Hideous hybridisation

[charly]

New to the forum and new to anything but off-the-shelf guitars.. hey!

What is it that's actually creating the Jaguar/Jazzmaster sound?

As I actually bizarrely have some money right now I'm considering doing what I've wanted to do for quite a while now and creating my (sorta) dream guitar.

Thing is, I love the way Jags/JMs look but - and I'm sorry about this - I really hate the way they sound. They're good for a certain type of music and to evoke a certain feeling, but they're not really what I'd call a workhorse, everyday guitar. To be crass, I need something with bwalls, and Jags sadly rather lack that factor.

At the same time, I love the way they look, so what I'd like to do is get a stock Jaguar and modify it to the point that it doesn't sound like a Jaguar any more. Ideally, it'd sound like a Les Paul or a superstrat, ideally closer to the latter.

Right now, the plan is this.

- Stock '69 Jag.
- Route out the body so I can stick some humbuckers in there. Not quite sure which yet, but i'm thinking of either Nailbombs or S-D Metal Livewires.
- Route out other bits of the body to mount an internal GK3 pickup/MIDI port.
- Possibly fit some kind of MIDI modulation strip to the body, although there's not a lot of room for it, so I dunno.
- Replace that godawful bridge. Aka The Bridge of Infinite ARGH DIE (although apparently the bridge on newer Jags is better)
- Rip out the HPF/LPF circuit, replacing switches with GK3 controls.
- Get rid of the pickup selection switches, to replace the assembly with something nice and simple like a regular 3-way switch.
- New scratchplate obviously, given all the above.
- Possibly other bits and bobs like a touch-killswitch.

I'm sure for most of you this is like me asking what the best way to kill your mom is, but - would that give me more of a LP or superstrat sound?

[Black Cat Bone]

Hi mate, I'm working on something in the same ball-park here:

http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/vie ... 35#p146535

basicly if you want humbuckers and a different bridge I'd consider either getting a stripped Jaguar HH special body (as I did from Ebay) as this will allow you to drop in a metric Tune-omatic style bridge and tailpiece as well as the HBs.  I guess a standard body is fine insofar as you either keep the trem-plate and fix it down a'la Cobains Jag or fill in the hole and give the body an opaque paint job.  Given the extra routing required that sounds like a pain in the arse and a big limitation to me hence the route I took.

Let me mention again that if you get a Jag HH body the bridge and tailpiece MUST be metric measurements not USA.  I recently bought metric Tonepros B and T from Thomann however the tailpeice i found out was not metric - cue much annoyance.

[charly]

Interesting.. I didn't realise the Jag trem assembly was more or less mounted directly onto the body - I thought it was mounted with a trem block in a cutaway into the body. Ideally, I'd like to make the damn thing hard-tail (for multiple reasons - increasing pressure on the bridge, freeing up a bit of body space for mounting stuff and, frnakly, I don't think I've actually used a trem once in my life. All a trem does for me is throw the sodding guitar out of tune), and that makes that whole process potentially a lot simpler.

Cool, though I'm looking at regular SS Jags right now because I'd like one in white and the HH doesn't come in white, and routing out the body to fit HBs actually works out cheaper than refinishing the thing. I'm going to have the body routed anyway in order to fit the GK3 as I say, so I might as well.

Basically, I want a Jagmaster with some extra electronics in there and upgraded pickups - but not crappy Squier quality.

I shall keep an eye on your project

[Robbo]

Have you thought about giving Warmoth or USA Custom Guitars a shot for exactly the body you're looking for? They can do it to your requirements and if you already have the '69 Jag, selling it would probably more than cover the cost of having a new body and neck made, finished, etc. If you don't already have the Jag, it'd be cheaper to get a body custom-made, anyway.

[mynameisjonas]

yeah, modding and refinishing a HH jag or custom ordering the body will definitely be a whole lot cheaper than buying a stock '69. you could probably get 3 HHs for the price of one '69.

[ohm-men]

Personally I would not route an untouched '69. These are valueble in my book.
Get an aftermarket body and start from there or trace down an already routed vintage body, it will also be less then an unrouted vintage body...

[the older brother]

I think Amnesty international have agreed to that the death penalty is fair for certain cruel crimes.

- #4 on that list is "Re-Routing a vintage Fender for dropping some hambackers in it"

[mraphro]

I think Amnesty international have agreed to that the death penalty is fair for certain cruel crimes.

- #4 on that list is "Re-Routing a vintage Fender for dropping some hambackers in it"

precisely