Squier Classic Vibe '70s Jaguar, Laurel Fingerboard, Black

Rated 5.00 out of 5

18/2/2021

It's a Beautiful guitar for shoegaze and dream pop

Matthew Catling

Rated 5.00 out of 5

11/2/2021

For the price I think this is a pretty damn good guitar. It came nicely finished with no visible cosmetic issues. Set up well out of the box and accurately intonated. Plays well and sounds very Jaguar like - suitably bright and dark in the right places using the many switch combinations. Once tuned, perfectly playable out of the box. Of course it looks a beast too. The pickups seem qood quality. Machine heads are perfectly serviceable and it holds tune reasonably well for a guitar with a trem system that allows such deep dives. The frets are well finished, sufficiently level and not rough at the ends (although they could be always be better, if being really, really picky). 12th fret action was around 2mm (0.080") and comfortably playable (nut end is a slightly different matter, see below). Only negatives or areas that need attention are the strings, nut and bridge (all well known issues if you do a Google search). It comes with a very light set of 9s - from what I've read Fender originally intended Jaguars to have 11s, so that's what I've now fitted. The nut is cut conservatively high, particulalry on the heavier strings, so could do with some filing to make really super comfortable (not something the inexperienced should probably have a stab at without some research and the - expensive - correct tools). I replaced the nut with a Zero Glide zero fret system and the action is now very low and comfy. Not the easist or indeed the most difficult job (some skills and tools required) but the benefits are manifold - I like a zero fret anyway. The ('Mustang' style - no string jumping like the earlier type) bridge is designed to float back and forth when using the trem - that's fine and works OK but after (only) playing for a few hours I found it had sunk down on the height adjusting screws (i.e. the screws are effectivley loose and due to the vibrations wind themselves up over time) causing too low action, loss of tuning and string buzz. Once all set-up to my liking and at the correct height I applied a drop of loctite to the bottom of the threads to just stop them moving too freely. One other thing is that the neck PU doesn't seem to want to adjust up very much - not yet taken it apart to see why exactly that is or if even it supposed to be like that. Doesn't seem to affect the sound for now though. In summary: great value, good enough out of the box and with a little set-up/some mods or the attention of a luthier not that far off a 'real' Fender Jaguar, for a fraction of the price. I've had vintage semi/hollow bodys before and I like this slightly non-standard solid body. A good project for somebody who likes/wants to tinker and end up with a really good playing/sounding guitar at the end (but isn't too shabby to start with) and that doesn't look like yet another Tele, Strat or Les Paul.

Mr Dan Cross

Rated 5.00 out of 5

10/2/2021

Brilliant love it

Master Joshua John Minshull

Rated 5.00 out of 5

12/11/2020

Great guitar.Looks lovely, plays well.

Marc

Rated 5.00 out of 5

04/11/2020

Great guitar for the money. The setup needed a little work to improve the playability, but useable out of the box. Really unsure about having a light set of strings as standard on a shorter scale guitar - light to the point of floppiness - significantly better with 11-52s - although this may be personal taste. The floating bridge works well with the trem, and the tuning is solid once it had settled in. Tone wise this recreates the typical Jag sound - great at cutting though a mix - takes a bit of work to get it right with the complex electronics, but once their drives both a trans and valve amp effectively - not completely convinced by the bass lift but may need some experimentation! The finish, both of body and neck, is good, and the neck shape makes it very playable

Geoff Smith