Which Jaguar should I get?

[OffYourFace]

That said, if you want to go into AVRI 65/AO territory - we do have this Allparts Japan D&B Jag neck group order

I'm in the top 10 group They probably won't be available until April

[MayTheFuzzBeWithYou]

That said, if you want to go into AVRI 65/AO territory - we do have this Allparts Japan D&B Jag neck group order

I'm in the top 10 group They probably won't be available until April

Well I could have read that list again too./before posting. but to my excuse it‘s a few hours after my (anticipated) bedtime.
Of course you are!…Everything else would be careless.

Well I can‘t possibly argue with „necessary“ impulse-buys in anticipation of those necks…for me it‘s parts hoarding to be ready whenever they arrive.

Out of the list, buying/playing stock: the Johnny Marr might be the winner of playability and they also come in great colors. While the Matching headstock of the AV65 would be a huge plus for me personally. But what of those really IS AVAILABLE immediately? And in which colour? 1-3 months don‘t seem to be too bad of a waiting period.

[JamesSGBrown]

AV65 is more versatile, but Marr is more unique, tonally.

See, I think the opposite re: versatility. The only thing the AV65 has is hum cancelling in the middle and the stock rhythm ckt.

If you're talking about the overall sound of the guitar (louder pickups, etc) and how it fits into musical situations, I could see that. It would be easy to mod the Marr to be a standard jag.

I'm not adverse to swapping out the pickups of the Marr to get hum-cancelling but I agree with J.Marr that it does kill the sustain.

Yeah I meant that the AV65 fits more seamlessly into the context of using multiple guitars without output-difference causing issues with gain staging etc. but this only matters if you’re swapping guitars live a lot. I ended up using the Marr for our whole set the other night after my JM ‘noped’ the fuck outta there by its strap button stripping its hole in the middle of a song, and it definitely made some things (sustain, bottom end) harder work but others (clean parts, arpeggios) more pleasing.

In the studio the Marr has always excelled because it’s such a unique tone, like “THAT’S the Jag”, whereas the AV65 kinda just sounds like a Fender, if you get me.

[Surfysonic]

Another purchase option to consider is...

Yeah but at the end of the day it's usually cheaper to just wait and buy a good rready-to-go guitar. I've built about a dozen vintage parts-guars. There are also two jaguars I regret letting go... a '65 parts-guar and an '86 MIJ CAR jaguar. That's it. All the rest were just ok. I just want to get a guitar and go these days.

BUT... if i found an AV65 or AO neck for sale, I'd reconsider. But tbh, I don't see many AV65 or AO Jaguars for sell atm, let alone any bodies and necks. People must really like them.

Look forward to see what you end up with in any event! Good luck!

Thanks!

Totally understand. I just had a look on Stratosphere and I was surprised to see a bunch of Johnny Marr '65 necks (1 with tuners, 5 without tuners). Great neck but not the same as the AV65 or AO of course.

FWIW, there are two American Original '60s Jaguar that are decently priced for sale in the US on Reverb currently. Surf Green and Sunburst finishes. Couple of Candy Apple Red ones overseas. https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=Fe ... ic-guitars

[Jonesie]

I voted Marrguar. I had one for a while and really enjoyed it, all four pickup options were useful and sounded great. I only traded it along because my Tele and my JM could get in the same ballpark as it, and I was able to get a Ric 330 out of the deal. The only negative about it was how thin the finish is. But if you don't mind a guitar with some eventual dings and nicks, you'll be good. Neck shape was super comfortable too.

[OffYourFace]

Thanks for all the replies and info!

I’d like to hear from the people who voted for the AVRI 62. Why did you choose that one?

[GilmourD]

I voted while playing the Jag which is a conglomeration of Marrguar KO body, Marrguar electronics purchased separately, and a BYOGuitar D&B neck I got cheap because the previous owner had zero clue how paint and trussrods work. LOL

[B.T.]

but the Marr is really good too. It just sounds less like a typical Jaguar to me. More like a telecaster/rickenbacker hybrid with a 24" scale.

Could someone elaborate on this? How does the JM Jag sound like a Telecaster/Ric hybrid?

Just wondering, been thinking about getting one

[OffYourFace]

but the Marr is really good too. It just sounds less like a typical Jaguar to me. More like a telecaster/rickenbacker hybrid with a 24" scale.

Could someone elaborate on this? How does the JM Jag sound like a Telecaster/Ric hybrid?

Just wondering, been thinking about getting one

Without having played one, I think I can take a guess. My guess it still sounds very Fender-y but not typical Jaguar-y. With the low output pickups, non reverse polarity neck pickup and the dual high pass filters, it’s going to be different for sure. My question is, even though the pickups are low-ish output, do they still sound bright or are they kind of darker? I’m not sure what type of magnets are used.

[sunburster]

but the Marr is really good too. It just sounds less like a typical Jaguar to me. More like a telecaster/rickenbacker hybrid with a 24" scale.

Could someone elaborate on this? How does the JM Jag sound like a Telecaster/Ric hybrid?

Just wondering, been thinking about getting one

Without having played one, I think I can take a guess. My guess it still sounds very Fender-y but not typical Jaguar-y. With the low output pickups, non reverse polarity neck pickup and the dual high pass filters, it’s going to be different for sure.

That's pretty much it. I've owned teles and a Ric 360, and when I first played the Marr I could instantly hear a similarity to both. I hear the tele sounds more in the neck and bridge, the Ric 360 sounds in the Series and Parallel (as well as the overall jangle to the guitar). Marr loves teles and Rics so I was not surprised to hear him voice his Jag in such a way. Of course you could argue a regular Jag has elements of teles and Rics in its sounds, and I'd agree, but I find it's more pronounced in the Marr jag. For example, the neck pickups on other Jags I've owned and my AV65 really cut through more with a pronounced "bite", whereas the Marr sounds more subdued like a tele neck pickup.

My question is, even though the pickups are low-ish output, do they still sound bright or are they kind of darker? I’m not sure what type of magnets are used.

They still have 1meg pots so they are brighter than a strat or tele. But not as bright as my AV65's pickups. The Marr has a softer "edge" to the sound. Slightly smoother than the AV65. Easier to play with the tone and volume on 10. The bridge pickup has more bass than my AV65's, but if you turn on the strangle switch they sound closer, though still noticeably less treble (thus less "bite") than the AV65. I've read they have A5 magnets like the AV65, but I didn't read this in an official spec sheet (because I don't think Fender or Bare Knuckle post this anywhere).

[B.T.]

Thanks! I thought there might be something special under the hood.

From a technical perspective the Ric toaster pickups are closer to Jazzmaster pickups than anything else. If you wired up a vintage Ric circuit in a JM you’d come pretty close to classic Ric tones. The later hi gain Ric pups have more in common with P90’s than a Jag pup.

The specs on the Marr Jag pickups don’t look under-wound so much as maybe shooting for an early Jag spec? The modern ‘65s look to be wound just slightly hotter. They have the same Alnico 5 mags, both use 42 awg, maybe his are wound with formvar vs enamel? Apparently an early run of Jags in ‘62 had formvar wire and they switched to enamel shortly thereafter.

Also Fender didn’t have RWRP pups back then either. That’s been seen with more modern offerings starting in the 80s and the old non hum cancelling winding has been revisited as of late across the lineup for more vintage accuracy. So it would also appear the Marr Jag is shooting for a specific earlier spec.

He probably thinks “tele” in the middle position when he discusses it in his video about the guitar (he also states the pups are exact recreations of his ‘62 Jag’s pickups in the same video) because the old ones had a raw tone in that position and RWRP kills it making it sound more refined. I suspect it’s a tone description he’s familiar with going back to his youth.

[andy_tchp]

Also Fender didn’t have RWRP pups back then either. That’s been seen with more modern offerings starting in the 80s and the old non hum cancelling winding has been revisited as of late across the lineup for more vintage accuracy.

Wait, what? Literally everything stated in the above two sentences is contrary to what I've known to be true previously.

The Marr sig is the only 'modern offering' deliberately spec'd with non RW/RP pickup sets AFAIK. Hardly 'across the lineup'.

Far as I know RW/RP pairs were introduced with the Jazzmaster in 1959 (though plenty are suspected of leaving the factory with the same pickup in both positions - Excellent information from Doug (Fullerplast) about this.). Which obviously preceded the Jag by ~3 years.

[OffYourFace]

Yeah, JMs and Jags always had rwrp. The strat's didn't have it until the early 80s and didn't have 5-way switches until '77

[B.T.]

I keep reading it was spec’d by Leo for them to have it but most did not?

[B.T.]

Far as I know RW/RP pairs were introduced with the Jazzmaster in 1959 (though plenty are suspected of leaving the factory with the same pickup in both positions - Excellent information from Doug (Fullerplast) about this.). Which obviously preceded the Jag by ~3 years.

Good read. Sounds about right.