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The Fender Jag-Stang is an electric guitar
designed by Kurt Cobain, of the band Nirvana, intended as a hybrid
of two Fender electric guitars: the Jaguar
and the
Mustang. Cobain suggested his idea for an instrument 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 unsatisfied
with the result and hence never completed revisions for the
instrument before his death in April 1994.
Kurt Cobain's original concept for the Jagstang
Cobain's prototype Jag-Stang had a Fender Texas special pickup in
the neck and a DiMarzio H-3 in the bridge. (The H-3 humbucker is not
available as an individual product but the closest sounding one is
the DiMarzio Evolution Pickup. Kurt is said to have hated the H-3
pickup and preferred the
Seymour Duncan JB) The production model 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 some criticism over the quality of the pickups and
the overall lack of craftsmanship of the Jag-Stang, but many owners
argue that this makes the guitar even more unique and in a way
epitomises the grunge mindset of its designer.
Originally produced in the fall of 1995, after Kurt Cobain's death,
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.
Sorry You're Gone, Rest In Peace.
ERB |
