NGD - Late 60s Traditional Jaguar IBM MIJ

[MayTheFuzzBeWithYou]

Finally!

No long guessing games. I think I teased it somewhere here already…
It‘s brand new. It‘s from Japan… it‘s a late 60s Traditional Jaguar in the most stunning Ice Blue Metallic.

It‘s everything I wished the Vintera Jag was (I actually always preferred IBM over OTM - but couldn‘t justify another Jazzmaster with the blue/green theme going on and always wanted a matching headstock Jag) - so I‘m glad I sold the Vintera to be able to afford this!

It was an instant G.A.S. at first sight kind of thing…
And funnily I first fell in love with Block Inlays on an IBM Jag from 66 or 67… close enough…

I gifted this to myself as a reward for passing my exam in Cranio-Sacral therapy… only one last Jury exam to go before I have my D.O. (Diplom Osteopath) „title“.

We had to pick it up from FedEx because we didn‘t have enough cash at home (they didn’t accept credit cards) to pay for customs and import-tax…
So here am I right there after unpacking to see if they sent me the right guitar (the box said Stratocaster)… visibly happy!



I had a Staytrem ready for it - put it on and took it straight with me to rehearsal. It played beautifully out of the box (after setting Bridge height and tuning it up… the strings (9s or 10s) are waaaaay too light for me and will get exchanged tomorrow.

Details tomorrow!

[Mechanical Birds]

Am seriously thinking about taking a swing at one of these but all the pictures I can find have that overly amber binding. How is it on yours? Looks great in the sun dude and the smile on yr face there says it all

[RIORIO]

I wish these had diff necks specs…the u shape, vintage frets/radius are too weird for me after getting used to 9.5 and medium jumbos. Otherwise they’re perfect!!!

Congrats on a real stunner of a guitar!

[BoringPostcards]

Looks amazing. IBM is a great colour for a Jaguar. It goes good with the chrome.

[tequila_in_teacups]

That looks fantastic!

[Surfysonic]

Congrats & enjoy! Outstanding IBM Jag!

[MayTheFuzzBeWithYou]

Am seriously thinking about taking a swing at one of these but all the pictures I can find have that overly amber binding. How is it on yours? Looks great in the sun dude and the smile on yr face there says it all

Thank you! I am very happy with it indeed.
The top view of the binding is white - so it‘s „just“ an amber clear coat that could be sanded off.
That‘s the one thing I found to be weird so far…
As my Thinline has a clearly white binding.

I wish these had diff necks specs…the u shape, vintage frets/radius are too weird for me after getting used to 9.5 and medium jumbos. Otherwise they’re perfect!!!
Congrats on a real stunner of a guitar!

I must say I never cared too much about specs - or at least wasn‘t turned off or more into a guitar because of what I read about the specs… it either feels right, a bit challenging but still good - or it‘s so off that I don‘t have fun with it… (which doesn‘t make ordering a custom neck easier at all)
So far I‘m having a lot fun with this one!
I expected them to be 7,25“ when they were released but it says 9,5“ on the Fender page. U shape was a first for me (I think… as most of what Fender/Squier releases is modern C).

Edit for a quoting error.

[DeathJag]

Ack! Gorgeous! Beautiful! Ack! Gasp! Urgh!

[skeletonsmith]

Congrats Marcos!
The Jag looks veeeery pretty and your Smile says it all.

[Mechanical Birds]

Yeah idk why they Amber up the binding like that. I get it that the part people see is white but it’s an attractive thing that I wanna be able to see looking down at it. I know we’re fickle. I had one of the JM66B things and it was awesome in every way except the binding thing, which bothered me so much I had to sell it.

Either way it’s really, really cool that you can get these guitars a little easier than at any time before this. Hopefully they keep doing them and similar ones

[MayTheFuzzBeWithYou]

The neck feels wonderful. I have to compare it to my other guitars.
The Vibrato squeaks/rattles a little - but the arm sits firmly and the Vibrato works fine.

I have to get new/different strings - as my regular 11-56s won‘t fit without filing the nut (which will happen soon enough)


Behold: the Jag-Pack!

Front to back:
MIJ Late 60s Jag IBM
MIJ Thinline Jag Sunburst
Squier CV FSR Shell Pink 70s Jag
Squier VM Olympic White Jag
Estrella Destruida Burgundy Mist top Bound Jag, body by Rexter, CV 70s neck

Bindings for comparison:

[sciuri]

The neck feels wonderful. I have to compare it to my other guitars.
The Vibrato squeaks/rattles a little - but the arm sits firmly and the Vibrato works fine.

I just got a sunburst one that I plan to refinish. I love the neck too, very small nut (mine is 1.57”) which I like. Squeaky or clicky vibratos are a pet peeve for me, and I put Staytrem collets in them which work great.

What do you think of the pickups? They are “vintage style” and come in at 6.0k for neck and 6.1k for bridge for me, so definitely not v-mods like the previous traditional 60s models. I think I prefer them to my lower output bare knuckle Johnny Marr pickups, which feels like boutique heresy, but I have limited experience with Jaguar pickups and tend to like more attack than jangle.

[MayTheFuzzBeWithYou]

First View under the hood.

Nothing too fancy - but full size CTS pots.
And to my big surprise: these fit AVRI guards and not those specified for MIj/CIJ Jags. What a relief - but not planning on a change for now.

Sadly the hole for the plunger was not already drilled - so the mute installation has to wait!









But one BIG ISSUE: the string holes on these 70s style F-stamped tuners are so small that my usual stringing technique doesn‘t work. As both a 42 A and a 52 E string are too big! What a bummer. But I‘ll find a way around that. The Cable-stripper didn‘t show an effect either.

[JSett]

But one BIG ISSUE: the string holes on these 70s style F-stamped tuners are so small that my usual stringing technique doesn‘t work. As both a 42 A and a 52 E string are too big! What a bummer. But I‘ll find a way around that. The Cable-stripper didn‘t show an effect either.

Yep, this is quite common (I use 54s so have the same issue). The only way around it is to drill the hole out a bit bigger or string differently...which is a horrible thing to do and looks gross.

[MayTheFuzzBeWithYou]

Yep, this is quite common (I use 54s so have the same issue). The only way around it is to drill the hole out a bit bigger or string differently...which is a horrible thing to do and looks gross.

Drilling the hole will probably be the way for the future - and agreed!
Normally I go with 56s on Jags… but as I neither have my own nut files nor a clue how to file nuts properly I thought
52 is such a standard measure it should be fine…
For now I managed to take a little of the mantle off and string it up.
Feels aready WAAAAAYYYY better than with those 9s before…

Also the squeaking/rattling of the vibrato arm seems settled with putting it in just a little further…




(Pic from our summer open air show - so pre mods)