Chicago Music Exchange Exclusive, the Squier Classic Vibe '70s Jaguar in Blue Sparkle

On the bench today is the Chicago Music Exchange Exclusive, the Squier Classic Vibe '70s Jaguar in Blue Sparkle with matching headstock.

If I see a Jazzmaster or Jaguar with a matching headstock I go into an impulsive purchase mode. They are damn handsome guitars. I saw a while ago that CME was going to release this guitar and was taking pre-orders. I think at any given time I must have four to six Squier guitars on preorder with CME and other resellers.

I recently discovered that I really like guitars with a Blue Sparkle finish. I have to chuckle because I sound like a little girl describing my favorite Little Pony. I actually sold a Squier Jaguar I had in my collection so I could without guilt purchase this guitar in blue sparkle. Do I need another Squier Jaguar? No. Do I need one in blue sparkle – Hell yes, I do!

I own multiple Jazzmasters and Jaguar guitars of varying country origins – meaning Indonesia (Squier), Japan (Fender), Mexico (Fender), and the good ol USA (Fender). In my opinion on the market today the best deal to be had when looking to buy a Jazzmaster or Jaguar is a Squier. They are incredibly good quality guitars that are perfect for modding/upgrading. They are not a child’s toy. They can be and are used by gigging musicians.

The other day I had a person comment on a video to me saying the Squier guitars were junk and made for children. I tried to reason with him and his bias was already set and unwavering, so I stopped trying to convince him otherwise. He really could not be more wrong. They are a guitar line like others (Epiphone, etc) that are made for people that want the experience of playing an expensive guitar but in an affordable package. Affordable at a level where it is not divorce inducing.

Here are some of the specifications of this guitar.

The body is made of Poplar with a Gloss Polyurethane finish.

The neck is made of maple with a Fingerboard Material of Indian Laurel. The Neck Finish is Tinted Gloss Urethane.

The Neck has a neck Shape of "C"
Nut Material: Bone width a Nut Width: 1.65" (42mm)
The Neck Radius: 9.5* (241mm)
Guitar Scale Length: 24* (610mm)
Number of Frets: 22 Frets
Neck Binding: Aged White


Electronics

Bridge and Neck Pickups: Fender Designed Alnico Single-Coil Pickups.

Controls and Switching: Circuit Selector Switch, Rhythm Circuit Volume and Tone, Lead Circuit Volume and Tone, Pickup On/Off Switches, Tone Circuit Switch; Neck pickup only (rhythm circuit); neck only, neck and bridge, bridge only (lead circuit).

The guitar retails for $499 and a non-sparkle used version goes for $265 to $393 depending on condition.

A little about the controls of the traditional Jaguar.

A traditional Jaguar has two circuits – lead and rhythm.

The lead circuit allows for the use of both the rhythm and lead pickups. They can be turned off and on with three slide switches on a chrome plate on the lower bout,

The first slide switch on the lead circuit (nearest the bridge) engages a capacitator that is known as a mid-tone cut switch, or sometimes the "strangle" switch.

The middle is an on/off for the bridge pickup, and the third (closest to the edge of the body) is an on/off switch for the neck/lead pickup.

The lead circuit also has two pots, a master volume and a tone control.

The rhythm circuit only controls the neck/rhythm pickup through controls on the upper bout's chrome plate.

When the rhythm circuit is engaged, the bridge pickup is deactivated, and the lower-bout volume and tone controls go inactive.

The rhythm circuit on the upper horn consists of a single two-way slide switch that solely engages the bass-heavy neck pickup. There are also two wheels on the horn that alter the volume (nearest the slide switch) and tone, which is sometimes called a "treble roll-off".

Observations

This guitar has the vintage style tremolo system and placement on the body and not the Fender Modern Placement. What Fender is referring to as the Modern Placement you can find on the Player II series (on the screen) and J Mascis guitars where the tremolo is closer to the bridge. Supposedly because of the change in string break angle the guitars with the new placement to not have issues that would require a shim to fix.

On the screen now is the guitar we have today, and you can notice the increased distance between the front of the tremolo and the bridge. This is the vintage placement. Regardless this guitar neck and body alignment is great and does not need a shim so as to properly adjust height.

I found no sharp edges on the edge of the fret board. I did find two areas on the frets that had some rocking at the 12th and 13th frets.

The pickups are amazingly bright while in the lead position. The neck pickup in the rhythm circuit is very dark and brooding in how it sounds.
For a Jaguar type guitar it is a good weight coming in at around 8 lbs and 1 ounce.