Jaguar Pickup Advice--Warmer Clean Tones, Chime w/out Icepick

[dffny]

Hey all--

A perennial topic--please point me to an existing discussion if easier.

Wanting to put jaguar pickups back in my AVRI after years of playing with SD firebird pups.

I play mid-sixties style garage rock so want a classic, clean, chimey, trebly, jangly sound (akin to Rick, Gretsch) just not as thin and ice-picky as your typical jag sound (I really didn't like the AVRI pups it came with). I don't need breakup/overdrive beyond what my tone bender will supply.

I've been through all the vids on youtube but can't tell a thing from them, would rather get some recommendations from people that know the sound I want.

A warmer jaguar pickup for great clean tones--would Antiquity II get me there? Novak?

Lemme know.

Thanks!

[andy_tchp]

(I really didn't like the AVRI pups it came with).

Huh. Until I read this sentence I was going to suggest stock AVRI pickups, particularly given the requirement of wanting "a classic, clean, chimey, trebly, jangly sound". They deliver that in spades, and are a touch warmer than the very popular AV65 'Pure Vintage' pickups.

[GreenKnee]

A lot of modern repro Jag pickups have that problem. After asking numerous builders and trying a few out it seems the issue is due to just not enough wire being wrapped around those bobbins.
Mojo pickups in the UK make a good set, and I'm impressed with the Sunday Handwound Tomcats I recently put in a MIJ I bought (https://sundayhandwound.com/products/tomcats)

I've also found that swapping the 1meg pots in the lead circuit for 500k achieves the fuller, less ice picky character for the Fender reissue pickups. Could be a cheaper option than a pickup swap.

Turning the tone control down a smidge is the cheapest option, and really quite effective I've found

[dffny]

Those look very promising—thanks!

[GilmourD]

Hey all--

A perennial topic--please point me to an existing discussion if easier.

Wanting to put jaguar pickups back in my AVRI after years of playing with SD firebird pups.

I play mid-sixties style garage rock so want a classic, clean, chimey, trebly, jangly sound (akin to Rick, Gretsch) just not as thin and ice-picky as your typical jag sound (I really didn't like the AVRI pups it came with). I don't need breakup/overdrive beyond what my tone bender will supply.

I've been through all the vids on youtube but can't tell a thing from them, would rather get some recommendations from people that know the sound I want.

A warmer jaguar pickup for great clean tones--would Antiquity II get me there? Novak?

Lemme know.

Thanks!

Are we talking AVRI '62 or AO'65? Just wanna make sure that we have a proper baseline.

The reason I ask is that most people tend to think that the AVRI '62 pickups are too dark and warm and the AO/Pure Vintage '65s are brighter and a really good representation of the later, brighter surf sound. You saying that your pickups are thin and ice-picky is making me think you don't have an AVRI but an AO.

And with reference to your potential idea of Antiquities: Antiquity II's would be the brighter version, closer to the '65 sound, while the Antiquity I's would be the darker/mellower/warmer version, closer to the '62 sound.

[dffny]

Are we talking AVRI '62 or AO'65? Just wanna make sure that we have a proper baseline.

The reason I ask is that most people tend to think that the AVRI '62 pickups are too dark and warm and the AO/Pure Vintage '65s are brighter and a really good representation of the later, brighter surf sound. You saying that your pickups are thin and ice-picky is making me think you don't have an AVRI but an AO.

And with reference to your potential idea of Antiquities: Antiquity II's would be the brighter version, closer to the '65 sound, while the Antiquity I's would be the darker/mellower/warmer version, closer to the '62 sound.

Jeez--you guys are raking me over the coals!

It is a 2006 AVRI 62 jaguar. But I'm relying on memories of perceptions from probably 15 tears ago. I remember being so relieved when I got a telecaster and flipped it to the neck pickup and it was like a new dimension in sound--a place the jaguar just couldn't go. I was also playing through a Fender Twin at the time and my overall memory was that the thing sounded super thin and glassy. I'd love to get closer to the tonal range (not the sound)--warm to bright--of a telecaster, where you have a fairly hot and trebly bridge pickup balanced by a warmer neck pickup so you can get a nice chimey rhythm sound in the middle.

Thanks for the info on the Antiquities. I guess I could also reach out to a custom builder like Novak and just tell him what I want.

Cheers

[GilmourD]

Are we talking AVRI '62 or AO'65? Just wanna make sure that we have a proper baseline.

The reason I ask is that most people tend to think that the AVRI '62 pickups are too dark and warm and the AO/Pure Vintage '65s are brighter and a really good representation of the later, brighter surf sound. You saying that your pickups are thin and ice-picky is making me think you don't have an AVRI but an AO.

And with reference to your potential idea of Antiquities: Antiquity II's would be the brighter version, closer to the '65 sound, while the Antiquity I's would be the darker/mellower/warmer version, closer to the '62 sound.

Jeez--you guys are raking me over the coals!

Definitely not my intent to make you feel that way. I just work in technology so I'm always making sure that I have all the information I need to find a solution for my support tickets. LOL

It is a 2006 AVRI 62 jaguar. But I'm relying on memories of perceptions from probably 15 tears ago. I remember being so relieved when I got a telecaster and flipped it to the neck pickup and it was like a new dimension in sound--a place the jaguar just couldn't go. I was also playing through a Fender Twin at the time and my overall memory was that the thing sounded super thin and glassy. I'd love to get closer to the tonal range (not the sound)--warm to bright--of a telecaster, where you have a fairly hot and trebly bridge pickup balanced by a warmer neck pickup so you can get a nice chimey rhythm sound in the middle.

Thanks for the info on the Antiquities. I guess I could also reach out to a custom builder like Novak and just tell him what I want.

Cheers

Ah, so you're looking for super dark in the neck position, potentially depending on what that Tele neck pickup was. Ironically, the Fender Twisted Tele neck pickup was a response to people complaining that Tele neck pickups were too dark and wooly, so Fender made something more Strat-ish as an option with a physically taller coil wound with 42 gauge wire. That does tend to be the way I roll, but I totally get that I don't represent everybody.

Which Tele was it in particular? Teles range all over the place, too. A '50 Broadcaster spec will still twang but be much meatier. By the late '50s Fender switch to a lighter wind in the bridge but the neck pickup was still wound with 43 gauge wire (since it's physically narrower than a Strat due to the cover). My favorite Tele pickups are '60s spec when they were running with the raised D and G poles since they can still get that bright twang but also just rock out with the right amp/dirt combo.

I would probably say you're looking at a set with AlNiCo II poles that's slightly overwound compared to the usual vintage spec. It'll get you some fatness out of the neck without losing the overall Jag character.

One thing to remember with a Jag or Jazzmaster versus a Strat or Tele is that the neck pickup isn't under the "24th fret" harmonic node. Yeah, that particular harmonic node realistically only matters when playing open or 12th fret, but it's still closer to the bridge and thus picking up different harmonic content playing at any fret compared to a Strat or Tele. It's not quite pushed down enough to where it would be if there was an actual 24th fret that needed to physically be there, but it's still going to be a tad brighter in the neck compared to other 21 and 22 fret guitars.

[dffny]

The tele pickups I have are either 62 or 64 fender reissues--whatever they were selling commonly around 2010. They were cheap, a little over $100 for a pair. They do have the raised pole pieces and sound great, especially the neck.

Thanks for the suggestion about the overwound alnico II.

Cheers

[GilmourD]

The tele pickups I have are either 62 or 64 fender reissues--whatever they were selling commonly around 2010. They were cheap, a little over $100 for a pair. They do have the raised pole pieces and sound great, especially the neck.

Thanks for the suggestion about the overwound alnico II.

Cheers

OK, so you like a good twang in the bridge and something quite a bit darker in the neck.

Just remember that I said slighty overwound.

Throw that idea at Curtis Novak and Tim at Sunday Handwound and see what ideas they come back with.

[dffny]

Thanks

[andy_tchp]

I would lean towards Tim at SH. I find Novak's pickups too bright/harsh.

[kndw]

I've got a Roswell jaguar PU in the neck position. It is difficult to describe the sound of course, but I can try: it is less twangy than a single coil, but articulate and it has a bite. Maybe 'bell-like' also fits as a decription. The character does depend quite a bit on the distance to the strings. I quite like it, and they're cheap, so you might want to try it.

[GilmourD]

I've got a Roswell jaguar PU in the neck position. It is difficult to describe the sound of course, but I can try: it is less twangy than a single coil, but articulate and it has a bite. Maybe 'bell-like' also fits as a decription. The character does depend quite a bit on the distance to the strings. I quite like it, and they're cheap, so you might want to try it.

FYI, Roswell makes the Squier Classic Vibe pickups. And I do have to agree that the CV Jag set is really quite nice!

[MechaBulletBill]

I've also found that swapping the 1meg pots in the lead circuit for 500k achieves the fuller, less ice picky character for the Fender reissue pickups. Could be a cheaper option than a pickup swap.

Turning the tone control down a smidge is the cheapest option, and really quite effective I've found

second both of these points!

[Caddy65]

I've also found that swapping the 1meg pots in the lead circuit for 500k achieves the fuller, less ice picky character for the Fender reissue pickups. Could be a cheaper option than a pickup swap.

Turning the tone control down a smidge is the cheapest option, and really quite effective I've found

second both of these points!

Another vote for trying that. Have you tried using the tone pot with them? That is what it was put there for. I have the PV ‘65 pickups in mine and I can make it as warm and full as I want by using that tone pot.