Went to Guitar Store Today...Have Thoughts But Still Need Help Choosing My First Electric Guitar!

[figgypudding18]

Hello again everyone, I recently posted a thread asking which Fender I should get as my first electric guitar (I have been playing acoustic seriously for a whopping seven monthsish). I went to my local guitar store and tried the following Fenders with the help of a very nice employee who was very willing to help me out with understanding switches, knobs, etc...: American Performer Telecaster, Vintera Jaguar, Player Series Special Jaguar, Duo-Sonic, American Performer Jazzmaster.

Here's some misc. information about the process so far...

Favorite musicians/bands that use electric guitar: are Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Nirvana, Pinegrove, Marika Hackman, Coldplay, Bon Iver, The Japanese House. I also really like acoustic folk/indie folk in addition to indie/alternative rock.

Buying strategy: Buy a quality instrument that will remain valuable over the years and be my electric guitar for life. Some say that it's an unrealistic goal of mine to have one acoustic and one electric. Maybe it is, but I'm a minimalist, and I'm willing to live with whatever guitar I bring home after doing research and trying multiple guitars. Took this strategy with my acoustic and am very happy with it.

Budget: no higher than $1600ish for the guitar so I have money for amp/other misc. gear.

Thoughts from playing

American Performer Telecaster
I was expecting to really like this one. However to me, it seemed kind of bright and thin sounding with too much twang.. I love the looks and thought it sounded fine, but it didn't really stick out to me.

Vintera Jaguar & Player Series Special Jaguar
I can't really remember which was which here, but I liked them a lot overall. Short scale felt really good. Had two different people tell me it looked good on me!

Duo-Sonic
My hope was to try a Mustang, however they just recently sold the Mustang they had and recommended I give this a try since it's similar. I was really surprised by how good it sounded. This was my favorite size out of all the ones I tried! Short scale felt really nice, loved the balance of the guitar and overall comfortability.

American Performer Jazzmaster
Not as big a fan of this one, though again obviously still a very nice guitar. The scale length felt huge after playing the short scales.

Some stuff the guitar sales guy told me (a lot I already knew, I would like to see what you all know about the following that he said):

-He said that for a forever guitar, the American made Fenders are the best choice and hold their value with higher quality wood and parts than MIM.

-Since I have no interest in using the tremolo, I asked if I shouldn't get one of the offset models, to which he said that it doesn't matter and I should be able to do alternate tunings just fine on any of the guitars including the short scales, regardless of the tremolo style bridge or not.

Final Conclusions So Far and Questions

One question I had going into this was if I would enjoy the short scale guitars. The answer is definitely yes!

My favorites were the Jaguars and the Duo-Sonic. However, I am a believer in the phrase "you get what you pay for" -- thus I am currently deciding between the American Performer Mustang and the American Professional Jaguar.

My biggest question is in regards to how the Mustang is the American Performer line and the Jaguar is American Professional. Is there a jump in quality in woods, electronics, etc. between these two lines? Would the American Pro Mustang be a good choice (just in terms of raw quality of materials) for a forever guitar? Thanks everybody!

[Larry Mal]

My first thoughts were the Telecaster and Jazzmaster, but you didn't bond with either of those.

I would prefer a Jaguar over a Mustang if I could only have one. Jaguars are wonderful, the best sounding guitars there are in my opinion.

All good choices, though. You won't go wrong.

[marqueemoon]

My first thoughts were the Telecaster and Jazzmaster, but you didn't bond with either of those.

I would prefer a Jaguar over a Mustang if I could only have one. Jaguars are wonderful, the best sounding guitars there are in my opinion.

All good choices, though. You won't go wrong.

Tele and Jazzmaster are also my faves, but I agree. I’d take a Jag over a Mustang too.

[MattK]

If you're looking at a solid-body Fender type electric, buying used is a no-brainer. You save so much money and the chance of a used one being a dud are low. With the saving you can get a pro set-up and have a guitar which plays beautifully for less outlay than a stock one from the store. You could pick up a used Marr Jaguar for that kind of money, which would be a sensational guitar and hold its value compared to what you paid. Buying new, the value takes a 30-40% drop when you walk out of the store.

[Danley]

The American Performer ‘copper/penny’ color is awesome, and that line is a great value for an American guitar; they are worth the price of admission new, let alone used IMO provided you’re bonding with a guitar. Either is a good choice, I might wind up with the Mustang first

[Futuron]

The Professional line:
perfect-fit hard case
quality workmanship
quality hardware & pickups
quality wood & finish
full modern sound options (Jag has 6 sounds)

The Performer line:
universal-fit padded bag
quality workmanship
some slightly cheaper hardware/pickups (but nothing drastic, and hardly noticeable)
quality wood & finish
simpler modern sound options (Mustang has 3 sounds)

Both great offerings. The fretwire & neck profile is a different shape between lines, but that isn't a quality thing, it's a flavour thing. Like blue vs green. You might need to try out these 2 yourself to decide. But you are aiming high, I think you'll be happy either way.

[mackerelmint]

Go try a mustang, since you didn't really get the chance. That's sort of the guitar I'm leaning toward recommending, but you've never played the thing. So think about making sure you get the chance to try one. I think they've got a bit more of a "broadly useful" sort of sound going on than a Jag does, even though they're both short scale. Or maybe that's just my way of telling myself that I think they sound better than Jags do. I dunno. The trems on mustangs are kinda odd. You can make a hardtail of one easily enough, though, which would probably be best if you're thinking about doing odd tunings on a short scale. IME the shorties don't hold those tunings as well as jazzmasters do, which hold them like a champ.

[ThatGuyOverThere]

Still going to insist on the Vintera Jaguar, but man, definitely worth still giving the American Performer Mustang a go before committing to something. I tried one a few weeks ago, it’s pretty versatile and comfortable. I would give it heavier gauge strings though, so factor that in when auditioning.

[Ceylon]

If you're looking at a solid-body Fender type electric, buying used is a no-brainer. You save so much money and the chance of a used one being a dud are low. With the saving you can get a pro set-up and have a guitar which plays beautifully for less outlay than a stock one from the store. You could pick up a used Marr Jaguar for that kind of money, which would be a sensational guitar and hold its value compared to what you paid. Buying new, the value takes a 30-40% drop when you walk out of the store.

I would go with this if I were you. At least check out what's available second hand in your area. I know I already said it in the other thread, but while I'm sure the AmPro Jaguar is a great guitar, I think the Marr Jaguar is one notch above and will hold it's value just a little bit better over time.

[MechaBulletBill]

definitely look around for a good used deal. by all means, use the big box shops to try out different things and figure out exactly what you want and then... get yourself on eBay/reverb/facebook market/OSG classifieds.

Most important I think is to find a neck you really really bond with and can play for hours and hours without getting fed up or pain. Just about everything else can be changed out on a fender-style.

There's always the option, when you know exactly what spec you like best, of building a guitar from parts.

[Larsongs]

You seem intent on new.. But, if I were you, I'd get a mint used American Vintage AV65 Jaguar.. IMO, after playing all the Jags, including Vintage, with the exception of the true Vintage, they are the best..

I really tried to like Mustangs & Duo Jets but everyone I played needed to to be modded to be better Guitars... Fender should do a better job on those Guitars IMO.

I did buy a CAR AV65 Jaguar.. I was so impressed I also bought an Oly White AV65 Jazzmaster... The Jazzmaster is the most versatile sounding Guitar of the two & gets the most play... I like both Necks.. Both are easy & comfortable...

Good luck

[Larsongs]

You seem intent on new.. But, if I were you, I'd get a mint used American Vintage AV65 Jaguar.. IMO, after playing all the Jags, including Vintage, with the exception of the true Vintage, they are the best..

I really tried to like Mustangs & Duo Jets but everyone I played needed to to be modded to be better Guitars... Fender should do a better job on those Guitars IMO.

I did buy a CAR AV65 Jaguar.. I was so impressed I also bought an Oly White AV65 Jazzmaster... The Jazzmaster is the most versatile sounding Guitar of the two & gets the most play... I like both Necks.. Both are easy & comfortable...

Good luck

[601210]

Since everyone's already giving you great advice, I'll just give you questionable advice:

It's much easier to look cool with a Jaguar than with a Mustang, especially if you're over 5'10.

[Jaguar018]

My first thoughts were the Telecaster and Jazzmaster, but you didn't bond with either of those.

Tele and Jazzmaster are also my faves, but I agree. I’d take a Jag over a Mustang too.

This happened over at TGP too. Everyone said that the OP should get a Jazzmaster or a Telecaster. BRAVO OP, bravo! You didn't succumb to these regular scale bullies! Short scales are great.

We don't really know your circumstances or desire as far as being able to easily get a used Jag or Mustang; this is kind of the mantra around here as you get more bang for your buck that way. Getting a Marr Jaguar or an AV65 would be a fine choice if you can swing it, but if you can't for whatever reason, you are still doing great with your choices.

If you like the Jaguar a little more... get it. They do look cool for sure (not that I am biased or anything) and you can get some great sounds out of them. If you really really need tonal flexibility then the Mustang is probably a better choice as there are a few more configurations-- but my hypothesis is that you do not because you're coming from the world of acoustics and you're also a minimalist.

It sounds like you are not a short dude, and that's certainly something to take into account. For me if the guitar looks and sounds good that's all you need. Worst case scenario is that after a year or so you need a divorce from the guitar it's not like you won't be able to find another one, and get a pretty decent amount of the cost back to fund the next purchase.

Have you started an amp thread yet so we can all bicker about that too?