Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Olympic White Olympic White RW

General

It might not be as popular as the Strat or Tele but the Jaguar is just as legendary. The original was introduced in 1962 and Squier have now made a very affordable version of this guitar. This white Vintage Modified Jaguar has the same classic features, including the shorter 24-inch scale length, dual single-coil pickups and an asymmetrical body with vibrato bridge. It wouldn't be a Vintage Modified though if it didn't have some modifications, which is why Squier equipped this guitar with high-quality Duncan Designed pickups and a modern flat fretboard for extra comfort while playing. This guitar takes you back to the sixties with its vintage-style red tortoise pickguard and Fender's popular Olympic White finish.

Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar: old and new features

This Jag combines classic looks with modern details such as two single-coil pickups, designed by none other than Seymour Duncan, that provide that characteristic sharp and clear sound that let the Jaguar woo the surf scene in the '60s. Nowadays, this guitar is much loved among punk and rock guitarists for its ability to cut through the mix perfectly. Also, Squier have given the Jaguar a flatter 9.5-inch radius and 22 medium jumbo frets that allow for extra low action without clattering or loss of notes. To complete the vintage look, the neck has a yellow-tinted high-gloss lacquer on the back and cream-coloured clay dot position markers on the front.

Two switchable tone circuits

A characteristic feature of the Jaguar are its two independent tone circuits. A slide switch above the neck pickup lets you turn the rhythm circuit on or off. The rhythm circuit uses only the neck pickup and lets the two horizontal disc knobs function as volume and tone control. In this mode the neck pickup sounds a little darker than it does in lead mode. If you turn on the lead circuit, the two black potentiometers beneath the bridge function as volume and tone controls for both pickups, while the three little slider switches enable you to turn the neck and/or bridge pickup on or off and engages an alternative circuit that gives the guitar a fiercer sound by using a special capacitor.

The Squier brand

Ever since Fender introduced their first electric guitar in the fifties, many competing manufacturers have produced cheap imitations of variable quality. To offer you the same reliability, sound and playability as the original at a reasonable price, Fender started a subsidiary in 1982: Squier, not to be confused with the Fender Esquire! Squier's guitars and bass guitars are built under supervision and by specifications of Fender itself, assuring you purchase an authentic, quality instrument.

• Please note: for an overview of the knobs and their different functions please see the practical interactive guitar.