Mrgreen
I was wondering if it would be possible to put a couple of Jaguar pickups on a Mustang instead of the stock ones without much modification. Also, is it true that stock Mustang pickups suck?

Oh, and one last thing, would a Mustang fit inside a Strat/Tele case?

Thanks in advance.

Augusto,
1) Yes, it is possible to switch out the pickups.
2) Mustang pickups suck?? Don't tell that to Johnny Winter who did a lot of slidework on a Mustang when he wasn't playing his reverse Firebird(s) back in the late '60s. He played different variation Mustangs with different p'up configurations, BUT He also had (I believe) 3 or 4 STOCK Mustangs as well......he did all right with those. So the answer to Question #2 is......NO, they do not suck.
3) A Mustang will fit inside a Strat/Tele case, as long as you use something like folded towels, etc to keep the guitar from bouncing around inside the case. You see, the Mustang is a 3/4 size (student model) guitar, so you will need to make some adjustments in order for it to fit in a Strat/Tele case .

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Mrgreen
I was wondering if it would be possible to put a couple of Jaguar pickups on a Mustang instead of the stock ones without much modification. Also, is it true that stock Mustang pickups suck?

Oh, and one last thing, would a Mustang fit inside a Strat/Tele case?

Thanks in advance.

Augusto,
1) Yes, it is possible to switch out the pickups.
2) Mustang pickups suck?? Don't tell that to Johnny Winter who did a lot of slidework on a Mustang when he wasn't playing his reverse Firebird(s) back in the late '60s. He played different variation Mustangs with different p'up configurations, BUT He also had (I believe) 3 or 4 STOCK Mustangs as well......he did all right with those. So the answer to Question #2 is......NO, they do not suck.
3) A Mustang will fit inside a Strat/Tele case, as long as you use something like folded towels, etc to keep the guitar from bouncing around inside the case. You see, the Mustang is a 3/4 size (student model) guitar, so you will need to make some adjustments in order for it to fit in a Strat/Tele case .

Great !

I just asked about the pickups because a lot of people seem to dislike them. And except for the Barbwires I don't know of any other clean-sounding band that uses a Mustang.

What I was afraid of was that the guitar wouldn't fit inside, but if the case is slightly larger then it's ok.

I'm asking all of this because I was about to buy a Classic Series 60's Strat in Inca but they discontinued the color so I thought of another option and I thought of a Mustang because I love the design, the switching options, the colors and the overall vibe it has, but I wanted to put the Jag pickups in for a unique sound.

Brian, I thought the same thing but maybe if I routed the pickguard holes so they are a little longer do you think that would do the trick?

I also noticed that maybe the wings(for lack of a better term) on the Jaguar pickup could go underneath the pickguard?

Augusto Vite

www.facebook.com/carne.y.cosas

PhatTele
You don't need Jaguar PUs to do the job. You can do the same thing with two Strat bridge PUs (which do fit the stock Mustang cutouts). To get the Jag punch, make sure you use a bridge plate under both pickups (Lindy Fralin sells these...and I'm sure there are others). This bridge plate concept is also used on vintage style Tele bridges. Also, if you go this route, use a clean vintage style output bridge PU for the neck position and a blues style output bridge PU for the bridge position. This will give you the balance you need and will match up with the output that Jag PUs typically produce. Finally, regardless of whether you use Jag PUs or Strat PUs in your mod, you'll either need either a flat stagger or a left handed stagger in the bridge position because that PU cutout in the Mustang is inverted.

ps - There is a great switching mod which changes the characteristics of the two switches. The top one becomes a simple three way (neck, neck+bridge, bridge...like a Tele). The second switch gives you vol+tone, vol only, straight to the jack (a lot of punch out of that setting):

http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~gmarts/pix/mustang_mod.gif

I've done this switching + Strat/baseplate PU mod on two early 70s parts Mustangs. I liked results so much that I sold my two AVRI Jags and haven't regretted it a bit.

I understood everything until you mentioned the stagger things. If I used Strat pickups I would use an Antiquity II Custom Bridge Surfer (the one with the extra output) and a normal Antiquity II Bridge Surfer for the neck.

Or maybe Antiquity II Jag pickups under Strat covers?

The thing that worries me is the stagger things, can you explain me a little bit more on how this works?

Augusto Vite

www.facebook.com/carne.y.cosas

PhatTele
Usually, but not always a Strats and Mustangs have a slight "bump" along the bottom to accomodate the attachment of the two leads (see photo).

http://www.tonebender.net/kent-armstong-texas-vintage-strat-pickup-set-free-shipping-p-62.html

Pickup cavities in Strats and Mustangs are usually routed to fit this "bump" and to orient the pickup because some of the PUs have uneven pole piece staggers (vintage Strat PUs usually have this curved profile to the stagger (again...see the photo above). In Strats, these cutouts all point to the bottom/heal end of the guitar body (see photo below).

http://www.aampselectricguitarstore.com/images/allparts_strat_body_sbf-fr.jpg

However, in a Mustang, the cutout for the bridge PU points up toward the neck (see photo below)

http://www.paulsemrad.com/sonick.htm

Therefore, if you use a vintage style Strat bridge with a stock right handed stagger in the bridge position of a Mustang, the stagger would be backwards. So, you need a left handed Strat bridge PU to get the stagger flipped around correctly or you need a flat/no stagger PU (see below as an example)

http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/page/shop/flypage/product_id/17104

...which, by the way a Mustang is...it's a flat stagger, low output, Strat PU under a solid cover which doesn't show the pole pieces. Not much more going on than that.

Oh, now I get it. Everthing's much more clear now. Well, that basically means that any non-staggered single-coil pickup will do fine. Right? So I guess that narrows things down a bit since I don't wanna be looking around for left-staggered pickups. That leaves some of the Jaguar pickups that are flat and some Seymour Duncan Stratocaster models that are also flat.

Also, in case I went for the Jaguar option, would the pickup fit under a Stratocaster cover?

Thanks a bunch, Phat Tele, all the info you have given me has been really really helpful.

Augusto Vite

www.facebook.com/carne.y.cosas

The Cyclone II sounds really good!

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