TheHappyHodad wrote:

What a gorgeous guitar you've built yourself! The few times i've seen Slacktone play I was mesmerized by Dave's playing and his custom jaguars.

Did you go with the 65 pure vintage pups over the 62 pups to keep on point with the 65 jaguar neck? Or do you prefer the output of the 65 pups overall?

Thanks, TheHappyHodad! I agree, Dave Wronski is an amazing player to see live, super nice guy too!

I went with the 65 pick-ups because i had previously put a set in my Squier Jaguar and I'm absolutely in love with'em, they have the sound I've always wanted, they just sound "right". I have an AVRI 62 Jaguar and prefer the 65s over the 62s, although i like the 62s. I was considering putting 65s in my AVRI Jaguar, but then i realized i should leave the 62 alone and just build a whole new guitar. I'd rather have all the options.

Last edited: Jan 23, 2021 14:41:46

Off-set family pic.

Thanks, Ben! It's an addiction and labor of love.

that pickguard fits beautifully. I'd love to get a parchment version based off yours. mine has the shrunken look.

and great family photo! what a collection

Looks awesome!

Just echoing what everyone else said, great color, great execution, I love a Jaguar with a thicker neck. Play it in health!

SandBug wrote:

Needless to say this was inspired by one of Dave Wronski's many sparkle Jaguars, but there're a lot of differences here since I wasn't trying to copy his, just inspired.

Been working on this build for a while since I'm in no rush. I wanted to keep the components high quality so almost all of the pieces are made in the USA. The only parts not of USA origin are the bridge + vibrato arm (UK), and the Kluson 18:1 ratio staggered tuners (Korea).

This guitar is a mixture of vintage specs and custom mods. Things that make this guitar different from a stock Fender Jaguar are the Emerson pots, partially recessed Switchcraft switches, staggered tuners, Staytrem bridge and arm, custom paint job, treble bleed circuit, and series/parallel mod. Guitarmill accommodated the 2 degree angle cut into the neck pocket. Things that are straight-up Fender are the Jaguar '65 pure vintage pick-ups, '65 reissue neck with 7.25" radius, binding and vintage spec. frets, AVRI tailpiece, mute, Fender USA control plates, knobs, neck plate, brass shielding plates, and strap buttons. Even the felt washers are made in the USA.

About the assembly... There was a fair amount of extra routing to make the pick-up selector cavity big enough, and the tailpiece rout also needed more wood taken out. The rhythm circuit panel need some extra space too. Bridge thimble holes needed to be widened, and the neck pocket needed typical sanding for a perfectly snug fit. All the screw holes for the pickguard, control panels, strap buttons, and tailpiece had to be marked and drilled. I went into a nervous sweat anytime i had to remove any wood or make any holes even though I've done this before, it was always on a cheap guitar. Working on this one with an expensive custom paint job made it stressful for me since I'm not into "relicing". I also had to drill the tuner holes in the headstock to be a few millimeters deeper so the Kluson bushings sat all the way down on the headstock. Still waiting for a better pickguard that will fit perfectly.

Fresh out of the box, it still smelled strongly of nitrocellulose, which was fine with me.

It was like Christmas every time a new part arrived.

Wiring under way...

Vibrato pivot point before re-shaping and smoothing.

Pivot point done, very smooth and rounded.

Neck and tuners on, it's really starting to feel like a real guitar now.

It's hard to see in pics, but i asked Guitarmill to put extra holoflake into the mix, in person this thing looks like it has Christmas lights all over it.

Pee Wee thinks it's coming along well. Though sometimes he gets jealous of the attention I've been putting into the build. He lets me know it's time to take a break by walking up to me and sinking his claws into my knee.

I know this post is a little old but how did you shape the vibrato plate? Also, where did you get the bound neck?

I think I either want to mod my Jazzmaster in a similar fashion or put together a similar build.

InkEye, I rounded off the vibrato pivot point by laying down big grit sandpaper on a flat surface, then moving the bridge over it until i got a good shape. As i neared the end of the shaping stage I marked the surface with a Sharpie, much like fretwork, so i could see where i was taking off material. After that i polished it with progressively finer grit until 2000 grit.

I got the neck from Stratosphereparts.com, but i don't see them for sale anymore, i assume they sell left-over parts from factory runs. They pop up online from time to time.

LittleKahunaCraig wrote:

Inkeye, the jag looks amazing. Great Job! How does it sound?

Hey Craig,
I wish that was mine but I'll be planning a similar build soon. I can see the confusion since I quoted Sandbug's post.

I'm pricing things out and checking funds.

Thanks for the compliments, guys! Go for it!

Thanks Craig, i think it sounds amazing, if i do say so myself, especially when paired with a Fender amp. I have several Jaguars so this one is set up for standard tuning with roundwounds, very bright and jangly. And the series mod makes it so it can easily push old fuzz circuits to the fullest. I love it. I think Jaguars are the best.