NGD - Squier Contemporary Jaguar HH ST

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NGD - Squier Contemporary Jaguar HH ST

Post by Surfysonic » Mon Jun 14, 2021 11:07 am

Pre-ordered this Squier Contemporary Jaguar HH ST (shoreline gold) in February and it finally arrived today! Lovely fit & finish. Bit hefty, feeling like it weighs about 8 or 9 pounds. Stock Atomic pickups sound good - no plans to upgrade at this point. The laurel rosewood is a lighter brown than other Squier (MII) necks and not so dried out looking. It actually looks fairly similar to the rosewood on my Fender '62 RI neck/Squier CV '60s body build (shown below). I'll give the board a nice wipedown with boiled linseed oil in any case.

I'm impressed and pleased so far. Like the Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster, I think it's another sleeper MIC guitar. Excellent quality and value. Definitely a keeper!

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Last edited by Surfysonic on Mon Jun 14, 2021 11:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: NGD - Squier Contemporary Jaguar HH ST

Post by Embenny » Mon Jun 14, 2021 11:12 am

Glad it finally arrived! I love the solid gold lettering on the headstock, that's a nice touch. I've owned three HH hardtail Jaguars in my life and none have been lightweight, so that checks out. I think they weigh the same as regular Jags because whatever weight you save by skipping the vibrato you gain back by not having the vibrato rout.

I'm impressed that these have carved heels and roasted maple necks. Squier has really upped their game lately.
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Re: NGD - Squier Contemporary Jaguar HH ST

Post by Surfysonic » Mon Jun 14, 2021 1:56 pm

Thanks, Mike! Yeah, the roasted neck and carved heels is really schweet! :w00t:
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Re: NGD - Squier Contemporary Jaguar HH ST

Post by Wucan » Mon Jun 14, 2021 1:59 pm

Argh, stop the torture! Every retailer I've asked here don't even know if they'll get their 2021 Squiers this year... lucky you!

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Re: NGD - Squier Contemporary Jaguar HH ST

Post by Surfysonic » Mon Jun 14, 2021 2:40 pm

Ha! I feel your pain, Wucan - some people got their Jag HH STs about a month ago and I was jonesing by then, too. :?

Forgot to mention that the good folks at Main Street Music & Sound in PA who sold this to me via Reverb did me a solid by setting up the guitar with D'Addario EXL-115 (11s) on it before shipping it out to me. :)

I'll see how I'll get on with the stock SQR Atomic humbuckers. I'm starting to remember that when I first pre-ordered it that I was thinking about upgrading the pickups - possibly with some Novak Firebird pickups. We shall see... :whistle:
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Re: NGD - Squier Contemporary Jaguar HH ST

Post by MayTheFuzzBeWithYou » Mon Jun 14, 2021 2:56 pm

Niiiiiiiiice!
Congratulations! Great looking guitar and amp! :?

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Re: NGD - Squier Contemporary Jaguar HH ST

Post by Surfysonic » Mon Jun 14, 2021 4:34 pm

MayTheFuzzBeWithYou wrote:
Mon Jun 14, 2021 2:56 pm
Niiiiiiiiice!
Congratulations! Great looking guitar and amp! :?
Thanks! I got lucky finding the '62 Fender Bassman at a used music gear shop, Atomic Music. I traded a bunch of stuff to offset the listed used price of like $1800 for it at the time. They've got a brownface '62 Fender Deluxe combo there now for $2899. Very tempted to haul some more gear there to whittle down that price! :?

Just had another go on the Jag HH ST - the stock pickups are actually quite decent. 8) I think I'll hold off on the Novak Firebird pickups and do a separate offset build with them down the road.
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Re: NGD - Squier Contemporary Jaguar HH ST

Post by Embenny » Mon Jun 14, 2021 5:11 pm

Surfysonic wrote:
Mon Jun 14, 2021 2:40 pm
I'll see how I'll get on with the stock SQR Atomic humbuckers. I'm starting to remember that when I first pre-ordered it that I was thinking about upgrading the pickups - possibly with some Novak Firebird pickups. We shall see... :whistle:
You could say I'm a fan of Firebirds in HH Jaguars. It's a small club, but we have a few members here on the board. I think they're a natural pairing.

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I've had Firebirds in four different Offsets, and they sounded the best in the hardtail Jags, hands down. Thinking about it, I guess the warmth of the short scale and the longer sustain/lower emphasis on attack from the hardtail make the HH Jags more similar to the actual Firebird they were designed for than, say, a Jazzmaster or a Jag or Mustang with a vibrato. They sound good in anything, but they just sound the best to me in Jaguars (or actual Firebirds).

FYI, if you want to keep the HH look and/or reuse the pickguard, the pickups in my gunmetal blue Jag are called Big Birds, from D'Urbano Magnetics/Mr. Fabulous in Australia. They've got PAF-sized bobbins with PAF-sized bar magnets in them, but are constructed in the same manner as Firebirds. They're basically the WRHBs of the Firebird world. Physically bigger and bigger-sounding with more low end than a vintage Firebird, but the same characteristic clarity and attack.

I had Fab wind mine with asymmetric bobbins (one coil with 43g wire and A5, one coil with 44g wire and A5 degaussed to A2 strength), and wired to Duncan Triple Shot rings. Each coil is roughly analogous to a strat-sized lipstick tube pickup (big bar magnet, low inductance, significant eddy currents from a full metal cover), so it gets all sorts of Danelectro-like tones as well. You could just get a standard/symmetrical wind and a simple coil split to similar effect, too, if you don't need the fifteen million combinations. I wanted to try it "for science" and there's definitely a difference between each position, but realistically a single split tone per pickup would be more than enough to add variety and make a great pair of pickups even better.

Of course, I'll never argue against getting Curtis to wind you up some Firebirds if that's the direction you're leaning. I've had three sets of his pickups over the years and they've all been great. I wouldn't bother coil splitting a vintage Firebird, that'd be too thin a tone, so I leave my standard Firebirds wired in series as nature intended.

PS, how long until this one is sporting some stickers? :P
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Re: NGD - Squier Contemporary Jaguar HH ST

Post by Surfysonic » Mon Jun 14, 2021 7:11 pm

mbene085 wrote:
Mon Jun 14, 2021 5:11 pm
Surfysonic wrote:
Mon Jun 14, 2021 2:40 pm
I'll see how I'll get on with the stock SQR Atomic humbuckers. I'm starting to remember that when I first pre-ordered it that I was thinking about upgrading the pickups - possibly with some Novak Firebird pickups. We shall see... :whistle:
You could say I'm a fan of Firebirds in HH Jaguars. It's a small club, but we have a few members here on the board. I think they're a natural pairing.

Image

Image

I've had Firebirds in four different Offsets, and they sounded the best in the hardtail Jags, hands down. Thinking about it, I guess the warmth of the short scale and the longer sustain/lower emphasis on attack from the hardtail make the HH Jags more similar to the actual Firebird they were designed for than, say, a Jazzmaster or a Jag or Mustang with a vibrato. They sound good in anything, but they just sound the best to me in Jaguars (or actual Firebirds).

FYI, if you want to keep the HH look and/or reuse the pickguard, the pickups in my gunmetal blue Jag are called Big Birds, from D'Urbano Magnetics/Mr. Fabulous in Australia. They've got PAF-sized bobbins with PAF-sized bar magnets in them, but are constructed in the same manner as Firebirds. They're basically the WRHBs of the Firebird world. Physically bigger and bigger-sounding with more low end than a vintage Firebird, but the same characteristic clarity and attack.

I had Fab wind mine with asymmetric bobbins (one coil with 43g wire and A5, one coil with 44g wire and A5 degaussed to A2 strength), and wired to Duncan Triple Shot rings. Each coil is roughly analogous to a strat-sized lipstick tube pickup (big bar magnet, low inductance, significant eddy currents from a full metal cover), so it gets all sorts of Danelectro-like tones as well. You could just get a standard/symmetrical wind and a simple coil split to similar effect, too, if you don't need the fifteen million combinations. I wanted to try it "for science" and there's definitely a difference between each position, but realistically a single split tone per pickup would be more than enough to add variety and make a great pair of pickups even better.

Of course, I'll never argue against getting Curtis to wind you up some Firebirds if that's the direction you're leaning. I've had three sets of his pickups over the years and they've all been great. I wouldn't bother coil splitting a vintage Firebird, that'd be too thin a tone, so I leave my standard Firebirds wired in series as nature intended.

PS, how long until this one is sporting some stickers? :P
Nice! Your red Jag definitely has the look I was imagining - I think it would be perfect too. I'd like not to try and modify the stock pickguard as I've done that to the detriment of my Squier Paranormal Offset Tele...on the bright side, I'm learning how to cut a decent pickguard...hopefully. I wonder if there is anyone out there that makes or can make a Jag pickguard suited for Firebird pickups.

LOL re: stickers - I have to leave this one pristine. When my wife saw it, she said I had better not make it another refinish project as it looks so nice. I agree and I wouldn't put stickers on this Jag's body, either. Maybe a single sticker on the pickguard if I get inspired? :whistle:
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Re: NGD - Squier Contemporary Jaguar HH ST

Post by Embenny » Mon Jun 14, 2021 7:34 pm

Surfysonic wrote:
Mon Jun 14, 2021 7:11 pm
I wonder if there is anyone out there that makes or can make a Jag pickguard suited for Firebird pickups.
Tony and Pickguardian has cut me many a Jag pickguard with weird pickups. He wouldn't break a sweat doing Firebirds. Since the Squier is a new model, he'd probably ask that you send your stock pickguard to him to use as a template since other HH Jag pickguards might not line up perfectly.

Alternatively, since your stock guard is cut for pickup rings, you could just get PAF-to-mini conversion rings and keep the same guard.

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Re: NGD - Squier Contemporary Jaguar HH ST

Post by Surfysonic » Mon Jun 14, 2021 9:15 pm

mbene085 wrote:
Mon Jun 14, 2021 7:34 pm
Surfysonic wrote:
Mon Jun 14, 2021 7:11 pm
I wonder if there is anyone out there that makes or can make a Jag pickguard suited for Firebird pickups.
Tony and Pickguardian has cut me many a Jag pickguard with weird pickups. He wouldn't break a sweat doing Firebirds. Since the Squier is a new model, he'd probably ask that you send your stock pickguard to him to use as a template since other HH Jag pickguards might not line up perfectly.

Alternatively, since your stock guard is cut for pickup rings, you could just get PAF-to-mini conversion rings and keep the same guard.

Image
Cool, I'll look for the conversion rings first as that seems to be the quickest solution - thanks! Guess I'll be putting in an order for the Novak Firebird pickups tomorrow. 8)
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Re: NGD - Squier Contemporary Jaguar HH ST

Post by Futuron » Tue Jun 15, 2021 3:45 am

8) Haha, yes I got mine (skyburst) in April, couldn't believe something came out in Australia so early and didn't know if they'd have a second run here or not (Paranormals didn't, and I missed out) so I had to swoop on something so terrific at that price.

Great choice, and honestly I can't understand why you are even thinking of modding this guitar, it sounds good and looks fab!

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Re: NGD - Squier Contemporary Jaguar HH ST

Post by Surfysonic » Tue Jun 15, 2021 4:07 am

Futuron wrote:
Tue Jun 15, 2021 3:45 am
8) Haha, yes I got mine (skyburst) in April, couldn't believe something came out in Australia so early and didn't know if they'd have a second run here or not (Paranormals didn't, and I missed out) so I had to swoop on something so terrific at that price.

Great choice, and honestly I can't understand why you are even thinking of modding this guitar, it sounds good and looks fab!
After a night’s sleep, I think I’ll leave it stock because the pickups are quite nice and I like the coil split options available.

I’ll still get a set of Novak Firebird pickups and instead get a custom pickguard made for my daphne blue Squier Classic Vibe ‘70s Jaguar unless the pickup routes are too small - then I'll think about getting a Vintera '60s Jaguar Modified HH body or another model entirely with workable routs. I'm a bit heavy with Jazzmasters (5) and Jaguars (5) now, so if I can't mod the Squier Classic Vibe ‘70s Jaguar, then maybe I'll think Mustang - only have 2. :whistle:

The stock single coil pickups aren’t bad but I already have 2 other Jags with better single coil pickups. Also, it will be fun to do this on a guitar with a tremolo system.
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Re: NGD - Squier Contemporary Jaguar HH ST

Post by moga2000 » Tue Jun 15, 2021 9:54 am

Congrat!!! I got mine about month and half ago.. love it!!

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Re: NGD - Squier Contemporary Jaguar HH ST

Post by Surfysonic » Tue Jun 15, 2021 2:20 pm

moga2000 wrote:
Tue Jun 15, 2021 9:54 am
Congrat!!! I got mine about month and half ago.. love it!!
Nice and congrats! I think one of my local mom & pop's music store have had one or both of the shoreline gold and the sky burst Jags for about that long, too. I didn't want to go through the hassle of cancelling my pre-order (if even possible, not sure). I may stop by and check out the sky burst one tomorrow since I'll be down that way.

Update - bummer - they must have them on pre-order as the Jags aren't in the store. :'(
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