The Fender Jaguar HH Custom is a modern take on the vintage Jaguar styling. In my opinion there are a few key differences that Fender has made that really make the new HH Jaguar incredibly different than the classic. First and foremost, the HH comes equipped with two Special Design Dragster Humbucker pickups, as opposed to the Vintage Jaguar single coils. While the pickup selectors have remained the same, the tone you get out of the guitar has changed enormously.

Depending on what time of music you are playing, you may prefer the humbuckers to the coils. I personally prefer the humbuckers, it gives you a warmer tone, while the single coils are a bit cleaner and snappier. If you’re using a lot of reverb and ambient sounds as I do, the humbuckers are the way to go.

The second important difference with the HH is the bridge. The classic player has the floating tremolo bridge, while the HH has an adjusto-matic bridge. In terms of setup, tuning, and action the HH bridge offers far more simplicity. I have found the HH is just easier to play, so certainly for beginners or amateurs, I recommend the HH.

There are a few more things about this guitar that I have to take issue with. The pickup selectors on the Jaguar are unlike any other, they make the Jaguar an unparalleled dynamic guitar. The problem with this is, I’ve been playing the Jaguar for some time now, and with all the different amp settings, effects, pedals, and tone adjustments, I have still yet to master the tone on the guitar. If your guitar playing varies back and forth from rhythm to lead, then having the diverse tones on the Jaguar is a win lose. In one scenario, you should be able to get just about any tone you’re looking for, on the other hand, it may not be so easy to switch back and forth mid song.

As far as the design of the guitar, the body is that classic Jaguar shape, stylish and unique like it always has been. The neck is relatively fast and it comes with vintage tuners. If you’ve never used vintage tuners, you may have to be taught on how to restring your Jaguar, but in the end you’ll probably end up preferring them. The vintage tuners force you to have a nice clean string cut, and make taking strings off a breeze.

The Jaguar HH is available in a number of finishes, some are much more rare than others. The standard finish is black on black with chrome hardware, this finish is widely available, while others like Gunmetal Red and Sunburst are bit more difficult to find on the HH.

Fender’s MSRP is about $1,100, although you can find it new for $800, and used in great condition for probably closer to $600. If you buy it new it comes with a fender gig bag, which is always nice, but for real protection and care, you should be using a hard shell case for all guitars.

Overall the guitar gets great reviews. The HH has made the Fender Jaguar a bit more of an affordable guitar without sacrificing quality or features. It truly is a great value, and you would expect nothing less from Fender.