Replacing Pickups and doing something about bridge in Jagstang

Shayne93

I was thinking of getting a new electric guitar, like an American Strat, but I love the JS too much.

Mine is a 98(I think, I've got the original paperwork around here somewhere) and is Sonic Blue, however has aged to a nice surf greenish look.

I was thinking of instead of replacing it, restoring it. I had a Mustang RI with a Seymour Duncan HB in the bridge and I liked that.

I thought I would get a new pickguard and maybe a new control plate so I can keep the original stuff tucked away.

I thought go a Seymour Duncan HB in the bridge, but I'm not sure about the neck... But that's no biggy, maybe a SD Cool Rails, JB-Jr. or a hot rails?

I could do all this for $150 (Making a guitar I love make the sounds I love.

Also, should I run stock 250k pots of go something else?

I also thought of putting locking tuners in.. Should I do this? Do any Grover or Gotoh locking tuners screw straight up and don't need new holes?

The old man is a spray painter and I was going to get a paint shop to do an eyematch on the aged sonic blue colour and get Dad to repaint it, as it has a few bumps and dings in it... Or maybe I should paint it actual sonic blue, I dunno, I love the ages Sonic Blue/Green 😀

Onto the 'beloved' bridge, I always feel Am sounds out of tune and sounds yuck. But I'm not fond of the bridge. Should I wrap the posts of the bridge in insulation tape (like the TOM) mod so it doesn't move? I have locked my trem down, see the below pics.

Does anyone have any suggestions on any of this? Good idea? bad idea?

(This Photo doesn't do it justice, but the flash brings out the Sonic Blue, and it is quite different to Sonic Blue)

spirograph

i cant give you any technical advice cos i dont own a jagstang, but PLEASE DONT REFINISH IT! id try not to put any new holes in it if i were you, but im sure you can get locking tuners that fit w/out drilling.

and aged hardware is the dogs bollocks. (that means its good - in case you dont understand my dialect!)

redman1401

About the color, even though fender lists it as sonic blue, its really not. Some people say its due to age and thats why its changed color, but i have a sonic blue mustang from 94-95 and its still bluer than my jagstang that's from 97. Honestly i like the aqua green color, makes it unique.

Shayne93

I've gone off the idea of a repaint.

I wrapped the bridge posts in insulation tape so it couldn't move.

I will probably go a white SD JB humbucker, seems to be the go on here and then take the guitar in for a setup

redman1401

Shayne93 said:
I've gone off the idea of a repaint.
I wrapped the bridge posts in insulation tape so it couldn't move.
I will probably go a white SD JB humbucker, seems to be the go on here and then take the guitar in for a setup

Is there a specific tone you're aiming for? For mine, I put a Dragonfire screamer in the bridge. Dragonfire is similar to GFS in that they're cheap cost, but its overwound to like 16.9k so its a very hot pickup that i absolutely love in it, and it cost me about $40 USD with shipping for a matched set of bridge and neck ones.

Shayne93

I'd like a nice clean tone that distorts well. Sort of a clean sound like 'Dave Grohl's' but something that will distort and sound good too.

I like the sound of Gibson guitars but can't find one i like, where I like the look of Fender's but the sound isn't what I'm looking for.

redman1401

Shayne93 said:
I'd like a nice clean tone that distorts well. Sort of a clean sound like 'Dave Grohl's' but something that will distort and sound good too.
I like the sound of Gibson guitars but can't find one i like, where I like the look of Fender's but the sound isn't what I'm looking for.

are you looking for a high output humbucker? if so i'd recommend the dragonfire one i got in mine, cost $40 for a matched set of bridge and neck, the bridge wound to 16.9k and the neck around 8.4k. it cleans up really well with 500k pots and handles distortion very well.

cobainjagstang123

I got a Seymour Duncan invader put into my Jagstang.. It sounds super great for distortion and surprisingly cleans up very well when running the invader and the single coil

foxyloxy

If you go with the high output pups it is a really good idea to get 500K pot's and hell new wiring couldn't hurt. I only have experience with the JB jr. it's not the pickup for me it's a little bit bland look into a SD Little '59 it's a bit nicer than the Jr. I would look for a nice vintage style hot single coil but that's just my opinion, maybe a jag pup? A duncan in the bridge sounds like a great idea.

Don't refinish it, just get a new PG/ white tort looks tacky imo.

WeezerGeek182

cobainjagstang123 said:
I got a Seymour Duncan invader put into my Jagstang.. It sounds super great for distortion and surprisingly cleans up very well when running the invader and the single coil

I thought about doing that. I always thought it would be cool to have an Invader with a lace sensor.

johnnykazz

Shayne93 said:
I'd like a nice clean tone that distorts well. Sort of a clean sound like 'Dave Grohl's' but something that will distort and sound good too.
I like the sound of Gibson guitars but can't find one i like, where I like the look of Fender's but the sound isn't what I'm looking for.

Hey Shayne93,

Dave Grohl's sound is very tough to replicate completely on point due to the thousands of dollars worth of equipment he uses. It is to my understanding from being a huge FF and watch a lot of different performances of theirs that Dave does not just simply use pedals to achieve his tones. He actually uses an A/B box which is exactly what it implies, it has an A-chain and a B-Chain. His A-Chain outputs to a Vox AC30 for his clean tone. His B-Chain outputs to either a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier or Road King for his distorted sounds.

I think that you could easily achieve a fairly close attempt at getting this type of sound. Since we are talking about your guitar, I will mention that, although it would be a very successful attempt in my opinion if you had an EL34 tube amp. As far as your original post goes, I recommend taking your guitar in to a luthier for a setup as this is a very inexpensive job and will improve your experience with a JS.

Regarding the pickups, Dave Grohl uses a Gibson guitar and you said you liked the tone of Gibson's but not the look. IMO, this is what lead to Fender's success in the first place haha. Davey uses a signature model Gibson that has two Gibson Burstbuckers in it. Gibson does sell these Burstbuckers uncovered and I think you would be able to get a great sound that you would enjoy. They come in 3 different versions -- medium-hot vintage output, overwound hot output, and overwound super-hot output. They are fairly expensive for a pickup, so I know this probably makes me look like a pompous prick, but I really think the overwound super-hot output Burstbucker would really please you. It would be oozing with PAF tones, sound creamy clean just like Dave, and obviously being the super-hot output would turn mean in a second. Since this is a $149 pickup, it may not be the cheapest, but I think you'd be really happy.

Burstbucker Information

eBay Link - Burstbucker 3 - $109.00!!!

^^ That is a good deal.

Shayne93

Thanks for that Johnny.

I am finding my biggest problem is today I want an FF type sound, tomorrow it might be a Led Zep sound and the next day I might want something I haven't really heard before. I have found I am getting more into acoustic guitars for what I have been playing lately, and my JS still does well on some of the leady stuff for it.

johnnykazz

Shayne93 said:
Thanks for that Johnny.
I am finding my biggest problem is today I want an FF type sound, tomorrow it might be a Led Zep sound and the next day I might want something I haven't really heard before. I have found I am getting more into acoustic guitars for what I have been playing lately, and my JS still does well on some of the leady stuff for it.

I know what you mean. It would be a beautiful thing if it were more inexpensive to have multiple guitars with different pickup combinations eh? As far as being into multiple sounds and worried about your changing tastes, I would say to listen to the advice that some of the others gave you. I would go with an aftermarket Seymour Duncan humbucker. There is nothing at all wrong with changing tastes and it's a good thing 😀 Good luck in finding the pickup for you.