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Squier Standard Jagmaster

 

Review of the Squier Standard Jagmaster by The Man in the Jar

Features of the Squier Standard Jagmaster 

Tuners - Unbranded mini-tuners with small knobs worked well.

Headstock - The Jagmaster shares the same scroll-design headstock as her more famous sister, the Stratocaster.

Nut - The white plastic nut is a set-in-slot type and is tidily finished.

Neck - The bolt-on maple C-profile neck is smooth and comfortable to hold, being slightly slimmer than, for instance, a Telecaster. The wood has been stained slightly to give the look that maple normally requires years of exposure to daylight to achieve. There's no skunk-stripe on this model.

Fretboard - The light brown rosewood fretboard has a pleasing straight grain. Traditional dot markers are inlaid in pearloid.

Frets - The medium-large rounded profile frets are well-polished. 

Action - Shockingly low from the box, making this guitar one of the nicest players I've tried in a long time.

Body - The Jagmaster body has a lot thicker waist than the Stratocaster and consequently the Alder slab feels physically larger and heavier. But the smooth outlines of the body and the usual Fender comfort contouring mean it doesn't feel at all unwieldy.

Bridge - Standard Fender-style vibrato bridge, secured by six screws in front of the saddles. Underneath the bridge, in a cavity, sits the vibrato block through which the strings are anchored. Accessible through a panel in the back are the three springs which balance the vibrato block against the tension of the strings. This type of unit is not designed for modern dive-bombing trem antics. The vibrato arm slots into a hole on the lower margin of the bridge. Each of the six bridge saddles is individually adjustable for height and intonation.

Pickups - Two Seymour Duncan designed open-coil humbuckers are mounted on the scratchplate. 

Controls - One Volume and one Tone sit below the bridge and the three-way selector switch sits on the lower horn.

Scratchplate - The Jagmaster has an expansive scratchplate that covers most half the body. Tortoiseshell is the predominant colour, but this sits on a ply of white which in turn sits on a ply of black, giving a nice line of definition to the edge of the plate. 

Strap-buttons - There are two smallish strap buttons, one on the base of the body and one on the upper horn.

Output Jack - On the tail of the scratchplate just below the Tone control.

Finish - Nicely finished throughout.

 

Sound of the Squier Standard Jagmaster

Although it's a double humbucker guitar the Jagmaster refuses to yield the typical Fender family traits. There's still plenty of brash treble response for thrashing indie and neo-punk rock rhythms, even running the neck pickup alone has the alder and maple combination delivering an airiness to the tone. Perhaps the best of the Jagmaster sounds comes when you run the pickups together. Here the tone loses its teenage pout and delivers a deeper well-balanced jangle.  

 

Overall Impressions of the Squier Standard Jagmaster

It seems to be an unwritten rule that the Jag-style Fenders require a certain rebelliousness in their players. Maybe the Strat's dumpy sister just likes a bit of rough. In any event the looks and voice of this guitar mean that it's not a "mainstream" instrument. But if your style of music and your attitude suit the Jagmaster you will really enjoy this superbly playable and idiosyncratic guitar. And for around £200 you'll have scored a bargain as well.  

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