NGD - Squier Vista Jagmaster + pickup question

zombiak · Post by **zombiak** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 6:46 pm

I got it tomorrow, it took about a week to reach Poland but it was worth waiting:

Sorry for the crappy quality but it gives you a general idea

It's an A-series 1997 Vista Jagmaster, everything is stock. I love the short scale, and since I really like the 7.25 radius and vintage frets (used to have both in my old 1983 Squier Strat), it seems just perfect for me. The hardware does its job pretty well, it stays in tune pretty well,

BUT

I don't know what to think about the pickups. To be honest, they sound pretty bland and I'm thinking about a suitable replacement for them, but I haven't tinkered with the pickup height yet, and actually I have no idea how high they should be on a guitar like that. I wanna get a pretty standard rock/grunge tone out of it, but it would be nice to know what pickups go well with basswood to give it a full, rich sound (especially that I read that basswood's own tone is kinda neutral, so good pickups can change a lot). I know that Strats benefit mainly from more powerful humbuckers, as they tend to sound overly bright with standard PAF-style pickups. So, here's a question to all Vista Jagmaster users:

How high do you like the pickups on your Jag? Did you swap the pickups for something juicier? What do you like best in it - standard PAF-style humbuckers, or maybe something more powerful like a Seymour Duncan JB?

I'd greatly appreciate your help.

johnnyseven · Post by **johnnyseven** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 7:07 pm

Welcome to the forum.

I had a JB in an old Jagmaster, distorted it sounded great but clean it was rubbish - depends what sound you're going for though.

SGJarrod · Post by **SGJarrod** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 7:13 pm

I have used JB's for yrs....distorted is amazing...clean is crap..... but I use the neck pu for clean anyways

If you want a more authentic PAF get the Duncan 59's.....amazing pu's and a tad hotter than the real PAF's

zombiak · Post by **zombiak** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 7:33 pm

Hey guys, thanks for your amazingly quick replies

Basically I'm looking for an all-around sound, I like an even volume response from both my pickups so it'd be good if the bridge pickup was only a bit hotter than the neck. In my old ash-bodied Strat I had a Bare Knuckle Rebel Yell, kinda like Duncan JB but with amazing organic cleans. On the other hand, it was very nasally sounding (lots of mids) even in a swamp ash body (famous for its 'hollow' mid-scooped sound). I'm worried that in a midrangey and pretty warm basswood guitar (like my Jag) it would be just too much midrange - certainly it'd cut through the mix, but I'm looking for something more balanced.

Two PAF clones seem to be a nice idea, preferably a bit 'hotter' than the originals, but then I don't know if a classic pickup like that wouldn't be overly trebly...and I HATE very trebly guitars. I got rid of my ash bodied Strat because I couldn't stand the high treble range that I couldn't get rid of, I know that it's the classic Strat voicing but I prefer something warmer.

honeyiscool · Post by **honeyiscool** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 8:32 pm

I love a Seymour Duncan TB-5 in the bridge. It has a very good clean sound IMO, and the distorted sound is almost as good as a Super Distortion.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:28 am

i love vista tone humbuckers.

SGJarrod · Post by **SGJarrod** » Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:10 am

check out the Duncan 59's or something similar.... it sounds like that is what ur wanting.... PAFs will have less mids than a JB/super distortion pick up, better cleans too

SGJarrod · Post by **SGJarrod** » Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:11 am

check out the Duncan 59's or something similar.... it sounds like that is what ur wanting.... PAFs will have less mids than a JB/super distortion pick up, better cleans too

SKC Willie · Post by **SKC Willie** » Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:15 am

hotrodperlmutter wrote:i love vista tone humbuckers.

I thought they sounded pretty damn good.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:15 pm

zombiak · Post by **zombiak** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 8:01 pm

I've tinkered with the pickup height a little, and compared it with my friends mahogany LAG with SD SH-1/SH-4 set. The Jag actually had LESS clarity, but I kinda like the smooth high frequencies; the lows are a bit mushy though. So I guess I'm searching for humbuckers with nice lows, no over-the-top highs and clarity, no mud. The Jag sounds quite middy, so they don't have to have a lot of mids, I guess.

Sounds kinda like PAF-style humbuckers to me, but on the other hand - the SH-1 (which is supposed to be like a vintage PAF, I guess) sounded a bit too bright in mahogany, so it would be even worse in basswood.