D'Angelico Deluxe 59 vs Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar
Reasons to Get
D'Angelico Deluxe 59 over Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar
Reasons to Get
Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar over D'Angelico Deluxe 59
Other Key Differences
D'Angelico Deluxe 59 vs Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar
Shared Features
D'Angelico Deluxe 59 vs Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar
Common Strengths
- High-Quality Nut
- Top Pickup Brand
Common Weaknesses
- Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- High-Quality Frets
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- From a High-Quality-Standards Country
- Luminescent Sidedots
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Table of Contents
Price History Comparison
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Which One is Better Overall?
After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the D'Angelico Deluxe 59 is probably the better product overall with its final score of 73 compared to the Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar's 70 score, although not by a lot.
The D'Angelico Deluxe 59 wins when it comes to sound, build quality. On the other hand, the Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar has the upper hand when it comes to playability, value for the money.
If you got small hands, you'll probably feel more comfortable playing the D'Angelico Deluxe 59.
Which One is Better for Beginners?
Both meet 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players. If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, you can't go wrong with either of them.
New Player Friendliness
D'Angelico Deluxe 59- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Locking tuners
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
New Player Friendliness
Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Locking tuners
Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.
D'Angelico Deluxe 59 Overview
- From D'Angelico's 2022 Deluxe series
- Made in South Korea
- 6 strings
- 25"'' scale
- 12" Fretboard Radius
- Dao Veneer body
- 3 piece: Maple/Walnut/Maple neck
- Ebony fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Seymour Duncan D'Angelico Great Dane P-90 Bridge (Single Coil/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Gold Tune-O-Matic bridge
- C-Shape Set neck
- 22 Medium Jumbo frets
- Grover 509 Super Rotomatic, Locking tuners
- Weight between 6.6lbs (3kgs) and 6.8lbs (3.1kgs)
- Compare Specs >
Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar Overview
- From Fender's 2019 Vintera series
- Made in Mexico
- 6 strings
- 24"'' scale
- 7.25" Fretboard Radius
- Alder body
- Maple neck
- Pau Ferro fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Fender Vintage-Style Single-Coil Jaguar (Single Coil/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Fender Vintage-Style Single-Coil Jaguar (Single Coil/Passive)
- 2 volume and 2 tone Bell knobs
- 3-way Switch
- 6-Saddle Vintage-Style Adjustable with “Floating” Tremolo Tailpiece bridge
- 60s C Bolt-On neck
- 22 Vintage frets
- Vintage-Style tuners
- Weight between 8.25lbs (3.7kgs) and 9.05lbs (4.1kgs)
- Compare Specs >
Sound Quality Comparison
The wood used in an electric guitar or bass is not as important to determine the final tone. However, some people prefer specific wood types, so we'll take a look at those first. Then, we'll take a look at the electronics to determine the versatility and sound quality of each instrument.
Woods Used in Both
Maple is one of the most popular necks for good reasons. It is a strong wood that is relatively cheap to make and looks beautiful. The highest quality maple is the hardest that comes from North America. Find out more about Maple.
Woods Used in the D'Angelico Deluxe 59
Ebony is a high-end wood, so it is not cheap. It's only used for fretboards because it's also very heavy. It does an excellent job as a durable material while looking elegant. Find out more about Ebony.
Dao is also known as Pacific Walnut tree, and it's a lightweight wood with a warm natural tone comparable with Mahogany, but balanced with a crisp top end.
Woods Used in the Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar
Pau Ferro has a dark, chocolate-like color with straight dark grains that is being used as a replacement to Rosewood due to the regulations. It produces a warm tone that is somewhere between Mahogany and Rosewood. Find out more about Pau Ferro.
Alder is the most popular wood that Fender uses in most of their guitars nowadays. Even though they say it's because of its balanced tone with an emphasis in the upper midrange, it probably is because it isn't too expensive, and it's also pretty lightweight—more than Mahogany. Find out more about Alder.
Winner: D'Angelico Deluxe 59.
Pickup Configuration
The D'Angelico Deluxe 59 has an P90P90 configuration while the Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar has SS pickups.
P90P90 gives you two P90s for a crunchy vintage tone. The tone sits somewhere in the middle between typical single-coils and humbuckers. They also produce less hum than single-coils, but they don't cancel it completely like humbuckers.
On the other hand, SS is the classic Telecaster configuration. It's used mainly for playing clean or with low-gain distortion, and it's very popular for the country genre because of their brightness. It doesn't give you as much versatility as a Strat SSS configuration, but you might like the cleaner look of a guitar body with fewer pickups.
Pickups Quality
Both come with some of the top pickups on the market. You can't go wrong with either of them. You'll probably never need a pickup upgrade.
We found the same or similar pickups to the Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar's online:
Both use Passive pickups. This is what's used for most music genres. They have a regular output and will serve you for both high-gain and clean tones. The alternative (Active pickups) offer a higher output that is mostly used for heavy music.
Winner: Tie.
Versatility Comparison
Some instruments offer you more ways to explore your creativity than others. Below you'll find how both compare when it comes to versatility.
Switch Options
Both are equal when it comes to the pickup switching option.
Neither of them come with some kind of coil split or pickup mod option. This makes both lacking in terms of versatility.
They both share the following switching options:
When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.
Winner: Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar.
Final Sound Quality Scores
Build Quality Comparison
When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the D'Angelico Deluxe 59 compares to the Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The D'Angelico Deluxe 59 is built in South Korea while the Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar is made in Mexico.
South Korea was for many years the number one choice for mass-producing semi-premium guitars. They can build excellent guitars for a cheap price. Now, it's less common to find Korean guitars because Indonesia has proved capable of building guitars just as well, but likely for cheaper.
Mexico has been for a long time where Fender has built their semi-premium series. If you don't want to overpay for a wellp-built instrument, a guitar built in this country by a good brand always offers good value for the money.
Winner: Tie
Nut Material
If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.
The D'Angelico Deluxe 59 has a Bone nut. It's a type of nut found in high-quality instruments. They sound similar to Ivory since they give a lot of sustain and a bright sound (at least when striking open strings). The only problem they can run into is that you may get a bone piece that simply doesn't sound as well as others because that's just how natural materials are.
On the other hand, the Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar comes with a Synthetic Bone nut. Bone is the best natural material for guitar nuts. However, its tonal properties can be inconsistent. That's the problem that synthetic bone fixes. This is much better than using a plastic nut because the nut is more slippery—which helps with tuning stability—, and it gives your open strings rich harmonics.
Winner: Tie.
Fret Material
Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.
Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.
Winner: Tie.
Bridge
The perfect bridge for you will depend on your playstyle because they all have advantages and disadvantages. However, some bridges are more expensive—like Floyd Roses and Evertunes—and thus add more value to a guitar.
The D'Angelico Deluxe 59's brige is a Fixed. It's a simple bridge that is very beginner-friendly since it doesn't require any set-up. You can swap strings easily. It might also give more sustain since it doesn't have complex moving parts that make the strings lose vibration. However, it doesn't have the same versatility as a tremolo bridge.
On the other hand, the Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar's is a Tremolo. Tremolo bridges give you more versatility than fixed bridges. They let you perform the intense vibrato effects that would be impossible with a fixed bridge. However, since the bridge floats and there's less contact with the body, the strings lose sustain slightly faster. They can also be a bit harder to restring and set up correctly than fixed bridges.
Since we need to be objective, the most expensive type of bridge will be the winner of this section. In the end, this doesn't matter if you're not going to use the bridge for its original purpose, so choose the bridge that fits your playing style better.
Winner: Tie.
Tuners
The D'Angelico Deluxe 59 has the best tuners of the two because they are locking tuners. They'll help to keep your guitar in tune because they allow you to tune it without wrapping the strings around the posts. This avoids variations in the tuning due to the strings changing position at the post after a bend. They come at the disadvantage of being slightly heavier than regular tuners. Also, it makes it a lot easier to restring.
Winner: D'Angelico Deluxe 59.
Neck Joint
Contrary to popular belief, the difference in sustain and tone that some neck joints give to a guitar is simply unperceivable—if they're all well built. However, some of them do have advantages over the others.
The D'Angelico Deluxe 59 has a Set neck joint. This neck is tightly glued to the body. They give you the least versatility because you can't swap them for a neck that fits your hand better if you want to, unlike bolt-on necks. Some people think this gives more resonance and sustain, but there's no real difference if the bolt-on joint is well built.
On the other hand, the Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar comes with Bolt-On neck joint. This neck is joined to the body by 4 bolts that you can simply unscrew. This allows you to replace the neck or take it off for travel. It's the most common and cheapest way to build a guitar.
Winner: Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
D'Angelico Deluxe 59
- Locking Tuners
- Expensive Wood
- Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Strap Lock
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- Made in South Korea
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Tremolo
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar
- Synthetic Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Tremolo
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Mexico
- No Expensive Woods
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Final Build Quality Scores
Playability Comparison
Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.
Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.
Nut Width
The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the D'Angelico Deluxe 59 has the wider nut with 42.9mm (1.688'') vs 42mm (1.654''). This is a 0.9mm (0.034'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the D'Angelico Deluxe 59, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.
Scale Length
The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.
The D'Angelico Deluxe 59 has the longest scale: 25". The Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar is only 24" long. This is a 1'' (25.4mm) scale length difference.
This longer scale means that the strings need more tension to get in tune. This is good if you want to avoid fret buzz, which can happen when the strings are too loose and touch the frets while vibrating. This is especially important when playing in lower tunings. This will also let you reduce the gap between fretboard and strings (low action) to make them easier to press down. However, this higher tension will also make it harder to perform bends and vibratos as the strings will feel stiffer.
This also means that the frets have a longer separation between each other, so this will make it harder for people with smaller hands when playing some chord positions.
Another characteristic of a longer scale is that it makes the guitar sound 'snappier' or brighter. This is due to the extra separation between harmonics and overtones produced by the tension. This influences tone more than any other factor (except the pickups).
Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.
Neck Profile
No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.
Both the D'Angelico Deluxe 59 and the Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar have a C-shaped neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.
Fretboard Radius
Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.
In this case, the Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the D'Angelico Deluxe 59's. This extra arc will make playing chords easier in this model. You won't be as likely to mute the strings, especially if you have big hands. However, playing single notes and bending will be easier on the D'Angelico Deluxe 59.
Hand Size Comfortability
Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.
And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar favors large hands more than the D'Angelico Deluxe 59.
D'Angelico Deluxe 59:
Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar:
Fret Size
The D'Angelico Deluxe 59 has Medium Jumbo frets, which should be taller than the Fender Vintera 60s Jaguar's Vintage frets.
Some people prefer taller frets because they result in more sustain since the strings get pressed cleanly without interference from the fretboard. However, if they're too tall—like Jumbo frets—, you might change the pitch of the strings accidentally if you press too hard because you won't be touching the fretboard with your fingers. This is also why some guitarists with a heavy grip prefer smaller frets. They like to feel the fingerboard to avoid pressing down too hard and getting out of pitch.
