Fender Introduces American Standard Jaguar Bass

Fender is adding a Jaguar model to their American Standard bass lineup, which will be the first U.S.-made Jaguar bass. Built in their Corona, California plant, the American Standard Jaguar Bass will be built with an alder body finished in 3-color Sunburst, Olympic White, Black, or Mystic Red.

Fender American Standard Jaguar Bass Sunburst (crop)

Each bass will be loaded with a P/J pickup configuration consisting of a Precision pickup made with alnico 5 magnets and a Jazz Bass bridge pickup made with ceramic bar magnets with hex-screw pole pieces. Similar to the Jaguar style, it has many tonal options thanks to active/passive electronics with the Jaguar’s recognizable control layout. The lower control plate holds the master volume and tone knobs, while the upper plate has an active/passive slide switch and thumb wheels for treble and bass boost or cuts. The third control plate has switches to turn each pickup on or off and a switch to toggle series or parallel modes when both pickups are on.

Fender fits the bass with High-Mass Vintage bridges with the option for top loading or string-through-body and their “F” lightweight vintage-paddle tuning machines. Other features include a maple neck, 9.5”-radius rosewood fingerboard with pearloid block inlays, and a stealth “A” string retainer.

The Fender American Standard Jaguar Bass is shipping soon with a street price around $1,499.

Fender American Standard Jaguar Bass Photos:

Fender American Standard Jaguar Bass Specs:

Body Wood:Alder
Body Finish:Gloss Polyurethane
Neck:Maple, Modern “C” Shape
Neck Finish:Satin Urethane with Gloss Headstock Face
String Nut:Bone, 1.50″ (38.1 mm)
Fingerboard:Rosewood, 9.5″ Radius (241 mm)
Frets:20, Medium Jumbo
Position Inlays:White Pearloid Block
Scale Length:34″ (864 mm)
Hardware:Chrome
Bridge:4-Saddle High-Mass Vintage (String-Through-Body or Topload)
Tuning Machines:Fender “F” Lightweight Vintage-Paddle Keys with Tapered Shafts
Pickups:Single-Coil Jazz Bass® with Adjustable Hex Screw Pole Pieces, American Vintage ’62 Split Single-Coil Precision Bass®
Pickup Switching:Lower Switch Plate - P Bass® Pickup On/Off Slide Switch, J Bass® Pickup On/Off Slide Switch, Series/Parallel Slide Switch (Operates Only When Both Pickups are On)
Electronics:9V Active Preamp
Controls:Lower Control Plate - Master Volume, Master Tone (Functions in Passive Mode Only); Upper Control Plate - Active/Passive Slide Switch, Treble Boost/Cut Thumb Wheel, Bass Boost/Cut Thumb Wheel
Pickguard:4-Ply Brown Shell on (700, 705), 3-Ply Mint Green on (706, 794)
Strings:Fender® USA NPS, (.045, .065, .085, .105)
Case/Gig Bag:Hardshell Case
Other Features:Posiflex Graphite Neck Support Rods, Stealth “A” String Retainer, Single Disk String Tree, Oversized Strap Retaining Strap Buttons, Black Jazz Bass Control Knobs, Rear Mounted Battery Compartment, “Spaghetti” Fender Logo

For more information:
Fender

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Share your thoughts

  1. if you have to ask you dont get it, michael whalen

  2. I love the shape and the pups, but what I’ve never liked about the Jaguar is that it has too many switches… It looks line a plane cockpit… Just give me a tone and a volume for each pickup and that’s it.

  3. I’ve always loved the Jaguar body shape. I think it’s very cool that this model has gotten popular enough that they’re making an American Standard version. A fretless version of this would be a killer instrument – I’d probably have to buy one!

  4. Paul C

    I certainly love my Japanese Red version with matching headstock! No doubt the ‘murican versions are nice too!

  5. Keith DiGiovanni

    I would LOVE to have this in sunburst! Might even give up my Thunderbird…

      • Keith

        Wanna bet? I have a Fender P-bass clone (a pawn shop buy) that I put a high-mass bridge on and added chrome flatwounds…OMG! I prefer it over the T-Bird…If I ever had the chance, I’d take the Jaguar bass over the T-Bird.

        • I put a high mass bridge on my T-Bird…and on my Jag. They get along very nicely. ;)

          • Keith

            I put a Webbteca mod bar on my T-Bird….it gives a bit more space between the end of the strings and the saddles, so no more stripping silk threads off of new strings. It also improved the sustain.

          • Keith

            although I am very intrigued by the fender Classic Player Rascal bass that they introduced this week….short scale, 3 SD lipstick tube pickups, and 7 pickup combinations: neck only, middle only, bridge only, neck/middle, bridge/middle, neck/bridge, and neck/middle/bridge

  6. As someone who has one of the first run of the CIJ and has changed everything but the neck and body, I can say that they are wonderful basses and hopefully the American series will save people a lot of work/time. Aside from the high mass bridge and the P configuration in the front pickup, I can’t see any difference that would make this worth $800 more than I bought mine for. Between the Fender 60’s Custom Shop Jazz pickups, custom chrome mirror pick guard, Badass II bridge, all new electronics/wiring (to fix the grounding/hum issue the CIJ models have), Telecaster Bass knobs, and bone nut, I’ve invested about $700 in mine but it looks like this:

    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150388872375093&set=a.10150388871275093.612788.728560092&type=3&theater

    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152791579775093&set=a.10150267712220093.518025.728560092&type=3&theater

    After everything I’ve done, I have the best 4 string I could ever ask for.

    • Keith DiGiovanni

      Hey Kurt…
      So you invested $700 to bring your CIJ “up to snuff”…so did this include your labor time and the hassles? Seems to me if the American solves all the issues it would be well worth the $800 price upgrade…just sayin’. :)

      • I did the labor myself and I feel like she and I really got to know each other ;) The hassle was dealing with the loud buzz/grounding issue that they were infamous for. I hope that the Americans are all fixed and worth it, and until then I’ve got a gorgeous matching headstock.

        • Keith DiGiovanni

          i DO love the looks of the pickguard on yours!

          • Thanks :) I had an auto body shop cut it for me. They also did the clear bra coating on the autographs.

          • Keith DiGiovanni

            I hope it wasn’t a GM shop…your pickguard might get recalled!

  7. Sam Madden

    I’s never going to happen because it’s a fender but I’d love a 6 string Jag bass.

  8. God I love the jaguar shape, they need this bass in surf green!! Love the tone as well, wish I had 1,500 dollhairs.

  9. Just how neck heavy are these going to be?