Duncan '59s vs. HB103 (Jagmaster stock pups)

niqtar

When I was researching my initial Jagmaster purchase, I ran across an owner review which I found very interesting. This review was by an experienced player who loved the Jagmaster but changed the pups to Duncan '59s. He said... [edited for compactness]...

"Nice neck, nice action, nice and underrated, get over the brand name hype and you will sound like a music warrior. Change the pups to a matched set of Duncan 59's. Heaven on Earth, that is all I'm saying. Change the pots to Audio taper 250k and you are set. Use the factory capacitor. Trust me."

I think that the stock pups are pretty good, do you think the that the '59s would be worth the $130 price tag?

I am going to replace the biggest flaw of the Jagmaster, the really horrible looking tortoise shell pickguard, with a white pearl or antique pearl pickguard. I figure that if the pup upgrade is worth it, I may as well do them at the same time to avoid stripping the screw holes.

However, I also thought that while I have the pickguard off, I may inset some threaded screw anchors and use machine screws for the pickguard so that I can take it off as often as I like, without ruining the wood.

Thoughts or suggestions, anyone?

Robbmonster

If you think the stock pickups are fine, that's exactly what they are: fine.

niqtar

Robbmonster said: If you think the stock pickups are fine, that's exactly what they are: fine.

Well, that's a very pragmatic view Rob. I said that the stock pickups were pretty good but I was asking if the '59's would be an improvement. I agree that I may be jumping to quickly into an upgrade that is not, at all, pressing. I should live with the HB-103 at least for a little while, if not forever.

My "logic" was purely emotional. You see, unlike many others on this forum, I have only one guitar and wanted to make it the ultimate, dream guitar for me. I got the Jagmaster becasue it had a 24" scale, a nice neck and a great finish. I could see that with a few mods, say $300 -$400 dollars more, I would have invested a total of $600 - $700 for a guitar that was setup with everything that I wanted and would easily complete with a guitar costing much more.

I am pretty sure that the "real" Duncan pickups are better than the "Duncan Designed" pickups. Wouldn't they have to be? I mean, if you are going to sell an aftermarket pickup and you manufacture the OEM, wouldn't you make the upgrade worth the extra money.

In the final analysis, I don't know. The Jagmaster is such a giant-killer, maybe the pickups are in the same league. It is as if Fender made a secret miracle guitar for budget buyers that will always remain a secret to everyone but the initiated because the big-buck buyers and Brand snobs will never, ever, look at such a low-priced guitar with such a ridiculous name as Jagmaster!

Anyway, I think that there may be a chance of getting more sustain and possibly a slightly improved tone from different pickups.

Robbmonster

I truly understand your point of view. To prove I understand it, here is a pic of my own Jagmaster...

I did exactly what you plan to do: modded it to make it better suited to me. I left the stock JagMast pickup in the neck position. I didn't like the one in the bridge, so it went.

When I posted the last reply, I really didnt feel like talking guitars, so I just posted a very base opinion on the matter. I'm usually not that gruff.

As you can already tell, the Jagmaster is a great guitar, but in choosing replacement pickups, proceed carefully.

Remember that the guitar has a swimming pool rout, and no shielding on the pickguard. The wrong pickups might feed back more than desired.

As for the difference between 'Seymour Duncan', and 'Duncan Designed', it's much the same as the difference between Fender and Squier. The DD's are made in Korea using cheaper labour, cheaper components, and looser quality control. Outside of that, they are made more or less to emulate the SD HB101.

The worst thing about buying aftermarket pickups - and the reason I have not spent more when I have done it - is because it's so hard to try before you buy.

I would suggest typing the names of some pickups you are considering into youtube and taking a looksee. The people who post those vids are usually willing to answer questions too.