Debating keeping or returning this Fender…thoughts?

[InTheEvening]

These caught my eye when they were announced as I wanted to get a Fender back in my collection but I was on the fence with the fairly high price. When I saw they were limited in numbers and already sold out most places, I bought it on impulse to try it out. Now the return window is almost up and I’m not sure if I’ll regret letting it go or keeping it.

Pros:
-Ebony board
-Stainless steel frets
-I love offset Fenders
-Gorgeous Texas Tea finish
-Really unique specs for a Fender Jaguar (ebony board, longer 25.5 inch scale, stainless steel frets, string through body)
-60th anniversary model with supposedly only 500 made world wide so I assume or hope it would hold it’s value or maybe even go up over the years if I ever decided to move it. I may not be able to find one of these again if I let it go.

Cons:
-Apparently these are regular double tap humbuckers and not the true Fender wide range ones. Sounds pretty good but not much different than my other HH guitars.
-I really need some single coil tones back in my stable (all my guitars have humbuckers currently) and though these coil split…they don’t really capture the true single coil sound well
-$2500 is on the higher side for a Fender and I could get a lot of used American teles or strats for half that or a Mexican jaguar with single coils. Leftover funds would go towards more future Gibsons of course (got the Adam Jones Standard or an LP Custom high on my GAS list).

Pics of course!

 

[efstop]

At that price those should be real CuNiFe Wide Range Humbuckers. But I do like the rest of the guitar.
I'd keep it. Sellers remorse is rarely curable, buyer's remorse goes intro remission

 

[Roxy13]

I'd keep it I think. You wanted it and you do like it.

You can buy a decent used strat anytime, anywhere.

 

[OldBenKenobi]

Personally I think that guitar is absolutely gorgeous, and the sonic shortcomings you have with it can be easily rectified with reversible modifications.

 

[Duane_the_tub]

Yeah, that's really badass. Keep it, mod it if you have to, and get those other guitars later. You won't find one that like that every day.

 

[moreles]

You have two fairly separate interests and one guitar cannot reconcile or cover both. The guitar you just bought may be made by Fender but aside from the offset shape (whihc everyone makes now anyway) is not at all typically Fender. If anything, it's Fender trying not to be Fender. Doesn't even have a JM trem -- but an ABR and through-body setup. I love ebony boards, but they're totally non-Fender. But If you like it, as many do (not me) or think it's an investment or whatever, then who cares if it's an outlier? But only you can assess this "matter of degree" decision ("how much" you like it). If you also want a more standard Fender, then this one will never scratch that itch -- it's quite different -- so I think you would have to look to something more typically Fender. And evenb if those were true CuNiFe pickups, even the real thing is not at all typical of Fender, as they were mostly a flop at the time and became a big thing long after they were in production, and partly for rarity.

 

[Bobby Mahogany]

What is your gut feeling about it?

If you're not totally cool with the features, tone and feel, send it back.
It's a "particular features" guitar and collection value might not turn out that great.
Usually limited Classic models get the "sought after" hoopla later on.

I believe that one should be excited and totally taken by a "keeper guitar".
Owning a guitar just hoping that "one day" it's going to hopefully be worth more
doesn't cut it in my book.

But that's just me...

 

[efstop]

...as they were mostly a flop at the time and became a big thing long after they were in production, and partly for rarity.

Neither the Fender site nor the wiki describes WRHBs as a flop. Fender discontinued the three models where they were used in 1979. And they were (and still are) an expensive pickup to make, with magnets that are unique.
I have one but am undecided where I want to install it.

 

[CB91710]

Fender has the legit WRHB in stock

CuNiFe Wide Range Humbucker | Parts

CuNiFe Wide Range Bridge Pickup, Chrome

www.fender.com

$220 a pop... Double the Shawbucker, but not that much more than some of the specialty Duncans.

 

[rich85]

I played one of those and personally thought it was one of the best sounding and most versatile guitars I had ever played.

I actually thought it did the single coil sounds very very well. And the fretwork was excellent. And was just overall an amazing instrument.

 

[InTheEvening]

At that price those should be real CuNiFe Wide Range Humbuckers. But I do like the rest of the guitar.
I'd keep it. Sellers remorse is rarely curable, buyer's remorse goes intro remission

Haha true! Can always sell it down the line…might not get it back again!

I'd keep it I think. You wanted it and you do like it.

You can buy a decent used strat anytime, anywhere.

Solid point there. I had my eye on for some time and it really is not easy to replace. Can easily find a cheap strat or tele.

Personally I think that guitar is absolutely gorgeous, and the sonic shortcomings you have with it can be easily rectified with reversible modifications.

Someone on TGP mentioned replacing with a loaded pickguard. I might consider this if I keep it. I do recall someone saying the sound of a guitar can be altered easily but feel and looks is harder to change and this guitar crushes it in the playability and looks department for me.

Yeah, that's really badass. Keep it, mod it if you have to, and get those other guitars later. You won't find one that like that every day.

Glad I wasn’t crazy to act on it fast. That’s def my biggest hesitation in letting it go. I’ve never seen a Fender like this and being more of a hard rock player, it really appealed to me. I don’t think I would find it again once I return it.

You have two fairly separate interests and one guitar cannot reconcile or cover both. The guitar you just bought may be made by Fender but aside from the offset shape (whihc everyone makes now anyway) is not at all typically Fender. If anything, it's Fender trying not to be Fender. Doesn't even have a JM trem -- but an ABR and through-body setup. I love ebony boards, but they're totally non-Fender. But If you like it, as many do (not me) or think it's an investment or whatever, then who cares if it's an outlier? But only you can assess this "matter of degree" decision ("how much" you like it). If you also want a more standard Fender, then this one will never scratch that itch -- it's quite different -- so I think you would have to look to something more typically Fender. And evenb if those were true CuNiFe pickups, even the real thing is not at all typical of Fender, as they were mostly a flop at the time and became a big thing long after they were in production, and partly for rarity.

Well said! I need to really assess what I’m looking for. Being more of a hard rock player and fan of Gibsons with humbuckers, this “Jaguar” definitely appealed to me much more than any strat or tele. BUT because I have a few humbucker equipped Gibsons, I feel I should get a more traditional Fender for the variety.

What is your gut feeling about it?

If you're not totally cool with the features, tone and feel, send it back.
It's a "particular features" guitar and collection value might not turn out that great.
Usually limited Classic models get the "sought after" hoopla later on.

I believe that one should be excited and totally taken by a "keeper guitar".
Owning a guitar just hoping that "one day" it's going to hopefully be worth more
doesn't cut it in my book.

But that's just me...

I wholly agree. I’m really not an investor with guitars. I only wanna buy what I genuinely like. I just consider resale value because I often sell one guitar to fund another and I try not to lose money, I don’t expect to profit on my gear, if I do, it’s pretty small.

Fender has the legit WRHB in stock

CuNiFe Wide Range Humbucker | Parts

CuNiFe Wide Range Bridge Pickup, Chrome

www.fender.com

$220 a pop... Double the Shawbucker, but not that much more than some of the specialty Duncans.

Thanks for the link! Didn’t know they had these available separately. The ultra luxe jaguar I have has regular size humbucker routing, would a wide range fit?

I played one of those and personally thought it was one of the best sounding and most versatile guitars I had ever played.

I actually thought it did the single coil sounds very very well. And the fretwork was excellent. And was just overall an amazing instrument.

It absolutely is. Honestly I LOVE the playability and feel. The fit and finish is also part of why I’m wanting to keep it. It feels great to play and looks great too. I’ll try it again through my amp with a few more settings. Maybe I didn’t give it a fair chance. For some reason the split single coil and humbucker sound isn’t too different through my set up. But it might be my setup then and not the guitar then. This guitar suits my playing style and tastes more, so having a good single coil sound when I need it would really make this great for me.

 

[efstop]

@InTheEvening
I believe the WRHBs are all the same size, but the CuNiFe ones and some of the Fender replicas have two screws each end. The Vintera 70s Tele has two WRHB replicas and they have dual screws each end.
They're about 1/8" bigger all around, so I've read. I haven't measured any of them

You could drill a center hole easily enough so it screws in.

 

[CB91710]

@InTheEvening
I believe the WRHBs are all the same size, but the CuNiFe ones and some of the Fender replicas have two screws each end. The Vintera 70s Tele has two WRHB replicas and they have dual screws each end.
They're about 1/8" bigger all around, so I've read. I haven't measured any of them

You could drill a center hole easily enough so it screws in.

Ya, and it looks like the mounting holes on the CuNiFe are more widely spaced than the humbuckers, even where Fender uses two screws.

Unfortunately, the only alternatives are:

1 - Potentially hurt the value of the pickups by redrilling to match the Fender 3-screw pattern
2 - Drill the apparently unreplaceable pickguard to fit the CiNiFe pattern and devalue the guitar
3 - Send your original pickguard and the set of CuNiFe to LtDave or one of the other skilled members here to cut a replacement pickguard patterned for the proper wide range.

Here's the PDF from the Fender site on wiring, shows the screw pattern pretty well.

 

[efstop]

I think I'd use adapter plates with proper spacing that mount to the new pickup. And much shorter springs.

 

[Big Dik]

Bottom line sounds like you are in the hunt for single coil gratification. It's a nice guitar, but is it what you really want?

 

[Jeremiah]

I could swear I read that even the high end Fender repros aren't true CuNiFe pickups. I can't remember where I saw some legit ones but Fender didn't make them.

The above was before 2021, I guess the Fender high end repros are even better than the boutique outfits. The reviewer I read said to make sure to follow the pot guidelines from Fender when installing.

Now as to OP's issue: I'd personally swap the pickups if the rest of the guitar meets your needs. That particular guitar wouldn't fulfil my needs so I'd ship it back. I got spoiled with my solid rosewood jazzmaster, and even THAT is getting a pickup swap in the neck.

 

[truckermde]

So I'm back today to drool some more.

This guitar actually kept me up last night. So sexy...

If I wasn't balls-deep in a huge & expensive water system project on my property, I would be scooping one of those right up.

So obviously, I say keep it. If you like it, anyways...

I'm wishing you happiness in your decision, either way!

 

[Pop1655]

That is one exceptionally good looking guitar. Wow!