Japanese Jaguar hardware upgrades

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 3:23 pm

So I really love my Japanese jag, and over the years modified a lot and experimented with different setups / pickups etc etc....

I've been thinking if I can improve it even further and have considered fitting some Gotoh vintage style machineheads and an avri Tremolo.

Worthy upgrades in relation to cost ?

gypsyseven · Post by **gypsyseven** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 3:25 pm

The tuners are not that expensive...i would go for Klusons....

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 3:28 pm

I was really impressed with cobain jag tuners.... obviously I wouldn't fit the same type, but hoping the same quality can be said for the others within this brand.

I fitted some white tipped Klusons previously and didn't think much of them at all, and put the originals back on. They seemed more substantial & effective to me.

rps-10 · Post by **rps-10** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 3:45 pm

Genuine Gotoh tuners I've used have always been excellent, however copies of have been terrible.
How vintage is vintage in your eyes? As there are plenty of parted out Ibanez on ebay which all had quality Gotoh tuners back in the day.. 20 years ago in the 80's. Probably cheaper to buy a set of those than buy something new marketed as "Vintage" ?

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 4:02 pm

The tuners that are on there will be identical internally to any repro Gotohs you buy unless you spend a fortune on TonePros ones. It will also make precisely zero difference (almost all tuning problems people blame on tuners are in fact down to the nut). Replacing the trem assembly is a far more worthwhile upgrade, although possibly a tricky one (Fender seem to be making it harder to get hold of AVRI trems).

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 4:23 pm

I lube up the nut and bridge, and don't really have any issues with tuning.... I just feel there's a little too much in terms of tolerance when tuning them.

On a sperate note, the hole on the back of them... is this for greasing them up ? ...seems as though it could be something like that.... ie a service.

Do TonePros do something vintage that'd fit ?

thanks all.

Post by **Mike** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 4:23 pm

This all smacks of spending money for moneys sake unless there are actual quantifiable problems with the tuners and trem that are holding you back and/or annoying you right now.

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 4:30 pm

... well, the trem is breaking a fair few strings... which is annoying when I use Elixirs. I filed / sanded down the holes which has improved but still not perfect. I know the avri ones have thicker chrome so that's the main reason behind that. Every time I bend a note I flinch cause I worry they'll snap lol.

I setup & service guitars on a regular basis & felt these factors would be a worthy upgrade, in relation to the small issues I'm facing. I play it up to about an hour a day...

If I wanted to spend money I'd be opting for an avri which I have no interest in doing.

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 4:44 pm

Yep, the hole on the back of the tuners is for grease; pack some in and it'll take a lot of the excess play out. But I reiterate: upgrade the trem, not the tuners.

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 4:48 pm

Thanks Benecol.... I will give that a whirl !!

Might give Fender a call tomorrow and suss out what might be going on with the trems

honeyiscool · Post by **honeyiscool** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 5:09 pm

Which bridge are you using? I don't think the trem would be eating strings, might be the bridge.

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 5:33 pm

honeyiscool wrote:Which bridge are you using? I don't think the trem would be eating strings, might be the bridge.

It's definitely the trem... as that's where they're breaking, and it's not unwinding itself either.

The bridge is a tunomatic.... no issues there.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 5:42 pm

othomas2 wrote:It's definitely the trem... as that's where they're breaking, and it's not unwinding itself either.

Sharp edges on the tail piece holes, i've had it before. Take the edges off with a fine needle file.

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 5:50 pm

I've done that once already... and all was fine for several months, only recently has it started to occur again. Might try again....

I have been slackening and tightening the strings a lot whilst doing various operations on the guitar, so I'm sure that hasn't helped and eaten up the string a little, causing them to snap prematurely.

honeyiscool · Post by **honeyiscool** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 6:19 pm

Sounds like you know the answer, then! New tailpiece day coming soon.

Also, which Tune-O-Matic did you install and how did that go?

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 6:57 pm

Cheers... I don't remember, I had it kicking around from the jagstang days. It cost Â£30-40 at the time so it's decent & chunky. Perhaps a Gibson ? It's secured but could do with being permanently installed at some point. The cups of the tunomatic are currently wedged with match sticks to keep them vertical for example. But as for results it seems to give more sustain and focus than the mustang bridge which seems a little slug-ish and dead sounding to me now. I was quite surprised. I've tried things like the buzzstop to achieve similar ideals but have always been left disappointed.

You really here the effect they have when playing the adjustomatic Fenders.

benecol wrote:Yep, the hole on the back of the tuners is for grease; pack some in and it'll take a lot of the excess play out. But I reiterate: upgrade the trem, not the tuners.

I went the pharmacy and bought a baby feeding syringe and grabbed the Lithium grease from the garage and got to work... So far so good... nice amount or resistance now... & they seem more solid. cheers.

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 8:03 pm

No worries, happy to be of service. Also, be interested to hear what Fender say about those trems; might well be an internet rumour that's gathered pace.

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 9:22 pm

Yeah, I'll give them a call for sure. Will leave a note on my hand, always remember then !!!

James · Post by **James** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 9:42 pm

honeyiscool wrote:New tailpiece day coming soon.

It gets worse. As if the endless tirade of 'NGD' wasn't enough.

jim93 · Post by **jim93** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 1:18 am

I read in Offset that the cheap hardware weighs down your body affecting your tone.