Jaguars and Jazzmasters

[FSRCustomTeleHHGT]

I would imagine most Jag/Jazzmaster owners are over at OffsetGuitars rather than here.

I have the Mascis signature Squier Jazzmaster as well as a CV Jaguar and the CV Bass VI, which really is part of this family more than the bass family. That said, I don't care for the sound of Jazzmasters at all. Never found a tone I've liked. And I really wanted to.

I can't bring myself to actually buy the Paranormal Offset, but knowing what I know now, if I didn't already have my Teles, I'd get the Paranormal Offset instead. That body to me is the ultimate way (for me) to play that Tele sound. I admit that I'm not a fan of slabs, and the contours and belly cut do it for me, and the offset is a bonus.

 

[SbS]

I've been suffering from a semi-serious Jag-Jazzmastery itch.
Recently more from Jaguarish version, I'd say.

 

[62 Jazzmaster]

Obligatory couch shot of my stock Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar & modded Vintage Modified Jazzmaster:

 

[Telecaster88]

I can't bring myself to actually buy the Paranormal Offset, but knowing what I know now, if I didn't already have my Teles, I'd get the Paranormal Offset instead. That body to me is the ultimate way (for me) to play that Tele sound. I admit that I'm not a fan of slabs, and the contours and belly cut do it for me, and the offset is a bonus.

This will be slightly off-topic, sorry! -- but I wanted to chime in quickly. When I was looking for a Tele with contours, I tried the Squier Paranormal, and found it lacking -- felt really cheap. I've played Squiers that felt great, but this one -- not at all. Might have been a dud.

I ended up with a Parallel Universe Whiteguard Strat -- Tele neck and hardware on a Strat body -- Love it!

 

[FSRCustomTeleHHGT]

This will be slightly off-topic, sorry! -- but I wanted to chime in quickly. When I was looking for a Tele with contours, I tried the Squier Paranormal, and found it lacking -- felt really cheap. I've played Squiers that felt great, but this one -- not at all. Might have been a dud.

I ended up with a Parallel Universe Whiteguard Strat -- Tele neck and hardware on a Strat body -- Love it!

View attachment 998755

Minus the bridge, that's my Vintage Modified Squier '51. Not an offset, but I do love the Strat body. Maybe I should shove a Tele bridge and Tele bridge pickup in it and call it a day. Thanks for the food-for-thought!

 

[WingedWords]

Obligatory couch shot of my stock Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar & modded Vintage Modified Jazzmaster:

Nice pair.
Here's mine. A stock Ocean Turquoise AO and a very much modified Vintage Modified. I still haven't got round to getting hold of a Jaguar.

Here's shots of the VM's wiring before and after the excellent James Gascoigne worked his magic on it. https://www.homeoftone.co.uk/collec...ional-kit-right-handed?variant=32131177414767

 

[KennyWTelejazz]

I have a Vintage Modified Jaguar I like very much .
I have often sat down and experimented with A B playing and performing detailed sound comparisons of my Jag to a number of my Tele's and Strat's. Tone wise I like what this Squire V M Jaguar brings to the table .
This Squire Jaguar platform certainly holds great potential for the types of playing and sounds I like to perform . I am considering eventually looking into playing some of the higher end Fender Jaguars when my funds permit .
The main RUB I have with this guitar is no matter how thorough and detailed I set it up things apparently shift ...I can have great action on Monday and on Friday I got buzzes . Yes I know I need to lock tight my bridge....I have watched and done some of what's in the Jag set up vids .
I happen to like the P U select switching they seem versitile yet I find the tone and volume controls on my Jag seem to only have full on tone and a pleasing harmonic spectrum only when my controls are flat out . Once I ride the volume or tone control on my Jag all the good tones go out the window and the whole sonic character and tone of the guitar becomes limp . Yeah I don't do volume pedals and as a Tele player of almost a half a century I happen to like working the volume and tone controls of my guitar in real time
Oh well it seems this guitar of mine happens to be a work in progress

all the best ,
Kenny

 

[John Stephen]

Here's a good example of a Jazzmaster tone - a long Nels Cline solo at about 2:40 mark. I think it captures well the essence of a Jazzmaster tone: great clarity, somewhat rounder tone than a tele, softer attack than both tele and strat, subtile but very complex harmonics.

I love both designs (Jm and Jag) but if I were forced to pick only two guitars to play for the rest of my life, I could have been very happy with a Jazzmaster and an SG.

That was fantastic. Thanks for posting it. These JMs are very interesting guitars.

 

[bendercaster]

I have a Vintage Modified Jaguar I like very much .
I have often sat down and experimented with A B playing and performing detailed sound comparisons of my Jag to a number of my Tele's and Strat's. Tone wise I like what this Squire V M Jaguar brings to the table .
This Squire Jaguar platform certainly holds great potential for the types of playing and sounds I like to perform . I am considering eventually looking into playing some of the higher end Fender Jaguars when my funds permit .
The main RUB I have with this guitar is no matter how thorough and detailed I set it up things apparently shift ...I can have great action on Monday and on Friday I got buzzes . Yes I know I need to lock tight my bridge....I have watched and done some of what's in the Jag set up vids .
I happen to like the P U select switching they seem versitile yet I find the tone and volume controls on my Jag seem to only have full on tone and a pleasing harmonic spectrum only when my controls are flat out . Once I ride the volume or tone control on my Jag all the good tones go out the window and the whole sonic character and tone of the guitar becomes limp . Yeah I don't do volume pedals and as a Tele player of almost a half a century I happen to like working the volume and tone controls of my guitar in real time
Oh well it seems this guitar of mine happens to be a work in progress
View attachment 998841

all the best ,
Kenny

I had the same set up problem with my Jag, even after using locktite. What finally fixed it for me was wrapping plumbers tape around the grub screws--basically enough so that it isn't going to move around on it's own any more, but if I had to raise or lower it I could with some force.

 

[bendercaster]

I should add about Jags--to me, they do not feel short scale, maybe because the body is longer. I have a parlor guitar with a 24 inch scale that feels dinky. My Jag with the same scale feels pretty normal.

I also think Jags look cooler. They can be a little heavier from all that metal, but I prefer the look of them. I also love the tone options. The choke switch is really useful for gigging. Flip that with the neck pickup on and you instantly get a great, compressed tone for comping while the other guitar takes a solo. It also works nicely with Fuzz.

 

[chris m.]

I have a Vintage Modified Jaguar I like very much .
I have often sat down and experimented with A B playing and performing detailed sound comparisons of my Jag to a number of my Tele's and Strat's. Tone wise I like what this Squire V M Jaguar brings to the table .
This Squire Jaguar platform certainly holds great potential for the types of playing and sounds I like to perform . I am considering eventually looking into playing some of the higher end Fender Jaguars when my funds permit .
The main RUB I have with this guitar is no matter how thorough and detailed I set it up things apparently shift ...I can have great action on Monday and on Friday I got buzzes . Yes I know I need to lock tight my bridge....I have watched and done some of what's in the Jag set up vids .
I happen to like the P U select switching they seem versitile yet I find the tone and volume controls on my Jag seem to only have full on tone and a pleasing harmonic spectrum only when my controls are flat out . Once I ride the volume or tone control on my Jag all the good tones go out the window and the whole sonic character and tone of the guitar becomes limp . Yeah I don't do volume pedals and as a Tele player of almost a half a century I happen to like working the volume and tone controls of my guitar in real time
Oh well it seems this guitar of mine happens to be a work in progress
View attachment 998841

all the best ,
Kenny

I used alligator clips to allow me to experiment with cap and resistor values on a breadboard until I got a treble bleed circuit that I liked. It keeps the overall EQ very balanced as I lower the volume. I used a cap and resistor in series, in parallel with another resistor. I don't recall the values. I like to use my vol and tone knobs, and without the bleed circuit that was totally a non-starter.

It must have been very close to the values mentioned below for Fender's series/parallel bleed, but I think I probably had to change either the cap or parallel resistor to work better with 1M pots. YMMV, anyway-- it all depends on what you like, and also depends on your pickups and some other factors.

Treble Bleed Mod Round-up – DrKevGuitar.com

 

[bendercaster]

I have a Vintage Modified Jaguar I like very much .
I have often sat down and experimented with A B playing and performing detailed sound comparisons of my Jag to a number of my Tele's and Strat's. Tone wise I like what this Squire V M Jaguar brings to the table .
This Squire Jaguar platform certainly holds great potential for the types of playing and sounds I like to perform . I am considering eventually looking into playing some of the higher end Fender Jaguars when my funds permit .
The main RUB I have with this guitar is no matter how thorough and detailed I set it up things apparently shift ...I can have great action on Monday and on Friday I got buzzes . Yes I know I need to lock tight my bridge....I have watched and done some of what's in the Jag set up vids .
I happen to like the P U select switching they seem versitile yet I find the tone and volume controls on my Jag seem to only have full on tone and a pleasing harmonic spectrum only when my controls are flat out . Once I ride the volume or tone control on my Jag all the good tones go out the window and the whole sonic character and tone of the guitar becomes limp . Yeah I don't do volume pedals and as a Tele player of almost a half a century I happen to like working the volume and tone controls of my guitar in real time
Oh well it seems this guitar of mine happens to be a work in progress
View attachment 998841

all the best ,
Kenny

That's interesting about the volume and tone controls. I have a CV 70s Jag and I tend to keep the tone rolled back, about 10-20 percent below maxed out, and it sounds great. My 62 AVRI Jazzmaster was the same. Those 1 Meg pots sounded best to me with a little treble bled out.

 

[Ricky D.]

I bought an old JM in 1968, and played it for three years. After reading all the posts above, i have to say I don’t know anything about Jazzmasters.

I had it for two years before I took it apart and discovered that the previous owner had put a Strat pickup under the bridge position cover. Perfect fit LOL.

Anyway, it always sounded good and felt good, probably the most comfortable guitar I’ve ever had. No hassles with the bridge or trem. Always strung it with 10s.

I’d love to have another, or just have it back. I think I sold it off and got an LP Std.

 

[KennyWTelejazz]

I had the same set up problem with my Jag, even after using locktite. What finally fixed it for me was wrapping plumbers tape around the grub screws--basically enough so that it isn't going to move around on it's own any more, but if I had to raise or lower it I could with some force.

I have heard this is such a common issue with these guitars ... After I try the locktite I will try what you have said here .

I used alligator clips to allow me to experiment with cap and resistor values on a breadboard until I got a treble bleed circuit that I liked. It keeps the overall EQ very balanced as I lower the volume. I used a cap and resistor in series, in parallel with another resistor. I don't recall the values. I like to use my vol and tone knobs, and without the bleed circuit that was totally a non-starter.

It must have been very close to the values mentioned below for Fender's series/parallel bleed, but I think I probably had to change either the cap or parallel resistor to work better with 1M pots. YMMV, anyway-- it all depends on what you like, and also depends on your pickups and some other factors.

Treble Bleed Mod Round-up – DrKevGuitar.com

I'm not even a green belt in soldering ...more like a white belt . Attempting this would be taking it to the next level for me .
Getting a hold of some alligator clips is something I'm long over due to do .Thank you for your suggestions .

That's interesting about the volume and tone controls. I have a CV 70s Jag and I tend to keep the tone rolled back, about 10-20 percent below maxed out, and it sounds great. My 62 AVRI Jazzmaster was the same. Those 1 Meg pots sounded best to me with a little treble bled out.

I do a lot of recording so I can gain stage my guitar pretty good to find the sweet spots tone wise while doing takes in my home studio.
This one is a Twanger Central I did a while back...
So what we have here is Jazz Tone played on my Squire Jag because I drank The Leo Fender designed the Jaguar for Jazz Guitarsist KoolAde



I honestly like this guitar , it shows a lot of potential ...even when I compare some of tones I can get from it to guitars I have had for about 40 years .
all the best
Kenny

 

[John Stephen]

VERY nice, Kenny! Sounds great. Thanks for posting it, and good luck with the Jag.

 

[RoscoeElegante]

To the many excellent comparisons and descriptions here, I'll just add a quick +1 for the JM's rhythm circuit. I use it often. It's deep and rich, with a useful, musical wooliness at its edges.

And as my own cliche goes, one of the JM's best features is that when you're playing it, you don't have to see much of it. That's good because JM's are ugly.

But great. Maybe the most versatile electric guitar.

Jaguars, though....I can't stand all those damn switches. Too fiddly for a guitar. And they're in the way if you're doing some emphatic strums.....

 

[Alex_C]

What's the story with Jags and Jazzmasters? They are hardy ever mentioned here. Even searching through past threads there is not much real info. Someone want to give a brief summary? Or point out a good prior thread? I see the scale difference - Jags are short. What's with the Jazzmaster pickups that look like P90s but apparently are not? Basically, what do these guitars sound like, and why would someone want one? Oh, and what's with all the many, many extra switches?

Damn this thread! I now want a JM... fu..dge. I'm trying to stop GAS, arg!!!

 

[PixMix]

To the many excellent comparisons and descriptions here, I'll just add a quick +1 for the JM's rhythm circuit. I use it often. It's deep and rich, with a useful, musical wooliness at its edges.

And as my own cliche goes, one of the JM's best features is that when you're playing it, you don't have to see much of it. That's good because JM's are ugly.

But great. Maybe the most versatile electric guitar.

Jaguars, though....I can't stand all those damn switches. Too fiddly for a guitar. And they're in the way if you're doing some emphatic strums.....

I agree on the rhythm circuit. It extends the tonal range with a simple flick of the switch. Aesthetics are a matter of personal preferences and taste. I happen to love the way Jazzmaster looks, but in either instance they're very comfortable and balance beautifully when strapped.

 

[RoscoeElegante]

I agree on the rhythm circuit. It extends the tonal range with a simple flick of the switch. Aesthetics are a matter of personal preferences and taste. I happen to love the way Jazzmaster looks, but in either instance they're very comfortable and balance beautifully when strapped.

Good points. And you're quite right on the comfort aspect. I always lose track of time when I play my JM. It's less slinky than a Strat, and more contoured than a Tele, so it's just right.

 

[Telecaster88]

I own neither, but an Am Pro JM was the most comfortable guitar I've ever played. It's like Leo built the curves just for me. I really don't need one, but I jones for one all the time.