SeriesFender Classic Player

Model Name: Classic Player Jaguar® Special HH Series: Classic Player Color / MSRP* / Part # : Olympic White $1,199.99 014-1710-305 3-Color Sunburst $1,199.99 014-1710-300 Body Body: Alder Body Shape: Jaguar® Body Finish: (0141710305, 0141710300) Polyester Neck Neck Shape: "C" Shape Number of Frets: 22 Fret Size: Medium Jumbo Position Inlays: Vintage Ivory Dots Fretboard Radius: 9.5" (24.1 cm) Fretboard: Rosewood Neck Material: Maple Neck Finish: Gloss Urethane Nut Width: 1.650” (42 mm) Scale Length: 24" (61 cm) Neck Plate: Vintage Style 4 Bolt Truss Rod Nut: Original Vintage Style Electronics Pickup Configuration: H/H Bridge Pickup: Enforcer™ Humbucking Pickup (Bridge) Neck Pickup: Enforcer™ Humbucking Neck Pickup Pickup Switching: Neck Pickup On/Off Slide Switch, Bridge Pickup On/Off Slide Switch, Normal/Low Cut Slide Switch Controls: Master Volume, Master Tone Hardware Hardware: Chrome Bridge: Adjusto-Matic™ Bridge with Vintage Style "Floating" Tremolo Tailpiece and Tremolo Lock Button String Nut: Synthetic Bone Tremolo Arm/Handle: Screw-In Style Jaguar/Jazzmaster Tremolo Arm Auxiliary Switching: Master Kill Slide Switch, Neck Pickup Humbucking/Single-Coil Blend Control, Bridge Pickup Humbucking/Single-Coil Blend Control Miscellaneous Strings: Fender® USA Super 250R, NPS, (.010-.046 Gauges) Unique Features: 2 Enforcer™ Humbucking Pickups, Adjusto-Matic™ Bridge, Medium Jumbo Frets, New Neck Pocket Cut Provides Better Pitch, 9.5" Radius, Trem Plate Moved Closer to Bridge to Increase Break Angle and Sustain, Screw-In Tremolo Arm, Black Plastic Knobs and Switches, Humbucker/Single-Coil Blend Controls, Black Plastic Knobs and Switches Accessories Case/Gig Bag: Deluxe Gig Bag Included Accessories: Deluxe Gig Bag Control Knobs: Black Plastic Knobs My question for Fender is this - why are you just putting this guitar out in 2011? People have been routing humbuckers into old Jaguars regularly since at least the 70s, and many very prominent rock stars were playing humbucker-equipped Jags starting in the early 1990s. It was a shame, because these rock stars took old, valuable vintage instruments, and hacked them up, creating what to them would be a perfect, usable guitar. Fender could have cornered a serious market in 1992 if they'd have just put this out then. This Jaguar plays just like an old Jag, and looks just like an old Jag. However, with the addition of some decent humbuckers, this guitar is now infinitely more usable than an old Jag for most styles of music, since the pickups have more power and don't hum when a load of distortion is used. The pickups have decent clarity, good power, and the guitar sustains for a significant amount of time. The tremolo system seems to work better than the older Jag trems - I remember them being a struggle to keep in tune, and this guitar is quite good at staying in tune. Playability is quite nice on it, with a shorter scale length and great neck. The guitar just begs to have big stretch chords played on it, and I was happy to oblige. Over all, this is a very nice instrument, and I'm still baffled as to why Fender didn't make this years ago.

The Fender Classic Player 50's Stratocaster is a product released to help rejuvenate and bring quality to the Made in Mexico line of guitars. The guitar is similar to the old school '50s strats in that it has an alder body, maple neck, 21 medium jumbo frets, vintage tremolo, a 9.5'' radius, SSS configuration with a 5 way switch, one volume and two tone pots. UTILIZATION The guitar is similar to the regular Mexican line of guitars, but the one I played seems to have both better pickups and better fit + finish. The body is pretty much the standard '50s strat body that has been used for awhile in their line up, but the neck is a softer V shaped neck. Since it's a V neck, it won't be for everyone, but I find the soft edged V shape to be very comfortable to where it shouldn't be a big issue. The 9.5'' radius is standard on these guitars, and while I'm not a fan of the smaller radius, it works for a lot of people. I really wish it had 22 frets, but considering it's meant to be a '50s strat, it's forgivable. The fretwork on the one I played seems to be better than the normal MIM line. Not sure if that's due to luck or what. SOUNDS The guitar sounds quite nice, and I could easily live with the stock pickups in this. The singles have that signature hum going on, but they also have all the great qualities that most people look for in singles. They're vowely, quack nicely, have some decent power and work great in both clean and mid gain tones. OVERALL OPINION If you're looking for a nice quality MIM strat without breaking the bank, you should really look into checking this guitar out. They go pretty cheap on the used market, and it can rival some of the MIA strats out there. Like all Fenders, you should really play one before you actually buy, but I don't think you'll be too disappointed with this guitar as long as you're not one of those people who absolutely needs the Fender custom shop quality guitar.

The Black Dove telecaster is a cool little guitar. It is based off of the 72 Telecaster Deluxe design but instead of two widerange humbuckers you get two P90s instead. The 72 Deluxe is the base for lots of customized Telecasters and this is just one of the variants that Fender puts out. This guitar feels more like a Les Paul than a Telecaster. The 72 Deluxe was designed to get more Gibson players over to Fender so it has a different feel. The guitar has an alder body with a bolt on 1 piece maple neck. The neck has a maple fretboard with a flatter radius than normally found on a Telecaster. The frets are 21 jumbo frets which are also bigger than normal Tele frets. Up top you get 6 tuners on the big 70s headstock which is part of the Deluxe design. The pickups are two Black Dove Fender P90s. This guitar has the standard Deluxe control layout. It comes with a volume and tone for each pickup and a 3 way toggle on the upper bout. The bridge is a Stratocaster hardtail. There is no uncomfortable ashtray here. UTILIZATION These models play better than normal or vintage style Telecasters. The flatter fretboards and the bigger frets really help you get a lower action on the guitar and make playing much easier. Having the strat style bridge helps as well. I am not a fan of the ash tray bridges. To me they dig into your hand and are hard to intonate. This bridge is perfectly fine for this guitar. The back of the body has a belly cut like a Stratocaster so the body feels comfortable as well. Tele traditionalists may not like the control layout but this guitar is not for traditionalists. SOUNDS The Telecaster and the P90 were made for each other. This guitar has great tone. The guitar still has the twang and quack you expect from a Telecaster but with nice bottom end that stop it from sounding thin like some Telecasters do. This Tele can do a dirty sound better than any other single coil telecater. The P90s love when some dirt is thrown on them. They handle overdrive really well. In the middle position you still get the Tele sound but with more fullness overall. The bridge still has the twang and comes through super clear. OVERALL OPINION This is a great model to the Fender line up. If you are someone who likes the Tele deluxe but cant imagine yourself going fully over to humbuckers this guitar meets you half way there. The P90s have the twang of a single coil with the fullness of a humbucker and you get that in this guitar. If you are a tele player hwo is looking for something different but not totally different this is a good guitar. It has all the twang and quack with a bit of bottom to keep it thick.

This was a Fender Jaguar with single-coil pickups, finished in Candy Apple Red. Primarily a singer, I've been playing guitar for about 10 years, been in a band (drummer!), and have continued to record and play with other musicians on a non-professional basis. My styles range from folk to hard rock, with heavy power-pop leanings -- Big Star, not Green Day. I played this guitar for 10 minutes at Guitar Center in Hollywood, CA. It was selling for $800 or so. The short scale length of this guitar means it's not difficult to play (though it has severe limitations -- see below). It looks nice, with a well applied finish and hardware that inspires confidence. It has a certain thin, wiry sound that is signature to a certain kind of music -- the Television/Elvis Costello sound. There are guitars that you pick up by chance and they instantly feel like old friends. Then there are guitars you fall in love with and can't put down because their sounds draw you in. This Jaguar is neither. I've been fascinated by Jazzmasters and Jaguars for years, and unfortunately they've always rubbed me the wrong way once I picked them up. The Jaguar has so many switch combinations, none of them intuitive, that I felt like I was playing a computer console rather than a guitar. There are at least four or five switch combinations that would turn off your guitar completely. Not sure if that's a design thing or if some of the wiring on this particular guitar is broken, but not good either way -- I don't need five kill switches on my guitar. The Jaguar shares some features that are on two Brian May models I own (one Eastwood copy, one official Brian May Guitars model), and the Brian Mays are far easier to figure out, with much more useful on/off and phase switches that make sense. The Jaguar has a short scale (24") is like the Brian May guitars. But while the shorter length of the Brian May models make the guitars slinkier, more responsive, more comfortable on the left hand and marvelous for bending, those advantages aren't on the Jaguar at all. The frets feel very unfriendly for vibrato and bending; maybe they're too skinny, but it's probably also because this guitar has a long string path, which increases string tension. And this body shape doesn't feel comfortable -- there's so much space after the bridge that you feel like you're lugging a lot more weight outside of the playing areas. Despite its other shortcomings, construction quality is good. The Candy Apple Red finish looks splendid -- one of Fender's masterstrokes -- and all the hardware appears to be well fit. Visually, it's beautiful. The Jazzmaster and Jaguar designs continue to leave me cold. While the Jaguar does have a certain signature sound, I feel I can get the same sound with my Brian May guitars or my Gretsch, and the Jaguar's legion of faults just make it very unappealing to me. I applaud the construction quality and aesthetics on this guitar while being completely unimpressed by its player-comfort and design dimensions. To me, this is just a guitar that's designed wrong, getting wrong all the details that the Fender Telecaster (for sound, utility and layout economy) and Stratocaster (for ergonomics and comfort) had gotten so right. I think the Jaguar is perhaps Fender's greatest failure. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Bought this a Hesse Music in Johnson City, NY about 8 years ago. With a small 15 watt amp it was about $400.00. Love the sound of a tele, the feel of the neck is good, not top heavey. Easy to play with the small narrow neck. On the original there was a staic sound coming through the pick gaurd and was very annoying. After taking it to many shops no one could produce the sound but me. I sheilded the pick gaurd and even rplaced the old one with a celenoid pick gaurd with sheilding. Then after talking to an einginer at the TV station I worked at said to ground the bridge pickup. Now it really cooks except for the noise in the selector switch. With that I use some tuner cleaner evry once in a while and that works for me. Vary solid body with the old paint because it was painted in Mexico. You can't use that kind of paint in the USA so it has a nice blue matalic paint job. I replaced the original pick gaurd, added copper sheilding, and grounded the bridge pickup. This should have been done at the factory. Bottomline is that if you want a Tele don't just get a Fender look around. There are many good guitars around that look like a Tele but are finished guitars from a factory and not the unfinished guitar I bought from Fender at a shop. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

This guitar is a sweet looking guitar. The vintage parts that dress the front look spectacular! The vintage pick guard and tuners are a nice touch to this guitar. The only problem is that its made in Mexico. So the build quality it going to be not quiet as good as the US made. Either way it will be cheaper in price and the look is really what separates this guitar from the others. I am a fan of the relic vintage look on guitars. Though this one is not relic-ed it does have a certain swagger that gives it a nice appeal to a lot of people. I think you can overlook the place it was built for the shear appeal of the this guitar's cosmetics. UTILIZATION Body: Alder Body Shape: Stratocaster® Body Finish: Polyester Neck Neck Shape: "C" Shape Number of Frets: 21 Fret Size: Medium Jumbo Fretboard Radius: 12" Radius (305 mm) Fretboard: Rosewood Neck Material: Maple Neck Finish: Gloss Urethane Nut Width: 1.650” (42 mm) Scale Length: 25.5" (64.8 cm) Neck Plate: Custom 4 Bolt Neckplate Electronics Pickup Configuration: S/S/S Bridge Pickup: Custom '69 Single-Coil Strat® Bridge Pickup Middle Pickup: Custom '69 Single-Coil Strat® Middle Pickup Neck Pickup: Custom '69 Single-Coil Strat® Neck Pickup Pickup Switching: 5-Position Blade: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup, Position 3. Middle Pickup, Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickup, Position 5. Neck Pickup Controls: Master Volume, Tone 1. (Neck Pickup), Tone 2. (Middle Pickup) Hardware Hardware: Chrome Bridge: Vintage Style 2-Point Synchronized Tremolo with Stamped Steel Saddles Tuning Machines: Vintage Style Tuning Machines String Nut: Synthetic Bone Switch Tip: Aged White Switch Tip Tremolo Arm/Handle: Vintage Style Tremolo Arm Tools Saddle Height Adjustment Wrench: .050" Hex (Allen) Wrench Miscellaneous Strings: Fender® USA Super 250R, NPS, (.010-.046 Gauges) Unique Features: Aged Knobs and Switch Tip, Vintage Style Tuning Machines, Custom '69 Single-Coil Strat® Pickups, 21 Medium Jumbo Frets, "Custom Shop Designed" Neck Plate, Vintage Style 2-Point Synchronized Tremolo, 12" Fingerboard Radius, Synthetic Bone Nut Accessories Case/Gig Bag: Deluxe Gig Bag Pickguard: 3-Ply Mint Green Included Accessories: Deluxe Gig Bag Control Knobs: Aged White Plastic Knobs SOUNDS This guitar sound pretty good in most music styles. You won't get this guitar to sound good in any lower than a whole step down. Anyone who plays lower tuner guitars already knows this. I would however replace the pickups in this guitars. These Fender pickups are just garbage and not one of Fender's strong suits. I would probably replace these with some seymour duncan's or Lindy Fralin's. This guitar sounds great with a solid Fender amp. You get a good combination with the this setup. I know these guitars are tuned to their amps and visa versa so it is natural that hooking up a nice Fender Twin Reverb would sound very pleasant. OVERALL OPINION At new these guitars come in at around $799, which isn't a bad price for a col looking guitar. If you can get over the feel of a Mexican made guitar than you will get along with this unit. I would recommend this guitar to anyone who doesn't care where their Fender is made or the feel so much and likes the cosmetics of the guitar. You will need to switch out the pickups to you'll have to tack on about $150+ which brings it up to American made Fender Stratocasters.