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.

Last edited: Jan 17, 2021 18:27:16

Gilette wrote:

That's a piece of art.
Beautiful colour! They don't make rugs like that anymore you know. Stunning.

Also, what an absolute beauty with the sparkles. Great idea to add the holo flakes. Subtle shade of green is just right!

Frank, you can still find these rugs new, here's a link if you'd like to order one for yourself... shorturl.at/bvyI4

Last edited: Jan 16, 2021 12:56:16

DeathTide wrote:

Great lookin’ geetur, and what a fine gato as well!

Thank ya, and gracias, amigo!

Reverbenator wrote:

That turned out really nice, SandBug. Thank you for sharing the build with us.

Reverbenator, thanks for your encouragement early on! I'm proud and stoked with this build.

edwardsand wrote:

Looks great! I love the sparkle green finish and the neck with binding. Ought to be really nice to play.

Thanks edwardsand, the 65 reissue neck is sorta chunky (in a good way) compared to the 62AVRI Jaguar that i have. Today i strung it up and adjusted the truss rod, so far so good!

Last edited: Jan 17, 2021 00:45:23

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Last edited: Feb 02, 2024 15:16:48

there it is. beautiful work! love that color so much.

I want a chartreuse sparkle guitar one day. good choice for your next sparkle.

I'm also very curious how the rounded tailpiece works out. I know wronski loves it, have you done it to any other guitars? I may try it on my import fender vibrato to see how it works.

also, for anyone curious, staytrem is selling their parts to the US again. I'm currently awaiting an invoice from John for a few bridges.

Last edited: Jan 17, 2021 15:15:14

Nice!!! I've always heard great things about Guitar Mill.

What do you use for neck oiling? I have the day off.

That is drop-dead gorgeous! I remember going to drag races as a kid and loving the cars with the metal flake pint jobs. I would love to get a sparkle finish on my Jag.