Re: Need Advice on Shortscale Guitars - Solution Found

ellengtrgrl · Post by **ellengtrgrl** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 5:26 pm

Hi People,

As you may recall from my "Need Advice on Shortscale Guitars" - I was in limbo for buying one, due to a snafu related to my not having been refunded $300 owed to me for a cancelled order for a Squier Vintage Modified Thinline Telecaster. Well, I came up with a solution to the problem, and the store I've been dealing with (Chicago Music Exchange) is willing to let me use the $300 towards any shortscale guitar they have in stock or can get new for me (since they are a Fender dealership). Since I sling guitars up high like a Jazz player (or Rik Emmet of Triumph), I prefer to have larger bodied guitar, to rest my right arm on (I'm not an arm slinger - I pick from the wrist), that pretty much rules out the Duo Sonic with its small body. I like the Jaguar/Jazzmaster body shape. I mentioned the '86, Japanese Reissue Jag. They're asking $795. I would ahve to put it on layaway for at least 3 months (I have car insurance coming due this month, and a boatload of bills [including $90 to $100 to refill the Migranal I use to stop Cluster Headache attacks, since I used up the last of it last night for a particularly nasty cluster headache]). If Chicago Music Exchange is willing to do that, I'll get the Jaguar. If not, they're fine about me suing my $300 of unrefunded money for a Jagmaster. So, it looks like my problem is solved.

TheBurbz · Post by **TheBurbz** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 5:32 pm

Why the hell wont they give you your monies?? I don't know what US prices are like but $795 sounds like a lot for a Jap Jaguar.

ellengtrgrl · Post by **ellengtrgrl** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 5:37 pm

I'm sure if I kept on pestering them they would (one of their customer service guys has made a mess of things). Having paid by PayPal, has also helped to snarl it up. The $795 is due to the fact that like many 80s Jap Fenders, it's starting to become collectible. Look on eBay, and you'll see what I mean. The place mainly sells vintage guitars. New guitars are a secondary thing for them. I just want to get this mess over and done with.

TheBurbz · Post by **TheBurbz** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 5:46 pm

Maybe the price doesn't seem so bad, I checked out Guitar Center and they're selling the MIM Jag for $1070..WTF??? Those US prices are astronomical, Those Jags in the UK cost about Â£570 which is $850.

Anyway, just do whatever you think is best. The whole mess with the monies sucks though.

ellengtrgrl · Post by **ellengtrgrl** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 5:51 pm

Thanks.

Part of the crazy pricing is due to the exchange rate of the US dollar not being so good. The other part is due to the fact the Fender just jacked up new guitar prices by 30%. NOT COOL!

If you don't buy used or left over new stock, you're going to pay a significant chunk 'o change more for anything from a Squier, to a Fender Custom Shop Model. Guitar Center fought with Fender over the price increases recently (as a dealer they have to sell a minimum price that acceptable to Fendr to maintain thier dealership status), and ended up having to cave in and raisng their prices too. The place I bought my Gretsch from is a Fender Custom shop dealer (Fender treats the custom shop as a different guitar brand; the place can't sell Fender, due to Guitar Center being a mile down the road, but it can sell Fender Custom Shop). The price increase for Fender Custom shop Teles was almost $400!!

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 9:34 pm

TheBurbz wrote:Why the hell wont they give you your monies?? I don't know what US prices are like but $795 sounds like a lot for a Jap Jaguar.

It's not that bad, the new CP Jags are a lot more now, but were $800 on their release. I paid $700 from MF or AMS or something in '98 for my CIJ.

ellengtrgrl · Post by **ellengtrgrl** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 9:59 pm

Uh huh. Well, here's to hoping that Chicago Music Exchange will be willing to do an irregular layaway (as in 3 months). The salesman I was instructed (by the customer service guy I corresponded with by e-mail) to speak to (I called him today) , told me he would have to get approval from the store owner. If they won't do it, then it's a Jagmaster for me. Jagmsters are OK, but it would be cool to have another Jaguar (I had my last Jag 19 years ago). BTW, here's a photo of the guitar. It's a 1986 Japanese reissue. My first jag was a 1989 or 1990 Japanese reissue. I see that like my old Jag, this one also doesn't have the string mute.

Post by **Mike** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 10:02 pm

That looks amazing.

ellengtrgrl · Post by **ellengtrgrl** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 10:17 pm

Yup. Here are a few more images of the guitar from several different views. The finish is in great shape for a 23 year old guitar. IF (and as of now, it's BIG IF, in spite of the fact that the salesman told me on the phone that they're pretty loose on their layaway policy) I manage to get my hands on this guitar, do I leave the stock pickups in, since the guitar is starting to approach vintage status, or do like I did with the last Jaguar I owned (also a Jap reissue), and put in a set of Quarter Pounders?

There is another option - if worse comes to worse and they won't do the layaway, I could take my chances, forego buying the Jagmaster, tell Chicago Music Exchange to retain my $300 as store credit, and just save up over the next few months. If the Jag's still available when I have the addtional $500 I need for it, I'll buy it. If not, I'll explore other options.

Post by **Mike** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 10:25 pm

The answer to this question is always to use your own ears and make your own mind up. There are also several options other than 1/4pounders if you choose to change, Antiquity II's and Vintage SD pickups are great too.

On the subject of it's "vintage" quality, while it may technically qualify as Vintage being over 20 years old it is not a 60's/70s Made in America model and so will never really be desirable and have a large price hike. It will hold it's value, but nothing more really.

ellengtrgrl · Post by **ellengtrgrl** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 10:39 pm

Hmmmm, good point. Well Mike , it would naturally depend on how it sounds stock through my Marshall. In all honesty, I'd prefer not to change the pickups if I can. When I was younger, I was always changing pickups in my guitars, and the guitars of the other guitarists in my bands (due to my background in electronics [Amateur Radio license for 31 years and electronics schooling at the University of Wisconsin for Engineering Degree #1], and basic luthier skills [my grandfather was a luthier who taught my uncle some luthier skills, that he in turn passed on to me], I've typically done all of the guitar tech work for my bands). So, I'm frankly tired of pulling pickups out of guitars nowadays, and prefer to save doing that as a last resort. If I do put new pickups in, I prefer to go the high output route. In the case of the white (more like cream colored) Jag I had 19 years ago - in spite of the fact putting new pickups in it didn't stop the horrible microphonic sqealing it had, when it wasn't squealing (basically when I was playing), it sure was a grind monster.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 10:41 pm

BONAR!! *wants Reece to post a pic of my old 'burst Jaggie*
+1 on the antiquities. Jags never lose money unless you are foolish enough to buy one from a local store at kurdtz prices new, saying that, if you are quick enough you will avoid the hike in prices.

Post by **Mike** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 10:44 pm

The squealing is microphonics. This is a tight feedback loop caused by vibration of the pickup producing a high frequency sound which is amplified by your amp when it's set to high gain which then vibrate the pickup more which produces more high frequency etc. This has been tracked often to the "claw" on the pickup, that metal doobrie that is soldered to the pickup base and grounded and is meant to "focus" the magnetic field. If you remove the claw you lose some aesthetic attraction of the instrument, but often the microphonics are completely eliminated.

Reece · Post by **Reece** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 10:47 pm

Fran wrote:BONAR!! *wants Reece to post a pic of my old 'burst Jaggie*
+1 on the antiquities. Jags never lose money unless you are foolish enough to buy one from a local store at kurdtz prices new, saying that, if you are quick enough you will avoid the hike in prices.

i would do but the uploader won't let me look at my list of files :/.

ellengtrgrl · Post by **ellengtrgrl** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 10:47 pm

Thanks for the input.

I may know by later on tonight (Chicago Music Exchange is open until 7 PM tonight), or tomorrow (they are open from 11 AM till 5 PM on Sundays), where I stand on this guitar. It's looking more and more like personally, a Jag is the way for me to go.

Reece · Post by **Reece** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 10:48 pm

ah here we go, dodgy phone picture but lurvley all the same:

sunburst and tort for life.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 10:54 pm

Reece wrote:ah here we go, dodgy phone picture but lurvley all the same:

sunburst and tort for life.

LOOK AT THAT!!!
OMG.
ellengtrgrl- You must do this. We need to know tonight! Chase them up, we want answers and decisions.

ellengtrgrl · Post by **ellengtrgrl** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 11:02 pm

Mike wrote:The squealing is microphonics. This is a tight feedback loop caused by vibration of the pickup producing a high frequency sound which is amplified by your amp when it's set to high gain which then vibrate the pickup more which produces more high frequency etc. This has been tracked often to the "claw" on the pickup, that metal doobrie that is soldered to the pickup base and grounded and is meant to "focus" the magnetic field. If you remove the claw you lose some aesthetic attraction of the instrument, but often the microphonics are completely eliminated.

Man!, thanks for explaining that to me!

Somebody told me about the claw mounts being the root of the problem last year (when I briefly tried out a Jag I couldn't afford), but they made it sound more like it was mainly a grounding issue. I tell you. I tried potting the stock pickups with epoxy (I've had good results eliminating microphonics when I've done that), and the guitar still squealed. I put the 1/4 pounders in the claw mounts (I even got my boyfriend at the time [who was the other guitar player in the band] to drill out the pickup covers so the large polepieces of the 1/4 Pounders would fit in the polepiece holes of the covers), and it was still squeal city! It was like forget about muting the strings. With the amp on 2 volumewise (a 20 watt 1962 Fender Tremolux head w/matching 2x10 cab), and any kind of dirt box, the thing sqealed unless you completely rolled off the tone control. Ditto for turning up the amp to get some dirt. I had to basically play at jazz lounge volume and gain levels to avoid the sqealing, which was of no use to me, since the other band members would just bury me volumewise. So, about 4 months after buying my Jag, I gave up on it, and traded it for an SG.

ellengtrgrl · Post by **ellengtrgrl** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 11:08 pm

Fran wrote:
Reece wrote:ah here we go, dodgy phone picture but lurvley all the same:

sunburst and tort for life.
LOOK AT THAT!!!
OMG.
ellengtrgrl- You must do this. We need to know tonight! Chase them up, we want answers and decisions.

Like I said Fran, even if I'm not allowed to do my goofy layaway (although, I'm hoping the fact that Customer Service feels bad about the way I've been handled with regards to my order cancellation for the Thinline Squier Tele, will make them OK the layaway), it's looking more like I will take my chances, and have them retain my money as store credit, to purchase the Jag in question, or another Jag down the road, after I've scraped up enough money to do so. In spite of the hassles I had with my first Jag all those years ago, I still have a soft spot for them. I won't know until the salesman is able to discuss my situation with the store owner (who would give the final OK).

BTW Reece - about your sunburst Jag. NIIIICE!! What year is it?

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 11:23 pm

When you wax pot a Jag pup you should include everything especially the claw. Any cavities/loose parts will cause microphonic feedback. The whole thing needs to be set in wax, cover, claw.. everything.

What are you trying to achieve sonically?