables not addressed here. Most general listeners would never know the difference though. Definitely a player nuance thing.
I’ve had a Jaguar for a couple months now, and I really like it but I never really knew what all the switches did until now
5:54 on the JEM you can adjust the friction of the bar by a screw from the backside of the trem system!
I play one now and the learning curve wasn't too bad once i got used to it now i play it as my main guitar.
Don’t have the Jaguar but a MiM player strat. Player series seem to have pretty good quality control and has a pretty good price for what it is.
Something you can do to the neck to smooth out the thick lacquer is take some 0000 grade steel wool and just run it up and down the neck. Won’t scratch the neck up but thins out the thick lacquer making it nice and smooth to play
When I go for a sound through all the HB, Teles, Strats I end up with exactly that Jag lately. All the others are more or less one trick ponys - the Jaguar can do it all!!❤
I’ve owned a guitar this exact model (and color) for a couple of years and it’s indeed a great choice.
Perfect construction, looks awesome and sounds great. The pickups are very versatile and sound really wide and rich (lots of harmonics), which was kind of surprising since these are the exact same pickups that are on Kurt Cobain’s signature guitar (don’t be fooled, I love Nirvana). I did had to swap the bridge and the tremolo since it just wouldn’t stay in tune with the original parts.
And that’s actually the only difference I found between MIM and American made Fenders: the hardware seems identical but it’s definitely not and the difference shows when you upgrade to American grade components, which in the end is a cheap and easy upgrade. Despite that, the finishing quality is the same as American made Fenders, unlike other big guitar manufacturers where there’s a huge difference between the American and overseas made guitars (Gibson-Epiphone and ESP-LTD for example).
After changing those two parts, it was absolutely perfect and the tuning stability was great. Definitely a guitar I would recommend.
Springs usually come for American fenders to put in the trem hole. Then it locks in place when you tighten it down.
Wow! Really impressed! I've heard a lot positive things about the Enforcer pickups, but that thumbwheel seems to act more like a coil tap than a splitter. I could not here any volume drop going from the humbucker too single coil. Wish I would have picked one of these up years ago. I do not care for the Vintera HH Jag; those Atomic Humbuckers sound more like a Dimarzio Super Distortion. Thanks for the review, really enjoyed the versatility of this guitar!
Okay being able to do both single and humbucker is cool.
Sounds like the ultimate Fender.
I love this guitar, I have the same but the sunbursty colour and I use it for John frusciante single coil tones to Kurt Cobain thick humbucker tones
Great looking guitar, i'm really thinking of buying one for my birthday :)
Enjoyed the review and hearing your thoughts on your guitars! Since these are not "sponsored" reviews, nice to hear direct talk about your likes and dislikes of guitars in your collection. Very helpful!
Love The Series🤘
Oh this series are awesome! Please do an episode for the Fender Mustang GT 40, this amp is just amazing, awesome reviews and really bad reviews... it actually is an amp that works with WiFi, Bluetooth, and you can even record with USB cable, thought, many people hate the amp because of it's boxy sound... in 2017 there was Firmware, and people say it now was way better, by adjusting the EQ, problem: not everyone agrees
This amp seems Awesome! 109 presets, thousands of possibilities with tons of pedals, effects, cabs, amps, everything! But is it's quality good? We need you to help us through that
Really good review ! Can you do one on your other B.C. Rich ?
Oh yeah I like that box. I have always wondered if they used the jazz circuit, or a split, in the HH model.
I have owned many mid priced guitars over this half century. My take is that if you can obtain only one guitar, this is the one!
I love these videos
I was from the «only US-made Fender’s are good»-school. Last summer I ended up bying a classic series strat, now I’ve three MiMs. They are the perfect guitars to mod, like changing pickups. To be honest, I play my MiMs way more than my two MiA (which are great too).
MIMs are great value for the money, one of my all time favourites is the MIM Baja Tele 😁
I’ve been really wanting a jazzmaster but I think a Jaguar would suit me better honestly. Thanks for the video good sir.