Best A vs B Ive seen for these two guitars. And that pink Jag...wow😍. Also, love your licks, they're so original and fresh. In fact, I saved this to my library so I can try and learn some of them myself. Cheers!
Not super common, but I love a Mustang used in Country/Americana style settings. There's just something really understated about their sound that is less scratchy than a Jazzmaster (or Jag).
Yeah the Jazzmaster was used on quite a few country records and still continues to feature, i've heard mustangs on some americana stuff and it does work really well. They have bite without being over the top with high end. Love these guitars.
The low output pickups on Mustangs are really great for surf and blues. At first I wasn’t a fan of Mustangs because the proportions always looked odd and I don’t care for most grunge from the 90s so that tone is not appealing to me. After playing Mustangs I got used to the feel and look of them. They are very comfortable and the trem works well if properly dialed in.
if I eq'd the amp specifically for the Mustang and not general settings to accomodate the much brighter jag it would have helped the cause but I do enjoy the mellowness regardless. For leads especailly in surf it does extremely well without being harsh at all
Best rundown of what the functions of all the circuits are on both these guitars. Other videos haven't made it clear. Good and honest comparisons without running the sound through all kind of gadgets that change up the sound and that I don't and won't use. Thanks. Well done.
I have 5 squier stangs and a fender and a squier jag and a fender. I love the jag but they are so heavy! Also, my 70's vibe squier jag is a better built and sounding instrument than my fender player jag. There. I said it. 😊
Not sure that absolutely all the Mustangs are so light. i remember trying one from the 70's that was like really heavy. To me, tone is really the combination of guitar/pedals/amp and it's often hard to know before you've tried it .For example i usually use the Jazzmaster for fuzzes and the Jag for Distortions but plugged into a Princeton Reverb none of those guitars come close to a Mustang when it's plugged into a ProCo Rat...
Short scales are fun, unless you’re chording way up the neck. I think horses for courses or however that goes. I’m totally set in my ways with my pickup choices though, so neither one does it for my own playing. Charlie Christian single coils and low output humbuckers are my thing. I still enjoy other people playing these though. Good rhythmic timing in your demo btw!
I don't really have that problem going further up the neck with the short scales, but you're not the first one to have told me they don't particularly enjoy it. Thanks Moosey, if I didn't have any sort of timing id be in deeeeep trouble as a player haha
Clean Tones 8:07 I truly liked the Mustang more in the middle position. It was more UP. "Happier" sounding. Sorry I use words like that, but I don't even know what chords I'm playing half the time. It bounced back against the reverb in a nice way. Bridge position I liked the Jaguar more. When you went for the stronger played chords, it just had a fuller sound. It had body to it. I did like the bell like tone quality the Mustang had, but I just felt the Jaguar handles more robust playing with a bit more character. Neck Pickup I liked the Mustang more. For some reason, it had kind of a sadder tone, which the song kind of asks for. Dirty Tones 11:01 Bridge Pickup. I liked both of them actually. I think the Jaguar rocks a bit more, but they both kind of stood out from eachother here in nice ways. You'd want both in the song. Neck Pickup Jaguar. Bridge Pickup Jaguar. The Jaguar rocks more, plus some really odd tones come out of it on occasion. If they're accidental, great, they'd provide cool moments in a song. If they can be harnessed, well, that's a very cool guitar indeed. I would go Jaguar, but I'm not minding the Mustang either! It wouldn't be my first go to, I'd go for a Jaguar or Jazzmaster without hesitation. But Mustangs are interesting. Thank you for this video taking us through it. :)
I really appreciate your detailed takes on this, the jaguar does indeed put out some odd tones - it's part of the charm of the bride + vibrato combination that I've grown to really love. All and all the Jaguar cuts a little bit better and has a bit more presence I feel than the mustang so it'll be easier to sit with other instruments, but the Mustangs quirkiness and really unique vibe make for such an interesting guitar to really try things out with - it sort of encourages that out of me. Thanks for watching!
@@AudiomoMusic Your videos are great help when deciding what to go for. As said, a Mustang just would never be high on my list. I'm not even fond of the shape. But after this video, I had to reconsider. Some really nice things can be done with them. I'm at the moment figuring out the Guild Thunderbird S-100 I picked up awhile back. I just love Guild stuff. It still had the MODE 1/2 direction plastic on the pickguard. Well, until I really gave it its first proper cleaning since I'd bought it, and changed the strings. I didn't even touch the plastic, and it decided, nope i want off this guitar. So I removed it, not fully remembering what switch does what, and what cuts what signal chain and blah blah. But i figured, ok, well that makes you mine now. Don't know if you've ever played a Guild Thunderbird S-100. The neck is like a baseball bat, but the thing i find with it, is that I absolutely feel when playing a chord, that my fingers are THERE. I use it for anything that has a really strong chord progression. Hard to describe. I just know when pressing down , you really get a sense that those strings are touching the neck. It makes Dave Davies stuff possible.
@@AudiomoMusic I actually pulled the trigger on a MIJ Hybrid II Jazzmaster after I saw your in-depth review half a year ago. I still believe there are no other reviews with this depth on RU-vid about the series. Keep up the great work!
@@AudiomoMusic Vintage Natural with maple fretboard. I'm based in Germany and this is the only colour the vendors here can get apparently. It actually grew on me - got one with a really nice wood grain and it matches the piano in our "musical corner" of the house ;)
I have a Mustang and love it. I don’t use the vibrato bar a lot, mostly using the heel of my hand to push or pull the tailpiece, which you can’t do the same on a different setup The switching is cool, and the out of phase sound is great for some stuff. The short scale means I do finger bends and vibrato differently and that gives it a sound of its own
That's a clever trick to use but it is indeed pretty effective with the vibrato. The out of phase stuff works great for funk but also works really well for layering on top of other parts - it's such an underrated guitar and I also love mine.
+1 I got my Mustang 'by mistake', swapping it for a strat I had because I thought it might be good for my daughter. And it was a total revelation, I loved the sound and the scale and the way you can wammy without the bar in too! I completely fell in love with it, so it has become my main guitar and I bought my daughter a pink Squier mustang instead :D
When you play 5 to 6 hrs a night, 4 to 5 days a week, comfort is paramount ... the weight of the instrument slung over your shoulder is a big part of that.
Agreed, as is how you take care of your body and your posture in general. Being in Japan really opened my eyes to that part of it that just doesn't ever get brought up in the west. Smaller guys and even some girls that at most weighed 110lbs playing nightly with 9.5lb guitars and up with zero complaints because they actually take care of their bodies and have been doing it for years. So yeah, the weight of the guitar will have an effect but if you have sh*t posture and don't take care of yourself that's gonna have an even bigger impact.
I'm still to be convinced by the Mustang Jim, maybe I haven't tried the right one. The Jaguar is the best guitar ever designed in my opinion even considering the weight . Cheers 👍😎
Great video as as always and good playing examples for what the guitars can do. Don’t have any experience with the Mustang but it definitely sounded more stratish. I have a strat that has only two pickups in it and it reminded me of what that sounds like a bit.
It's a great compliment guitar for a second part/layer but with EQing it really does nail surf and the vibrato is truly unique in feel to the jag/jazzmaster
On paper I thought I would've preferred the Jag. But by sound comparison I'd go with the Mustang. I can probably get those hot jangly highs out of my Gretsch anyhow.
That's actually a really good way of looking at it, you can absolutely get the Jangle from the gretsch and the sweet mellowness from the mustang. They'd make a great pair!
kinda why i'm here. after literal decades playing 25.5 i forgot what a LP scale felt like, even tho i learned on one first few years. i was in my local guitar store recently and there was a clearance price on an electromatic g5655t so i test-played it for lolz. it's now mine. i thought i'd check out a vid on the Jag and Mustang cause i knew they were, pretty much as short as you can go before intonation packs it's bags and leaves. ngl, i always hated the *look* of the switch layout on the Jag, and the less said about the Mustangs switch *positioning* the better. awful position. i don't even mind the wonky off-set look of the guitars, it's charming. put some big ol' p90s in a Mustang with the switches re-positioned, i'll play that in a second. black p90s in a black body, that's the ticket. make it look like the guitar is attached to the pups not the other way round. i hereby claim that as my signature series, y'hear? it's MINE, keep your grubby fingers off! *points around indiscriminately*
the difference is a few switches, some capacitors, a few ounces of chrome, and an inch of scale length. both of the vibrato systems are garbage without roller saddles in the bridge but thats just my opinion please dont hurt me
Jaguars and Mustangs are my two faves, both excellent in their own way. I generally prefer the Jaguar, but there’s no dying what you get in the attack from a Mustang… Immediate, more percussive… Handles gain better as well in my opinion
I really do agree with your analysis, and especially the more gain introduced to the mustang I feel due to the lower output and 250k pot it matches really, really well without starting to sound "shrill". The jaguar in this example on the neck pickup I thought was fantastic, but the other two driven examples I preferred the mustang.
I'm pretty sure I did, the electronics specifically are worlds apart different and I showed examples of just how different they sound and function because of it. I also mentioned the differences between the vibratos and even the average weights of each guitar, not sure what I missed.
great video bro!...I jusr got a Duo Sonic HS (MIM) the pick ups sound fuc**** fantastic....the bridge humbkers is so creamy....initially I wanted to get a Mustang.....but the Duo Sonic has a HB in the bridge and a SC in the neck...so its really versatile....the best of both worlds ...its so confotable to play.... Fender is such a great brand!
I've always been a huge fan of how crystal clear the tones of single coils are. Even with tons of gain. I think the good old Tele would be my fav guitar. There's no genre it can't fit perfectly in. The bridge pup is perfect for metal.
Teles have done it all and really can do it all, it's a shame it took me so many years to realize how amazing they are - I always thought they were guitars for old men to sing about the good old days of suburban new jersey
@@AudiomoMusic Bro, I'm heavily considering getting myself a Tele as probably the last guitar I'll purchase. I'm thinking Mexican made is the way to go. What would you say is the most well rounded model that would work in most genres? I'd love your opinion on this buddy. I view your opinions very favorably, you get straight to the point and aren't afraid to tell us about any issues you find. Thanks for all the hours of entertainment Jim. Cheers 🍻
If you're going new I'd absolutely purchase one from Japan, you're going to spend the same if not less and get an instrument that is built to a far higher standard leaving the factory, the hybrid ii is an excellent model that has the series wiring and beefs up even more than a normal tele can. I can help you through it if you really want but if that's not an option you want to go for I'd go used American Standard for under a grand.
@@AudiomoMusic as a matter of fact, I'd love some assistance finding one of the hybrid ii monsters. I checked Sweetwater and they had nothing. It just showed the acoustisonics. No thanks to those monstrosities.
Just gotta find the right amps for all three and they can all shine in their own ways. For videos like this where it's a A/B comparison, neither guitar is truly dialed in as I had to find a middle ground for both guitars
Hi i have a mustang but i find the neck a tad small down the 2nd fret area....tho its great for lead....im thinking of getting a jaguar...are the necks the same thickness around the 2nd fret area etc..any ideas people
The Mustang definitely has earned the tag line of, the guitar that plays itself. Light & short scaled with a slim neck, it was geared toward the student and their comfort. it's a wily little bugger.
Thank you for talking about the weight/size of the guitars! I’m a smaller player so size makes a huge difference to me, but most reviewers skip over it.
The HH Squires with solid bridges actually sound a lot better in My opinion. Not to mention being lighter, much cheaper and better assembled. The Americans at Fender or Mexico could learn from The Chinese how to properly set up a guitar ! , Most of them play pretty good. The Jag and Jaz bodies are uncomfortable standing up at a mic. There fine sitting down.
An HH mustang is nothing like this guitar so its a strange comparison, and on no planet are those chinese or indonesian guitars better assembled than these.
You didn't use the vibrato bar on the Mustang. Tsk Tsk! Lol no just kidding. Had no idea about the 1 meg pot. Explains a lot about the raging treble. Good review, thanks!
Thats actually not a Fender though it is indeed jaguar style instrument. Its a Momose ( small hand built japanese brand) MJG and it is by far the best offset i have ever owned -
@@AudiomoMusic no haha but your inflection and the way you read the script talking about the vibrato arm n such, feels kinda like a parent telling a 9 yr old how it works. Anyway how many mustangs you got?
Haha man, it's funny you say that. The one time I tried actually writing a script for a video it was the worst experience I've ever had filming a video in the 3+ years I've done this - they are all actually done off the cuff believe it or not. Right now, 0 mustangs actually. I'm still waiting for the right one to pop up.
Is it possible to turn one of Mustang switches so that they would work as a standard three-way switch? If yes, then can the second switch be modified so that you could still have this out-of-phase tone?
You could do that, but it would take some wiring mischief and the sacrifice of being able to use the pickups in phase combined. If you were cool with that, then yeah - could work.
I mean the jagstang is it's own thing but it is hardly both of these together especially considering the humbucker and the lack of rhythm circuit + strangle and the best part of the both guitars - the jaguars vibrato. It's a modded mustang that happens to have the same scale as a jaguar that's about where it ends. Still cool, but definitely doesn't do what a jag does
Hi Jim, found your channel through your back and forth with John Robson, so apologies that I'm late to the party. I just find the Mustang single coils a bit thin in the mix compared to the Jag. But then, I would say that as the Jag is my favourite single coil, especially with the strangle, which is why I didn't consider the Johnny Marr version as I prefer the traditional switching. My Jag is a humble 2018 Mexican lacquer but, having tried some of the more expensive Fender versions, I think it more than holds its own, both in terms of the pick ups and the neck profile. Always good to meet another offset fan. Cheers
I'm also a big fan of the Jag's and prefer them to the Mustang as a whole, but I've found the mustangs low output pickups cut really well in a mix if you use the right amp. I love em both and am with you on the Marr - I am a traditionalist with these guitars. The MIM's are great guitars! Is it the fiesta red or one of the harder to come by lake placid blues? Either way great to have you here, John's a legend
It's an LPB, Jim. Being a 2018, it's Pau Ferro rather than rosewood but after using some relic wax, the grain came up quite nicely. I also swapped out the bridge for one with mustang saddles and installed one of the Panorama trems that came as stock with the AmPro IIs. My joint favourite along with my Chinese Casino. @@AudiomoMusic
It's actually because of the ability to reverse the polarity of the pickups ( the honky mustang tone ), the covers prevent the pole pieces from shorting out via string contact, and if you were touch them with your fingers it would buzz like hell. Other than that accommodation for the switching they are just low output single coils
My Modern Player Mustang is the heaviest guitar I own. Most of my electric guitars fall somewhere in the seven-pound range. The Mustang feels like it’s a pound or maybe a pound and a half heavier. Pine body, P-90 pickups.
That's really funny you say that Ron, the two heaviest Mustangs I have ever played in person, both were Modern Player Teles in the Sonic Blue I believe it was and the 90s. Not sure what the heck they did with those but apparently it was a common weight... Could be worse, heaviest jaguar I've ever played was almost 10lbs, a real battle axe indeed
There's just a stark difference between them I fully agree. I could always film a different video where I try to dial each in I suppose but it would in a way take the direct comparison aspect away.
i hear yuh man. coming where i come from in the caribbean its quite hard to find places to test out guitars to check ranges, i mean there are spots but dont have all guitars and im on the hunt@@AudiomoMusic
I had a CIJ '65 Mustang back in 06 and I was definitely coming at it from a very Nirvana angle and as a result, really didn't know how to approach that guitar in my own way, and I also had a problem knocking the switches to "everything off" mode during gigs. After playing Telecasters ever since, I am starting to come around to them again. Actually found a used CIJ '65 Mustang in a local shop recently (nearly the same year too!). Very seriously considering it, as my Am Pro II Tele sounds a little lifeless and does not really have... vibe, I guess. Thanks for making these videos! Have really been enjoying all the Made in Japan Fender content on your channel.
That's really interesting you've found that tele to be a bit lifeless, I had one and sold it within I think a month because I felt the exact same way. nothing wrong with it just, kind of a dead guitar. I say give that 65 a shot again, you'll get the hang of it or you could do what some people do and tape lock into a certain position haha
@@AudiomoMusic Reporting back to say that I did indeed go for the 65 Mustang and it's been a total dream. Definitely have more of a hang of the switching system and adjusting my playing for it.
@goombamoomba9928 this mustang was a 1986 Fender Japan collectors series model, very tough to come by but I see them for sale once every few months in Japan.
My best Bud’s Mother bought him a late 60’s Mustang w/original gray case when we were in the 6th grade (1976). My parents got me a Japanese Strat copy. 😳 I fell madly in love with that thwacky little beast, going on to own many Mustangs over the years (I’m 59 now.) They have their place in us weirdo’s hearts….definitely not for everyone, but those who get it, well, we’re special people. 😉
you could, but kinda kills the entire vibe of the guitar. if you just like the feel of the guitar itself and dont care if it sounds like a mustang you could absolutely do that - or there are models that came with humbuckers and p90s like the pawn shop series from about a decade ago that have that stuff done from the factory
