The Fender Jaguar is an electric guitar by Fender Musical Instruments characterized by an offset-waist body, a relatively unusual switching system with two separate circuits for lead and rhythm, and a short-scale 24" neck. Owing some roots to the Jazzmaster, it was introduced in 1962 as Fender's feature-laden top-of-the-line model, designed to lure players from Gibson. During its initial 13-year production run, the Jaguar did not sell as well as the less expensive Stratocaster and Telecaster, and achieved its most noticeable popularity in the surf music scene. After the Jaguar was taken out of production in 1975, vintage Jaguars became popular first with American punk rock players, and then more so during the alternative rock, shoegazing and indie rock movements of the 1980s and 1990s. Fender began making a version in Japan in the mid-1980s, and then introduced a USA-made reissue in 1999. Since then, Fender has made a variety of Jaguars in America, Mexico, Indonesia and China under both the Fender and Squier labels. Original vintage Jaguars sell for many times their original price. History Initial production, 1962–75 Both the Fender company and vintage guitar authorities date the introduction of the Jaguar to 1962. One writer states that the model was introduced in December 1960, but a 1962 ad featuring a Jaguar automobile in the background referred to the "new" Fender Jaguar. 1960s advertising for the Jaguar often had beach themes, underscoring the guitar's appeal to surf musicians. Photographs for the campaign, done by Bob Perine, included photographs of bikini-clad girls on sandy beaches holding Jaguars—many of these featured Perine's daughter and her friends. The guitar was not, however, heavily publicized by surf players themselves, although The Beach Boys' Carl Wilson is featured in one early publicity photo. The Jaguar never enjoyed the popularity of its Stratocaster and Telecaster siblings. After several upgrades—which included custom finishes, a bound neck, pearloid block inlays, maple fingerboard with black binding, and block inlays—the Jaguar was discontinued in December 1975 after a thirteen-year production run. Resurgence Punk and early new wave rockers such as Tom Verlaine of the band Television (who can be seen playing a Jaguar on a 2003 album cover) adopted the Jaguar for both contrarian and economic reasons; its lack of mainstream use made it both a style statement and less expensive than guitars of comparable quality. In the 1990s the popularity of the Jaguar and Jazzmaster exploded after they