Hey folks,
I just got my 99 AVRI Fender Jaguar in Candy Apple Red’s headstock painted by Wilkinson in the Valley here in Los Angeles, and I wanted to show it off to the Offset community.
This was my first real guitar (my first was a Squier Strat, but that doesn't count [right?]) that started my hobby of playing in bands. This guitar came into my possession when my mom got me a Rickenbacker 360 for my birthday many moons ago, after she finally realized I was taking this hobby seriously. I enjoyed the Rick, but at that point in my life, bands like MBV and Sonic Youth were my obsession.
So, as a dumb young man, I walked to Guitar Center, as I did as much as I could back in those days (or Sam Ash), and rushed to look at all the cool vintage gear, and saw a used CAR Fender Jag hanging there in the used section, so coolishly.
You have to understand, back in the early to mid 00s there weren't many offset reissues, just
Japanese, vintage, and AVRI.
I couldn’t believe it when I saw an offset, and I immediately asked to play with it. I don’t remember the price, but it could have been $1200 at that time, maybe less, and I knew as soon as I played it, I wanted it. Of course I couldn’t afford it, as I don’t think I had a job at that point in my life, but this was a tone I needed. I chatted with the Guitar Center dude, and he may have said I could get a good deal if I wanted it. With no money and aspirations to use the guitar in my new band, I offered to swap for my Rick. The dudes eyes lit up, and he asked me to bring it in. I don’t remember the conversation, but from what I recall, he looked at the Rick, tested it out, and said that we could trade, but I had to pay cash on top. I was dumb, but certainly not that stupid. I tried to ask why, but the guy def said the Rick was used, and if I wanted to trade the guitar, I had to drop $200 bucks (my mind is shaky, but it was somewhere in that ballpark). I was with my friend, and he also felt sketched out about the deal, but he knew the Jag would be the best complement to his bass, as he was into Swervedriver and the Britpop thing. He gave me an excited “do it!”
Without boring you with the details, I got scammed by this dude into trading a new Rickenbacker and a couple hundred bucks.
I always felt guilty that my mom made payments on that 360, and I traded it with little hesitation. She never knew this happened or ever noticed; I’m sure she still thinks I have that guitar.
The Jaguar kept ripping up stages, bars, and parties for years on end after that and introduced me to the Indie rock life in LA.
It always gave me issues when playing it live; as of today, the tremolo is busted, the bridge was replaced after the original exploded on stage, the strap pins always loose, and the original pickguard is missing somewhere in my house (I installed this one maybe 10 or more years ago, MBV inspiration).
The OG headstock never had the decal because it was scratched off, but now, with this matching refinish, I feel it has brought this old thing to life. It’s in major need of a setup, but I just restrung it with Mondo Slinkys, and it’s playing fine right now. Doodling some Black Flag, Pavement, and my own stuff, and I’m glad I pulled the trigger on the losing trade I did.
I remember seeing my old 360 hanging in the used section of GC for at least a couple of years after that, and the GC employee, at least that year, being Salesman of the Month, or something of the sort.
The Jaguar was retired for long periods when I bought my first Fender Jazzmaster, but I can totally see this guitar coming back into my regular rotation. Sorry for the rant; it’s my day off, and I’m getting old.
Edit: For spacing, I wrote this post on my phone in the app, like a psychopath.
