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Fender Jag-Stang overhaul

cinredzfan47cinredzfan47 Posts: 81
edited June 2006 in Musicians and Gearheads
Hello all. It's been a while since I've posted in this section of the forum, I've been in the Porch for months now. But I creep back in the gearheads section as I need some advice and thoughts on a project im considering. Here it is:

about three years ago I bought a Fender Jag-Stang (Kurt Cobain guitar) and loved it. But in the past few years as I've adjusted my Fender Strat and Gibson Les Paul to get to the point where they are perfect for me in terms of playability, the Jag-Stang has not stacked up and consequently does not get played at all. The sound just does no stack up and I hate the bridge/temolo system on it with a passion. I was about to sell it when an idea hit me. If it sounded better and it stayed in tune better, I wold undoubtedly play it more often. So in keeping with this idea, the idea hit me to put new pickups in it and completely replace the bridge/tremolo system. Here are my ideas for the new pups and bridge/tremolo:

Gibson '57 Classic Pups
Gibson Les Paul bridge/tail piece

Now, I'm already used to the Gibson pups as I have them in my LP, but at the same time, I'm sure they would not sound exactly the same, as the body of the Jag-Stang is much lighter and softer being made of basswood. I'm fairly certain the bridge/tail piece system would work well with the Jag-Stang.

If you all could give me some advice/thoughts on the idea I've hatched here, I would greatly appreciate it. I love the way this guitar looks and feels when I play it, and the neck remains to be one of the best necks I've ever played on, so I would love to make this guitar something great. Please let me know how you think the '57 Gibson Classics and the Les Paul system would work on the Jag-Stang. I appreciate any help you all can offer.

P.S. Just to clarify, I would not be installing the pups and bridge myself, as I don't have enough experience with such projects. I would take it to a shop I've used many times to have a pro do the installations.
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    locking out the tremolo and using locking tuners might be a little cheaper solution.

    I'm not sure exactly how the pups would sound what kind of sound are you hoping for?
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • cinredzfan47cinredzfan47 Posts: 81
    That's a good idea, I hadn't thought about locking out the tremolo. As for the sound, I'm looking for something smoother. What I dislike about the current pickups in the guitar is the shrillness that I get whenever there's any overdrive. Being designed for the Nirvana frontman, that sound was perfect for that. Unfortunately, my musical stlye has changed and I'm looking for a sound more along the lines of PJ. I can already get that from my strat and Les Paul. I'm looking for pickups that would give me a smoother sound, especially when overdriven. And right now, the Jag-Stang has 2 pups, a single coil at the neck and a humbucker at the bridge. Personally, I think i'd rather have 2 humbuckers if I'm going to have only 2 pups, and from experience, I love the Gibson '57s. I'm really trying to solve the shrill nature of the current pickups when played through an overdriven amp. At the same time, the cleans from the current pickups just seem weak and don't ring as well as, say, the cleans on my LP do. Granted, the LP is a competely different guitar, but I'd really like to emulate that sound. I guess that there is the answer to your question, albeit in a very round about fashion. The reason I've suggested the Gibson '57s is because I truly love how they sound on the LP.

    Another piece of info: I've seen a Fender JAGUAR with the Gibson pups in it, and the Jaguar is similar to the Jag-Stang, so it seems like it's an idea that has worked in the past with a guitar similar to the Jag-Stang.
  • cinredzfan47cinredzfan47 Posts: 81
    If anyone could tell me how to lock out the floating tremolo, I would appreciate it. I had not considered this option before. Thanks.
  • Guitarhero27Guitarhero27 Posts: 2,146
    just bring it to a guitar repair shop and have it set up with the new locking tuners you have just bought and ask them to lock the trem system :)

    -Seth
    9/29/96, 8/29/98, 9/8,11/98, 7/28/99, 8/23,24,25/00, 10/13/00, 4/15/03, 4/30/03, 7/8,9,12,14/03, 10/1/04, 9/30/05, 10/1/05, 5/4,5,13,27,28/06, 6/1,3/06, 6/19,20,22,24,25,27/08, 7/1/08, 8/4,5,7,16/08, 8/21/09, 10/27,28,30,31/09, 5/15,17,18,20,21/10, 9/2/12, 10/18,19,21,22,25/13
  • keeponrockinkeeponrockin Posts: 7,446
    I'd love one of those axes.
    Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
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