Review: Squier Jagmaster

Well, yesterday I was surfing around in youtube and stumbled upon a guy playing his Fender Jaguar. I thought of doing a review of it but decided against it mainly because this blog deals with beginner to mid-tier guitars. So, here's Squier's take on the Fender Jaguar: the Squier Jagmaster. Enjoy!

Features: This is a 2006 Squier Jagmaster, Made in China. Its got your basic 2 humbuckers, toggle switch, single volume and tone controls. It is built out of alder, with a maple neck and a rosewood fretboard with 21 frets. It has an offset style of body similar to the Fender Jaguar and Jazzmaster guitars. I'm giving it a 7, not because its lacking in features but because you can get more features for the price if you so desire. // 7

Sound: I play mainly pop punk, with some blues and classic rock and the twin humbuckers suit it very well. I am using it with a Crate V5 amp and currently a Boss SD-1 overdrive pedal. despite it having "humbucker pickups" it is fairly noisy on both clean and with overdrive, and I have played it though several amps so I'm sure its the guitar. It is a jack of all trades type of guitar, it can handle almost anything to ask it to do, from blues to heavy metal, however it's better at stuff like blues and classic rock than metal. // 7

Action, Fit & Finish: I purchased this guitar used off of Ebay so I do not know how the factory setup was however when I recieved it it was very well set up. It didn't have any major problems besides many nicks in the finish from being thrown around by the pervious owner but the hardware and neck were all in tune and I havn't needed to adjust it in the 2 years that I've had it. // 9

Reliability & Durability: This guitar is pretty durable. I have played it in several band practices but no gigs yet. One of the things that would be a problem once I start giging is that it doesn't hold its tuning for very long. In paticular the G string comes untuned after about half an hour of playing without using the whammy bar. With the whammy bar all of the strings stay in tune as along as you don't use the bar very often or very hard. I would not gig without a back guitar because strings break and other stuff happens and its just stupid to go without a backup. // 7

Impression: my overall impression is that for $155 this is a very good guitar. It isn't the best out there but it can hold its own against any that retail for under $450-500(it retails for $280). When I bought this guitar I didn't know what I was looking for and I got it because it was cheaper than the Fender Jaguar while still being somewhat similar. I ended up getting a diamod in the rough. If it was lost of stolen I'd probably save for a few more months and get a higher end guitar like a Gibson faded SG. I would not reccomdend getting this if you have been playing guitar for a few years unless money is really tight or you are looking for a project guitar. However if you have a beginner guitarist looking for your first electric I say get it or another member of Squiers classic vibe/vintage modified series its well worth it.// 8