Fender Pickups: Strat vs Jaguar vs Mustang

[PFDarkside]

I know more about Strat pickups than is necessary, but I’ve never had a Jag or Mustang to really dig into. How different are the three? They all seem to have a pretty similar construction.

Mustang = Strat + flat poles and solid cover?
Jaguar = Strat + claw?

Can the Classic Stack Plus and Strat Rails fit in the Jag or Mustang?

 

[Clint 55]

The shapes are the same so if you're mounting them in a pickguard it works fine. They each have their own characteristic tone color which I really like.

 

[jeremy]

mustangs traditionally have less turns and shorter magnets than a strat, same with the duo sonics, the jag pups are kinda like a flat pole strat pup if you dont use the claw. i have a set of antiquity II jag pups in a strat and it sounds just like a strat.

 

[Clint 55]

Duncan winds them all in the same ballpark as far as turns/dcr. It's more about the tone color imo. Although Mustangs have the poles flush with the bobbin and Jags have the poles flat like an SSL2 so that does affect the sound as well.

 

[jeremy]

not sure what you mean by tone color. the biggest difference between a jag pup and strat pup is the flat poles. same wire, similar turn count depending on year, wound by the same people at fender

 

[Clint 55]

Not sure what you mean by not sure. The strat type pups - strat, mustang, jag, duo - are constructed very similarly but manage to have a different tone apart from the attack of the poles.

 

[Benjy_26]

Not sure what you mean by not sure. The strat type pups - strat, mustang, jag, duo - are constructed very similarly but manage to have a different tone apart from the attack of the poles.

You're also talking about claw vs no claw and two (three depending on year ranges) different scale lengths.

FWIW, I have a Texas Special/Custom Staggerd paired in a Squier HH Mustang with a custom guard. It sounds pretty meaty compared to a lot of strats. I attribute this to dcale length as much as I do to the hotter pickups in that guitar.

 

[Clint 55]

I've compared them all in the same guitar several times.

 

[jeremy]

the mustang and duo pups are different than a strat. shorter, equal length magnets, and less turns. the only real difference between the jag and strat is the flat .688 rods vs staggered rods unless you use the claw which obviously changes things. im glad you think they sound different, have fun with that.

 

[Clint 55]

Yep, why would completely different models have different winds? Everyone knows the only factors in a pickup's sound is build + turns.

 

[alex1fly]

I know more about Strat pickups than is necessary, but I’ve never had a Jag or Mustang to really dig into. How different are the three? They all seem to have a pretty similar construction.

Mustang = Strat + flat poles and solid cover?
Jaguar = Strat + claw?

Can the Classic Stack Plus and Strat Rails fit in the Jag or Mustang?

There may be some special knowledge lurking here, but Jags and Mustangs are generally less discussed and less understood so I'd suggest cruising Google and Youtube (and then summarizing your findings if you're feeling generous)

 

[jeremy]

i dont know a ton about mustang pups since i havent pulled them apart but i know jags and strats and even a little about duo-sonic pups. the cover on jag pups is different than the strat cover, though a strat pup will fit fine in the pickguard, and the bottom flatwork on a jag doesnt have the flange thats typical of strat pups so may or may not fit the rout in the guitar

 

[Chistopher]

Not many people have experience with these pickups in a vacuum, I know I don't.

The point being that the biggest difference between a Duo-Sonic an Strat pickup, doe example, is that a DS pickup generally comes in a short scale hard tail and the Strat generally comes in a long scale tremolo bridge.

 

[PFDarkside]

Man, I’ve got some unnecessary GAS for a Jaguar or Mustang.

 

[Chistopher]

Man, I’ve got some unnecessary GAS for a Jaguar or Mustang.

That's what I'm saying. This thread has resurrected an idea I had a while back about taking a Mustang and changing the 3-way phase slider and changing it so each pickup gets to choose between a high or low pass filter and the tone control adjust the intensity of the chosen filter.

I never got around to doing it because it seemed like a pain to "tune" it with cap and resistor values for the filters.

 

[PFDarkside]

That's what I'm saying. This thread has resurrected an idea I had a while back about taking a Mustang and changing the 3-way phase slider and changing it so each pickup gets to choose between a high or low pass filter and the tone control adjust the intensity of the chosen filter.

I never got around to doing it because it seemed like a pain to "tune" it with cap and resistor values for the filters.

You could do so many silly things with all those switches and roller pots on the Jag.

 

[Chistopher]

It'd be impossible to find a wiring that isn't silly on a Fender offset

 

[PFDarkside]

Would the Classic Stack Plus pickups fit under a Jaguar cover/claw?

 

[Mincer]

Here are the dimensions:

 

[PFDarkside]

Here are the dimensions:

I’ve seen photos of the cover removed and they look like standard stacks, is the cover easily removed? I’ve forgotten…