Jaguar and Jazzmaster customisation

bilbicus

Hi all,

This is gonna be a long post. Might have a fun discussion though!

Long time lurker, infrequent poster! I've been playing a Japanese Fender Jaguar since 1998 and have performed several customisations to it - In the time I've had it, I've brought the tremolo hard up against the plate so it can only tremolo down (seems to stay in tune the best this way) and I've put on a Mustang bridge (taped). A few years back I stuck SD SJAG3 Quarter Pounds into the bridge and neck positions and I was quite happy with them. A few years down the line and I'm ready to replace them as I'm unhappy with the neck tone (far too muddy). The bridge tone is fair but the microphonic feedback is intolerable - you can even hear it on the edge of the sound when playing clean.

I don't want to wax pot this pickup and would rather replace it with a better pickup that does not feed back as easily, or try and shield my guitar a bit better - would better shielding help? I think wax potting the claw looks ugly. Can you pot just the pickup and leave El Shieldo as is?

I'm not too sure about going with SDs again and was really impressed with Curtis Novak's site. I've emailed him a week ago but no response and I'm trying to chase him up today! I have asked him about the above to see if he can wind and construct a non-obnoxious bridge picky and non-wooly neck picky for me. Has anyone had good/bad experiences with the Vak and his merchandise? I sometimes play with reasonable gain levels (I have my Zoom Ultra Fuzz at fairly midding settings) and this is when my guitar squeals the most.

Also, I would like to get my action lower but cannot get it low enough without strings "choking" on me when I bend around the 15th/16th. I've ordered a buzz-stop - is it worth looking at getting a fret dress/levelling done by a professional? Or will the buzz stop perhaps help address this? I've ordered a Warmoth Mustang bridge with adjustable saddle height too, which I'm hoping might help.

Finally - installing a third Jaguar pickup and using the strangle switch as an on/off for the bridge, then using the other two for middle and neck - how difficult a wiring job would this be? Routing would be easy (my dad is a carpenter)! Also my Jaguar screws are rusted and look in a bad way - where can you get replacements?

And on to the next item - I just ordered an Olympic White (same as my Jaguar) Jazzmaster from Ishibashi. And I'm hoping to put P90 Novak Jazzmaster pickups in that, so I have a good range of tones across the two guitars. I've ordered two buzzstops and two Warmoth custom Mustang bridges (the ones with adjustable saddles) so that the guitars are a bit more playable. Would putting the P90 copies in be sacriligeous, or does anyone have experience of these? From what I gather P90s and Jazzmaster pickups are quite different.

Anyone know what kind of soft case Ishibashi ship in? Is it any good?

Does anyone think I'm mad on the fret levelling? Would a neck shim address this? Should I just consult a pro?

Um I think that's it! Does anyone think that the Fender neck plates with the F are cool? Will they fit Jags and Jazzys? You can get them here: http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/neck ... ender4.htm

Pedro

I think "f" neck plates are pretty neat, altho to me it isn't worthwhile buying one. I guess it would fit, but only guess.

I can't give you any advice on pickups but can on the other issue of choking on high bends. Putting a buzz stop on will make precisely no difference. Jags have a curved fretboard right? 7.25 inch radius, which is about as curved as they get, so the further you bend the top strings upwards, the more likely they are to 'choke' as they call it. To stop this happening your only real option is to raise the action, which will solve the problem. You soon get used to higher action but it does feel uncomfortable at first (as I'm sure you already know). It could be worth checking your truss rod is adjusted right too, but as you say you like the action low it's a fairly safe bet that that (the action) is the problem.

Likewise, it's unlikely that getting the frets levelled will solve this specific problem. If you have dead spots where the frets are worn then by all means get it done - I had my squire strat done earlier this year (after 12 years of playing it more or less everyday) and it was like having a new guitar. I hadn't realized how worn the frets really were til I got a new HH jag and suddenly the strat sounded appalling.

Anyway, that's my thoughts. I've heard that stock japanese jazzy pickups are no great shakes so replacements of some sort are probably a good idea

handen

Try the Seymour Duncan Antiquity models for Jag. They sound fantastic, in fact the best sounding neck pickup in all four of my electric guitars is the SD Antiquity II in my jaguar, I've got an SJAG-2 in the Bridge, which is alright, maybe a bit on the too trebly side, so I might replace it with an Antiquity as well.

As for string bends higher up the neck, it's because the radius is so small. Nothing you can really do there. But if you want to experiment a little, your truss rod might need to be adjusted or your neck a minor shim, which can both be a hassle to perform but may show some improvement if done right - if there IS a problem there first. Maybe take it to a tech and ask him.

Hope this helps. 😀

bilbicus

handen said: Try the Seymour Duncan Antiquity models for Jag. They sound fantastic, in fact the best sounding neck pickup in all four of my electric guitars is the SD Antiquity II in my jaguar, I've got an SJAG-2 in the Bridge, which is alright, maybe a bit on the too trebly side, so I might replace it with an Antiquity as well.
As for string bends higher up the neck, it's because the radius is so small. Nothing you can really do there. But if you want to experiment a little, your truss rod might need to be adjusted or your neck a minor shim, which can both be a hassle to perform but may show some improvement if done right - if there IS a problem there first. Maybe take it to a tech and ask him.
Hope this helps. 😀

Thanks Handen & Pedro, I'll get a pro to look at it. I'll also take a look at the SD antiquities - does anyone have any experience of the bridge in action? Also Handen, how much did the fret level cost?

And you've had your Squier for 12 years? Wow! It must be pretty good if you kept it that long. I've played some Squiers that are really good. just sold a Squier P-Bass special that was my bass for 7 years and it never let me down once and sounded really good.

bilbicus

Oh can I just say if anyone else wants to pitch with an answer to any of my other questions that would be great! My screws on the Jaguar are goosed from lots of sweaty gigs, and I have no idea how to get replacements. I might just need to take one out and hit the hardware stores!

Pedro

bilbicus said: Thanks Handen & Pedro, I'll get a pro to look at it. I'll also take a look at the SD antiquities - does anyone have any experience of the bridge in action? Also Handen, how much did the fret level cost?

Don't mention it! BTW It was me that had the fret level, not handen. Someone was asking about costs a while ago and I honestly can't remember (and threw the receipt away). I think it was in the region of 80 pounds, but that's in central london so might well be cheaper in Edinburgh. They did a full set-up for that price, and it did sound a lot better when I got it back. And the strat has no choking out problems on high bends, so maybe a good set-up will sort you out. See if you can find a trustworthy luthier and see what they say. I still reckon you'll have to have the action raised if you want it sorted but who knows.

Sorry I can't help with any of the other questions!

robertoriginal

i would like to state that i leveld the frets on my jag-stang and my jaguar, and the jag was only a year old. but it definitly helped, you can achive a faltter radius by haw you level them, nothing drastic, but still it does enough to help.

Fran

This page i wrote on Fender Jaguars may help you a bit, try clicking on the modifications link as well...

Jag wiki

Imo jap Jags are fine in stock form depending on the sound you want, so the pups are the only thing i would change.

I've tried: Hotrails, JB Jr, SD QP, AVRI, and Red Lace. I like my distortion so... the Hotrails and JB Jr are my favourates, but my other Jag is true to the traditional Jag with stock (wax potted) CIJ pups. Eventually i will put antiquity's in this.

The bridge will work as good as a 'stang bridge once you set it up right. I have a Jag with a stang bridge and one with a stock bridge.

Buzz stops are'nt really necessary either. I fitted one for a while and disliked it; it created more string tension thus making the guitar less enjoyable to play and i did not notice any sonic benefits whatsoever.

Having said all that everyone is different, so go for it! You may like the changes you propose.

Novak makes a Jazzy size P90, not sure how they sound though.

dinosaur

heh people already said most of the things you needed in before my reply, so theres no point in writing other stuff.

yeah p90s are very different than the jazzmaster pickups but most of the time people think that theyre the same cause they look similar.

the 'f' neckplates are the real ####. get it now! (i wanted one for a long time.)