NGD: VM Jaguar

[JB_From_Hell]

Been back on a trading kick for the last few months. Swapped the G&L Tribute Classic for this Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar. I’ve never been a Jaguar fan, and I liked the G&L, but I’ve been playing the Tele almost exclusively, and if I wanted a Strat, I went for the Fender. This guitar popped up on FB last night, and something told me to go for it.

 

[BenPerkins]

Re: NGD: VM Jaguar

Been back on a trading kick for the last few months. Swapped the G&L Tribute Classic for this Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar. I’ve never been a Jaguar fan, and I liked the G&L, but I’ve been playing the Tele almost exclusively, and if I wanted a Strat, I went for the Fender. This guitar popped up on FB last night, and something told me to go for it.

View attachment 95570

How do you like it so far? I’ve been thinking about picking up one also.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: NGD: VM Jaguar

Great guitar for $300 (new). I just wrote a post about it last month. Congrats!

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: NGD: VM Jaguar

How do you like it so far? I’ve been thinking about picking up one also.

After tweaking to my taste, I like it. It had 9s on it, set fairly low, and felt like rubber bands. I put on a 10-52 set, and raised the action high enough to play slide. I’d say it sounds and plays better, but enough people have told me those two things don’t improve a guitar that I know it doesn’t

If you’re unfamiliar with Jaguar controls, they’re weird. The controls on the upper bout are two horizontal roller knobs and a switch. The switch goes between the lead circuit (both pickups selectable via two on/off switches on the lower bout) or the rhythm circuit (neck pickup only). The rollers control volume and tone for the rhythm circuit. The two knobs near the output jack control volume and tone for the lead circuit. As I said, two of the lower bout’s switches turn each pickup on and off, and the other engages a cap for a slight mid shift.

Currently, I have it set for the bridge pickup only in the lead circuit, and use the lead/rhythm switch to go between them. The both pickups sound is ok, but each on its own is pretty good. Duncan Designed pickups, btw.

I’m having a lot of fun with it, mostly so far making soundscapey delay and reverb noise.

 

[Ayrton]

Re: NGD: VM Jaguar

Cool!

I really began to enjoy mine once I got a handle on the controls. Jaguars have a broad sonic palette.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: NGD: VM Jaguar

If you were to put a 1 degree neck shim in there, the guitar would "behave" better with lighter strings, and feel more like a Gibson. 2 degrees (and 11's) is what I went with when I set up my boss's kid's VM Jag. That is a a lot of angle (but still doable if you grab the pickups with a padded vice grips to raise them high enough).

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: NGD: VM Jaguar

^ thanks man, I’ll try out some shims.

Currently, I’m getting a little buzz sometimes, but it’s playable. The previous owner installed Graph-Tec saddles, which I think I like.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: NGD: VM Jaguar

If you were to put a 1 degree neck shim in there, the guitar would "behave" better with lighter strings, and feel more like a Gibson. 2 degrees (and 11's) is what I went with when I set up my boss's kid's VM Jag. That is a a lot of angle (but still doable if you grab the pickups with a padded vice grips to raise them high enough).

View attachment 95578

View attachment 95577

What’s the reason for this?

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: NGD: VM Jaguar

What’s the reason for this?

The break angle between the bridge and tailpiece is really, really shallow. Have you seen the J Mascis Jazzmaster? They moved the tailpiece a little closer to the bridge to increase it.

Aside from shimming the neck, using heavier strings is another trick to decrease the buzzing/tendency for strings to pop out of the saddle (check out stock Jaguar saddles, what a joke). I had a bunch of 10-52s on hand, but with the 24" scale, they feel pretty slinky, so I'm going up to 12s or 13s next time.

All that said, I think this may be a keeper. It's remarkably different from the rest of my stuff, and has a lot of cool sounds on tap. Plus, if you've never played "Pipeline" or "Walk, Don't Run" on one of these, you're missing out

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: NGD: VM Jaguar

Gotcha.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: NGD: VM Jaguar

I wrote up an explanation of the Jaguar controls above, and realized it's still pretty crazy. If you're ever trying one in a shop and find yourself confused, do the following:

On the lower bout, put the middle switch up, and the outer two down. Turn all the knobs all the way up, roll the rollers all the way to the left (looking down). Now, the switch on the upper bout basically works like a Les Paul, giving you the neck pickup with the switch up and the bridge with the switch down.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: NGD: VM Jaguar

What’s the reason for this?

To raise to bridge. It's basically decked on these when they come from the factory. Back in the old days, Jazzmasters and Jaguars were intended to be shimmed, and usually came from Fender with factory shims installed...though not as much shim as you need these days, because the guitars also were designed to work with heavy gauge flat wound strings. Just like acoustic guitar strings, 11's were considered light, 12's were mediums, and 13's were heavies.

Raising the bridge:

1. Increases tension over the saddles

2. Gets the strings (primarily the low E) off of the vibrato screws near the rear end of the vibrato unit.

3. Gives more space underneath, which is required to use the original mute (which is not there on the Squier VMs).

4. It also gives it a more Gibson-like feel, which you might or might not like (I like it).

In addition, part of a "proper" JM/Jag setup is that you set the saddles high on the bridge plate. This gets rid of string contact on the back lip of the bridge.

All of this stuff allows the rocker bridge to operate as intended, without the strings hanging up anywhere. It also holds the saddles down a bit tighter, so they don't drift or rattle/buzz as much, and so the strings are less likely to jump the threads.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: NGD: VM Jaguar

Makes sense!

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: NGD: VM Jaguar

FWIW, I wrote a [perhaps TL/DR] take on my approach to the Jaguar's controls in a recent thread started by Ayrton: https://forum.seymourduncan.com/sho...-President-has-done-now&p=4284613#post4284613.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: NGD: VM Jaguar

I’m surprised by how much I like the Jaguar. For the first time in a decade, The way it sounds with a wah is nothing short of magical. Definitely gonna sand the nasty poly off the neck, this guy’s sticking around.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: NGD: VM Jaguar

Just had a chance to crank up the Super with the Jaguar. This thing is so not a Strat or Tele it’s nuts, but most of what I love about a Fender is there. It’s making me really miss my ‘69 Mustang for the first time since I sold it like 15 years ago.