The new Jagmaster is an upgraded and redesigned Squier offering tons of tone and vibe. Details like the vintage tinted neck, parchment and tortoise pickguards, and pearloid dots make this axe a cut above the crowd.
Featured review by:
unregistered, on january 31, 2005 2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 250
Purchased from: Internet
Features: A Squier Jagmaster. It's about time, because Squier is finally branching out their guitar designs. It has:
- A 3-tone sunburst finish
- A whammy bar
- Duncan designed humbuckers
- 1 volume and 1 tone knobs
- Made in China
- Sweet tortoise shell pickguard. // 10
Sound: It suites my music style (any form of rock) and it suites any riffs I play that aren't rock perfectly. I play it through my dad's Carvin/Peavey/Alesis full stack (see Squier Bullet Strat and Ibanez GAX30 reviews) and my Marshall mini Belt Amp that I got for Christmas. It sounds great. It has somewhat the same bridge as my Bullet (excluding Whammy Bar) and for some strange reason the overall flippin sweetness of the guitar makes the Palm Mute sound great, and with my Bullet guitar it sucks. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: It was set up perfectly at the factory. I may be wrong, but when I play it it feels just like a Fender. The pickups were adjusted great (the pickups are from Duncan design, I think a minor version of Seymour Duncans, Like Squier to Fender). // 10
Reliability & Durability: Everything you just mentioned is a yes. It will withstand live playing. The hardware will last. The strap buttons are solid. I could easily go without a backup. The finish is very well done. // 10
Impression: It is by far the greatest guitar Squier ever made in my opinion (it costs the most of all Squiers). As a matter of fact I am holding/ playing it as I write this. It's so irresistable! I think it would be a cool idea to make it a 1piece with the sunburst graphics on the neck, but then again, no, it would make it look wierd. Anyway, my dad took some photos with me playing it and sent them to his guitar playing friend. Of course, with his friend, the best compliment you could ever get from him is solid. // 10
Reviewed by:
highroller540, on december 28, 2007 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 220
Purchased from: Guitar Center
Features: The guitar is pretty simple. Short scale, alder body, two Duncan Designed humbuckers, one 3-way switch, 1 volume, 1 tone. The tuning machines are pretty good for a guitar in that price range, as is the Standard 6-screw tremolo system. But you gotta love the Jaguar body shape! It also has a really nice 3-tone sunburst finish. 21 frets. // 9
Sound: I got this guitar mainly because it had humbuckers. As we all know, humbuckers are extremely versatile pickups. They allow me to play anything from blues to metal. The pickups were noisy on both of my practice amp and my main amp, A Roland MicroCube, and a Line 6 Spider III 150 watt combo so I switched the pickups for A Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB in the bridge, and a Seymour Duncan SH-2n in the neck. I also am getting a push/pull pot to split the coils installed as I write. Excellent pickup configuration, and the sound is a amazing now. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: As we all know, it is usually a mistake to purchase guitars from any Guitar Center, as any little 5 year old child can go screw around with any guitar. I just had to have it, and after picking out one of them, I decided it was set up pretty well. This particular one had pretty great action, the pickup height I didn't have to adjust, and the neck was as straight as an arrow. I got the guitar for 220 USD and they through in a stand and a case because it had a nick near the pickguard. But the finish is beautiful. // 10
Reliability & Durability: I'd definately would gig with this guitar. It holds in tune pretty well if you're not using the tremolo. I am going to get some Fender/Schaller locking tuners to fix that intonation problem though. I move around a lot when I play and get into it so I decided to get strap locks on it. The finish is pretty durable, I have dropped the guitar, and it just got a hairline scratch, but not all the way to the wood. // 10
Impression: I've been playing for about a year now, and this guitar definately suits my current needs. I was thinking of getting an Epiphone Les Paul or SG, but I decided that the pickups on this axe were 10 times better quality. I just wish it would have a volume/tone knob for each pickup for better control, and variety in sound. If this axe was stolen, I'd definately go get another one. // 10
Reviewed by:
Swap-Meet, on july 19, 2008 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: C$ 249
Purchased from: Steves Music Store
Features: // 10
Sound: It suits my music style really well, I play a lot of grunge & street punk. I use a Boss DS-1 Distortion pedal, and it makes this guitar sound great, and sometimes I use my Dan Electro FAB Hasbrown Flanger pedal, which is a really cool effect pedal. I use it on my crummy Crate amp (15 watts). The sound is very good for what I like, without distortion I can get the surfy kinda (hard to explain) sound that I like for riffs I play without distortion. When I bought this guitar the guy asked me if I was gonna play grunge, or metal with it, so I'm guessing even though I really don't like metal it would be able to do a good job for metal. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar was setup really well, and was really fun and great to play right away. The pickups were adjusted perfectly, no flaws that I've seen so far, it just seems really perfect at the moment, and the frets were filed well, and the finish is great, the wood is also great. // 10
Reliability & Durability: I would deffinitely say this would be a great guitar to play with live, and I doubt it would break. I'll find out forsure tomorrow night. I wouldn't ever bring only one guitar to a show though, you never know if you're gonna snap a string or something, quicker to Switch guitars then change a string! The strap buttons are solid, and the hardware will definitely last. The finish will definitely last. // 10
Impression: This is my favourite Squier I've played, I have played a bunch of squiers (Teles, Strats, Bullets, etc). This is definitely the best guitar I could get for the price, the only guitar I'd rather have than this is a Mustang, or Jaguar, but for the price this is deffinitely good enough. I think if it was stolen / lost I would either buy it again, or buy a Mustang or Jaguar. I love the way it plays (small neck, great fit for my small hands) and great sound too. // 10
Reviewed by:
Vulture1, on august 28, 2007 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 304
Purchased from: Pianoshop.com.au
Features: 2006 Made in China. 21 frets, rosewood fingerboard, 24" Jaguar scale. Solid body alder, light gloss neck, sunburst. Jazzmaster/Jaguar body, Jazzmaster type pickguard. Passive H/H 'Duncan Designed' mid outuput humbuckers, 3-way, tone, volume (no rhythm circuit). Unstamped Squier tuners. Free tremolo bar (thinner)! // 7
Sound: I play surf, rockabilly, punk and rock. It suits the whole surf thing, providing the twang and lows it needs (I use '13s). It suits that whole music style but less rock, more punk sound. I use a Marshall 100w half stack and POD 2.0. It's not incredibly bright, but sounds more like a Strat than a jazzy or jag. The humbuckers may not seem suited to clean but produces great mid tones. I like how I can use 13s, play surf then easily tune down for some metal or punk. It holds it's tuning quite well. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: The setup was OK, but there was buzz here and there but that was easily fixed. The pickups were not as loud but adjusting the height a little (not alot) created a much brighter sound. The finish was flawless, frets were smooth but the body was very light. Sturdy electronics and tremolo. MIM quality. // 9
Reliability & Durability: The guitar has withstanded being thrown around in metalcore gigs I've done. The hardware is not loose or freyed, even though I have dropped it and flung it. I've replaced the strap buttons with Dunlop ones, but they seem too become loose every now and then. I've never swung it around my body since I don't trust the straplocks enough. I'd never gig without a backup, that's just foolish. The finish is a little thin. It fell over whilst standing and left a pretty bad ding, exposing about 2cm of wood. // 7
Impression: I mostly play surf and metalcore. It's very good for surf, but when it comes to being very playable live, it's not very good for metalcore. I would have bought something like a Shecter Blackjack or similar for metalcore. I've been playing for about 3 years now. It is a great lower priced surf/rock/punk/alternative guitar. I hate the body shape when standing. It's not as uncomfortable as a Flying V. It's more like a SG. // 7
Reviewed by:
c0d3ster, on february 28, 2007 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: American Musical Supply
Features: It was made in the year 2005 in China. It has 21 medium frets on a 24" short scale neck like Mustangs, Duo-Sonics, Jaguars, etc. It has a solid top. Maple Neck and Alder Body. It has a sunburst Jaguar/Jazzmaster style body that is Alder with a red tortoise pickguard and a Maple neck. Also, it has a Strat-style bridge with a tremolo. Two Duncan Designed humbuckers, a 3 way pickup selector, and a volume and tone knobs are the electronics. // 9
Sound: I play this through a Kustom Quad 200DFX Head into a Hartke GH412A. In my opinion, this guitar is extremely versatile. I can go from an amazing rhythm sound to a surf/rock 'n' roll type of sound with the turn of a tone knob. This guitar sounds very nice distortion wise. I play mostly everything on clean even the majority of lead work I do, but that doesn't mean I do not enjoy a great distortion sound. This guitar sounds great for leads and rhythm on distortion. It is simply amazing on the neck pickup. However, on the bridge, it is lacking. It has no punch at all. On clean, this guitar is great on both pickups. // 9
Action, Fit & Finish: This guitar, with the exception of the strings, came great from the factory. The finish is beautiful in person. The pictures give it no justice. The action was also amazing. It was extremely low for a Fender/Squier, and it had little buzz. However, when I first got it, it buzzed like crazy. However, when I switched to D'Addario 10's, the buzz was eliminated. // 10
Reliability & Durability: I play this guitar on stage three times a week. It definitely withstands Live playing. The hardware seems indestructible. I can definitely depend on it at all times to sound great. The finish is great, and for the 2 months that I've owned it, I've discovered that it'd not wearing off any time soon. // 10
Impression: I play a variety of music styles (grunge, real punk rock, alternative, shoegazing, folk, jazz, blues, garage, experimental, noise pop, bluegrass, '50s rock and roll type of stuff, psychedelic rock, classic rock, progressive, a bit of metal (not hair metal, but more of some Iron Maiden type of stuff), funk, and more) This guitars suits many of them well. If it were stolen, I'd buy a new one. I love the guitar's tone, finish, and design a lot. It exceeds my friend's Epiphone Les Paul Standard by leaps and bounds. I play many inexpensive guitars, and I can honestly say this guitar is one of the best deal around. // 10
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on october 17, 2005 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 420.9
Purchased from: Total Music Technology
Features: The Squier Jagmaster is one of the coolest looking guitars I have ever seen, although a lot of people think that the silver sparkle finish looks tacky. I have the old Jagmaster, as a new model has been released. I got it at the start of december, 2004, so it is almost a year old now. The body is alder, the neck is maple and the fretboard is rosewood. The hardware is all chrome. The only critism I have with the hardware is that the tuners are next to useless if you are a whammy freak. Still, even if you paid an extra £50 and got a high end set by a brand name, I doubt that divebombing relentlessly would keep you in tune unless you got a floyd rose. The guitar is very, very big. Not as big as a 355, but massive. Bigger than a Les Paul but slightly thinner. You'll have a hard time getting a case. I ended up buying a padded bass bag for mine (at no extra cost than a guitar bag, you got nothin to lose), it fits in great. You can put it in a padded guitar bag, but the top of the headstock doesn't quite fit in. The pickups on this are quite good HH) but I'll come to them later. You get one volume and one tone control as well, as well as a 3 way selector. I am not sure when it was made, but it would probably have been very roughly around 2000, and in the east, probably Korea. // 9
Sound: I play my Jagmaster through a Marshall M15CDR and the tone is ok. You won't get a much better tone out of that amp if you plug a PRS in. The same applies to the Squier 10 Watt amp I use for my guitar lessons, any guitar in there sounds crap. I use a boss chorus pedal with the jag sometimes, and the pickups are quite good for that. The pickups are half decent, too. Much better than an affinity model with a humbucker, for example a fat Strat. The pickups are a lot better than the one on the Marshall Rocket Special I had, which cost roughly half the price. The neck pickup is quite warm, the tone is too deep to sound like an acoustic guitar, and is average on overdrive: I don't like neck pickups for overdrive, but the tone is pretty much identical to the neck pup on my friend's Epiphone LP custom if you play 'em both with the same amp. The middle setting, which uses both humbuckers, is good for clean. Not as good as a real acoustic, obviously, but not that many electric guitars that aren't semi-hollowbodies really are without an acoustic simulator or something. The bridge humbucker is a lot to write home on. It's not too jangly, it's not too deep, it roars without being muddy. The tone is lovely. Anyone who is into music from the '70s and '80s could like this tone, I think. I use it to play punk, the sound is nice and thick, and with the right amp settings you can produce raw and raunchy fuzztones. It probably isn't brilliant for nu metal, because the tone isn't especially saturated. But I don't care about that. In the punk spirit, I am going to give it 77%, which comes out as an 8/10. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: The action is pretty nice. Much lower and playable than my friend's guitarists' BC rich warlock and satch Ibanez (out of the box, that is). I play rhythm guitar and vocals. Fast action is important to me because I play very fast - I play barre chords the same speed as most guitarists would play power or drop d power chords. And I don't slide my hand. I like to mention that part because if I don't I won't get taken seriously as a guitarist, and neither will the guitar. It had to be said. The guitar was set up fine, no fret buzz, until I took it back to the shop to have its free set up (you get a free setup after 6 weeks to compensate for the storage location room temperature) Skeptically, I think it was better before the free set up. But I raised the bridge and it's fine, and still quite low. The hardware wasn't rusted when I got it, but because I didn't have a proper sized case for a while, the screws of the tuners rusted a bit. So I took them out, soaked them it vodka overnight, and ta-da. The factory strings weren't great, but I wasn't expecting d'addarios. At least they didn't rust after one day like Ernie Ball's do. I haven't looked inside the axe, but if it is stuffed with wood chips, a properly manufactured model must be really amazing. There weren't any flaws when I got it, but there's a few dents in the neck now because with my well overlarge feet I am a bit clumsy, but at least they're not in a place where I feel them with my thumb when I am playing, because I get pissed off when that happens. That happened to my Rocket Special. // 9
Reliability & Durability: I have played with this live. The strap buttons aren't great, but I filled the holes with wood glue and put straplocks on. I used to unwind strings from the bridge when I played, and I thought it was the Strat type saddles, but it turned out to be my playing style, I was pulling the strings up with my pick. I think that the finish is ok. I spilled white spirit on the axe once, but it didn't come off. The think that they put extra gloss lacquer on this to make it super shiny. I wouldn't use it without a backup unless I didn't have a backup? Why? because I am liable to break strings and trip over cables onstage. One time I tripped over and kicked in a PA speaker. I would even have a backup if I played bass. I wouldn't ever advise anyone not to have a backup guitar. // 8
Impression: If my Jagmaster were stolen, I would be pretty pissed off because I am not made of money and don't really have loads of money to spend on guitar products (that's what comes from having good, protective parents - they buy me stuff rather than leave me to my own devices). However, I am currently having this guitar ensured by the musicians' union, so I would use the money, if they didn't get me a new one, to get either the same guitar again, or buy a Yamaha pacifica 112, because it is the best guitar for under £170 you can buy. It doesn't look as nice as the Jagmaster, and you probably can't get it in the colour I want) but it is a very, very good axe. I asm a believer in value for money, and the £200 price range is the best guitar, this is proved by comparing it to my friend Paul's Les Paul Custom. It cost more than twice as much, and is identical, expect the jag is eaiser to play, and also it isn't as much as a pain to sit down with - all guitars will hurt your leg after a while. // 9
Reviewed by:
LoveBuzz87, on june 26, 2006 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: 2nd Hand
Features: Great guitar for the price. One of the higher end squier models. Mine is made in China. 21 fret rosewood fingerboard with a short 24" lenth. Solid top. Body is made of alder, with a sunburst paint job. The body style is a Jaguar, with a Jazzmaster electronics/pickgaurd. It features a Strat style bridge. Has 2 humbuckers, Duncan Designed, powered by 3-way toggle switch. // 10
Sound: I play mostly grunge and classic rock, wierd combonation huh? I am using a Roland Micro Cube, with a Boss DS-1 Distortion pedal. It's not noisy at all and has great sustain. Very rich sounding. It's a very versatail guitar. // 9
Action, Fit & Finish: My guitar came very well set up, dead on intonation and pickups were ready to go out of the box. No flaws with this one. // 10
Reliability & Durability: This guitar is kind of vanurable to small bands it chips. The hardware lasts, the only thing I replaced were the tuners. I can depend on it, and I don't think I would need a backup. I think the finish will wear off from bumping it, it like the laquer and paint bonded hard. // 7
Impression: It's a great match and versatail guitar to play. I have been playing for 2 years now, this is the only guitar I own at the moment. I recomment it to anyone looking for a great budget guitar, Squier did a great job with making this guitar. If it was stolen I problably would buy a differnt guitar, but it would be a hard decision! // 10
Reviewed by:
Y0UNGBL00D, on august 14, 2007 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 250
Purchased from: guitar center VA beach
Features: As far as I can tell it is an '07, crafted in china. 22 fret, 24" scale, rosewood w/ pearloid inlays, thin, vintage-tinted neck with medium frets. Solid-body, bolt on neck, 60's style fat headstock. 3 tone sunburst with red tortoiseshell on parchment pick guard and white pickups and controls. Jaguar style body, Standard Fender tremolo bridge. Double-humbucker Duncan Designed pickups. 1 volume, 1 tone pot, 3-way pickup Switch with white switch cap. // 6
Sound: The Jagmaster is perfectly suited for beefy rock tones as well as treble-laden surf rock. It leans more toward the hard rock side due to the dual-humbucker configuration. I'm running it through a Fender tuner, Dunlop micro amp boost, EHX metal muff, EHX big muff pi, EHX #1 echo delay, EHX small clone phaser, EHX small clone chorus and a voodoo labs tremolo into a Marshall valvestate VS100R 100W combo and a generic 4X12 cab, with an EHX holy grail reverb pedal in the effects loop. The instrument is completely hum-free and setup/ pickup selection are a breeze. The pickup selector on lower bout keeps it out of the strum pattern, but still very convenient. The Duncan Designed bridge pickup is voiced rather trebly for a humbucker, yielding toward classic Fender surf tones more than one would expect. The middle position is perfect for my tastes, with chiming tone both rich and full, and the Duncan neck position humbucker is very deep and rich, begging for jazz and blues riffs. The Duncan pickups provide tone previously unavailable in Squier guitars, and this may be the best sounding guitar for the price on the market at present time. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: The instrument was set up perfectly from the factory, somewhat to my surprise, with Fender Bullet light gauge strings. The action and intonation also astonished me for an axe in this price range. Pickup height was also set up perfect. There are no finish flaws or material flaws from the factory, but there was a small chip in the finish due to mine being a floor model. The tuners all work extremely accurately and smoothly, with a high end feel to them, yet another amazing characteristic for the Jagmaster. All switches and controls were spot on and tight. The nut and bridge were also very accurately cut and aligned. Sadly, this guitar only comes in two finishes, the other being black and white. I'll be waiting for surf green and white to come out. All in all, if I were blindfolded, the setup and action on this guitar would make believe I was playing an MIA Fender. // 10
Reliability & Durability: I don’t like to play live with any guitar without a backup, but the Jagmaster will take anything you can throw at it. The bolt-on neck is very durable, as well as easily replaceable in comparison to set neck guitars, if lacking slightly in lower and deeper tone and sustain. It’s as solid as any Fender guitar made. The strap buttons are wide enough so they don’t fall through my worn strap slots, and the jack and controls seem well built and solid. // 7
Impression: I have been playing for over ten years and own my weight in gold in guitars. Today when I walked into Guitar Center to buy strings, I ran across the Jagmaster sitting all alone. I’ve been searching for a lower priced Jaguar for a while, so it immediately caught my eye. It looked absolutely stunning in it's classic combination of sixties vintage sunburst and red tortoiseshell with white accoutrements. I had absolutely NO intention of buying a guitar, let alone a Squier, but I grabbed it, plugged it into a Marshall TSL, and it captivated me. Then I looked at the tag to see if it indeed was $600 or so like it should be, and it was only $250. I spoke with the salesman, a good friend of mine, and he was quite angry at the fact that I was even considering grabbing the only one in the store. So, of course, I did. If it were stolen, it's price tag would certainly ease the reacquiring of a new one. This is definitely an axe that will fit professional as well as beginner needs, and you can light it on fire and throw it around on stage. If it brakes, you can just eat ramen and buy a new one next week. Why Squier has the price set so low is a mystery all of us can capitalize on. // 10
BrianApocalypse
: The Silver Sparkle version is gonna be worth more than a few quid in a few years... mark my words. POSTED: 01/28/2007 - 02:10 am / quote|
metalfla5h
: Would this be a good guitar for slide? POSTED: 04/08/2007 - 02:15 pm / quote|
+Ska-Kid+
: I'm thinking about getting this guitar, I wish their was a real Fender version. POSTED: 08/05/2007 - 10:10 pm / quote|
Y0UNGBL00D
: it works well with slide, i assure you. but you really want an extra guitar set up solely for slide if you can help it. with fatter strings and higher action. and if you are going to be kleeping it in open E tuning (a lot of slide players in cluding my self do) make sure its got a beefy neck to support the added tension. POSTED: 08/15/2007 - 04:45 pm / quote|
I'm thinking about getting this guitar, I wish their was a real Fender version.
yeah it sucks that the fender ones are both covered in those ugly ass switches. they are the same as the ones on my home made wah wah. what do they actually do though, the website doesnt even mention them. POSTED: 10/28/2007 - 06:42 am / quote|
I'm thinking about getting this guitar, I wish their was a real Fender version.
yeah it sucks that the fender ones are both covered in those ugly ass switches. they are the same as the ones on my home made wah wah. what do they actually do though, the website doesnt even mention them.
Are you kidding?
The Jazzmaster and Jaguar are the ****ing epitome of Fender guitars. The switches add versatility. The body shape grows on you I guess POSTED: 11/16/2007 - 09:41 pm / quote|
nirvanapwns
: i want this one i need it POSTED: 12/15/2007 - 11:57 am / quote|
I'm thinking about getting this guitar, I wish their was a real Fender version.
yeah it sucks that the fender ones are both covered in those ugly ass switches. they are the same as the ones on my home made wah wah. what do they actually do though, the website doesnt even mention them.
Are you kidding?
The Jazzmaster and Jaguar are the ****ing epitome of Fender guitars. The switches add versatility. The body shape grows on you I guess
COMPLETELY FREAKIN AGREEEEE
jazzmaster/jaguars and another one of my personal favorites the MUSTANG
are the best guitars fender has ever made. POSTED: 02/06/2008 - 11:48 pm / quote|
qotsa1998
: I like these alot. Better than paying $1000 for a Fender one, And with the Duncan Designed humbuckers, it sounds pretty good, too. Id love one, and for only around $200, its rather affordable. POSTED: 02/07/2008 - 04:09 pm / quote|
nirvanapwns
: ipve been thinking on this for a few months and i´ve decided i´m gonna get this put som dean markley strings 10-52 and then put a DiMazio super distortion humbucker on the bridge POSTED: 02/28/2008 - 08:03 pm / quote|
godisasniper
: I'm saving for one of these right now...I played one a month or so ago in GC...I love it. Plus its basically Gavin Rossdale's sig model. POSTED: 04/13/2008 - 01:16 pm / quote|
601210
: Quick question, would it be possible to get one of these, then switch out the pickups for Jazzmaster pickups? POSTED: 04/17/2008 - 09:04 am / quote|
rockernow
: Are the pickups good enough for me to keep them instead of switching them out for real duncan humbuckers? POSTED: 05/21/2008 - 07:00 pm / quote|
RandyRhoads2
: So how is this compared to a G 400 SG? I want one of these but I already have a squier. POSTED: 06/09/2008 - 08:53 pm / quote|
So how is this compared to a G 400 SG? I want one of these but I already have a squier.
mmm i'd also like to know, cos i may move on from my pacifica soon POSTED: 06/10/2008 - 01:00 pm / quote|
shadow__666
: I became interested in this because I thought it would be similiar to a Jaguar, but for my limited budget. After reading these reviews, I think I know the answer. POSTED: 07/08/2008 - 05:54 pm / quote|
joyc
: id like to have this..!hopefully...tsk,tsk
!! POSTED: 07/19/2008 - 06:03 am / quote|
/ my profile 
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