Modifying my Fender Jaguar '62 Reissue

[pumpkinsonic22]

The ween forum directed me here for help with my little project...

I haven't played my Jaguar in a long long time but I think I'm going to revive it super-charged

Here's a picture of it:
(it was halloween, that's why we were dressed so...well...and I'm sorry the picture isn't up close, it's the only one I could find)


So the plan is, I'm going to pay some professional at the PRS store near my house to install the following:

-Seymour Duncan SJAG-3 Pickup at the neck
-Seymour Duncan Hot Rails Pickup at the bridge
-Graph Tech "TUSQ" bridge saddles

See, because, I have a Fender Stratocaster that I've been playing lately and the single coil pickups don't do too well with heavy overdrive.  I want my strat to be the clean/fuzz guitar and the jaguar to be the overdrive/surf guitar.

Any advice/comments/suggestions?

Thank you

[bubbles_horwitz]

those are some pretty simple mods. my advice is to do a little reading and see if you feel comfortable doing them yourself, saving some money. modding guitars can be loads of fun (and quite addictive).

[Loomer]

A buddy of mine has 2 Hot Rails in a Jag just like yours. It sounds great.



He also has Tusc saddles. I'd stay clear of 'em, personally. That Tusc material is kinda sketchy to me. I'm the guy who works on his guit, and I'm currently looking for a set of these to put on it:


(note the height adjustment screws on each saddle.)

Which you can find here: http://www.warmoth.com/hardware/bridges ... g_modified

I have 'em on my guitar and they're much better. They work the same, but they're metal so you don't lose the percussive snap like you do with Tusc. Plus the threads don't strip out like Tusc does.

[pumpkinsonic22]

To: Loomer


Well, I would've put two hot rails in it, but I heard it kind of eats your tone if you aren't using distortion.  Does he play through a clean channel too??

Also, I bought a mustang bridge a while back and it didn't fit on my guitar.  Any ideas?

[Loomer]

To: Loomer

Well, I would've put two hot rails in it, but I heard it kind of eats your tone if you aren't using distortion.  Does he play through a clean channel too??

Also, I bought a mustang bridge a while back and it didn't fit on my guitar.  Any ideas?

I'd personally probably stick with the pup config you're planning, as I prefer a single coil in the neck and i think you'd have more tonal diversity. Hot Rails are just humbuckers. They have a few different kinds with pretty varied tones, so I'd do a little research before pulling the trigger. Some might sound muddier to you, some might sound less so.

As to the Mustang bridge not fitting, are you just referring to the gap in the saddles? Because the Mustang, Jaguar, and Jazzmaster bridges are all interchangeable. Unless you have a Tune-O-Matic bridge, it should work. Sometimes I just swap out the saddles and leave the rest of the bridge if it's adjusted well enough already. If you have a Mustang bridge already, try doing that first before ya drop coin on those plastic dealies.


If you take pics and post 'em, peeps here will be more than happy to give you ideas. 

[rickenmetal]

I am thinking the Mustang bridge you tried had a problem with the adjustment screws at the bottom, but I am not really sure.

[the older brother]

One advise about the tusq:

Check how your strings are grounded.
If they are grounded through the bridge (normally with a wire to one of the thimbles) - it is a bad thing putting tusq saddles on.
If it's through the trem it should be fine.

Using strat pups (any) will make it hard to use the claws and jag pup covers. Steals some of the design IMO.
It was  Duncan JBJr in my jag when I bought it, but I changed them so I could put the claws and jag covers back on...

[ohm-men]

About the Tusq, What the Older Brother said. Grounding is very impotant!
I had to re-ground my MIJ JM after I put TUSQ saddles on it.
But after the grounding issue was gone, I trully enjoyed the Tusq saddles a lot. The sound is hard to describe really (all in the ear of the beholder) but I tried all sorts of saddles on this particular JM and nothing really did it. I just like the design of the Tusd ones, singel adjustable saddles with a single groove. I also like the fact they alter the sustain (in a good way)
They took away the "metalicness" this JM suffered from. (Though the upgrading to a AVRI trem unit helped that quiet a bit as well)

[pumpkinsonic22]

"I am thinking the Mustang bridge you tried had a problem with the adjustment screws at the bottom, but I am not really sure."


Yeah, I'm pretty sure the little black screws poking out prevented it from sliding in all the way.  How do I fix this?  Man, I wish I had a working digital camera.


As for the way the strings go thru the bridge, it looks like this:

(I stole this pic from another thread)

[pumpkinsonic22]

wait i remember the problem now,

the strings were hitting the bridge, the saddles weren't raised properly.  Do I just turn these little screws here?

[rickenmetal]

yup, the little screws are made for raising the bridge.

[pumpkinsonic22]

Alright, I'm very new to all this as you can tell.  I made the mustang bridge though.  I'm extremely excited about it.  But do I have to do measurements or anything like that to make sure the intonation or anything is in tact?

[rickenmetal]

just like any other bridge, set it up to have good intonation, just check the 12 fret harmonic and fretted, and you might want to put it in a "neutral" position in the middle because it is a floating bridge and you can bend up and down with the whammy.

I have mine with the screw on the low E side slight higher on my Mustang because my low E buzzes, so it won't buzz as much, you might not need to do that on your guitar though.

[Loomer]

Alright, I'm very new to all this as you can tell.  I made the mustang bridge though.  I'm extremely excited about it.  But do I have to do measurements or anything like that to make sure the intonation or anything is in tact?

No worries, homie. We love newbies here. It's great to vicariously rediscover why these guitars rule so hard. 

Intonating is not actually all that hard, and is a super valuable skill. Make sure the guitar is adjusted how you want (string clearance on the fretboard) and then, with a tuner, you make sure the open string and the 12th harmonic are in tune with each other. If the harmonic is higher than the open pitch, pull the string to the side of the saddle groove and turn the screw clockwise, causing the saddle to move away from the nut. If it's lower, do the opposite, moving the saddle closer to the nut. What you're trying to do is make the distance between the 12th fret and the bridge the exact same as the distance from the nut to the 12th fret. Hope that makes sense. If not feel free to ask...

It takes a small amount of practice, but once you're confident at it, it's as easy as restringing your guitar. (easier, actually.) And with the cash you save from not paying a guy to do it you can buy more beer or Jag upgrades!