Fender Jag-Stang

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Fender Jag-Stang
Manufacturer Fender
Period 1994-2001, 2003-2005
Construction
Body type Solid
Neck joint Bolt-on
Scale 24"
Woods
Body Basswood
Neck Maple
Fretboard Rosewood
Hardware
Bridge "Floating" Tremolo
Pickup(s) Two: "vintage style" single coil, "special design" humbucker
Colors available
Sonic Blue, Fiesta Red

The Fender Jag-Stang is an electric guitar that is a hybrid of two Fender electric guitars: a Fender Jaguar and a Fender Mustang. Kurt Cobain, of the band Nirvana, suggested his idea for an instrument with combined aspects of both instruments to Fender, resulting in two left-handed prototypes built by former Custom Shop Master Builder Larry L. Brooks, only one of which was ever played by Cobain himself.

It has been said that the instrument needed much tweaking before Cobain would have been satisfied with it, and it was shipped back to Fender for repairs before Cobain brought it with him on the European leg of Nirvana's In Utero tour in 1994, where the guitar was seldom played live. Many believe that Cobain was ultimately unhappy with the result and hence never completed revisions for the instrument before his death in April 1994. You can see the guitar short out in Nirvana's live performance on French TV.

The Jag-Stang includes a "vintage style" single coil pickup and one "special design" humbucker, each with its own toggle switch which a player can use to switch from "on," "off," or "out-of-phase" settings. It employs the Mustang's "Dynamic Vibrato" bridge and like both of its predecessors, it has a 24" short scale neck (an exact replica of Cobain's favorite neck, from a Fender Mustang).

There has been much criticism of the weak pickups and overall lack of craftsmanship of the Jag-Stang.

Originally produced in the fall of 1995, after the death of Kurt Cobain, Fender Japan reissued the Jag-Stang two years after its 2001 cancellation due to popular demand. Fender once again discontinued importing the Jag-Stang as of 2005.

Cobain's Sonic Blue Jag-Stang was given to R.E.M.'s Peter Buck by Courtney Love after Cobain died. He can be seen playing it on "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" music video. Mike Mills, also from R.E.M., plays this same guitar in concert during the song "Let Me In", which itself is a tribute to Kurt Cobain. An example of this can be seen on their Road Movie DVD.

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Guitar Info Your guitar was made at the Fuji-gen Plant (for Fender Japan), Japan in the Year(s): 1985 - 1986