I've had a burning question that I can't seem to find an answer for, so I finally registered here, because I figured if anyone knows the answer to this is would be you guys .

Here goes:

Fender Jazzmasters have an out-of-phase wiring when the middle pickup position is selected, thus cutting out all 60Hz hum and resulting in a scooped "hollow" tone.

Fender Jaguars have a bright switch as the bottom of the 3 pickup switches, which I believe is a high-pass filter, not a phase switcher...or is it? And if you have both pickups selected on the Jaguar (in parallel) are they naturally wired out of phase? Does the 60Hz hum cancel out or not?

Lastly, I'm really GASing for the Johnny Marr signature Jaguar. If you're not familiar with it, he changed the 3-switch pickup selector for a 4-way Tele style switch (series-neck-parallel-bridge), then he moved the bright switch to the top horn where the jazz/rhythm circuit traditionally is.

So, AFAIK there is no out-of-phase option on the Marr Jaguar. But, I'm not even sure the original Jaguar wiring has an out of phase option like the Jazzmaster.

TL;DR: Jazzmaster has out-of-phase option. Does Jaguar as well?

I believe that AVRI Jazzmasters have Reverse Wound Reverse Polarity (RWRP) on one pickup. When both are on in the middle position, they are hum cancelling. Stratocasters often have the middle p/u RWRP, and so have hum cancelling in p/u selector positions 2 and 4. This is different from out of phase pickups though. True out of phase produces a much thinner, trebly sound. The only Fender guitar I know of that comes stock with the ability to select out of phase p/u's is the Fender Mustang.

Last edited: Feb 24, 2013 10:36:19

Thanks for the clarification. It's not the wiring that results in a phase cancellation, it's actually the way the pickups are wound (RWRP). Brian, if you look at the part of my post you quoted, I didn't say "middle pickup," I said "middle pickup position." To clarify, I meant when you're in position 2 on the pickup selector of the jazzmaster, meaning both pickups are selected in parallel.

Anyway, the effect I'm talking about is identical in a jazzmaster in position 2 and a stratocaster in positions 2 and 4. A telecaster doesn't have the hum-cancelling effect in any position.

So, nobody has answered definitively if a jaguar has this quality or not -- with RWRP. But it sounds like the speculation is that it does NOT, like a telecaster, but has the bright switch (high pass filter). The reason I'm concerned about this is not because the 60Hz hum annoys me, but because I'm wondering if a jag has a similar tone to a jazzmaster in position 2. I'm a big fan of the shoegaze genre, particularly the band My Bloody Valentine. They exclusively use jags and jazzmasters for the wobbly tremolo effect, but also for that mid-position sound that I became accustomed to with a jazzmaster I used to own. So now I'm wondering if a jag has that similar tone, which I find very distinct. My tele in the mid position doesn't have that same scooped tone.

Oops, sorry about the "middle pickup" confusion. I didn't read it carefully.

Yes, both Jags and Jazzmasters have 2 pickups that are RWRP from each other, so when you have them both on, they hum cancel.

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The Marr jag isn't Reverse Wound/Reverse polarity. When in series(I think) that is when the hum cancelling happens. In parallel it is not. That was a big request of Johnny's, to not have them reverse wound. The guitar sounds different unplugged(I've swapped the bridge out to AVRI Jag/Jazz as the Marr jag bridge is a piece of shit tone neutering mustang bridge), I think this is a big reason.

Also, Kevin Shields uses a Jag way more than he does a Jazzmaster. And let us not forget the fact that Kevin EQs everything meticulously, even live. He will record something and EQ it until he likes how it sounds, so in the end you really aren't getting much of a Jag/Jazz sound. If it weren't for his laying so heavy on the vibrato arm you wouldn't need a Jag/Jazz to sound anything like MBV, and you would be better off starting with a pair of Gold Foils/Supros/Gibson humbuckers. Those are voiced more like a MBV record.

Kevin responded once, to the sea of comments saying how many guitars he layers, something like "It is usually just one or two guitars that I EQ and apply effects on to make sound how I want it". That is me paraphrasing, but essentially what he said.

Long story short, you aren't going to sound more like MBV with the way the pickups are wired. Focus more on effects, vibrato arm technique, and EQ.

The CP pickups are quite Jazzmaster-like in theory. The Japanese pickups have pretty much nothing in common with a Jazzmaster. The problem with the CP pickups is that they are extra hot, the Seymour Duncan quarter pounders or whatever they are... The biggest problem with the CP is that the length behind the bridge is decreased, that is where you are going to have bad time, just doesn't sound the same.

I'm a Jazzmaster guy myself, I own an AVRI Jag and the Marr. I love Jags, but I'm always going to grab my Jazzmasters first.

AVRIs are great. I have a vintage 1960 and a custom built one myself. I've owned AVRI and Thin Skin as well. AVRI is the best quality for the money.