wanting to try something weird...

nevadicus

New member
Hey everybody. I have this fantasy guitar that I want to get from Warmoth Direct with a couple of SD pickups. If this concept is even possible for them to build, I'd like it to be a telecaster with a Jag pickup in the bridge and a Jazzmaster pickup in the neck position. Warmoth says they don't route telecaster bodies or pickguards for the Jazzmaster pickup in the neck (or any) position. They also don't seem to put Jag pickups in the bridge position, either.
My question is: is this possible to do? Is Warmoth just being bureaucratic on me or it is really not a possibility. (The Jazzmaster pickup is pretty damn big, so it could make sense - maybe it just doesn't fit there with the pickguard.)
Also, is the Jaguar pickup just the same size as the Srat pickup? If they can put a Strat pickup in the bridge of a Tele, why not a Jag pickup? They look pretty close in size to me.
Anyway, I hope to hear back from all you in the know. Thanks for checking my post!
Cheerio,
Nevada
 
Re: wanting to try something weird...

Why not cut out the whole thing yourself? You could buy the pickgaurd from stew mac. & bust out the drill & chop chop!!!!! It's worth a try.:chairfall :chairfall :chairfall :chairfall :chairfall :chairfall :chairfall :chairfall
 
Re: wanting to try something weird...

Thanks for the speedy suggestions. If I cut the pickguard and did all the pickup routing in the body myself, I'd probably go through about 2 dozen pickguards and guitar bodies before I'd arrive at anything that looks like a guitar. (Never done this before - is it obvious?) Perhaps I can buy these separate pieces from someone and just have a good local electro-luthier do the routing for me.
The other question I had is whether or not Jaguar and Stratocaster pickups are exactly the same size (as far as cutting holes in wood and celluloid goes). I doubt most people have made such a comparison, but if anyone out there knows...I'd love to hear. Thanks again muchachos!
 
Re: wanting to try something weird...

Warmoth used to do a lot of stuff they will no longer do. That's why I went to USACG. I just received two bodies from them (USACG)today. I have to say they were much better than the last few pieces I got from Warmoth. The grain was better and the pickup routs a bit better. They will work with you, Warmoth will not.
 
Re: wanting to try something weird...

Do you really want a Jaguar pickup in the bridge?

I mean really, really want it?

I wouldn't go with one, personally. I'd keep a standard tele lead pickup and pair it with the Jazzmaster neck, especially if you plan on playing with any sort of gain.
 
Re: wanting to try something weird...

+1 on USACG and +1 on 'are you really really sure?" .. after you are done, you will have a guitar that is worth less than the sum of its parts to anyone in the world except you .. you REALLY want to be sure before you sink bread into a custom frankenaxe
 
Re: wanting to try something weird...

Good points on this. I'll talk to USACG - thanks by the way. I'd never heard of them. I think I'll be getting a lot of things from them. You're right - Warmoth seems to have its limits for sure. Pretty inflexible. Maybe too worried about liability. I don't know about their quality because I've never ordered from them before, but I do really like the idea of their lightweight hollow telecaster bodies, and nobody else does that.
I realize that nobody's going to be intereseted in this weird-ass guitar but me, but I'm confident that it will suit my purposes. If it doesn't, well, then I just blew a huge bunch of cash in the name of learning the hard way. I just like the sound of the Jazz pickup in the neck and the Jag in the bridge. I like the tele body, but the traditional tele sound is not the sound I'm looking for.
Thanks again.
 
Re: wanting to try something weird...

Hey! Just found out that USACG can do hollow tele bodies as well... Good for me... bad for Warmoth...maybe... Thanks for the referral dani and BigDaddy.
 
Re: wanting to try something weird...

I just got 2 strat bodies from USACG. They gave exactly what I wanted and at the weight I wanted. Warmoth would not do that even though I have dropped over 3 grand there over the last three years. They have lost my business, not that 3 grand is a lot to them, that's not the point, it's a lot to me.

As for the pickup combo......not a good idea. There are so many better pickups available for humbucking mounts, P-90, strat and tele routs why bother? It seems people with those guitars are always looking to make pickups like p-90's and humbuckers to fit under the jazzmaster cover.

I would be more inclined to put the Jazzmaster in the bridge and Jaguar in the neck....NO?

The other way around would make a huge output disparity.

How about a p-90 bridge and a strat neck? Or a tele bridge and P-90 neck. If you start with the smaller rout you could always open up the hole for a different pickup that's bigger, like a humbucker, it's much harder to make the hole smaller.........

What are you looking for sound wise? If you can describe it maybe we could help.
 
Re: wanting to try something weird...

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm trying to make a 12 string guitar that, rather than the usual jangly, chimey tone, has a more smooth, dark, subdued sound. The twelve strings will already make it jangly and chimey, but the pickups I'd like to use seem like the best ones (sound-wise) that I know about to really round off those sharper tones. I love how Jazzmasters sound, and, with the tone wizard thing I found that especially the hot Jazzmaster and Jaguar pickups created just what I was looking for sound wise. Obviously this has yet to be tried in the real world.
I admit, I didn't look much into humbuckers. That might make my life easier, huh?
 
Re: wanting to try something weird...

I think for the 12 string something with a blade would be better. A pair of firebird pickups would be great. I know what you are talking about when you say smooth and subdued, dark sounding and that can be easily achieved with 250K pots and turning down the tone control. I do that with my guitars setup for slide to take the top off. I use a glass slide and it can get real bright, so I just find the sweet spot on the tone control.
 
Re: wanting to try something weird...

Thanks - I'll be checking those out, then. The tone knob thing did occur to me, but I'd like the pickups to be as close as possible, y'know? I don't want to risk having the tone knob just muffle things. Looking into humbuckers and certainly finding some possibilities on the tone wizard. Strangely, I've noticed they can give a sort of distant, fuzzy sound, which I really like, too. I've only had guitars with single coils before.
Thanks again. I'm really grateful for all the help and advice.
 
Re: wanting to try something weird...

Always gotta be dissin' on the jags and their pickups... If you think they're too bright, I heard Lew say that means you're not a good enough player :laugh2: (of course Lew hates Jags :D)

Jag pickups are remarkably similar to strat pickups if you don't use the claw. I think they're almost exactly the same thing.

So I wonder what makes the Jag sound so clear, and chimey, and wonderful then :D

slade
 
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