Most strat-like sounding Jag neck pickup....

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 11:12 pm

I know the Jag pickups are essentially Strat pickups in design.... but audibly is there anything out there that is worth trying to give me the classic warm percussive bell like attack (whatever you wanna call it) that the strats have ?

Or anyone tried putting a strat pickup with a triangular base into a Jag route ?

thanks
Owen

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Sat Feb 09, 2013 12:10 am

I once fitted a DiM YS3 which despite the association is a beautiful Strat neck pup. Unfortunately it didnt work as well as it did in a Strat due to the guitar build/set up.
The guitar action on a Strat is close to the body and the bridge set up is a lot more compact than a Jaguars. It affects the tone, you dont get the same spank as you do with a Strat.
Thats what i found, some may disagree but they are clearly wrong. n00bs.

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Sat Feb 09, 2013 12:23 am

franhas a good point. your not going to really get the same sound as a strat due to the setup of the guitar. the scale length has alot to do with it. and in reality the string oscilation is different depending on the scale. Personally i LOVE the avri jaguar neck pickup sound. its perfect to my ears. both in lead section and in the rythm section.

honeyiscool · Post by **honeyiscool** » Sat Feb 09, 2013 12:39 am

People have use Lace Sensors in Jags. I swear by Laces in Mustangs.

Jaded · Post by **Jaded** » Sun Feb 10, 2013 12:18 am

I find once you remove the claw things get a little more stratty... but yep, Fran pretty much covered it.

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Sun Feb 10, 2013 11:41 am

Thanks for the advise guys...

I don't use the claws.

I realise there are a lot of factors are contributing to the sound... but wondered whether one jag pickup got more into that area than another...

Ie. Don't consider the quarter pounder but maybe look at the antiguity... etc.

I actually quite like the Japanese stock neck pickup but it can be a bit muddy and unresponsive at times.

The Avri neck p'up I tried was way too dark for my liking.

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Sun Feb 10, 2013 12:54 pm

Jaguars' neck pickups are placed at the theoretical 25th fret position due to the guitar's scale/body and pickguard design, versus 24th fret harmonic node on a Strat or Tele (or Gibson). Same story with Stangs (they angle it on those) and Jazzmasters (which COULD have it's polepieces at the 24th fret node if only they weren't such stupendously large pickups). This is why you occasionally hear arguments from both sides of the coin with regards to neck pickup placement on 24 fret guitars as well.
This isn't "bad" of course, but certainly different. The neck pickup in any Fender is going to sound "unresponsive" to certain ears compared to a Strat's, because it's in a flatter-sounding place where less harmonic overtones are present... slightly more articulate but not as thick and lush (or in the case of the Tele, just a muddy-ass pickup design).

And to also echo Fran's sentiment to a degree, I definitely reckon the Jag's hollower and plinkier sound vs the Strat's inherent stridently scoopy spank is partly responsible. You can't ever write off basic construction differences, in the same way an HH Strat is never going to quite sound like a Les Paul and vice versa. Hardtail Strats sound more Tele-like than ones with trems as well. When I had a TOM and JB Jr on my Jag it sounded Gibsony, but when I went back to a Mustang bridge even the JB sounded very Jag-like. Switching bridges changed the sound more than switching pickups.

From about 2000-2002 when the Strat neck pickup was my fave sound and I didn't have a Strat, the stock CIJ unit in my Jaguar was my makeshift... it's not exactly Stratty but it's still a Fender neck pickup sound, always liked the sound of it. You have to deal with the whole microphonic feedback issue with distortion, but I always liked the clean tones.