ShortScale.org

Need yer opionions please coz' I'm about to blow a wad of cash within the next few weeks. I need a backup for my 65 RI Mustang and the modified Telecaster just ain't doing it for me anymore.

Which do you fine folks ultimately prefer?

The (Mexican) Classic Player Jag HH in sunburst?

Or the (Japanese) Jaguar with dragster humbuckers in black and chrome?

Play with 10 or 11 gauge strings. Punky, Libertines-ish type music. NO solos...well...some...but not in that wanker way. Just fast barre chord changes (hence the shortscale fascination).

Your replies are much appreciated as always.

Much obliged.

go for the mim.

No love for the Olympic White + tort Classic Player Jaguar Special HH?

Either way, I say go for the modern incarnation of the Jag, get the Classic Player HH.

MIM with 11's
olympic white

does your 'stang have humbuckers in it or something? don't know why you'd want a backup with them otherwise.

Got CRAZY love for the white Jag with tort pickguard.

It's just that my Mustang is ALREADY in that color scheme. Kinda redundant to have two gee-tars in the same palette, no?

And nope, my Stang isn't equipped with humbuckers. God forbid.

Reason why I want a humbucker loaded shortscale is to change things up a bit. Have a little bit more range with my sound.

Sticking to the whole "single-coil only" schematic sounds an awful lot like sleeping with only one woman. I'm in my twenties. Why would I want THAT at this point in my life? I need to slut around, so to speak. Even if it IS just a once in a while thing. One or two songs per set. Don't see the harm in that.


Oh...and what's up with all the replies leaning towards the MIM?

Am I MISSING something here regarding the Japanese HH? I've heard nothing but good things about it...hence my being torn between the two. I mean, granted, the bridge looks kinda lame...but I NEVER use the wanker trem anyway.

well, you asked opinions and got answers, I guess that's whats up with it.

i have a jag hh special, and i've sworn since the day i got it that the neck is damn near perfect. the mim's, though, have a suspended bridge, so you would have more tonal options that way. i personally never use the trem on my avri jag, so jap or mim axe makes no difference to me.

I can't speak for the MIM Classic Player, but I've got one of the black and chrome HH Jaguars and was not too fond of the dragster humbucker in it. To me it was kind of flat sounding with not much punch or sustain. I ended up pulling out the bridge pickup and put in a Seymour Duncan Invader. It fucking screams now, which is what I want a humbucker to do.
On another note I also have a jap made standard Jaguar that has the shittiest sounding single coils in it I'd ever heard. They squeal and make tons of noise even at low volume. I pulled the bridge pickup and put in a SD Hotrail thinking that would be more to my liking. It's a lot quieter now, but sounds clunky and boxy. I dunno what I'm going to do with it :[

Your Jaguar HH looks awesome.

But one your other Jag I know where your coming from,the stock pickups are indeed shit.
On my japanese Jag I installed a Seymour Duncan SJAG-3 bridge pickup and it still was not that great until I threw in some 250k pots then it sounded awesome with clean and distortion and my Jag is wired just like my Bronco,all I ever use is the bridge pickup.

I like the look of the sunburst MIM but prefer the build of the Japanese, plus there have been reports of shoddy electrics in a couple of the Glasgow stores I go into. All the Japanese fenders I've played have been quality so that's the way I'd go. The Mex stuff is a lot better these days than it used to be (i'm sure you've seen the glut of early MIM strats and Teles going for under the £ of a Squier on Gumtree etc) but there can still be some issues with build quality, if you're going Mex just make sure you give it a good going over. (I'm probably just being paranoid about the Mex stuff cos I've played a few stinkers)

Part of the appeal of the dragster pups is that they're not crazy high output, but if you'd rather stick in some SDs and have it sound like every other guitar out there then that's up to you. High output doesn't always make for a better sound, it depends what you're looking for.

One of my friends was constantly moaning about the feedback from his Jaguar, his main problem was turning all his shit up too loud (all fx etc at the max) and standing too close to his amp. Feedback is always a it of an issue with single coils but it's easy to live with if your setup's right.

If you stick £200 pups in a guitar that only cost £500 you're bound to see a quality difference, that's pretty obvious. The original Jag pickups aren't shit, they're just not wax potted so they're more prone to microphonic feedback. You can have 'em waxed for a few quid.

Dinosauria wrote: Part of the appeal of the dragster pups is that they're not crazy high output, but if you'd rather stick in some SDs and have it sound like every other guitar out there then that's up to you. High output doesn't always make for a better sound, it depends what you're looking for.

Your absolutely right, it is up to me. I opted to make it sound the way I wanted. That doesn't change my assessment of the dragsters, they sounded lifeless and boring to me.

Dinosauria wrote: One of my friends was constantly moaning about the feedback from his Jaguar, his main problem was turning all his shit up too loud (all fx etc at the max) and standing too close to his amp. Feedback is always a it of an issue with single coils but it's easy to live with if your setup's right.
If you stick £200 pups in a guitar that only cost £500 you're bound to see a quality difference, that's pretty obvious. The original Jag pickups aren't shit, they're just not wax potted so they're more prone to microphonic feedback. You can have 'em waxed for a few quid.

rodvonbon wrote:They squeal and make tons of noise even at low volume.

With the guitar plugged straight into the amp volume set at one and a half and no fx, I would say that's pretty shit. They are completely microphonic sounding and make a lovely "chirp" sound when I use any of the switches. I guess that, like your friend, I'm doing something wrong.

rodvonbon wrote:On another note I also have a jap made standard Jaguar that has the shittiest sounding single coils in it I'd ever heard. They squeal and make tons of noise even at low volume. I pulled the bridge pickup and put in a SD Hotrail thinking that would be more to my liking. It's a lot quieter now, but sounds clunky and boxy. I dunno what I'm going to do with it :[

Sell it to me.

MaMo wrote:

rodvonbon wrote:On another note I also have a jap made standard Jaguar that has the shittiest sounding single coils in it I'd ever heard. They squeal and make tons of noise even at low volume. I pulled the bridge pickup and put in a SD Hotrail thinking that would be more to my liking. It's a lot quieter now, but sounds clunky and boxy. I dunno what I'm going to do with it :[

Sell it to me.

I'm not quite ready to give up on it yet.
I got both these Jaguars for the tonal differences from my Mustangs and really want the sunburst one to have the classic Jag sound. I wired the rail as both single and double and neither sounded good, was just currious to see what they sounded like.

I've never had the super feedback from any of my Jaguars from the stock one right through to the 1/4 pounder version. Your problem seems very strange to me.

Anyone else still have a stock one and getting the same feedback?

Dinosauria wrote:I like the look of the sunburst MIM but prefer the build of the Japanese, plus there have been reports of shoddy electrics in a couple of the Glasgow stores I go into. All the Japanese fenders I've played have been quality so that's the way I'd go. The Mex stuff is a lot better these days than it used to be (i'm sure you've seen the glut of early MIM strats and Teles going for under the £ of a Squier on Gumtree etc) but there can still be some issues with build quality, if you're going Mex just make sure you give it a good going over. (I'm probably just being paranoid about the Mex stuff cos I've played a few stinkers)

Part of the appeal of the dragster pups is that they're not crazy high output, but if you'd rather stick in some SDs and have it sound like every other guitar out there then that's up to you. High output doesn't always make for a better sound, it depends what you're looking for.

One of my friends was constantly moaning about the feedback from his Jaguar, his main problem was turning all his shit up too loud (all fx etc at the max) and standing too close to his amp. Feedback is always a it of an issue with single coils but it's easy to live with if your setup's right.

If you stick £200 pups in a guitar that only cost £500 you're bound to see a quality difference, that's pretty obvious. The original Jag pickups aren't shit, they're just not wax potted so they're more prone to microphonic feedback. You can have 'em waxed for a few quid.

i did this to my hh jag:



those are gfs humbucker spaced p90's, and now this guitar eats you, your friend, and all your guitars combined for lunch and shits them out for your dinner. second, i've played those dragster pups, and not only are they low output, but they sound like vomit to my ears. softer is one thing, but thin and lifeless is another. other people may dig them, but i sure as hell didn't. lastly, a jag with a simple pickup change is never going to "sound like every other guitar out there" because it's a fucking jag. . . different wiring, different bridge, different everything.

i'm no fan of butchering authentic vintage instruments with routes and the like, but the "leave it how you bought it or buy another guitar" mentality is so anti-rock'n roll it makes me want to kill rabbits.

rodvonbon wrote:

MaMo wrote:

rodvonbon wrote:On another note I also have a jap made standard Jaguar that has the shittiest sounding single coils in it I'd ever heard. They squeal and make tons of noise even at low volume. I pulled the bridge pickup and put in a SD Hotrail thinking that would be more to my liking. It's a lot quieter now, but sounds clunky and boxy. I dunno what I'm going to do with it :[

Sell it to me.

I'm not quite ready to give up on it yet.
I got both these Jaguars for the tonal differences from my Mustangs and really want the sunburst one to have the classic Jag sound. I wired the rail as both single and double and neither sounded good, was just currious to see what they sounded like.

are the routes on that cij jag shielded and grounded? that could make all the difference in the world. might also consider picking up a pair of the avri jag pups as they already have the claw and fantastic output. classic sounds for sure.

dots wrote:

rodvonbon wrote:

MaMo wrote: Sell it to me.

I'm not quite ready to give up on it yet.
I got both these Jaguars for the tonal differences from my Mustangs and really want the sunburst one to have the classic Jag sound. I wired the rail as both single and double and neither sounded good, was just currious to see what they sounded like.

are the routes on that cij jag shielded and grounded? that could make all the difference in the world. might also consider picking up a pair of the avri jag pups as they already have the claw and fantastic output. classic sounds for sure.

I've heard that the cij's aren't potted and infamous for their feedback.

dots wrote:are the routes on that cij jag shielded and grounded? that could make all the difference in the world. might also consider picking up a pair of the avri jag pups as they already have the claw and fantastic output. classic sounds for sure.

It has the shields and pickup claws (its got the pickguard shield too) and the guitar is grounded. Both pickups sound horrid on it. I'm wondering if the chirp sound isn't from a bad cap though.

yeah, could be a number of things. try the cap idea, for sure. could a pot be at fault here?