Mustang type modification.

K

klasto

New member
One of my guitars is a MIJ Jagstang and while I like it fine(the light weight is easy on my back) I would like to modify it slightly after being inspired by the pawnshop special mustang.

My goal is to rout out a 3-way switch cavity somewhere around the upper horn(I have experience in woodworking) in a similar fashion to the pawnshop and replace the on-off-on switches with on-on switches to allow for ease of switching and still keep the option of putting the two pickups in and out of phase.

My problem, and why I signed up on this board and am posting, is that I can't seem to find any reliable diagrams for how to do this electrical-wise(there is the on-on-on switch mod but that doesn't really solve the switch problem or letting me keep the phasing). Does anyone have some schematics just laying around?
 
Re: Mustang type modification.

What makes and models of pickup are you proposing to employ after the modifications? This will have some bearing on what rewiring suggestions might be made.
 
Re: Mustang type modification.

I plan on re-using my Seymour Duncan JB for the bridge, and I'll either keep my stock MIJ neck pickup or go with the neck blues special from here: http://www.fralinpickups.com/mustangs.asp

This'll be a project I only tackle after a bit of planning and I'm just in the beginning phases of marking out the places I'll have to rout and sending out a pickguard to get a custom one fabricated for the build.
 
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Re: Mustang type modification.

If you are looking for the most versatility I would replace the bridge switch with a on/on/on or on/on switch. The on/on/on would allow you to do series/split/parallel for the bridge and a on/on switch would allow you to do series and one of the other two choices. You could then wire the neck switch to do phase reversal with an on/on switch, which would allow you to do parallel and series with the bridge in the middle position of the 3-way switch.
 
Re: Mustang type modification.

idsnowdog said:
If you are looking for the most versatility I would replace the bridge switch with a on/on/on or on/on switch. The on/on/on would allow you to do series/split/parallel for the bridge and a on/on switch would allow you to do series and one of the other two choices. You could then wire the neck switch to do phase reversal with an on/on switch, which would allow you to do parallel and series with the bridge in the middle position of the 3-way switch.
Click to expand...

That's actually a lot better than what I planned on, but my main problem is that I'm limited as an electrician(I can read a diagram and follow instructions regarding the actual soldering and assembly, since my expertise is in wood working) and I have no clue what that diagram would actually look like. Is there a free program that's geared towards guitar use that could maybe help me with that?
 
Re: Mustang type modification.

I'm not sure about how accurate this diagram is, but this is my rough guess on how to wire it. Hopefully somebody can double check it. You might consider changing the bridge volume to a 500K pot because Mustangs and Duosonic's can be dark with their shorter scale and a humbucker.
 
Re: Mustang type modification.

idsnowdog said:
I'm not sure about how accurate this diagram is, but this is my rough guess on how to wire it. Hopefully somebody can double check it. You might consider changing the bridge volume to a 500K pot because Mustangs and Duosonic's can be dark with their shorter scale and a humbucker.
Click to expand...

That's beautiful, thanks. I'll be sure to post a thread when I've got the mod completed down the road.
 
Re: Mustang type modification.

I modified my jag-stang in a similar fashion. I used the stock switches but made the bridge on-off-split. I kept the phasing the same on the neck single (i.e. on-off-reverse phase). I used two push-pull pots in the control cavity to do some other switching options. I put a jaguar style strangle switch on one pot. And on the volume pot I put a resistor in parallel to reduce the pot from 500k to 250k. I also converted the tone pot to no-load.

This gives the options of a jaguar type set-up (higher volume pot and strangle option with singles), or a mustang option (250k pots and phasing). Can also get creative in between. Has more than enough sounds for one guitar for me, and I find this switching combo pretty useful.

Space is tight on the jag-stang, so like you mention you may need to do some wood work if you want any other special switching. Using push-pulls is difficult too with the single volume and switches above because you would end up with a rats nets of wiring if you don't plan it properly. I didn't modify the body, but I can barely get the control plate and pickguard on! Good luck with a cool guitar!

Hope this helps,

Tim
 
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