OffsetGuitars.com

Well, I've been playing my bari Jag a fair bit in my band and decided to take it to the next level of customization.  When I first got it, I installed a tremolo system on it, and now, I've got three AVRI pickups and AVRI lead circuit electronics.  I removed the thin switch for the moment, but if I find a Bass VI control plate, it might go back in. 



I'm pleased with the new tonal variations and I'm looking forward to giving it a full run through at the next rehearsal.  It makes for a pretty decent poor-man's VI, and the shorter scale (28.5 vs 30) makes it a bit less of a stretch on the low frets.  Still never should have sold my VI, but that's another story.

Mel

Very interesting. How is the tremolo working out?
Did it alter the way the guitar resonates?
I have a jag baritone custom but I like it the way it is fine.
Now if I had two of them I might try installing a tremolo on it.
Seems to me that a jag or bass VI type tremolo as you have put on yours is probably the most stable of any.

The tremolo is working out well.  I used the thimbles from the original stop piece to help locate the trem so it would be aligned properly.  I couldn't say how the resonance was affected since it had guitar strings on it when I bought it and I didn't put on bari strings (16 - 80 flats) until after I installed the tremolo.  The trem is an AVRI unit and the pitch travel is a bit over 1/2 step before it bottoms out.

congrats!

hey, that looks great!

Sweet, I've been looking at Bari Customs with that idea in mind. Is it routed already for the pup, or did you have to route it?

It's not routed, but a bit of patiences and a dremel do the job.  It was 5 1/8 " from the back of the bridge pickup route to the back of the neck pickup route so I marked the middle route at 2 9/16".  Same for the front of the routes and away I went.  Cutting the pickguard takes a bit more care since it's externally visible.  Routing the cavity for the tremolo is a bit more daunting since it goes almost the full depth of the guitar.  Would be better to use a plunge router for that, I used my drill and dremel and took lots of depth measurements!

Mel

It looks great! I've heard of several people wanting to add the trem to one, but this is the first completed one I've seen. Nice work!

Justin

MelWaldorf wrote: ...I used my drill and dremel and took lots of depth measurements!

You're really brave! Wow...  It looks great!

What do you play that through, Mel?

I've got it tuned B-B and play it through the same setup as my regular Jaguar - '63 Fender Reverb into a brownface '63 Showman 1x15".  I use it mainly as a lead melody instrument and use the same volume/tone settings as I do with my Jag.

Hey I just bought one on ebay! I am going to try it out for a while in E-E (right now its tuned A-A), and then I plan on routing it for the Trem like yours Mel. I might plug the bridge holes, so I can move the trem a little closer to the bridge, and refinish it though. Thanks for posting pics of yours. It pushed me over the edge.

Found some pics someone posted on the FDP showing their Jag VI conversion. Yours looks a lot better Mel, not that his doesn't look good.
http://bigkahunabicycles.com/page.cfm?p ... &preview=1

You're really brave! Wow...  It looks great!

Mel's done alot of really cool mods!  You should check out his website if you haven't already:

http://www.jagandjazz.com/jagandjazz/jmaster.html

Looks to me like BigKahuna did a nice installation, just closer to the bridge.  I actually took the lazy route, leaving the stop tailpiece mounting thimbles in place. 

I haven't tried setting my Jag Bari up low E-E, I think you'd need pretty thick strings on such a short scale.  When I got it, it was tuned in standard E-E like a guitar! 

Another minor but useful mod on these is filing new grooves on the bridge saddles to optimize string placement over the pickup magnets.

Mel