Buildup of a 1963 Fender Jaguar By Doug Lesho 12/2004 Revised 2/2006

DAY THREE

Here are today's players; namely the shrunken pickguard, shield, bridge, cover, mute, and mute foam. It doesn't seem like much, but this day will be as eventful as the previous.

I began by filing the pickguard, which had shrunk as most all of the early nitrate-based guards do. It could be made to fit as is, however it did not sit well over the bridge cups and the pickups would not fit loosely enough through the cutouts to enable height adjustment. I've learned it's best to slightly enlarge all the openings, instead of just trying to oblong the openings that seem to be causing the trouble. I used a Craftsmen mini file and began the chore. Though tedious, It can actually be an enjoyable task. It can be performed sitting in the recliner in front of the TV if you choose. Remember, a good rule of thumb for filing is; you can always take off more, but you can never put any back! Therefore, relax and take it slow. I would make a few passes through the cutouts and then hold it in place on the body. Once the pickups and the bridge cups popped through fairly easily, I  then concentrated on the tighter areas only. I carefully worked them until the pickguard fit with ease.  As for the 3-switch plate, I found that simply loosening the mount screws and a bit of finagling enabled it to fit through with little filing.

This nasty old pickguard shield was corroded and someone had tried to clean it with something abrasive. Not very pretty but still functional. I cleaned off all the old tape residue. Note: I've since replaced this with a nicer one.

The good folks at Fender originally taped these shields in place with transparent tape. I cleaned off the old residue and retaped it at the original locations. I then installed the guard and shield assembly on the guitar. Next, I polished and waxed the mute plate, then cleaned the area where the pad will go. I glued the pad in place with Duco Cement. Many people use self-adhesive weatherstripping for the mute foam. That works great, but I didn't have any. I did have a small piece of foam that came in some pickup packaging, so I cut that to size. The correct American Vintage replacement piece is available from Guitar Parts Resource. I'll probably end up swapping this out at a later point (I did), but the homemade piece is just fine for now.

Duco Cement is good stuff. It has many uses, I've used it to install replacement nuts as well.

Lookin' good! This is where it really gets exciting. If your heart is not beating faster right now, just close the browser and walk away.

Decision time once again. I had three complete bridges and a baggie of parts to choose from. Close inspection revealed one bridge was apparently from an earlier Jazzmaster. Contrary to popular belief, the bridges are not identical. When the Jaguar arrived on the scene in '62, it showed up with longer bridge legs. This enables the bridge extra height for the required clearance over the mute assembly. It also leads to the installation of the neck pocket shim as discussed on day one. The package was designed this way, but it is not always mandatory to have the longer legs and a shim. It is actually dependent on many factors such as saddle adjustment, truss rod, neck, and neck pocket. But I've found that setup is much easier this way and it just seems right to do it as it was intended. Some people feel that a neck shim is somehow inferior and affects tone. To each his/her own, build your Jag the way you want it. I prefer it this way and have not discovered a downside. More on this later as we discuss bridge adjustment...

All bridges are not created equal. Note the longer legs of the bridge at right.

The bridge and cover cleaned up very well, beyond my expectations. Notice two things in this picture that signify original parts; the domed rivet heads holding the legs onto the bridge and the little  'flip' at the bottom sides of the bridge cover. The reissues pieces are not like this. Also, the saddle adjustment allen screws should be .050" on original pieces.  Note the three different thread sizes on the saddles. Finally, check out the "pre-setup" as explained in the text.

The Jaguar bridge is a point of much contention, although it doesn't have to be. This bridge has led to the Jaguar (and Jazzmaster) being typecast as second-class citizens, even within Fender circles. Many people replace it with a tuneomatic, replace the saddles with Mustang or aftermarket, tape the bridge posts to keep it from moving as it was intended, and/or install an aftermarket buzzstop device. Again, to each his own. I am a staunch advocate of this bridge. I selected one with the longer legs from my stash and disassembled it for cleaning. It cleaned up very well.  A little trick is to flip the saddles over. On many a bridge that has not been terribly abused, the saddles are much less corroded on the bottom side. I flipped the saddles, inverted the height adjustment screws, and held the better side of the spring on top with my thumb as I reassembled the bridge. The result was amazing! If I didn't know better, II would almost assume this was a new bridge.

I like to do a little "pre-setup" on the bridge as I assemble it. A major source of the dreaded buzz on this bridge is from the saddles and hardware rattling. Much of the rattle, if not all, can be eliminated by raising the saddles almost to the max. I go ahead and do this before I ever install the bridge. First, I preset the intonation by memory. The low e saddle gets cranked back as far as it can go by turning the saddle screw until the spring is completely compressed. The a saddle goes back until the trailing edge is centered on the low e saddle. Likewise the d saddle gets cranked until it is even with the center of the a. The g saddle gets cranked all the way back as did the low e. Next, the b goes back even with the a, that is, the trailing edge stops at the center of the g. This leaves the high e, it gets the same treatment and should end up near the end of the intonation screw.  Next, I raise the saddles using the curvature of the bridge plate as a guide. I raise them until (by sight) the angle of the g intonation screw appears that it may contact the string when installed. I apologize for this tedious explanation and hope I haven't insulted anyone's intelligence. This was explained to me years ago and has been an excellent rule of thumb. Your mileage may vary, but I've found the intonation to be very close and the absence of rattle with very little effort upon setup.

The saddles should follow the curve of the bridgeplate and about half of the intonation screws should be visible when viewed from this angle. This will save some grief later on. After dropping it in the holes, you can site down the fretboard  from the rear and fine-tune the curve as necessary.

Completing the pre-setup, I turned out the bridge leg adjustment screws about halfway. This should give us enough clearance for strings and will be fine-tuned later. This is accomplished by sticking a .050" allen wrench down the holes at the domed rivets on either side of the bridge, viewed from the top. I like to lower the pickups at this point as well, they too will be adjusted later.

Before stringing, I looked over the Jag and did some tidying up and polishing. I like to use Mequier's automotive products for detailing. I use their 3 step method. Step1(body cleaner) is not necessary on a brand new finish, but works fantastic on a vintage finish. It removes dirt, minor defects and oxidation without scratching. Step 2 (polish) is used on the body, pickguard, and chrome parts. After buffing, I applied step 3 (carnauba wax) as a protectorant.  I've also used 3M Finesse products to good effect. I've never had a bad experience with either product, except for my own lack of adeptness with power tools. Don't go too crazy with the elbow grease, and I don't recommend machine polishing. Maybe you are more proficient than I, but ever since I buffed through a perfect Desert Sand refin (that I had painstakingly applied myself to a '60 Duo-Sonic), I have shied away from power buffers. Obviously, the finish on this Jag was already extensively buffed by Lay's. I only did enough to remove the fine dirt and grease from the assembly process, and then applied the protective wax. By the way, I did not wax the headstock as I felt it could use a little more aging to better match the body. Time will take care of this sooner than you may think, the nitro ages fast. I don't want to inhibit it.

I happened to notice that a few of the tuner ferrules  were not flush with the headstock. I remedied this with my faithful ball peen and a 7 mm deepwell socket.

A bit of lemon oil does well for the rosewood,  I use Old English. I put on a good coat, let it sit and soak, then wiped up the excess.

Now it's time for stringing. I installed a set of Fender XL Stainless Flats (.011s). Of course, this is a subjective choice. I won't recommend any brand over any other, we all have our preference. I will assume that if you're reading this, you know how to string a guitar so I won't cover it in depth. If not, there are plenty of resources on the web. I will mention one very basic thing; the string ends go into those little holes in the Kluson tuner shafts! I only mention this because I continually receive guitars that have been strung through the slots with the ends flying out all crazy. It's a pet peeve.

Check for clearance between the strings and the intonation screws. The g is the most likely place where it would happen.

The bridge simply drops into the holes. I like to sight down from the top and place the strings approximately over the pickup poles.

I tuned the guitar and checked the intonation. Due to the pre-setup, it was very close and needed only minor tweaking. Again, I will not cover this procedure in depth. Once set, I checked the strings for contact with the intonation screws. I found I had to lower the saddles slightly all in proportion to maintain the curve. Next I lowered the bridge by adjusting through the leg holes in the rivets, and tuned again. I repeated this procedure until the intonation, action and tuning were spot-on (action again being a matter of preference).

Raising the saddles and lowering the bridge increases the break angle of the strings, increasing tension and reducing buzz.  This preload is essential .

Although there was no bridge buzz, I did have an annoying fret buzz on between the 5th and 7th frets. I loosened up the neck plate screws, tilted the neck back slightly, and tightened the truss. I had to adjust it twice; the first attempt was too much and I had buzz on the 1st and 2nd frets. I backed it off just bit, and with that little compromise, I had it nailed!  At this point I adjusted the pickups. There are instructions for a certain measurement on Fender's Mr. Gearhead page, but I just did it by sight.

Raise and/or lower the pickups by rotating the mount screws. Too far away and you lose output. Too close may cause false tones and possibly cause the strings to stick on the poles.

Now I'm finally ready to plug it in and wring it out! I used the aforementioned Champion 110, and  ended up playing for about an hour before calling it quits for the day. It felt right and sounded great, and I am very happy with the completed project.

This concludes the saga of the buildup of my 1963 Fender Jaguar. I hope you enjoyed it and that you will be able to use it as a resource. However, I have a small disclaimer; I am not a professional guitar repairman. I've found these procedures to work well, without adverse affects. They may or may not be technically correct. Likewise, the products I used are only my preference. The maufacturers of the products, nor myself, are responsible if harm comes to your precious guitar! I showed them here in a good faith effort, because they have worked for me.  Last words: Remember, anyone can just go buy a guitar. It's much more fun (not to mention personally satisfying) to build, maintain, or restore one!  Play on!

I treated my new baby to an original  '63 white tolex case!

Acknowledgements: I owe a debt of gratitude and possibly an apology to Clay Harrell, the author of the best vintage website that I have ever seen, Vintage Guitar Info. The apology is because I have read that site so many times that it got imprinted into my brain. I may have inadvertantly mimmicked some phrasology. Anyway, he gets the credit here.  Finally, thanks to Dan Shinn and the team at Lay's Guitar Shop.

Links:

Vintage Guitar Info The Higher Evolution of Off-Set Waist Guitars

www.fenderjaguar.net

Mel Waldorf's Jaguar and Jazzmaster Page

Lay's Guitar Shop

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