Jaguar setup for beginners

[Hurb]

for the noobs.
I dont cover shielding the trem cavity though!

[dots]

brilliant, that's gonna save folks a lot of heartache and potential moneys. good job!!

[plopswagon]

Huh, so putting on a tune-o-matic and a Bigsby isn’t what you’re saying?

[Hurb]

its not as god intended!

brilliant, that's gonna save folks a lot of heartache and potential moneys. good job!!

Hopefully!

[Thomas]

Love it!!!

I found one of those fancy Stew Mac neck shims in my parts collection and popped it in that new JM. Now I just need an amber switch tip!

[Hurb]

Cheers!
I do wish they sold them cheaper over here. I had one come with a guitar and they are canny. But yeah I don't believe the full pocket shim makes any tonal difference imo

[rahbro]

This video appears to be for fender jaguars. Do I need a separate video for my squier ones or should I just throw them out and buy a Les Paul?

[Thomas]

Cheers!
I do wish they sold them cheaper over here. I had one come with a guitar and they are canny. But yeah I don't believe the full pocket shim makes any tonal difference imo

Yeah, if anything you just know you’re getting a consistent angle vs a card. So no need to multi shim or cut multiple thicknesses of card.

Some folk say the gap with the shim method can cause neck hump where it’s unsupported underneath. I think that’s a load of shite tho. I’ve had loads of guitars with shims and it’s never happened to any of them.

[Hurb]

Cheers!
I do wish they sold them cheaper over here. I had one come with a guitar and they are canny. But yeah I don't believe the full pocket shim makes any tonal difference imo

Yeah, if anything you just know you’re getting a consistent angle vs a card. So no need to multi shim or cut multiple thicknesses of card.

Some folk say the gap with the shim method can cause neck hump where it’s unsupported underneath. I think that’s a load of shite tho. I’ve had loads of guitars with shims and it’s never happened to any of them.

Yeah same!

[Hurb]

This video appears to be for fender jaguars. Do I need a separate video for my squier ones or should I just throw them out and buy a Les Paul?

I am literally holding a guitar with Squier on the headstock in the thumbnail.

[rahbro]

This video appears to be for fender jaguars. Do I need a separate video for my squier ones or should I just throw them out and buy a Les Paul?

I am literally holding a guitar with Squier on the headstock in the thumbnail.

I know. But the Les Paul though. I want a guitar that will snap in half it it tips over

[taylornutt]

Fantastic and thorough video.

My Jazzmaster and Jaguar are setup properly, but I went through this process with my vintage Parts Mustang. The bridge was flat on the pickguard and no shims on the neck. Now I have raised and loctited the bridge and shimmed the neck it plays and sounds so much better. Those collapsed bridges really kill the extra vibrations that make these guitars sound so good.

[Pacafeliz]

Thanks man, that was worth my time.

I got one of them Andertons purple Jags and I do have to say that I absolutely hate it. Everything.

I've been playing Jags for over 20 years now but I hate this one.

Still, good info and I'll keep trying to fix it, somehow.
God I even got a buzzstop for it.

Anyway. Dude what's that nice black Jag? Love the looks.
And the one in the back, is that aen's old one?

Cheers!

[Hurb]

Thanks man, that was worth my time.

I got one of them Andertons purple Jags and I do have to say that I absolutely hate it. Everything.

I've been playing Jags for over 20 years now but I hate this one.

Still, good info and I'll keep trying to fix it, somehow.
God I even got a buzzstop for it.

Anyway. Dude what's that nice black Jag? Love the looks.
And the one in the back, is that aen's old one?

Cheers!

Shit man what is so bad about it? please dont buzz stop it.

Glad you liked the video. The black jag is just a vm squier jag I sprayed black. and yeah thats Aen's old Jaguar in the back.

[Pacafeliz]

Gosh that black Jag just looks wonderful. Nice that you even Squier'd the headstock!

Well my Jag. I love its looks.
But, even after shimming and all, it "hums" ghost notes behind the bridge, constantly. I'm using 11-52 strings btw.
The vibrato tailpiece is shit and squeaky - I knew I'd want to upgrade that but I had never realized that the AVRI ones cost nearly €100 these days!
I changed the poo guard for a aged MOP one.

The pickups sound basically good, but are unusable in a live setting. At the rehearsal they squealed like dying pigs, super microphonic. I mean damn, even Epi waxes their pickups nowadays...
Oh and the narrow tall frets. God I hate them. Why and how and when did these become standard?! I should have known I'd hate them as I've been picking up a Squier a year lately (...) but they feel even taller on this one.
The nut is shit and the strings WAY too high.
Let's not even mention the über dry, rough fretboard, as ok I was able to "solve" this standard Squier thing myself...

All in all, my €100 Bullet Mustang was set up better right outta the box. And it even came with the tiny hex screw to adjust the saddles. The Jag only comes with the one for the truss rod.
Import tax and all included I paid around €450 for a good LOOKING guitar.

Now if I really want to make it USABLE it'd be quite a bit more.
So now, I've got to decide if it's a nice living room wall hanger or, well I guess I'll be upgrading it slowly over the years.

Sanding down the frets would be too expensive, but I'll get better pickups and be on the lookout for another tailpiece.

On a side note, the buzz stop isn't bad at all, really. It works. I've never before had the need for one before.

*Rant over*


So much glam

[Hurb]

sorry to hear all of that! you are paying too much for a guitar you cant use. Squier has some serious qc issues it seems. Sometimes they are amazing and then other times this!

I am sure over time you will get it playing and sounding better. I can recommend the descendant tremolo.


Can you show a picture of how high the bridge is?

[Doog]

I feel you on those narrow-tall frets, Pat. The medium-jumbo frets on my Squier Vintage Modifieds are still a little much for me after playing a CIJ Jag neck-loaded Mustang for a while; the narrow-tall CV frets, while good for bending, still feel like a bit of a fight.

A lot of the "savings" from Squier nowadays are just from QC, although no-one's going argue that the hardware is Fender quality. You'd likely be able address a good deal of your issues with some effort (especially carefully filing and lubricating the vibrato pivot), but when there's so many of em, it can't help but give you The Ick and put you off even attempting it.

As well as Hurb's fantastic video, I really like Puisheen's review/setup video of the same model as yours (and mine):

[Pacafeliz]

Thanks man!

[taylornutt]

sorry to hear all of that! you are paying too much for a guitar you cant use. Squier has some serious qc issues it seems. Sometimes they are amazing and then other times this!

I am sure over time you will get it playing and sounding better. I can recommend the descendant tremolo.


Can you show a picture of how high the bridge is?

I have not come across any Squier Jag/JMs that don't have the bridge sitting on the pick guard from the factory.