I know there are like 1000 posts about this but I just wanted a fresh modern opinion on this. I wanted to discuss good pickup replacements for this guitar. A jaguar neck pup sounds like a good idea to me but I am not very well educated on good humbucker pickups for the bridge. Looking at an indie rock/psych/garage style sound.
I've never had the pleasure to play a jaguar myself either so a little bit of info about the type of sound that a neck jaguar pup will have would be great. I am assuming it is known for a jangle-sound?
Let me know any recommendation/mods you guys have tried with some info on the sound.
Typical: leave the neck pup alone, put a JB in the bridge. Tons of people on this forum and elsewhere have done this.
Other options:
(1) Mustang Antiquity in the neck, JB in the bridge (a forum member recently did this)
(2) SD Strat pickup in the neck, SH-5 in the bridge (our own Fran loves the SH-5)
(3) SD Jag pup in the neck, take out the bridge humbucker (Robroe special)
(4) SD 59 in the bridge, lil 59 in the neck, 500k pots (my own idea)
I love the sounds of the SD 59s and PAF style humbuckers. My J-S is still stock, but I'd love to try a 59 in the bridge. I haven't heard of anyone else doing this. Putting a lil 59 in the neck would give it a double bucker sound, and 500k pots would be a no-brainer. I'd also be tempted to put a Mustang Antiquity in the neck with the 59 in the bridge. One day I'll get around to this, but I'm not extremely motivated as I spend most of my time playing my Vista (CIJ) Jagmaster.
Great youtube clip of the SH-5 with a strat pup:
[youtube][/youtube]
Can we discuss tonal differences between those pickups you mentioned? I am intrigued at the strat or jag in the neck. Like I said I haven't been able to play a jag before so I am curious to what they are like compared to a strat.
VerdantGreen wrote:Looking at an indie rock/psych/garage style sound.
I've never had the pleasure to play a jaguar myself either so a little bit of info about the type of sound that a neck jaguar pup will have would be great. I am assuming it is known for a jangle-sound?
I think an indie or psych sound can be achieved with just about any guitar. Indie is such a broad category, so it's more about the way you play and the way you approach songwriting. Psych is generally more about the effects you use. You could make great indie or psych with a Les Paul.
For garage, your best bet will be playing with the phase switches on the Jag-Stang. Again, the pickups will be secondary.
All that said, you probably just want a nice solid clean tone with a bit more treble.
Jaguars tend to be very bright and jangly, but it's not just the pickups. Jags come standard with 1meg (1000k) pots. That will make any guitar very bright. Yes, I've owned two Jaguars, and both were very bright, crisp, and jangly. However, with the neck pickup alone, the Jaguar can be more mellow, even with 1meg pots. If you pair a Jag neck pup with a humbucker, you'll certainly have a more mellow sound than you would with two Jag single coils. Finally, the Jag-Stang's big body (booty) lends itself to a more bass heavy tone. You've seen Robroe's video... the Jag pickup in a Jag-Stang just sounded like a relatively bright single coil pickup. It didn't make the guitar sound exactly like a Jaguar.
Last edited by singlepup on Tue Sep 06, 2016 3:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
VerdantGreen wrote:Can we discuss tonal differences between those pickups you mentioned? I am intrigued at the strat or jag in the neck. Like I said I haven't been able to play a jag before so I am curious to what they are like compared to a strat.
All the pickups I mentioned were Seymour Duncans. You can hear samples of all of these pickups on the Seymour Duncan website. That's a great place for you to start.
My impressions of pickups are very influenced by the guitar bodies and electronics they're paired with. Yes, Jags sound jangly, but is it really the pickups or more the pots? Jags have 1meg pots while Strats use 250k pots. Big difference! I'm not sure that Jag pickups are so incredibly different from Strat pickups. Would like to hear others' thoughts.
I've heard a good deal about JAZZ humbucker pickups that seem to be quite versatile for different sounds.
Anyone know anything about these and the type of sounds you can achieve? I know its a lower output humbucker but that seems to be fine with me as I don't plan on playing metal but I do want to crank up the fuzz from time to time.
I have read on Seymour Duncan forums that the Jazz 'bucker is seriously underrated, like a secret pickup no one uses. Not sure about this as I've never tried a guitar with SD Jazz pups. However, I can tell you that low output pickups can be great for fuzz. Many alt rock and shoegaze bands from the early 90s were using vintage Fender guitars with original pickups. All of those pups were low output.
"Jazz" pickups are generally associated with darker, more mellow tones. That's not necessarily what you want in a Jag-Stang, which is already lacking treble to begin with. Again, I'm not sure how dark the SD Jazz pup is or whether it would suit a Jag-Stang. However, it may not be as safe a bet as a JB. I've been thinking about the 59 pups because they are somewhat bright, especially for buckers.
Last edited by singlepup on Tue Sep 06, 2016 6:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
singlepup wrote:I have read on Seymour Duncan forums that the Jazz 'bucker is seriously underrated, like a secret pickup no one uses. Not sure about this as I've never tried a guitar with SD Jazz pups. However, I can tell you that low output pickups can be great for fuzz. Many alt rock and shoegaze bands from the early 90s were using vintage Fender guitars with original pickups. All of those pups were low output.
Im a big fan of old and modern shoegaze so this could definitely be a style I am interested in experimenting with as I grow as a player.
I see there are a lot of jaguar pickups on Seymour Duncan's website. What exactly is the difference between Vintage pups vs antiquity pups?
Imagine traveling back to 1960 and buying a new Stratocaster. It would sound different from a vintage 1960 Strat purchased today due to aging. The vintage pups are trying to mimic the sounds made by brand new pups in the vintage era. So they are "vintage voiced" but not aged. They don't sound like genuine vintage pups you'd buy on eBay.
The antiquity pups, on the other hand, are intentionally put through an "aging process" so they sound like REAL vintage pups you'd find today on eBay... but at a fraction of the price.
singlepup wrote:I have read on Seymour Duncan forums that the Jazz 'bucker is seriously underrated, like a secret pickup no one uses. Not sure about this as I've never tried a guitar with SD Jazz pups. However, I can tell you that low output pickups can be great for fuzz. Many alt rock and shoegaze bands from the early 90s were using vintage Fender guitars with original pickups. All of those pups were low output.
Im a big fan of old and modern shoegaze so this could definitely be a style I am interested in experimenting with as I grow as a player.
Not all low output pups are created equal. They're generally brighter than higher output pickups. However, both 59s and Jazz pups are low output, and I'm sure they sound quite different. Compare sound clips from the low output section on the SD website. Use good headphones.
I just purchased a Mint Jag-Stang RI that should arrive on Friday so I will have an opportunity to see what it sounds like stock myself to compare. I often hear the bassy/muddy complaint about it so I would like to possibly brighten up the guitar a bit. A lower output Humbucker seems to be the best option for my goals. I will have to watch some videos when I am off of work tonight.
singlepup wrote:Oh yeah, you scored. Keep us posted...
Yeah I will post a pic of it when it arrives. I didn't want to cave and get one of the 90s models because people are trying to sell those for 1000+ which seems like a crock of shit to me. I do like the way some of the original ones age paintwise but the bright sonic blue is a nice touch if I may say so myself
singlepup wrote:Typical: leave the neck pup alone, put a JB in the bridge. Tons of people on this forum and elsewhere have done this.
Other options:
(1) Mustang Antiquity in the neck, JB in the bridge (a forum member recently did this)
(2) SD Strat pickup in the neck, SH-5 in the bridge (our own Fran loves the SH-5)
(3) SD Jag pup in the neck, take out the bridge humbucker (Robroe special)
(4) SD 59 in the bridge, lil 59 in the neck, 500k pots (my own idea)
I love the sounds of the SD 59s and PAF style humbuckers. My J-S is still stock, but I'd love to try a 59 in the bridge. I haven't heard of anyone else doing this. Putting a lil 59 in the neck would give it a double bucker sound, and 500k pots would be a no-brainer. I'd also be tempted to put a Mustang Antiquity in the neck with the 59 in the bridge. One day I'll get around to this, but I'm not extremely motivated as I spend most of my time playing my Vista (CIJ) Jagmaster.
Great youtube clip of the SH-5 with a strat pup:
[youtube][/youtube]
Fran's homemade Jag-Stang:
[youtube][/youtube]
That vid brings back some good memories
I think I fitted a JB humbucker, 500k alpha pots and some mojo-oil capacitor in that JS.
The original pots and cap were garbage in my opinion. Although I agree about the rumour that the later JS models did sound better.
One of my favourite neck single coils is the Seymour Duncan SJAG-II. It's a warmer alnico pickup and sounds really classy. The bridge version does as well for that matter.
Do Jag pups fit in the neck slot of JS? I know they are similar to other single coils but have a "metal claw" or something that can make them slightly different in dimension. I don't think I want a mustang pickup in the neck since I will probably get a mustang some day anyways.
I wanted to experiment with different sounds and the jaguar pickups seem like something different that I would like to throw in a JS.
Some other Humbuckers that intrigue me are the Pearly Gates and 59 Trembuckers from SD. They are all lower output Humbuckers. Anyone have experience with these?
