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[TheBuck]

hey i just bought a 62 jap reissue jag and im already having a few problems, i mean, what the fuck is the deal with the unfixed bridge? it is crap and even with moderate playing the strings come out of place into the little grooves on the bridge making it out of tune. the pickups seem to buzz and squeel a fucking lot. the whammy bar is USELESS, and there is virtually no sustain at all. i am pretty dissapointed because ive wanted this guitar for ages and now that ive got it im pretty sure this will need some definate mods to make it useable. ive tamed the controlls which are pretty complicated but easy once you know how, and now that i do this is a really versatile guitar and the sexiest looking innanimate object anyones likely to see (i think you would agree).

ive been told a mustang bridge would sort out most of this but does anyone have any suggestions about replacement pickups because the stock ones are crap. i would also appreciate help on the general setup of the thing. any other help would be great. i really hope to sort this out because it will be an amazing guitar if i could get it right.

[JME]

Hey,

Well i dont know about jags but i would definetly take your jag down to prosound and get it set up. The guy who works on the guitars really knows his stuff, he set my guitar up very nicely, he also checks all the electrics for you- it might be that there's something wrong electrically with your pickups.

I guess the bridge is just a bad design http://www.harmony-central.com/Guita...Jaguar-01.html Which is confirmed in all these reviews, they also say to get a mustang bridge so i guess thats what you should do.

Still id be gutted if a new fender id been dreaming of and finally baught came with all these flaws- bad luck mate.

James

[NARC]

Seymour Duncan do replacement Jaguar pickups for about £85
http://www.seymourduncan.com/website/main.shtml

To stop buzz you will need to buy a buzz stop roller bar which you screw on to the bridge plate. However this is about £35.

A Mustang bridge is well advised, because the saddles have one groove, so the string will not slip out like the problem you are having already.

[Spoonie]

japanese fender stuff is great but typically does need a little bit of attention before you get the best out of it. i've got a '62 reissue precision and the pickups were scabby as fuck so i piled in some EMGs and put on a badass II bridge and now it's a fucking demon!!

hope you get it sorted

spoons
/x

[craig deadenstereo]

Take it back, tell them it sucks and buy a Les Paul.

Problem sorted.

But on a more serious note - there is no sustain because it is a plinky plonky fender with a funky ass bridge. It's a thin piece of wood made for chicken-pickin or surf or something.

Squealing - it's single coils - gonna happen.

But seriously, take it back tell them it sucks and order a Gibson SG from Sound Control which are £499 just now. Bad-ass guitars at a real good price.

[sonhenry]

Originally Posted by craig deadenstereo

Squealing - it's single coils - gonna happen.

That may or may not be true. Is it feeding back at really low volumes? Lots of those new Fender pickups aren't wound tightly enough and so they go microphonic- that sounds like the problem you have. You can fix this yourself pretty easily by wax-potting them. I can email you the specifics, but it'll radically cut down on the amount of feedback. I can stand next to my 100 watt marshall and blast away with my strat and not have feedback problems. Hearing problems yes, feedback no.

If it's a brand new guitar, though, and the pickups are microphone it's a warranty issue and you should take it back.

[TheBuck]

Originally Posted by sonhenry

Is it feeding back at really low volumes? Lots of those new Fender pickups aren't wound tightly enough and so they go microphonic- that sounds like the problem you have. .

yeah that sounds like exactly what it is, even at low volumes it is just being a little bitch. if you could tell me about wax-potting(?) that would be great because i have no idea what that is.

cheers for all the help and that harmony-central site was the dogs bollocks.

[Laxton's Superb]

Narcs help was essential in me fixing my jag, they are very flawed, but very pretty as well!

[sonhenry]

Originally Posted by TheBuck

yeah that sounds like exactly what it is, even at low volumes it is just being a little bitch. if you could tell me about wax-potting(?) that would be great because i have no idea what that is.

First, if this is a brand new guitar take it back and make the dealer replace the pickups. This shouldn't happen with a new guitar. If you start repairing it yourself you'll void the warranty.

That said, it's basically melting some parafin wax and dipping the pickups in the wax for around 15 minutes and then letting them cool. The wax fills all the gaps in the pickup, drives off any moisture and keeps the wires from vibrating. That kills the microphonic feedback which sounds like the problem you've got. It won't kill all the feedback (the good stuff is still in there), by the way, but it'll take care of this problem.

Here's a great set of instructions:

http://www.guitarnuts.com/technical/...ical/index.php

And if that makes you a little nervous, here's what Lindy Fralin (the high-end custom pickup guy) says about this:

http://www.stewmac.com/tradesecrets/...s26fralin.html

Whhen I did this I rigged myself a good double-boiler using some old cans and a wire coat hanger. I used a meat thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature and did this on the stove. Only thing that was hard to find was the wax, but I bet they have it at Asda. My total cost was around 10 quid. As long as you work carefully you'll be fine. Just remember to watch the temperature because the wax does burn if it gets too hot.

This is how I fixed my strat. It just went sour one day, and it would feed back with my amp at a volume low enough that you could talk over it. I thought the pickups were ruined. A little wax and it was cured.

Let me know how it turns out!

[mcbore]

I have a jazzmaster, which is pretty damn similar bridge/setup wise. If your having trouble getting your strings to sit tight, just file a bigger groove in the saddles. Eventually some of the grub screws on my bridge started to loosen and fall out, if this happens, just buy some lock tight from any reasonabley priced hardware store.

Its a bummer that your guitar doesn't sound/play the way you'd like already, but im sure that once you've sorted out these few niggling problems it will. Once i sorted out my jazzmaster it became the best guitar id ever played. Even if your thinking about taking it back and buying another guitar, I would urge you to stay away from les pauls, due to their horrible sound and colossal weight.