Player Jaguar HS - Can it be modded to a 'typical' Jag?

Talk about modding or building your own guitar from scratch.
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forcedmeme
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Player Jaguar HS - Can it be modded to a 'typical' Jag?

Post by forcedmeme » Sat Jul 24, 2021 11:05 am

Hey guys,

As the title suggests, I'm looking to get a new jag and I saw the Player Jag available for a semi-decent price. I was just wondering if anyone here had any experience with getting one of these and modding it to be more like a traditional jag.

What I mean by that is:
Change pickguard for a USA (or equivalent) standard
Change pickups to S/S
add plates to the top / bottom for the standard switching arrangement (actually I want to add a Wronski-style 4-way blade on the bottom plate, but the size is the same).

I've seen some pics here that show the routing should be ok for at least the pickups and probably the lower switches. How about the upper controls and the pickguard?

Anything that you can throw my way will be useful info!

PS - Why am I considering this? Because I can't find a 'typical' jaguar here in the UK for less than 1000 and something pounds. We've either got squires (and I'm curious if its a waste of time modding a guitar that has a poplar body) or hybrid-jags that have a humbucker or some other flavour of the month.

Thanks for reading!

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hexes
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Re: Player Jaguar HS - Can it be modded to a 'typical' Jag?

Post by hexes » Sat Jul 24, 2021 10:37 pm

yes. i have a thread here: viewtopic.php?t=118142

basically, you’ll need to add wood to the bridge pickup route or get longer screws for the pickup height. you’ll need to add some screw holes for chrome plates. the rhythm cavity will need to have quite a bit of routing done if you want the actual rhythm circuit.

you could go the way of filling the pickup cavities with wood and re-routing for single coils, but it’s not necessary. just make sure the bridge pickup can move vertically in the pickguard space with no issues

USA parts fit mostly fine, some pickguard holes needed to be widened or you could dowel and re-drill. your call. check my page 4 and 5 for the most work.

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Re: Player Jaguar HS - Can it be modded to a 'typical' Jag?

Post by MrJagsquire » Sun Jul 25, 2021 1:15 am

I did that with mine as well. Started as a Player (with really rough frets, frets end and fingerboard that had sharp edges too) in 3 tone sunburst. I got a secondhand set of '65 PV pickups off Reverb and I think I bought my pickguard from NorthWestGuitars (or maybe AxesRus). They have the standard chrome plates, though I chose to do something a bit different with mine as I don't care for the extra switches and rhythm circuit stuff, so I just wired mine like a Telecaster, but with an added Eric Clapton mid boost. i only did a small amount of extra routing because of my pickup selector switch on the top horn, I don't think it's a problem if you want the standard slide switches and thumbwheel pots though.

This was the thread I posted about going from a Player to a AO style single coils:
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=119040

This was the refinish thread I did afterwards:
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=119576

From this:
Image

To this:
Image

Finally to this:
Image

EDIT: It cost me about £700 in the end, including paint. I might sell the original loaded pickguard so that will get me back some of the extra I paid over the standard guitar. Just had a look on my usual sites to see what is around and was surprised to see that mine has gone up by about £100 over what I paid last September. :o Nothing much around secondhand either. That's why I bought mine because of low stock and it had been in the shop ages, so was at a lower price than some other shops.

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Re: Player Jaguar HS - Can it be modded to a 'typical' Jag?

Post by forcedmeme » Sun Jul 25, 2021 2:07 am

Thanks so much for the replies, both of you! This is exactly the sort of info I was looking for. And both of your guitars look gorgeous now.

I've spe'd up a parts list and in total, it only works our marginally cheaper to buy the parts separately and build a parts-caster-jag. Then, of course, I have to finish the body/neck myself and without access to spraying equipment, it'd have to be a stain.

What did either of you use for the routing? Do you have a plunging router? I don't have access to one and I'm not sure I'd buy one just to remove this small amount of material on one guitar...

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Re: Player Jaguar HS - Can it be modded to a 'typical' Jag?

Post by MrJagsquire » Sun Jul 25, 2021 3:26 am

I've got a plunging router, Black and Decker thing, though thinking about it now I probably used my Dremel as it was only a small amount I needed to take off to clear the end of the (Gibson SG) pickup selector switch.
I did the Partscaster vs modified calculations too, but I figured that I could at least try the whole guitar before committing. By the time I'd sourced the bridge and a suitable body and neck it wasn't really any cheaper, allowing for the sale of the loaded pickguard the modified route should end up cheaper than a Partscaster anyway.

I played quite a few Jaguars, some with humbuckers and TOM bridges, but decided on the Player. They all felt pretty rough on the frets though, so it was the cheapest option since I knew I'd have to do plenty of work to get it playing right: I did that before any mods (apart from changing the knobs as I wanted to see if they'd fit, so left them on). Once it was playing nicely I added the Staytrem bridge, while I was deciding what to do about pickups as originally I'd planned on making it a single bridge pickup guitar like an Esquire. I use the neck pickup too much though and preferred it to the bridge (as it came) humbucker, even with the split function it never suited my ears.

I kept everything reversible until the point where I stripped the paint off...wish I'd done that in the past on other guitars, so I did learn from my past mistakes. ;D

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Re: Player Jaguar HS - Can it be modded to a 'typical' Jag?

Post by hexes » Sun Jul 25, 2021 6:31 am

forcedmeme wrote:
Sun Jul 25, 2021 2:07 am
Thanks so much for the replies, both of you! This is exactly the sort of info I was looking for. And both of your guitars look gorgeous now.

I've spe'd up a parts list and in total, it only works our marginally cheaper to buy the parts separately and build a parts-caster-jag. Then, of course, I have to finish the body/neck myself and without access to spraying equipment, it'd have to be a stain.

What did either of you use for the routing? Do you have a plunging router? I don't have access to one and I'm not sure I'd buy one just to remove this small amount of material on one guitar...
i used a cheap non-plunging router. a dremel could work if you go slowly and carefully. if you don’t need the rhythm circuit, then you’re in great shape as is. that said, a dremel 3000 model kit cost more than my cheap router, ymmv.

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Re: Player Jaguar HS - Can it be modded to a 'typical' Jag?

Post by forcedmeme » Sun Jul 25, 2021 7:52 am

Very interesting indeed!

One last thing, what did you think of the stock neck pickup? I'm already convinced from what I've heard about the bridge, but could I get away with leaving the neck? How would you say it compares to the AO65?

Cheers!

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Re: Player Jaguar HS - Can it be modded to a 'typical' Jag?

Post by manwithtitties » Sun Jul 25, 2021 8:49 am

i would just get a squier unless you really need an orange one routed for HH. not sure whats wrong with poplar

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Re: Player Jaguar HS - Can it be modded to a 'typical' Jag?

Post by MrJagsquire » Sun Jul 25, 2021 9:07 am

forcedmeme wrote:
Sun Jul 25, 2021 7:52 am
Very interesting indeed!

One last thing, what did you think of the stock neck pickup? I'm already convinced from what I've heard about the bridge, but could I get away with leaving the neck? How would you say it compares to the AO65?

Cheers!
I recall that I liked it, but since I've not been able to do a side by side (and I didn't think to record before and after) it's hard to say whether my '65 PVs (as fitted to the AO I believe?) are hugely different in the neck position. The bridge is like a Tele with extra brightness to my ears anyway. If I could have found a spare Player neck pickup I would have tried it in the bridge first, but the used '65 PVs came up so I grabbed them while they were available.

I don't know if it's a particular trait of the wood, but I built a Strat recently using a Poplar body and it's really heavy: It weighs more than my Les Paul. :o

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Re: Player Jaguar HS - Can it be modded to a 'typical' Jag?

Post by MrJagsquire » Sun Jul 25, 2021 9:35 am

I just came across this on Project music website based in Exeter. I mail ordered a Gretsch from them a few years ago, but obviously make your own due diligence if interested:

£750 in stock, with SS config (though 7.25" radius if that bothers you), 'Ocean Turquoise' one for £794 as well:

https://www.projectmusic.net/fender-vin ... 5250-p.asp

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Re: Player Jaguar HS - Can it be modded to a 'typical' Jag?

Post by forcedmeme » Sun Jul 25, 2021 9:43 am

Yeah, I'm really tempted by the ocean turquoise!

EDIT: Just did some more research and the Vintera has the same neck profile as the AO65, which I really didn't get on with. I found it to be way chunkier than what I'd come to expect from a Jag. I had one in Daphne Blue last year, ended up returning it :(

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Re: Player Jaguar HS - Can it be modded to a 'typical' Jag?

Post by MrJagsquire » Sun Jul 25, 2021 2:00 pm

Shame, but if the neck doesn't suit you there's no point pursuing it. The Player has a slimmer neck and 9.5" radius if it helps, though that's why I went the modified route so I could play it first.

I don't mind a mix myself though as I have a Tele with a really fat U neck 1" deep all frets, another Strat with a similar neck, then my first Strat with a more medium C and 7.25" radius. I find it helps my hands swapping between them...it's better than having to stop playing for a few days like I had to a few years ago because my hand got too painful. :(

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