Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Guitar Amps
  • Guitar Pedals
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • You Oughta Know
  • Glasto 2025 - how to watch, who's on?
  • Wrecking Crew
  • 95k+ free music samples

Recommended reading

The Fender Richie Kotzen Stratocaster is made in Japan and features a contoured ash body with a stunning figured maple top, and comes with DiMarzio pickups and Gotoh tuners.
Artists Fender gives Richie Kotzen’s figured-maple topped MIJ signature Strat a global release
Fender Player II Modified Series
Guitars Fender remixes its blockbuster Player II range with the Modified Series and got IDLES to demo them
Brent Mason
Guitarists “I thought, 'Well, now I have a Strat, a Les Paul, and a regular Tele all in one’”: How a top session player struck gold
Jackson X and JS Series Surfcasters: the long-awaited offset electric guitar is now being offered in white, satin black and metallic black, and and at the entry-level JS price point and the mid-priced X Series.
Guitars “A bold new take on a classic metal machine”: Having ridden the wave of popular demand, Jackson’s Surfcaster offset has landed – and it’s built for speed
Scott Ian of Anthrax introduces his new X Series signature King V in black with gold hardware, and the original Jackson logo on the headstock.
Guitars Jackson gives the Scott Ian King V a classy makeover and puts an old school logo on the headstock
Gretsch G5230T Electromatic Sparkle Jet FT
Electric Guitars "This is a guitar that proves affordability can still bring looks that stun": Gretsch G5230T Electromatic Sparkle Jet FT review
Mike Campbell pictured with his new Red Dog Fender Telecaster; the heavily customised electric guitar has a Bigsby, a Destruct button and a pickup configuration that gives you lots of options. Campbell wears shades and a wide-brimmed hat.
Guitars “The destruct button really sets it apart”: Fender unveils the Mike Campbell Red Dog Telecaster
  1. Guitars
  2. Electric Guitars

Old gold: 1962 Fender Jaguar

News
By Guitarist ( Guitarist ) published 3 August 2016

Up-close with an original first-run

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Introduction

Introduction

The Jaguar was introduced in 1962 as a flagship for the Fender line. With a body design and features that borrowed heavily from the Jazzmaster (launched two years earlier), the Jaguar was seen initially as Leo Fender’s most sophisticated model yet.

Jaguars featured a short-scale neck, just 24 inches, as opposed to the Stratocaster’s and Telecaster’s 25.5-inch scale length, and they also had a 22-fret fingerboard.

The model shown here is a great example of the very early Jaguar: sleek, curvy and ready to catch a wave!

Initially aimed at guitarists on the very fashionable surf-music scene, the switch-laden Jaguar boasted twin circuits so that either lead or rhythm electronics could be employed.

The pickups also featured a metal claw-like surround that was said to enhance the efficiency of their magnets. Not quite so popular was the rubber pad just by the bridge, which could be levered into place by the player to mute the strings.

These quickly became known as tone-killers and were usually either removed or never used by the players of the day - certainly, they were generally not featured on subsequent reissues.

Other innovative ideas employed on the Jaguar included the ‘floating tremolo’, which Leo said was an improvement on his original design for the Stratocaster.

However, it had its shortcomings, with players complaining that it was difficult to mute the strings with their palms while playing, and its strings would occasionally pop out from the string saddles.

The Fender Jaguar reigned for 13 years, between 1962 and ’75, and was initially seen in the company of players like The Beach Boys’ Carl Wilson, but just after it was taken off the production line, it found a new lease on life in the hands of punk rock and New Wave players. A little later on, Thurston Moore and John Frusciante took up the cause before Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain came along and made the instrument his own.

The model shown here is a great example of the very early Jaguar: sleek, curvy and ready to catch a wave! (Guitar courtesy of Vintage Guitar Boutique, London).

Page 1 of 5
Page 1 of 5
Switching

Switching

The switch-laden Jaguar boasted twin circuits so that either lead or rhythm electronics could be employed.

Page 2 of 5
Page 2 of 5
Pickups

Pickups

The pickups also featured a metal claw-like surround that was said to enhance the efficiency of their magnets.

Page 3 of 5
Page 3 of 5
Neck

Neck

Jaguars featured a short-scale neck, just 24 inches, as opposed to the Stratocaster’s and Telecaster’s 25.5-inch scale.

Page 4 of 5
Page 4 of 5
Rubber pad

Rubber pad

The rubber pad by the bridge could be levered into place by the player to mute the strings.

Page 5 of 5
Page 5 of 5
Guitarist
Guitarist
Social Links Navigation

Guitarist is the longest established UK guitar magazine, offering gear reviews, artist interviews, techniques lessons and loads more, in print, on tablet and on smartphones Digital: http://bit.ly/GuitaristiOS If you love guitars, you'll love Guitarist. Find us in print, on Newsstand for iPad, iPhone and other digital readers

The magazine for serious players image
The magazine for serious players
Subscribe and save today!
More Info
Read more
The Fender Richie Kotzen Stratocaster is made in Japan and features a contoured ash body with a stunning figured maple top, and comes with DiMarzio pickups and Gotoh tuners.
Fender gives Richie Kotzen’s figured-maple topped MIJ signature Strat a global release
Fender Player II Modified Series
Fender remixes its blockbuster Player II range with the Modified Series and got IDLES to demo them
Brent Mason
“I thought, 'Well, now I have a Strat, a Les Paul, and a regular Tele all in one’”: How a top session player struck gold
Jackson X and JS Series Surfcasters: the long-awaited offset electric guitar is now being offered in white, satin black and metallic black, and and at the entry-level JS price point and the mid-priced X Series.
“A bold new take on a classic metal machine”: Having ridden the wave of popular demand, Jackson’s Surfcaster offset has landed – and it’s built for speed
Scott Ian of Anthrax introduces his new X Series signature King V in black with gold hardware, and the original Jackson logo on the headstock.
Jackson gives the Scott Ian King V a classy makeover and puts an old school logo on the headstock
Gretsch G5230T Electromatic Sparkle Jet FT
"This is a guitar that proves affordability can still bring looks that stun": Gretsch G5230T Electromatic Sparkle Jet FT review
Latest in Electric Guitars
Harley Benton ST-80FR
Harley Benton erupts with '80s shred fever as it launches the Floyd-equipped ST-80FR Series S-styles
Strandberg Boden Standard NX 6 Plini Edition Mirage
Strandberg launches limited edition Plini Boden Standard with glow-in-the-dark Mirage graphic finish
PRS Herman Li Chloe: the new shred-ready signature model for the DragonForce guitarist comes in two finishes and features an all-new body design.
PRS activates total shred mode for Herman Li of DragonForce’s feature-stacked Chloe signature guitar
Epiphone Jeff Beck Oxblood 1954 Les Paul
Epiphone unveils Inspired By Gibson Custom version of Jeff Beck’s iconic 1954 Oxblood Les Paul
Duesenberg Alliance Series Tom Bukovac: the new semi-hollow signature model is a stunning singlecut with a quilted maple build in a natural finish.
“Unbeatable... A play-anything guitar”: Duesenberg Alliance Series Tom Bukovac Session Man review
Mark Knopfler
"I did everything wrong, but I think they’re perfect notes”: Mark Knopfler's favourite guitar solo
Latest in News
Lorde
Lorde on the Frank Ocean collaborator who helped to humanise the synths on her new album, Virgin
synth one j6
"In a blind test of 100 musicians, it beat the $200 plugin 3-to-1. Not bad for a free app": AudioKit releases Synth One J6, a free Juno-inspired synth for iOS
Neil Young
BBC confirm that they won’t be showing his Glastonbury set “at the artist’s request”
Nadia Struiwigh
Tresor resident Nadia Struiwigh on why she avoids tutorials and keeps things 'loose' in the studio
Sam Ryder on a train
“The energy on there was unreal”: Sam Ryder performs an impromptu set for passengers on a Glastonbury-bound train
velvet sundown
"There's not a shred of evidence on the internet that this band has ever existed": This apparently AI-generated artist is racking up hundreds of thousands of Spotify streams

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...