Johnny Marr has been a stalwart of the UK music scene for over 30 years. Thrown into the limelight in the mid-'80s through his work with indie rockers The Smiths, Marr has since been involved in a number of high-profile musical projects and has even embarked on his own solo venture.
Throughout his illustrious career, Marr has been synonymous with the Fender Jaguar - a jangly-sounding offset guitar that perfectly compliments his idiosyncratic, melodic style. And after years of collaboration, Fender and Marr have released a stunning signature instrument - equipped with high-quality pickups from Bare Knuckle and featuring a custom neck shape based on Johnny's original '65 Jaguar.
Classic Fender Construction
The elegant Johnny Marr Jaguar features the customary Alder/Maple construction that so many of Fender's instruments adhere to. While the balanced-sounding Alder body serves as a fantastic tonal foundation for the vibrant single-coils, the Maple neck gives this instrument a definitive snap and plenty of upper mid-range clarity.
With a neck profile that faithfully follows the shape of Marr's favourite '65 Jag neck, the Fender Johnny Marr Jaguar has an extremely comfortable "played in" feel. Adorned with a smooth Rosewood fingerboard that introduces some warm lower mid-range, the neck is also fitted with vintage-style frets for traditional Fender playability.
Custom-Wound Bare Knuckle Pickups
The US-made Johnny Marr Jaguar is fairly unique within the Fender catalogue as it features aftermarket pickups from UK brand Bare Knuckle. Custom-wound to Johnny's tonal tastes, these sparkly-sounding single-coils have plenty of dynamic range and chime to sound beautiful with clean amp settings. Throw in some overdrive, and these medium-output pickups can really sing too!
Practical Pickup Switching
Johnny explains the customised control layout on his signature Fender Jaguar: "I replaced the original three switch design with a single four-way Telecaster style switchblade. The first three positions are standard, bridge, both on and neck pickup selections, but when pushed forward into the fourth position it puts the two pickups in series where they act as one big humbucker, giving a darker, thicker sound that you don't normally hear on a Jaguar."
"To give that circuit more possibilities I added a filter switch to the top panel that gives it more high end. By contrast, I always liked the high-pass filter switch from the original Jag design and repositioned it on the upper control panel where the 'jazz circuit' switch is normally found. We also lowered the height of these switches so they are less likely to be activated by accident."
Specifications
Body
- Body: Alder
- Body Finish: Lacquer
- Body Shape: Jaguar
Neck
- Neck Material: Maple
- Neck Finish: Gloss Nitrocellulose Lacquer
- Neck Shape: Custom Shape Based on Johnny's '65 Jaguar® Guitar
- Scale Length: 24" (610 mm)
- Fingerboard: Rosewood
- Fingerboard Radius: 7.25" (184.1 mm)
- Number of Frets: 22
- Frets Size: Vintage Style
- String Nut: Synthetic Bone
- Nut Width: 1.650" (42 mm)
- Position Inlays: Ivory Dot
- Truss Rods: Vintage-Style Butt Adjust
Electronics
- Bridge Pickup: Custom-Wound Bare Knuckle Johnny Marr
- Neck Pickup: Custom-Wound Bare Knuckle Johnny Marr
- Controls: Master Volume, Master Tone
- Pickup Switching: 4-Position Blade: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Neck Pickups (In Parallel), Position 3. Neck Pickup, Position 4. Neck and Bridge Pickups (In Series)
Hardware
- Bridge: Jaguar Bridge with Mustang Saddles and Vintage Style "Floating" Tremolo Tailpiece
- Hardware Finish: Chrome
- Tuning Machines: 6-in-Line American Vintage
- Pickguard: 3-Ply White
- Control Knobs: Black Plastic
