Who is doing nitro finished bodies? Pre-wired kits?

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Braunzo
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Who is doing nitro finished bodies? Pre-wired kits?

Post by Braunzo » Wed Sep 22, 2021 5:26 am

Hello all,

Long-time lurker and very rare poster.

I'm looking to build a Jaguar and found a great body on eBay that was going to be exactly what I needed only to be outbid by just a few bucks. I contacted the person who made the body and they said that they don't do custom orders.

With that said, who out there is reputable in doing nitro finished bodies? I know there's MJT, but that seems pretty pricey unless my gauge on this whole thing is off.

Also, is there anyone doing pre-wired Jag kits? I'm atrocious at soldering. Ideally, I'd love the standard rhythm circuit coupled with the Johnny Marr style four-way switch.

Thanks, everyone!

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Jonesie
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Re: Who is doing nitro finished bodies? Pre-wired kits?

Post by Jonesie » Wed Sep 22, 2021 6:01 am

Honestly, in doing my research the MJT stuff is pretty fairly priced. $980 for a US made and finished guitar with hardware included (minus electronics and pickups) seems like a fair price, at least.

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Unicorn Warrior
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Re: Who is doing nitro finished bodies? Pre-wired kits?

Post by Unicorn Warrior » Wed Sep 22, 2021 7:13 am

MJT did mine. They’re not pristine, but they gave me the finish I asked for. There are others who pay more attention to detail but they’re often more expensive.

I got a pre-wired Jazzmaster harness from 920d custom. This is the quietest single coil guitar I’ve owned and couldn’t be happier with their product. The pups still had to be wired in, but the harness was ready to go.

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Embenny
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Re: Who is doing nitro finished bodies? Pre-wired kits?

Post by Embenny » Wed Sep 22, 2021 1:26 pm

MJT finishes are thin and designed to fall apart and age easily. That may be what you want, but if you want a nitro finish that starts off looking like a new nitro Fender and ages normally they are not the people to do it. Their Jag and JM bodies also have some inaccurate quirks like sharper roundovers and contours and mine fit MIJ Jaguar guards better than USA spec ones.

Guitar Mill isn't cheap but you get what you pay for. They do aged finishes too, but their new and NOS type finishes are superb. I don't know anyone else who is doing the same variety of high quality custom bodies with the same variety of high quality custom nitro finishes. Their contours are gorgeous and their finish work is top notch. As someone who's owned both (and liked the MJT well enough), Guitar Mill is in a higher tier of workmanship all around.
The artist formerly known as mbene085.

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Re: Who is doing nitro finished bodies? Pre-wired kits?

Post by andy_tchp » Wed Sep 22, 2021 5:46 pm

^ Agreed with Mike (mbene085).

Also a fully assembled 'prewired' Jaguar harness doesn't really work. Assuming a vintage style body there are channels the (unterminated) wires need to be fed through prior to soldering.

Those are also very expensive for what you get IMNSHO.
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Re: Who is doing nitro finished bodies? Pre-wired kits?

Post by kingmedicine » Thu Sep 23, 2021 2:52 am

I agree with the others. I’ve had both Guitar Mill and MJT finished bodies, and the quality of the work and durability of the finish has been much better on the Guitar Mill stuff (worth the extra cost in my opinion). Honestly, I think MJT is on the cheaper end for nitro finished bodies from what I had found at the time.

You could also check out DoomBloom on Reverb (slightly cheaper than MJT, I think he’s a former employee there so finishes look sort of similar). Or you can find pretty good deals on used MJT stuff if you’re patient.
Last edited by kingmedicine on Thu Sep 23, 2021 6:32 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Braunzo
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Re: Who is doing nitro finished bodies? Pre-wired kits?

Post by Braunzo » Thu Sep 23, 2021 5:14 am

Appreciate it, y'all.

I don't need something to look beat up. But if it's lightly aged, it won't bother me much. Shiny new things mean I try to baby them and inevitably I wind up dinging them and feeling bad for no good reason.

In regard to the pre-wired pickguards and all that... I didn't think about the channels. I just worry because I'm a bit of a dolt when it comes to wiring and there aren't really many guitar techs in this area, let alone good ones.

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Re: Who is doing nitro finished bodies? Pre-wired kits?

Post by lastactionhero12765 » Fri Sep 24, 2021 4:39 am

Braunzo wrote:
Thu Sep 23, 2021 5:14 am
I just worry because I'm a bit of a dolt when it comes to wiring and there aren't really many guitar techs in this area, let alone good ones.
Have you thought about trying to get a solderless pre-wired harness? I'm in the same boat as you in that my soldering is sub-par (at best haha) and I've had good experience on other builds/mods with solderless harnesses. Jaguars don't seem to be common (i.e., I can't find any pre-made, pre-wired solderless kits) but you might be able to reach out to smaller builders who could do a custom job. I've heard nothing but good things about KellingSound88 on Ebay.

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Re: Who is doing nitro finished bodies? Pre-wired kits?

Post by Braunzo » Sun Sep 26, 2021 7:32 am

lastactionhero12765 wrote:
Fri Sep 24, 2021 4:39 am
Braunzo wrote:
Thu Sep 23, 2021 5:14 am
I just worry because I'm a bit of a dolt when it comes to wiring and there aren't really many guitar techs in this area, let alone good ones.
Have you thought about trying to get a solderless pre-wired harness? I'm in the same boat as you in that my soldering is sub-par (at best haha) and I've had good experience on other builds/mods with solderless harnesses. Jaguars don't seem to be common (i.e., I can't find any pre-made, pre-wired solderless kits) but you might be able to reach out to smaller builders who could do a custom job. I've heard nothing but good things about KellingSound88 on Ebay.
I'd be open to the idea but I'm not sure where I'd find one at this point. I might just have to bite the bullet and drive the eventual guitar out of town to have work done.

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