Decided on my first Offset/Shortscale (New issue arises)

[Medicine Melancholy]

Part of the issue is that I haven't found good clips of the HH vs SS. I really loved the clean tone of the SS in Mike's demo. The HH not sounding like a "Jag" coilsplit is a bit of a bother, but it's possible it has a sound I like even more(you never know) but most of the demos are inevitably distorted.

i think a split HH does sound fairly jag-like. empires uses one, all his lead playing on this track is a split neck pickup as far as i know:

http://soundcloud.com/versemetrics/tired-lights

i think the split HH pickups have a bad rep round here and i'm not sure why, to be honest. they sound good to me. ask him what his opinion is, seeing as he uses one as his main live guitar, he's more likely to know than some of the usual armchair experts who chime in about such things.

It's hard to find a good clip of it. They tend to sound nice but rather thin, I like the meatier-but-still-single-coil sound of the SS pickups.

If someone could chime in with more clips, that'd be great. Otherwise I'm leaning towards the SS. Getting the HH would be great though since it's more versatile, is probably the best looking guitar of the 3 and there are actually 2 for sale on adverts.

Of course, if there were pickups that actually did sound really like a Jag split, that'd work too.

[Medicine Melancholy]

The Euro is pretty good against the dollar, so I'll be on the look out for ones in the US - could save a lot of money that way, even with the shipping.

[johnnyseven]

To complicate matters, I got offered a Jazzmaster with Antiquities etc. for a decent price... hurt but I pretty much passed it up.

If you're looking for a short scale, a Jazzmaster won't do you any good. Of course if you're just looking for offset, it's perfect.

Yeah. I rather Jags more overall and I really liked the feel of the Jagmaster I tried. Otherwise I'll hold out for one of the SS Jags. The HHs are nice but after hearing more demos, the cleans are a little thinner in full on single coil mode. I imagine the variable coil split helps a lot with that, but you're making it more humbuckery as you do that too. I don't know if you'd really reach a "sweet spot". I prefer the sound of the Jag pickups overall.

The pickups in the CP Jags are pretty great too, though a little more P90 like. Antiquities would probably be idea for a Jazzmaster sound, but I do like the idea of something a bit hotter for what I do.

If you're not sure whether or not you'd like the SS Jag or HH a Jazzmaster may be a good bit of middle ground for you. Plus SY Antiquities are really good pickups, are they I's or II's?

[Medicine Melancholy]

Yeah, I really want the short scale and switches though I think(though I'll probably modify what the switches do, I just like to have more things to do while I play). I'm definitely leaning more towards the Jag sort of sound.

Just a question; I see an older Japanese Olympic White JM, these are the "MIJs" right? How are the pickups on those, are they thin like the CIJs or more like classic ones?

I'm thinking the Classic Player pickups though are probably the best "go between" between a Jag and a Jazzmaster. Some of the offset sound comes from the Trem unit I imagine, and the "fuller" sound of the warmer pickups probably puts it a bit more in JM territory.

[johnnyseven]

I believe older japanese jags and JMs are 'Made in Japan' as opposed to 'Created in Japan'. I don't know for sure about the pickups but I can imagine that they are similar to the CIJ pups, i.e. not great.

I'm not certain but I don't think that hotter pickups necessary equals a warmer sound, but someone else on the forum may be able to advise on this re the CP Jag. I know with the pickups I had custom made for my JM were wound hotter but they used lower powered magnets to produce the warmer sound that I was after.

[Fran]

Just a question; I see an older Japanese Olympic White JM, these are the "MIJs" right? How are the pickups on those, are they thin like the CIJs or more like classic ones?

The pickups are no different.
The only difference is on earlier Japanese models they only used alder on sunburst body's.

[James]

I've only skimmed this thread but to me it seems like you're trying to justify your decisions by over-thinking them after you've made them, rather than basing them on having tried out the guitars. It's something a lot of people do when they're first able to buy a guitar like this, which is popular but not widely available. I remember doing something similar myself.

Maybe that isn't the case at all, and your decisions are based on knowledge of what these guitars actually play like. It's as though you've sold yourself on a few aspects (the scale, the pickup arrangement) and you're looking for a guitar that ticks the right boxes and hoping to luck that it will be a guitar that plays as well as you hope.

[Medicine Melancholy]

James, it's problematic since there aren't really any stores here that have them. The only place that (might) have one is one shop in Dublin, and I feel wary trying out guitars in a place where I don't buy things when I know I'm not going to be able to afford a new one.

I have played the Jagmaster, which I found fairly comfortable.

I'll just have to wait for more people to chime in with their experiences. But for now I'm thinking the CP Jag is best, or a premodded CIJ/MIJ if I can get one cheap enough.

It is weird though as I was all about Jazzmasters a few weeks ago, and was put off short scale. After realising how many uncomfortable shapes I make with my hands playing, I could do with a bit more reach quite badly.

[James]

That's totally understandable. It's a long way to travel to try out something you're not going to buy (and I certainly wouldn't consider buying anything in a Dublin guitar store).

I think the reason it comes up so much with these guitars is that on a forum like this you see people being in love with what they have, lots of sexy guitar pictures and generally only favourable opinions. It may well work out for you, but I would definitely approach it with a little caution. Outside of going somewhere to play one, all you can do is aim to buy something second hand that you could re-sell relatively easily in case it isn't quite the holy grail, or you find it doesn't suit you for whatever reason.

I'm not trying to bust your balls here, just trying to warn you a little because it's something that happens often.

[Fran]

Aye.
When i got my first Jaguar i just bought it off ebay one night. Never played one before, never seen or heard one before other than in famous bands, all i knew is it was the guitar i had wanted for aesthetic reasons for over 15 years.
Sometimes, you have to go for it or you will never know. The good thing here is you cannot lose money if you spend sensibly, people will always want Jaguars.

What to expect? Great guitar. But imo the CP models are more player friendly than the CIJ models. If you get a CIJ be prepared to be tinkering with it for some time to get it right and probably end up swapping the bridge pup at least. But its just as good as a CP once you get it right and more true to the original design.

What i'm trying to say is...

JUST BUY ONE FFS!!

[Medicine Melancholy]

That's totally understandable. It's a long way to travel to try out something you're not going to buy (and I certainly wouldn't consider buying anything in a Dublin guitar store).

I think the reason it comes up so much with these guitars is that on a forum like this you see people being in love with what they have, lots of sexy guitar pictures and generally only favourable opinions. It may well work out for you, but I would definitely approach it with a little caution. Outside of going somewhere to play one, all you can do is aim to buy something second hand that you could re-sell relatively easily in case it isn't quite the holy grail, or you find it doesn't suit you for whatever reason.

I'm not trying to bust your balls here, just trying to warn you a little because it's something that happens often.

I know, being on this forum surrounded by Shortscale lovers does almost make me feel like I should have one too. I do sometimes wonder if I'd still rather a Jazzmaster, but it somehow seems that given the Jags cost the same and "do" more(or can be easily wired to do more, anyway, the switches are a bit misleading), I'm getting more for my money. I like the cleans and dirty tones of both quite a lot.

Looks are also an issue for me - I do like the CAR red but I sometimes wonder if it might be a bit too red, and look a bit silly with some of my on-stage outfits. I know it's a bit of a silly thing to worry about. It would be nice to have a little more choice in terms of colours, like with the J models. The Olympic White one is a bit more neutral, which is why I considered that, it does look quite pretty, and the variable coil tap is cool, but I don't think the sound of it is for me. I like Humbuckers for certain things but I think overall I prefer Single Coils, they have more texture and a Coil Split Humbucker tends to lack a lot of that texture.

Getting one second hand is also a good idea if I plan to resell - if I keep it in good condition I should be able to resell it for roughly the same price.

JUST BUY ONE FFS!!

I will when I see one going second hand for a good price, haha. Playing the waiting game now I guess. There are 3 HHs, but no SS. As soon as I see an SS I'll jump on it.

[James]

I know, being on this forum surrounded by Shortscale lovers does almost make me feel like I should have one too.

There have been a few threads with polls asking who owns a shortscale guitar. I think you'd be surprised. The threads can make interesting reading too.

If you think you might want a jazzmaster later on, it wouldn't be a mistake to buy a jaguar now and then swap it when that time comes.

[Fran]

I know, being on this forum surrounded by Shortscale lovers does almost make me feel like I should have one too.

There have been a few threads with polls asking who owns a shortscale guitar. I think you'd be surprised. The threads can make interesting reading too.

Was'nt it something like 60% with, 40% without? Although most people have owned one at some point which is probably how they ended up here.

[Dave]

I don't think i had a functioning shortscale that wasn't in bits until a year ago....

[honeyiscool]

I currently have one SX Strat I never play which is a short scale. That's about it.

[Dave]

I currently have one SX Strat I never play which is a short scale. That's about it.

Would it be a white one with the good headstock and if so do you fancy parting with it someday (HINT HINT ME)

[Dave]

Also MM - what's that sort of Tele looking guitar you're playing in the live sets?

[Medicine Melancholy]

Also MM - what's that sort of Tele looking guitar you're playing in the live sets?

First Act Sheena. It's a pretty nice guitar.

[honeyiscool]

Would it be a white one with the good headstock and if so do you fancy parting with it someday (HINT HINT ME)

Yeah pretty much.



You can see I stripped the orange off the neck. It's not exactly in pristine shape, despite the upgrades. I put EZ Lok tuners on it, and they work pretty well. The bridge is a MIM, and I keep it locked these days. I put Lace Gold Sensors on it, which makes it sound super nice, actually, but I just prefer my Squiers so much more. It looks nice, though. There's a chip on the back of the neck near the nut, I think it would probably be a good idea to fill it but most of the time I don't really feel it because it's not exactly in the way a lot. There are also paint chips and such, the pickguard is poorly cut, the nut is crap, you know the usual SX stuff.

Obviously if I sell this, the Lace Sensors are coming out, since they're worth more than the guitar by a lot, and I'll put some Squier Standard pickups in it instead (they're quite good, actually, AlNiCo too). Otherwise, make your best offer because I'm not really playing it these days.

[rlm2112]

This thread has become...comfortably numb.