I am a newcomer to surf music, and I just bought a Fender Squire VM Jaguar. Those of you who play them (and I know you are out there), what strings sound the best for surf music?
—East Coast Executive Director Of The Society Of Incompleted Projects
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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »
Strings For Jag
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Joined: Jul 02, 2013 Posts: 50 Mid-Atlantic 
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Posted on Aug 18 2014 01:52 PM
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Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 12159 Seattle 
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Posted on Aug 18 2014 02:01 PM
If you are new to guitar, heavy flats might work best. They are what I learned to play guitar on, as it is easier to double-pick. Once I started writing more music and finding myself needing to be both more dynamic and more expressive round wound strings were the only way to go. I advocate round wounds for flats, and I prefer DR Pure Blues .11s, although their .12s might work best for a Jag. The low E is barely heavy enough for the Jag scale-length. The best string, in my opinion, is Thomastik Be Bop .11s but you won't find me putting out the money for those. The best, but not worth the money over DR Pure Blues. I wouldn't recommend .10s on a Jag. The .10 isn't the issue, it is how light the low E, A, and the D are. With the 24" scale length they just don't quite work. Welcome to the surf music! And congrats on the Jag! The Jag is an amazing instrument and I love the 24" scale length. I've owned many of them in my day and am about to add another soon. |
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Joined: Jul 02, 2013 Posts: 50 Mid-Atlantic
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Posted on Aug 18 2014 02:15 PM
Thanks Jake, East Coast Executive Director Of The Society Of Incompleted Projects |
Joined: Feb 12, 2014 Posts: 28 Oak Park, IL
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Posted on Aug 18 2014 02:19 PM
Slick, Like you I have been playing for a while now but am pretty new to actually trying to play surf. So take what I say with a grain of salt as I too am just learning. I recently picked up a Squier Jaguar which came with 9s on it. I replaced those with Beefy Slinkys which run 11 - 54. No more buzzes and a real nice thump from the lower strings. The best part for me is that when I bend anything from the G up the shorter scale makes the effort to bend the 11s about equal to the effort needed to bend 10s on my Strat. -Harry |
Joined: Feb 25, 2012 Posts: 131
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Posted on Aug 18 2014 02:26 PM
I have the same guitar. I have tried a few different strings on mine but I found the best combo was .12 flatwounds by D'adario. They work very well for the classic sixties sound. |
Joined: May 14, 2007 Posts: 1753
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Posted on Aug 18 2014 02:34 PM
As mentioned, Jags respond well to heavier strings. In any case, if you are interested in a certain classic surf sound, you will want to at least try some flats at some point. The D'addario Chromes XL Flats are indeed good. I had trouble with them breaking at the ball end. YMMV. I have Pyramid Gold Flats on my Jazzmaster and like them. Welcome! |
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Joined: Jul 02, 2013 Posts: 50 Mid-Atlantic
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Posted on Aug 18 2014 02:38 PM
Thanks Harry, East Coast Executive Director Of The Society Of Incompleted Projects |
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Joined: Feb 12, 2014 Posts: 28 Oak Park, IL
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Posted on Aug 18 2014 02:45 PM
The only one they had in stock was a 3 color burst. This winter it will become Olympic White No other mods, just the strings and a basic setup. Once the new wears off a little I will take it to my local luthier for a "real" setup. Enjoy, |
Joined: Dec 26, 2013 Posts: 251 
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Posted on Aug 18 2014 03:24 PM
Slick wrote:
Have a look at the SKB case for Jaguar/Jazzmaster, it looks nowhere neas as cool as the Fender cases but it's a decent, sturdy case. I find them better than the Fender ones, and they're quite a bit cheaper. As for strings, I play flatwound 12-52's on my Jag, d'Addario Chromes up 'til now. But I'll be switching to Pyramid Golds in the days to come when I'll be changing the pickguard. —"Duck Tape is like The Force: it has a light side and a dark side and it holds the universe together" https://www.facebook.com/pages/Speedball-JR/151771678181829?fref=ts Last edited: Aug 18, 2014 15:54:27 |
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Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 12159 Seattle
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Posted on Aug 18 2014 03:28 PM
Coach wrote:
Make sure they know the quirks of a Jag/Jazz. Even a season luthier can be thrown for a loop by these guitars. They are just different enough from a Tele/Strat that you have to treat them differently. |
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Joined: Jul 02, 2013 Posts: 50 Mid-Atlantic
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Posted on Aug 18 2014 06:48 PM
Thanks everyone for the overwhelming response! My take on all of this is that it boils down to a personal preference. However, I still needed guidance to move closer to that wet, dripping, sun-soaked, vintage sound. East Coast Executive Director Of The Society Of Incompleted Projects |
Joined: Aug 02, 2012 Posts: 162 Nashville, TN
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Posted on Aug 18 2014 07:30 PM
Slick, be aware that early on you will likely need to have the nut slots opened up a bit for the heavier strings you'll be wanting to use - anything heavier than .009s want to bind in the factory-slotted nut. As for strings, I've been alternating between D'Addario Chromes and GHS Brite Flats on my VM Jag (both in .011 sets, wound third). The Chromes feel great and sound great new but I find the Brite Flats last a bit longer, but YMMV of course... |
Joined: Sep 09, 2008 Posts: 3158 Guildford England 
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Posted on Aug 19 2014 05:55 AM
mike_fried wrote:
Just trying out the D'Addario family of strings at the moment. I found the Chromes to be an excellent string but I'm back on roundwounds. I usually use 11 to 52 gauge on my Strat but fancied trying D'Addario EXP110 10 to 46 coated for extra life. To my surprise these strings are very taught needing no truss rod adjustment at all, in fact I can hardly tell the difference. If nut slots are a problem these might just work on a Jag (EXL110 are nearly the same but cheaper). |
Joined: Nov 16, 2013 Posts: 182 Edinburgh, Scotland
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Posted on Aug 19 2014 11:02 AM
Let's hear it for those D'Addario .12 flats - I just popped a set on a Squier Jag and have been mighty impressed. They took to the scale incredibly well, as mentioned I didn't need to adjust the truss rod. One little tip (I'm sure you've already had it though) but you'll probably want to swap out the stock bridge as IMHO it sucks harder than a Vax. Loads of options, but a good starting point is a Mustang style bridge. |
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Joined: Feb 12, 2014 Posts: 28 Oak Park, IL
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Posted on Aug 19 2014 11:15 AM
JakeDobner wrote:
Thanks Jake, He is a pretty well know builder in the area and an authorized Fender dealer, but I will be sure he is comfortable with the Jag before I turn it over to him. I will say the setup he did on my Strat is amazing, I was never able to get the wiggle bar to work as well as he did! -H |
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Joined: May 10, 2012 Posts: 492 |
Posted on Aug 19 2014 12:08 PM
9 super slinkies on everything I own. I think I have power slinkies on the 22.7 scale Duo.. because I happened to have them. |
Joined: Jan 18, 2010 Posts: 672 Delaware
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Posted on Aug 31 2014 07:43 AM
I'm going to try D'Addario XL Chromes .11, then consider going up to .12's, haven't got the Jag yet but can't wait. |
Joined: Mar 09, 2014 Posts: 83 The Monadnocks, NH
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Posted on Aug 31 2014 01:01 PM
I was using D'Addario Pure Nickel 11s since I got my VM Jaguar. This past week I switched over to 12s Rotosound Monel Flatwounds with great satisfaction. Monel is a copper/nickel alloy so the vintage sound remains. (The Jag needs no additional brightness IMO) These are the first flats I've used since the early `60s! -don —Still rockin' after all these years! |
Joined: Sep 24, 2011 Posts: 1424 Wellington, NZ 
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Posted on Sep 02 2014 04:30 AM
I have Thomsatik Enfeld 11-47 flats on my 62 AVRI and they feel a wee bit on the light side. I could probably easily go to 12s —He who dies with the most tubes... wins |
Joined: Jun 21, 2012 Posts: 78 Garda Lake 
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Posted on Sep 04 2014 04:58 AM
I use ernie ball heavy bottom 52-10 on my jag. —elSentenza Watang! Mandarine Surfers |
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