Re: Need Advice on Shortscale Guitars - Solution Found

[Reece]

i can't remember what year it is actually. i looked up the s/n a while back and i think it was 02/03.

fran would probably know more, used to be his.

[ellengtrgrl]

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?

Ummm, a heavy guitar sound. I come from a heavy rock background. Basically, hard driving indie and alternative, grunge, and metal are what I'm looking for the guitar to do. I don't expect it to sound like an LP, Explorer, V, etc. But I do expect it to sound decent with the right EQing - just different (which is cool. After after 30 years of playing, I don't much care to sound like everybody else; I prefer to sound like me. While thrash metal is fun to play ( I used to play in bands that did Metallica), I know from the last Jag I had that, I'm not going to get that. That's fine with me. More than anything else. I just want this Jag to be hard driving rock machine. Other than the microphonics, my last Jag, was doing a good job of meeting that requirement. Clean is cool too. But when I play clean, I prefer a jazzier tone - not twang. From what I've read, if flatwounds are used, Jaguars sound pretty jazzy clean. I'm thinking of putting 12 flatwounds on, instead of my more usual 10 round wounds. AND, a wound G is a given for me. I've preferred using wound Gs for over 25 years.

[Fran]

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?

Ummm, a heavy guitar sound. I come from a heavy rock background. Basically, hard driving indie and alternative, grunge, and metal are what I'm looking for the guitar to do. I don't expect it to sound like an LP, Explorer, V, etc. But I do expect it to sound decent with the right EQing - just different (which is cool. After after 30 years of playing, I don't much care to sound like everybody else; I prefer to sound like me. While thrash metal is fun to play ( I used to play in bands that did Metallica), I know from the last Jag I had that, I'm not going to get that. That's fine with me. More than anything else. I just want this Jag to be hard driving rock machine. Other than the microphonics, my last Jag, was doing a good job of meeting that requirement. Clean is cool too. But when I play clean, I prefer a jazzier tone - not twang. From what I've read, if flatwounds are used, Jaguars sound pretty jazzy clean. I'm thinking of putting 12 flatwounds on, instead of my more usual 10 round wounds. AND, a wound G is a given for me. I've preferred using wound Gs for over 25 years.

Is this a Matt alias? Lol.

Jags are not "hard driving rock machines", but the right individual can work it. With a stock Jag, and i am talking about the stock set up, sync. trem etc. (MIJ, CIJ), it does'nt really lend itself to heavy guitar music. I know because i have owned about 6 Jags, fitted humbuckers and all sorts. It is a huge compromise with your FX and amplification to get in the right ballpark.
If you are looking at Guitar>Amp you can forget it. Honestly. Go for something like 1/4 pounders and an FX Processor, cut the noise out and roll your treble down.
A MIM Jag with 'buckers or a Jap HH model may make your goals easier. String gauge is irrelevant other than the basic principles.

[ellengtrgrl]

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?

Ummm, a heavy guitar sound. I come from a heavy rock background. Basically, hard driving indie and alternative, grunge, and metal are what I'm looking for the guitar to do. I don't expect it to sound like an LP, Explorer, V, etc. But I do expect it to sound decent with the right EQing - just different (which is cool. After after 30 years of playing, I don't much care to sound like everybody else; I prefer to sound like me. While thrash metal is fun to play ( I used to play in bands that did Metallica), I know from the last Jag I had that, I'm not going to get that. That's fine with me. More than anything else. I just want this Jag to be hard driving rock machine. Other than the microphonics, my last Jag, was doing a good job of meeting that requirement. Clean is cool too. But when I play clean, I prefer a jazzier tone - not twang. From what I've read, if flatwounds are used, Jaguars sound pretty jazzy clean. I'm thinking of putting 12 flatwounds on, instead of my more usual 10 round wounds. AND, a wound G is a given for me. I've preferred using wound Gs for over 25 years.

Is this a Matt alias? Lol.

Jags are not "hard driving rock machines", but the right individual can work it. With a stock Jag, and i am talking about the stock set up, sync. trem etc. (MIJ, CIJ), it does'nt really lend itself to heavy guitar music. I know because i have owned about 6 Jags, fitted humbuckers and all sorts. It is a huge compromise with your FX and amplification to get in the right ballpark.
If you are looking at Guitar>Amp you can forget it. Honestly. Go for something like 1/4 pounders and an FX Processor, cut the noise out and roll your treble down.
A MIM Jag with 'buckers or a Jap HH model may make your goals easier. String gauge is irrelevant other than the basic principles.

I know it won't sound like a your traditional Gibby, or humbucker equipped guitar, nor even like my Tele at high gain. But as I remember from my old Jag, it will sound Cool - just different. And that's just fine for me. And yes, forget about it being a sustain machine, thanks to the bridge. That's OK too.

Believe it or not, I used to play a Gibson Howard Roberts in heavy rock bands (with music ranging from Cheap Trick to Metallica), through Mesa Boogies. More than a few eybrows were raised by that guitar. Ditto for my old Ric 360. But they both killed at high gain. The same is turning out to be true for my Gretsch Brian Setzer Hot Rod (see photo below of me playing it - sorry I'm not super model material). It really sounds cool. Maybe in a way, my sound is more post-metal in nature than anything else. I don't mind working to get a good sound - as long as I don't have to deal with uncontrollable feedback.

[Haze]

thats a pretty nice looking gretch you've picked out

[ellengtrgrl]

thats a pretty nice looking gretch you've picked out

Thanks!! It's a NOS 2004, G6120SHLTV Brian Setzer Hot Rod. I live near one of the largest Gretsch Dealers in the US if not the world - Warp Drive Music. John gave me a good deal on it ($1600). It's NOT FOR SALE. I'm getting the impression that it's limed gold finish is pretty rare for a 'Setzer Hot Rod. I belong the the Gretsch Discussion Pages, and a forum member there, who's putting together a book on Gretsches, told me that before he found out about mine, he hadn't been able to find anybody with a limed gold, Brian Setzer Hot Rod. I've been trying to take decent photos of it for his book, but no joy - I'm not a proffessional photographer, and I can't get rid of some of the shadows on the guitar in my photos. I have yet to have a cloudy day here, where the temps are above 50 degrees, for taking a shadow free outdoor photo. How I ever became a Gretsch head is a story in an of itself. I've been playing them ever since 2002, when I bought my first Gretsch (a Synchromatic Jet Club, that I foolishly traded 3 years later) for chump change ($125) when my friend (she's a Strat nut) talked me into trying it out. It sounded great, and I realized that Gretsches were good for so much more than rockabilly and twang. Through my Marshall, my Brian Setzer Hot Rod will rip your head off at high gain. It plays like a dream, and the feedback is fun to generate, and VERY controllable, thanks to its use of truss internal bracing. If I had the cash, I'd buy a Country Club so I could have some raunchy sounding Dynasonic single coils. A few weeks back, I tried out a Roundup (basically a Jet decked out in Western motif) with Dynasonics in a Randall stack. It was SO RAW and SO HEAVY sounding! Now if I could only get a hollowbodied Gretsch with Dynas......

[Nick]

Are there really no controls on that guitar other than the one knob and the switch?

Either way it's a beauty.

I can't believe you paid with paypal and you're having a hard time getting your $300 back. Unless they were really upfront with their policy on cancellations, I find that to be a ridiculous business practice and wouldn't even consider doing future business with them.

[ellengtrgrl]

Are there really no controls on that guitar other than the one knob and the switch?

Either way it's a beauty.

I can't believe you paid with paypal and you're having a hard time getting your $300 back. Unless they were really upfront with their policy on cancellations, I find that to be a ridiculous business practice and wouldn't even consider doing future business with them.

Thanks There are several different versions of Gretsch's Brian Setzer Hot Rod. The version I own, only has a volume control, and a pickup seletor. That's it. Other versions of the 'Setzer Hot Rod have more ontrols. With regards to Gretsch control setups - some Gretsches have tone controls, others use what is called a "mud switch" instread, for tone control. Basically a "mud switch" consists of a 3 postion toggle switch (like a 3 postion pickup selector). The two positions off of the center postion of the switch, are wired with different fixed value capacitors, that cut highs by different amounts. So in essence, you have 2 different levels of treble cut to choose from. In the middle switch postion, there is no treble cut. Yes, Gretsches are different - that's one of the things that makes them cool to me.

As for the whole PayPal fiasco - it looks like the customer service person at Chicago Music Exchange who was supposed to handle the refund screwed up bigtime. If I'd pushed hard enough I would have gotten the money back. But since I'm still looking for another guitar, I figured I'd see if I could (figuratively speaking) make lemonade out of this lemon, by purchasing a guitar from Chicago Music Exchange if they had what I was looking for. They did, so that's the route I took for dealing with this mess. And yes, I doubt I'll ever do business with them again. In spite if their store being a high end guitar boutique (it's very much in a high rent district of Chicago, and from the webpage photos, looks like a salon inside).

[ellengtrgrl]

Just some more info to close out this thread - it turned out to not be possible for me to get an extended layaway for the Jaguar I was interested in. So, I opted for a Jagmaster instead (a black one with the white pickguard - I've had so many sunbursts over the years that I decided to get a different color for a change). I had to order the Jagmaster. It should arrive within the next week or two.

[DaveB]

I hope it works out. In this day and age, a Squier is where I'd be looking at for a new guitar. The basic quality (neck and fretwork) seems pretty solid nowadays with the Squier's. It's usually a good foundation to work from. Have fun!

[ellengtrgrl]

Thanks.