Changing pickups in my jag-HELP!

bonusgav

Hi guys!

I just got a CIJ Jag,love it to pieces but haven't been able to gig it properly because every time I hit my distortion,it feeds back like ####!I want to replace the pickups but can't decide which ones to get-my typical live setup is a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe,the Jag and the distortion pedal is a Rat 2...tbh I wouldn'y mind a bit of cosmetic surgery on the thing as long as I got to use it lie with no headaches!

Any suggestions?I heard there's a type of seymour duncan one that works pretty well,also heard about one from dimarzio...

argh!

Gav

nirvana23freak

i like the hot rails pup, dunno how itd be in a jag, a hear the SD quarter pounds are good and if you route full sized cant go wrong with a duncan JB or dimarzio super distortion

Fran

The stock pickups are not wax potted, its a common complaint. It may help to stand away from your amp or clean things up a bit with your guitars volume.

Its a question of 'looks' when upgrading as well, if you compromise, and you are happy with a medium output pickup then the SD QP is your best bet. Because it is designed for the Jaguar it means you can keep the 'claw' and pickup cover not losing the 'look', it is also the most powerfull of Jaguar replacement pickups.

But if you want higher output them pickups suggested are good, but they dont fit in the cover and the claw alone does'nt look right.

cbmog7

Do people normally replace the bridge pickup or the neck pickup? I got a seymour duncan hot rails for the bridge position (and I'll keep the stock pickup in the neck), but I don't know if that was the right move.

And what does everyone think of having an SD hot rails in the bridge position and an SD lil' screamin' demon in the neck? Is that a waste of money? Is only replacing one pickup necessary?

nirvana23freak

some people would say replacing the pick ups at all isnt necessary. what ever you think is good is necessary to you. i think most people change the bridge because i would say the majority of people play the bridge more than the neck, so they want something stronger there. and i think the screamin demon is more of a bridge pick up being so hot. a cool rail or lil 59 would probably be good with the hot rails

eddiebax

I didnt mind the stock pickups in newer MIJ jags, but the older ones are pretty ordinary and hum like crazy.

My first jag now has US stock pickups in it and it sounds amazing now, clean or distorted and they never hum at all even very loud and distorted live - track 2 and 4 on my myspace site should provide you with a pretty good idea of what they sound like: www.myspace.com/moodmarket

The second one now has p90 simulators in it - it sounds great - super ballsy now but it hums a little but im starting to suspect my soldering is at fault...

Im yet to hear a humbucker in singlecoil size that doesnt sound super hot, screamy and very Joe Satriani 80s - not very retro. Depends what you like ofcourse...

If you want a retro sound, Id consider the seymour duncan replacements - they have stronger mids in my experience and can take away some of the cold starky treble bite of jag pickups, but they are quality and they wont hum even loud.

nirvana23freak

yea all the mini buckers are really hot in my experience.

cbmog7

Wow, great information everyone, thanks.

I'm going to put my hot rails in the bridge position and once I buy a lil screamin demon that will go in the neck position.

I'm worried that those two combined might be a little too one-sided, though, both being very metal and intense. Maybe I should go for a JB (Jeff Beck) Jr. or Little '59 in the neck position. Then I could get a distorted metal tone from one pickup as well as a classic bluesy-tone from the other, and be able to mix the two to get anything in between. What do you guys think?

nirvana23freak

i recommended a set up like that with like the lil 59, so id say go for the JB jr or lil 59 in the neck, its not as hot personally id do that instead of the screamin demon

cbmog7

I like your bad brains quote.

Yes I agree with you. I'm leaning towards the JB jr., think that'll be a nice combo.

It seems warmer and heavier than the 59 (which I like better)--why did you recommend the 59 in that other setup? Just a matter of preference?

However, I also heard some samples of the cool rails neck pickup, and it sounded great. Not too hot, very smooth. Maybe that would be a nice balance with the hot rails.

nirvana23freak

thanks, i love the bad brains, there so good. but i just recommended the 59 cause thats the only not really hot one i could think of on the spot, forgot JB jr. but year hot rails cool rails wo uld probably be really nice, but i bet JB and hot rails would too

eddiebax

The JB jr is pretty hot as well - I didnt like it at all, but others seem to like it - but most use it in the bridge position - might sound nice and fuzzy at the neck possie.

cbmog7

Do you need to use rubber spacers for the pickups in a jag?

I have two rubber washers/spacers that came with my Seymour Duncan pickup but I don't know where to put them.

If I do need them, where do they go?

Fran

The pickup sits on a piece of foam/rubber and the screws go straight through the pup cover into the body. The piece of foam is what actually gives you your pup height depending on the screw positions. Its all very primitive ya' know.

cbmog7

What do you guys think of a Dimarzio Fast Track 1 in the neck? (Paired with my hot rails bridge)

It seems like it's similar to a cool rails, JB jr., etc., that's why I ask. I got a fairly good deal on one, so I was hoping that it would be a good choice, but I really wanted a cool rails or JB, and I don't want to settle for something that might not be as good a fit.

Does anyone have any thoughts?

Fran

I've not heard one. Cool Rails sound good but they are not necessarily a high output pup. Mad Mike uses Cool Rails, if you search 'Creepingnet' on youtube you will find his videos.

cbmog7

Well I figured a good mix would be high output in one pickup, low in the other, so I can mix between the two to go from metal to bluesy, to pop, etc. I figured a hot rails and cool rails/jb jr./59, etc. would make my guitar more versatile and able to get more sounds, you know?

And I'll check out youtube, thanks for the lead.

cbmog7

OK my situation has changed and I need some advice.

I'm putting a hot rails in the bridge--that's old news,

But I need to have a Lace pickup in the neck--but which one?

I was leaning towards the Lace Sensor Gold, but Lace makes a few pickups that resemble the golds.

Just the lace sensors have their own page on the Lace site there are so many, and you can see all of the choices here: http://www.agi-lace.com/electric_pickups/lace_sensor/lace_sensor_specs.php

And then all of the other pickups they have are here: http://www.agi-lace.com/electric_pickups/electric_pickups.php

If the Lace Sensors are the right choice, which one would be best? They have so many...All I know is the Golds have been recommended a few times to me.

Aside from the Sensors, I know the holy grails are nice, with a vintage strat-like tone.

I was also curious about the Alumitones and the Chrome Domes.

Also, the Hot Golds are tweaked versions of the of the traditional Lace Sensors, so that might work, but I don't want something too deep/hot for the neck, considering I've got a hot, fat tone coming from the bridge.