1962 Fender Jaguar, Blonde

Superb, very early Fender Jaguar in Factory Custom Blonde finish with Ash Body, Slab Rosewood fingerboard and early Flat pole pickups and complete with case,

The Jaguar, released in 1962 as Fender’s all new top of the range instrument is described in the 1962 Catalog as- “The Jaguar, Fender’s newest addition to their line of fine electric instruments, presents a new and exiting concept in the field of solid body guitars” In design it borrowed some cue’s from the Jazzmaster, Fender’s previous range topping six string release. The offset body shape, separate bridge and vibrato and dual circuits (lead and rhythm) electronics were all featured on the Jazzmaster, the Jaguar added to this with a new 22 fret, shorter scale 24” neck and added switching to the to the dual-circuit electronics. The Jaguar was also the first instrument to be offered with different nut widths available. The Jaguar enjoyed mild popularity on its introduction and found favour amongst the popular Surf guitar scene but despite its features could never quite emerge from the Stratocaster and Telecasters shadows. The Jaguar would enjoy a 13-year run before CBS-era Fender discontinued it in 1975 before being resurrected by Fender Japan in the mid-eighties from where the guitar has become a staple of the Fender line up.

This fantastic example dates to the earliest part of Jaguar production and has many of the features that define the early examples. The factory Blonde finish is one of the early Custom finishes offered by Fender and just like the Telecaster and Stratocaster, Blonde guitars have an Ash body opposed to the Alder used on regular production Sunburst guitars. The Blonde finish has aged nicely and shows some great natural wear, nail holes are present and free from paint, the neck pocket is fully painted as was the method at this period with butterflying of the finish to the neck and neck plate. There is a tiny widening to the route located underneath the pickup selector cavity that is not factory that looks similar to the ‘worm route’ on a Stratocaster. The five-digit serial number puts the guitar into the given 1962 range. The neck features the Slab Rosewood fingerboard, a feature of only the earliest Jaguars just before Fender transitioned to using the curved Laminate fingerboard from mid-62 onwards. The 1 Apr 62B neck stamp is still present and legible. The Rosewood fingerboard is dark with a tight, uniform grain pattern punctuated only by the ‘clay dot’ fret markers. Both neck and body are in good condition, with original finish throughout. The Tortoiseshell pickguard has a rich burgundy appearance with a nice amount of contrasting flame. It shows slight signs of shrinkage but still allows for pickup adjustment. Electronically the guitar is correct, wiring appears undisturbed with no signs of solder joints being broken. Pots share a 45th week of '61 source code and were manufactured by Stackpole. The pickups are the earlier flat poled examples only seen on the earlier Jaguars. The single line Kluson Deluxe tuners are stamped “PAT NUMBER” and D-169400. Hardware is free of corrosion with the vibrato unit and chrome control plates still retaining their factory sheen. The guitar has recently been Freshly re-fretted with Jescar 50085 wire and given a new nut by Huw Price.

The guitar is a great sounding Jaguar, currently strung with 10 gauge round-wound strings it has a small neck shim fitted to the neck pocket and plays nicely. Acoustically the guitar has a lively strum with plenty of the overtones expected from Jaguars thanks to the bridge and tremolo unit. The nut width is 41.28mm with a depth at the first fret of 21.26 mm increasing considerably to 25.24mm at the 12th fret. Plugged in, all electronics work as designed and the guitar can go from serious twang to mellow warmth with the flick of a switch. The guitar weighs a comfortable 7.9bs even, a great weight for a Jaguar.

A great example of a collectable, early Jaguar in great condition with no changed parts save the replaced nut and frets. The guitar comes with the correct early sixties Brown Jaguar case in good condition.