NGD CIJ Jaguar!

[Brutus]

My first Jaguar!

I really dig this guitar! I traded a semi-hollow for this one. Never played a Jaguar before but I am so pleased with it!

I found out that it was built around 99-02. But is there anyway Reading the serial number that will tell me the exact year?

The stamps says: JG65-85 3TS, crafted in Japan P098125

Does the 9 mean 1999?

/Brutus

[Danley]

This says ‘99 - ‘02 - congrats

https://support.fender.com/hc/en-us/art ... ufactured-

EDIT - no clue if it’s possible to get the exact year.

[Mechanical Birds]

I’ll never understand why guitar serial numbers had to be anything more complicated than month-year-model-color-guitar specific production number, so if it is the 89th one they made that month, it’d end in 89. Not only would it reset every year, but every month.

Anyway, OP, take the control plate off and look at the pots where you should find a date

[Brutus]

Anyway, OP, take the control plate off and look at the pots where you should find a date

Just did that, no luck.

[Danley]

I forgot my MIJ ‘96 has “ ‘96” on the neck/pocket.

[Larsongs]

Whichever Squier or Fender you choose unless it is a higher end Guitar like an AV65 or CS which will maybe need a Setup be prepared for it to need work to make it a good Player.

If you are lucky a serious Set up & smoothing out rough Fret edges up & down the neck will be the least it needs.

Indonesian Squiers need the most work.. Up to & including mods.

Generally the higher line you go the better the Guitar it will be....

[601210]

Whichever Squier or Fender you choose unless it is a higher end Guitar like an AV65 or CS which will maybe need a Setup be prepared for it to need work to make it a good Player.

If you are lucky a serious Set up & smoothing out rough Fret edges up & down the neck will be the least it needs.

Indonesian Squiers need the most work.. Up to & including mods.

Generally the higher line you go the better the Guitar it will be....

Uhm... did you mean to post this somewhere else?

Otherwise it's unnecessarily rude.

[Brutus]

I didnt understand his post. But if the guitar is a Low end guitar im even more impressed. I must say they did a good job! Because I like it as much as my american made strat.

[Mechanical Birds]

Whichever Squier or Fender you choose unless it is a higher end Guitar like an AV65 or CS which will maybe need a Setup be prepared for it to need work to make it a good Player.

If you are lucky a serious Set up & smoothing out rough Fret edges up & down the neck will be the least it needs.

Indonesian Squiers need the most work.. Up to & including mods.

Generally the higher line you go the better the Guitar it will be....

Uhm... did you mean to post this somewhere else?

Otherwise it's unnecessarily rude.

I don’t think he meant any offense but at the same time yeah has nothing to do with what OP was asking for in any way and reads almost like a bot stock reply or something haha like just because ‘MIJ/CIJ’ got scanned somehow it came in here to post a stock reply answering broad strokes to someone asking ‘which version of this guitar should I buy?!’

[Mechanical Birds]

Anyway if you email Fender they’ll send you a longform info sheet but even those will still just display the years they were produced with the color you have and won’t, for whatever reason, be year specific

There has to be a way though and I know a lot of people here should know. I’m surprised nobody has dropped some knowledge yet.

[Brutus]

I did that, and as you wrote: they dont know either.


”This one was made by Fender Japan for their domestic market, so we will not have insight into the specs or what the model name/number scheme means. However dating guides show it is consistent with instruments they had released from 1999-2002.”

I guess I will settle with its a guitar from 99-02.

[ohm-men]

Normally, you'd be able to find some info in the neck pocket of the guitar. But if the back of the neck (just above the neck plate, say CIJ, then it's indeed Crafted in Japan) In 1996 (I think) Fender moved their guitar production to another plant in Japan. Even though it a hard rumour, in fact there is no "Fender Japan" factory. There are Japanse instrument factories that build Fender guitars. (for instance Fuji Gen Gakki, is a Japanese instrument factory that have build guitars for Fender over the years among many other brands, domestic or export brands)

So, in the neck pocket there is usually some marks and sometimes a sticker with the production code. Usually MIJ's were part of a "Run" meaning every guitar has a unique number (for instance 513/850, meaning the 513th guitar out of a production run of 850.) I used to own a very lightweight MIJ Jazzmaster (1994) that was marked 12/35. Although I never found if it was part of a special production run.

Though, there are other indicators (asside from the neck marking)

MIJ Jaguars (produced up to 1996, and marked MIJ) had shielding plates and were mostly made of Basswood. Some had large size pots marked "Japan" 1M. Tort pickguards were usually of the red variety and looked "printed" overall the Jag's were a bit heavier in weight (at the ones I played and used to own) Pu's were not Always wax potted and tended to squiel on high volume. Some MIJ Jag's and Jm's had 3 sized of thread on their bridge saddles.

CIJ Jaguars from 1997 had no shields, but had black shielding paint. Bodies were mostly made out of Japanes Alder (different species, different kind of tree then what is regarded Alder in the US) most had smaller sized pots. Tort pickguards were usually of the brown variety and looked less printed. All CIJ Jag Pu's I played were wax potted (or at least looked if they were wax potted) All bridge saddles threads were the same on CIJ saddles.

Wiring on both makes was Always pretty thin plastic covered wire. Grounds are Always on the bidge post of the high strings (unlike US models that are grounded at the trem plate)

Other then that, the Japanese "Made" or "Crafted" guitars were quiet simelar.
Pick ups sound a bit thinner then the Duncan Designed Squier Jag pu's or the US AVRI ones. (Hence most people upgade these.)

In the early 90's there was little to choose from, you either bought a MIJ Jag or JM or you bought a vintage one…. So, back then the MIJ and CIJ guitars were quiet the deal... Nowadays there are soo many options and makes to choose from it dazzles your mind

[Danley]

I’ll repeat unless it was missed - my ‘96 has the year printed on the neck if you remove it. Also, I posted pics of the MIJ catalogs a bit back that show MIJ regular Jaguars ceased to use basswood in the early ‘90s (except for certain models with special finishes.) My ‘96 MIJ is definitely alder, which is accurate to the ‘96 catalog showing alder for all Jaguars except the special gold/blonde edition. Jazzmasters never used basswood according to the catalog, but they did use a different/cheaper wood until the early 90s; I’ll have to look back and check what it was.

If your pickups work for you don’t replace them; mine were wound with VERY loose coils that made them extremely microphonic though. The coils basically rattle on the bobbin. They also don’t hum cancel in the mid position. Other than that they don’t necessarily sound bad.