So I've been having fun with my Squier 70s jag. I'm kind of learning some basic jazz stuff (chord melodies) and toying around with a bit of surf and related music as well. I've found the rhythm circuit to actually be really useful. With everything tweaked right on the amp, I can get a nice bright surf guitar setting on the lead circuit, and flip on the rhythm circuit and suddenly there's a pretty credible jazz tone.
- Home
- News
- Submit News
- Contact
- Contests
- Donations
- Downloads
- Forums
- Guitar Instruction
- IRC
- Member List
- Private Messages
- Podcast
- Polls
- Photo of the Day
- Links
- Search
- Store
- Surf Band Map
- Wiki
- Yahoo Group
Photo of the Day
Shoutbox
dp:
dude
350 days ago
Bango_Rilla:
Shout Bananas!!
305 days ago
BillyBlastOff:
See you kiddies at the Convention!
289 days ago
GDW:
showman
240 days ago
Emilien03:
https://losg...
162 days ago
Pyronauts:
Happy Tanks-Kicking!!!
155 days ago
glennmagi:
CLAM SHACK guitar
141 days ago
Hothorseraddish:
surf music is amazing
121 days ago
dp:
get reverberated!
71 days ago
Clint:
“A Day at the Beach” podcast #237 is TWO HOURS of NEW surf music releases. https://link...
5 days ago
IRC Status
Current Polls
No polls at this time. Check out our past polls.
Current Contests
No contests at this time. Check out our past contests.
Donations
May Birthdays
- 1st – betomunhoz, Coach, lsylte
- 2nd – BorfJr, GatoStrato, InstroChick, NoiseFloor, Tikitena, ZombieGroove
- 3rd – bobdeans, Dohenyjoe, FredJr, fulgore, Joheny, Masuto
- 4th – Freehawk, JoeJazz2000, PhantomOperators
- 5th – DJ_Sid_Presley, JBPhoto, Millwinder, verschuurpual
- 6th – stimey
- 7th – Agent_Z, BoB69, yantiliu
- 8th – GandyDancer, ruglandma, surfbeat99
- 9th – BradMcNulty, Jerry13
- 10th – Pastana75, tonymcgowan55, tvardy
- 11th – spskins, TheeAaronRev, Wellens_
- 12th – GulfofBrass, PistonDude, SmileySmile, SoCalOldGuy1956, SpaceTimC, Thunderbird
- 13th – Amplion, Beeza71, TheOutpost
- 14th – gabrielpowell, Rskingdom
- 15th – Agent_15, mikeo, speedfaias
- 16th – d4man, dustyWyo, instrumentwire, LM_Olympic, Marky_Wildstone, Rome, SwampCat
- 17th – bigkahunaron, electronificated, jdangerously57, Jimmy_Strings, mom_surfing
- 18th – acidjoker, JohnBlutarski, pavlovsdog
- 19th – Andolf, balt11tab, JoeKer_Z_Wilde, mschafft, ShortScalePDX
- 20th – juankamilo0surf, Skullie
- 21st – Hothorseraddish
- 22nd – BeachCombers, Londonbus, RandySG88, surfdefender2013, SurfsUp, sworgs
- 23rd – 3singes, bubbaznetti, Pingrider, StingrayStingray
- 24th – bigaaron, thesidss
- 25th – romainsan, Rudy92
- 26th – elreydlp, eocb, IvanP, Pyronauts, Trafolta, vampireautoparts
- 27th – coffin_wheels, cohen2344, Donald77, easydranch, Finkdaddy, nsiegel27, Todd_Kelp
- 28th – aaronBONESbata, Silverface
- 29th – DNAdude, rickylasvegas
- 30th – Bennie01, blueeyedlava
- 31st – Hodaddy, Ludella, RedBeard
SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »
Who uses the rhythm circuit?
• New Topic
Top
Joined: Jun 03, 2019 Posts: 16 |
Posted on Jun 21 2019 08:29 PM
|
Joined: Jun 29, 2018 Posts: 801 |
Posted on Jun 21 2019 11:05 PM
I love the rhythm circuit on my vintage jag - it gives a nice meaty/dark tone that is good for certain other styles. Very much adds versatility to the Jaguar. |
Joined: Feb 02, 2008 Posts: 4549 Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ. 
|
Posted on Jun 22 2019 08:15 AM
I’ve always thought that it was a brilliant idea. I don’t have a Jag, these days, but when I did, I used the rhythm preset extensively. —The artist formerly known as: Synchro When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar. |
Joined: Apr 13, 2018 Posts: 1378 New Orleans
|
Posted on Jun 22 2019 08:49 AM
Never use it. And dang it, I will go months of no issues then suddenly someone threw a blanket over the amp. Whoops... I actually hate it and one of these days I’m gonna disable it somehow. I’ve been considering the old “plug in the switch” trick so I stop hitting it by accident. —Daniel Deathtide |
Joined: Jan 15, 2019 Posts: 1515 |
Posted on Jun 22 2019 09:03 AM
I think it depends on which model Jag you have and when it was made and where. They all seem to be different tone wise to me. The only time I used it is when I accidently hit the switch up playing and all of a sudden my guitar sounds lousy. If you have showman amp it sounds cool on mutted rhythm playing because there is more bass etc...but any other amp ...not so good. |
|
Joined: Jul 30, 2016 Posts: 896
|
Posted on Jun 22 2019 10:24 AM
I was messing around with it last night after seeing this post and I agree that it's a nice jazz tone. Even if you can't really play jazz. It's good to have the versatility. |
|
Joined: Jan 15, 2019 Posts: 1515 |
Posted on Jun 22 2019 01:35 PM
Yeah that plug in the switch idea sounds cool The Jazzmaster was origionally designed for Jazz players ironically, but its hard to get that 50's style bell tone with a soild body like that, so ended up being shopped out in pawn shops to Surf players. I forgot the idea of the Rhythm switch was original used when the muting bar was pressed in near the floating bridge. The two were suppose to work together, but most people didn't like that being you couldn't vary the mute on Rhythm accents and took it off and just palm muted instead. That was the original intent or function for the switch. |
Joined: Oct 04, 2015 Posts: 31 Seattle |
Posted on Jun 22 2019 04:02 PM
I'm in the process of disabling it as we speak. It's a cool sound but it keeps messing me up in live situations. I'll probably hook it back up down the road. — |
Joined: Mar 13, 2015 Posts: 30 
|
Posted on Jun 23 2019 04:12 AM
I like the idea of changing it up a bit but the rythm setting on a jag just doesnt sound 'right' imo possibly because the other setting is so damn good |
|
Joined: Jun 29, 2018 Posts: 801 |
Posted on Jun 23 2019 02:05 PM
It's interesting how some people end up hitting the switch accidentally. That doesn't really happen to me, but I think it's about how I play - mostly strumming closer to the bridge. But I keep hitting the pickup switch on my Yamaha SGV300, which is located on the lower bout - the only guitar I have this problem with. |
Joined: Aug 22, 2010 Posts: 1019 Portland, Oregon with Insanitizers
|
Posted on Jun 23 2019 03:19 PM
There are widely differing opinions about what a rhythm guitar should sound like. Some say rhythm chords should be thinner and more trebly than the lead. Others say rhythm should have little treble or bass and be mostly upper mid-range. Still others advise a bassy timbre. Then there is the tic-tic school of muted single notes with completely different approaches to setting tone, volume and reverb. I prefer changing guitar timbres by selecting different patches in a multi-effects pedal. It's far more flexible than any guitar switch can be. The rhythm switch is a residual from old times, before such changes can be made with a pedal. —Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com |
|
Joined: Jul 30, 2016 Posts: 896
|
Posted on Jun 23 2019 04:18 PM
It would be cool to replace the stock rhythm circuit switch with a Mustang type that lets you go either up or down, one way being as it currently is and the other way selecting an opposite super thin rhythm sound. |
|
Joined: Jun 29, 2018 Posts: 801 |
Posted on Jun 23 2019 09:24 PM
Urged on by this thread, I went and played using the rhythm cicuit for a while playing a variety of things. I have no clue about playing jazz (maybe one day), but it is awesome for playing blues, like Boom Boom by John Lee Hooker, especially when adding in some gain. And it's great for Jon Spencer crazed rockabilly stuff when you combine it with slap-back delay. Most of all, it's great for a Duane Eddy sound - crank up the reverb and dial in some tremolo and you've got 40 miles of rebel rousing Peter Gunn. Those are my personal tastes, of course. That setting is not very conducive to surf style music, but I appreciate the tonal options it gives me because I play a variety of musical styles. Last edited: Jun 23, 2019 21:25:29 |
|
Joined: Jun 29, 2018 Posts: 801 |
Posted on Jun 23 2019 09:28 PM
Redfeather wrote:
That in phase/out of phase switching wouldn't be too hard to do. I've got a Mustang, and play around with that setting sometimes for fun, but it never ends up appealing to me very much. |
|
Joined: Jul 30, 2016 Posts: 896
|
Posted on Jun 23 2019 10:21 PM
The rhythm circuit only uses one pickup, though, so phase doesn't matter. |
|
Joined: Jun 29, 2018 Posts: 801 |
Posted on Jun 23 2019 11:03 PM
Redfeather wrote:
Yes, but you referred to the Mustang switching, where you get that thin sound that comes from having two pickups on but out of phase. It would be possible to wire up the Jaguar rhythm circuit switch to put one pickup out of phase with the other, in which case it would only make a difference if both pickups were switched on via the lower switches. There's a number of things you could do with that switch depending on how much you want to mess around with wiring. |
Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 3854 North Atlantic 
|
Posted on Jun 24 2019 06:29 AM
I actually used it for the first time last week at a Jazz gig. It actually sounded pretty cool. Rev —Canadian Surf |
Joined: Mar 03, 2006 Posts: 648
|
Posted on Jun 24 2019 12:08 PM
years ago I played in a band with a guy who used the rhythm circuit on his Jaguar exclusively. Played through a late 70s ultra-linear Twin Reverb, it was a great sound. He didn't care to know how the lead circuit worked, and given the tone he was getting, it sure didn't matter. |
Joined: Jul 04, 2010 Posts: 369 Ottawa
|
Posted on Jun 25 2019 11:30 AM
I only started using the rhythm setting recently and love it! I use it for slightly more overdriven sounds. I find that it doesn't just darken the sound it also fattens it up a bit. Does anyone know if that is electronically what happens with lower pot values? — |
Joined: Jul 14, 2013 Posts: 345 |
Posted on Jun 25 2019 11:33 AM
i use it on my Jaguar when we decide to do Jazzy type songs. or sometimes ill bring it to straight jazz ensembles |
Then realize later my switch is up errrr.Please visit our friends in the surf music community:
Contact Us • About Us • Terms of Service • Privacy Policy • Colophon
SurfGuitar101.com © 2004 - 2025 by Brian Neal. All comments and user contributed articles are property of the posters.
Thanks to all the surf bands, past and present. And thanks to all the fans who care about and keep surf music alive.