jag/humbuckers

killerwhale

Hi everyone. I'm sort of new here. I visited over two years ago seeking help about modding my jag for humbuckers. Unfortunately all I received was bitter contempt for even thinking of changing things up. I'm mainly a drummer and wiring guitars is a little technical for me. Anyway, as of this evening; and after years of procrastination, I've successfully installed humbuckers in my now lime green jaguar.

I've never been happier with the sound of a guitar. I can't stop picking it up.

I encourage anyone who wants to pursue this route to do so....and to do it yourself! Don't let tight asses tell you how/why to play music. I got a quote at the local guitar tech for a paint/route job. He smiled and said $800 dollars. That made my mouth drop. I could buy an HH for that (ignoring the hideous black on black) and save some. So I did it myself.....and I even got to keep the ever so lovely floating tremelo! I spent maybe $230 on everything (including the pups!!!)

Now, I don't know jack about wiring. I opened her up and said "Oh God". I had no idea how to wire in humbuckers. So I just followed the seymour duncan jag diagram. Then after giving up about six times, I plugged her in and a single tear fell from my left eye. I can get at least five tones (that I know of) just from the bridge position......and they are ALL warm and fuzzy. I love it. It's great for punk, and it's even better for surf. I get almost no feedback as well. I don't know how I did it, but I did, and I encourage others to do it too.

Now all I have to do is get me a red pickguard.

If anyone has questions about doing this - I'll gladly answer them.

I'd post a pic but I don't know how.

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Fran

Well done.

Can we have a picture of your Jag please?

65fenvox

So this seems to be a topic that ive personally delt with as well. Ive owned a cij jaguar and jazzmaster but sold them for something better. Then through ebay I bought what was left of a '65 jaguar that I had offered to buy whole a few months before. The owner runs a very popular nirvana site. The person thought the guitar would make more as parts.

The auctions I won were for the neck and body with the pickguard. Its a sunburst model complete with the white binding/dot inlays neck.

The PREVIOUS owner had routed the bridge for a humbucker.

When i got the guitar it was a mess! The headstock has a crack behind the tuners and down the back of it. The crack has stopped and the guitar stays in tune better than my other guitars (very strange) It looked like it had never been cleaned! Ever! (It was left that way to be even more like Kurt's jaguar, i guess) There was this dirty wax stuff all around the body. Years and years of use bars maybe? After many cleans it came off but took some of the paint with it. I think it ate through the paint over time. Anyway, for years now Ive been trying to restore it. Very difficult thing to do. As it sits now its not really a jaguar. Empty chrome controls One bridge humbucker, vol & tone and thats it. Ive been buying vintage parts and setting them aside for when i have it all. I really love this guitar , it has a beautiful clean sound!

OK Jeez, my point being is that if you do decide to mod YOUR guitars try and keep them. But because I own a vintage Jag that fell into the "wrong" hands I do have to say leave the old ones alone. They survived whole up until now. And if you must have a vintage one with mods, there are ones that have already been done by someone else. You just have to look and wait.

Fran

I dont think anyone in their right mind would irreversibly modify a vintage Jaguar especially when you consider todays market.

Its like throwing money away, you loose a good third of the investment value on the guitar. I agree with your sentiment totally.

I disagree with people 'rapeing' vintage instruments as well, parting them out for profit. FFS, there are'nt nearly enough vintage Jags left intact without people taking the ones that are left to bits.

killerwhale

I agree wholeheartedly. I'd never mod a vintage instrument. Especially an american one. Clean it up......yes.

65fenvox

Hey Fran,

I used to live in Camberley, Surrey. But no I was intent on buying the guitar to put it back together. It didn't seem right that it should on other guitars or even as scrap. The previous owner said it was on its "last legs". I don't know how he thought that as it even has new frets and everything else is solid. It just looks abit worn.

I'll try and get a picture up, when I can. 😈

Fran

There used to be quite a few UK'ers on here a while back.

On the Jazzmaster you gotta be carefull. I once bought a 'relic'd' CIJ Jazzmaster but a previous owner had purposely sanded the serial number off which i think is a bit suspicious as to what he intended to sell the Jazzy as.

Luckily us offset guys are a minority and i think its the Strat and Les Paul guys that really have to be on their awares.

Coolguy

Pictures of your guitar pretty please and some extra info?

I'm currently playing with the thought of buying a Japanese Reissue Jaguar and putting in EMG81 & EMG85 pickups.

65fenvox

This was taken the day I got the tremolo. I put in a hot rails pickup that I bought years ago in England that was lying around. Just so I could get an idea of the guitars sound. Since then it got a JB humbucker and vol and tone pots. Note the strange letter on the arm rest , a "D" or a "C".

nirvana23freak

looks awesome! the paint could be a little better but its 40 years old

robertoriginal

OMG

bound and dot neck.....

i love you!

65fenvox

Hey thanks Nirvana23freak. To know what happened to the paint read my other post on this page.

nirvana23freak

65fenvox said: Hey thanks Nirvana23freak. To know what happened to the paint read my other post on this page.

yea i read. i bet it will sound amazing when you eventually get it complete. i would love to get a 65 jag(with bound/dot) and put a bucker in it

65fenvox

I do love this guitar. Even with the humbucker, though wouldnt have had the heart to put them in myself. But as it is has a lot of midrange and is nice and heavy in weight. When using my Boss metal zone I can get that Cobain '92 SNL sound. Im probably going to get banned for just for saying I ran a vintage Jag through a metal zone!! But no, this is my "clean guitar" it has such a beautiful clean sound. Dark and haunting. When I get a chance I'll post a picture of the back of it. The paint has worn away in a circle and looks a lot like a real sun rise with clouds around it.

nirvana23freak

65fenvox said: I do love this guitar. Even with the humbucker, though wouldnt have had the heart to put them in myself. But as it is has a lot of midrange and is nice and heavy in weight. When using my Boss metal zone I can get that Cobain '92 SNL sound. Im probably going to get banned for just for saying I ran a vintage Jag through a metal zone!! But no, this is my "clean guitar" it has such a beautiful clean sound. Dark and haunting. When I get a chance I'll post a picture of the back of it. The paint has worn away in a circle and looks a lot like a real sun rise with clouds around it.

Thats cool. Are you gonna put a full sized bucker in it?

Fran

😎

65fenvox

yeah, SD JB. Has a lot of bass and high end, and with the guitars alder midrange sound should work out well. When I have enough vintage parts im gonna put the rest back as stock. Thats not gonna be anytime soon though!

nirvana23freak

if i were you i would put a jb or super distortion in the bucker and get a SD jag pick up for the neck and get the circuitry up to normal, maybe get some cts pots or even fender standard ones. is the decal on the head stock intact still?

65fenvox

Thats sounds good. I guess its open to whatever I want since it has nothing in it. The headstock says fender only. The guy I bought it from sent me pictures of it from when it was for sale at the guitar shop. Fender and the tiny "offset" decal. If I look close I can see that it did have a "jaguar" decal. It also has grover mini tuners on it, that would explain the crack. The G string tuner screw is all worn away, Thats where the crack is. I'll make sure I put up a couple of pictures tonight.

65fenvox

Here are the pictures I said. The one of the back of the guitar i think looks like a sunrise with clouds around it. You can also see the different layers of the paint. The other two are the head stock. Note the crack on the back of it.

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