GC’s President’s Day Sale caught me, and I bought a Daphne Blue Squier Jaguar. I didn’t want to break the bank on this purchase, and I was pleasantly surprised by the Squier’s sound, fit and finish.

I’ve had two Jaguars in the past, a MIJ reissue of a ‘66, and an Vintera Modified. I probably should have kept the ‘66, but it let me down on a gig and I was a bit disappointed in it. I sold it, Seymour Duncan Hot Jaguar pickups, and all. The Vintera lasted about a week, and just didn’t work for me. For my purposes, a Jaguar needs single coils.

The Squier somewhat surprises me. It’s definitely got some Jaguar vibe. The tailpiece seems a bit wanting, but I already have a US made replacement in hand. I am currently waiting for a big brown truck to arrive with a set of locking Gotoh machine heads, and I’ll be opening the operating theater and anesthetizing the patient. Assuming that they fit, I will be installing nylon bushings on the bridge posts, to restrict rocking.

It looks like the pot values are proper and the controls are surprisingly good, for a budget guitar. I anticipate doing some work on the electrical system at some point, because I would imagine that the pots, switches, etc, were built to a price point, but for the time being, it is performing well, electrically.

One thought I had was converting the strangle switch to a phase switch. Anyone ever try that?

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

Tqi wrote:

The pots are branded, at least on mine - sure, Alpha not CTS but I was never that fussy. Switches are possibly the weak point but they feel good on mine and have no noises while switching. Cavities are fully shielded too, which is more than you can say for most Fender Jaguars.

As I've said elsewhere, the two biggest flaws on this model are generally the overwound bridge pickup (though Vitaly and I both like it!) and the tolerances on the tailpiece - a Staytrem fixed mine, others have hit bits of it with a hammer, and some have replaced.

I like the CV's. Pickups sound better than the VM and I GREATLY prefer the Poplar body - traditional Fender and much harder than basswood. I hope you love yours for a long time.

The switches on mine feel wonky, but they work well enough. The OEM tailpiece is a weak point, not returning to pitch accurately unless the preload is cranked very tightly. Amazingly, the trem’ arm stays put quite well.

The pickup output is well matched on this guitar, but the bridge pickup actually has a lower DC resistance than the neck pickup. In any event, it sounds pretty darned good through an amp. Where that is concerned, it sounds good unplugged. I’m surprised by the range of this guitar. It sounds like a Surf machine, but on the rhythm circuit, I can get pretty close to the classic Jazz guitar sound.

This is the second Squier I have bought. I also have a CV ‘70s Telecaster Thinline, which sounds wonderful and the quality is impeccable. The neck pickup, was modified by amp guru, Winfield Thomas, but the bridge pickup is stock. It’s an astounding instrument, and has forever hooked me on Thinline Teles.

I had bought this guitar with the plan of modifying, improving, etc. but even in stock form, this is a completely competent instrument that could be used on a gig, right out of the box. One week into owning this, guitar, the only change I’ve made is to adjust the preload of the trem’ spring.

According to UPS, my new machine heads are out for delivery, but I’m still waiting. My UPS driver is great, and I’m sure that she’ll come through. The plan, assuming they arrive, is to field strip the Jag’, mount the machine heads, tailpiece and bridge bushings, in time for my evening’s practice. I imagine that I will be redoing the intonation, once the bridge bushings are installed. I’ll treat the fingerboard and swap into pickup covers that match the aged look of the new tremolo arm. I’ll probably put some Schaller strap buttons on at the same time. Such a project could take over five minutes, but it’s worth it, for the sake of my art.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

ldk wrote:

synchro wrote:

... One thought I had was converting the strangle switch to a phase switch. Anyone ever try that?

I had a partscaster with an out-of-phase option. Sounded way too thin, and I never used it.

In looking into this further, an out-of-phase option works on a guitar with two volume pots. You can then blend in a little of the out-of-phase PU, and that sounds good.

Thanks. That’s what I call useful information. I can see how out of phase could get a bit thin with something as trebly as a Jaguar.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

The operation was successful. In relatively short order, I installed the Gotoh machine heads, installed nylon bushings on the bridge posts, treated the fretboard, installed the new trem’ and tweaked the intonation.

The new tailpiece was worth every dime, and then some. The tuning stability is improved and the lock feature is a great idea. The arm fits perfectly. Angela Instruments came through for me, on that one.

SandBug wrote:

Congrats, synchro!

Jags rule.

Thanks SandBug. Indeed they do.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

Tqi wrote:

The pots are branded, at least on mine - sure, Alpha not CTS but I was never that fussy. Switches are possibly the weak point but they feel good on mine and have no noises while switching. Cavities are fully shielded too, which is more than you can say for most Fender Jaguars.

As I've said elsewhere, the two biggest flaws on this model are generally the overwound bridge pickup (though Vitaly and I both like it!) and the tolerances on the tailpiece - a Staytrem fixed mine, others have hit bits of it with a hammer, and some have replaced.

I like the CV's. Pickups sound better than the VM and I GREATLY prefer the Poplar body - traditional Fender and much harder than basswood. I hope you love yours for a long time.

Yep, I love these overwound Squire pickups more than the ones on American Vintage Jaguars, my fault! Also I have no complains for the tremolo after 2 months of heavy studio usage, maybe I will upgrade it later but no see no reasons for now. Like this heavy poplar body, it gives good resonance and body to the sound.

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

New Single is out!

https://waikikimakaki.bandcamp.com/album/rhino-blues-full-contact-surf-single

Waikiki Makaki

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin

Tqi wrote:

synchro wrote:

The operation was successful. In relatively short order, I installed the Gotoh machine heads, installed nylon bushings on the bridge posts, treated the fretboard, installed the new trem’ and tweaked the intonation.

Congrats, but gosh darn it where's the updated cat porn? Pics or it didn't happen!

As requested.

The first picture is the US made tailpiece. This is a major improvement, which seems to have less friction, which results in greater tuning stability. It also has the lock, which is a nice safeguard in case of a broken string.

The second picture displays the business end of the locking Gotohs. On most of my guitars, I lock the tail of the string under the first wrap, and that, along with avoiding a second wrap, makes for great stability. IMO, multiple wraps around the post of the machine head are a great place for binding and slipping to occur, so all of my instruments have less than one full turn on the peg. In the case of Fenders with split-shaft machine heads, the tail of the string is tucked into the shaft, and not available to be locked under the first wrap. These locking Gotohs preserve the stock appearance, while mechanically locking the string in place. On this installation, I was able to limit the strings to less than one-half of a turn, and the stability is excellent.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

Your new guitar is looking good! That color is really pretty, and I bet the upgrades improved the feel/stability as well.

MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale.

Nice score Synchro!

So this model is officially called the 'Classic Vibe' and was replacement for the previous model "Vintage Modified", which is what I have and got used for a song.
I'll say the only thing I thought needed replacement was the bridge, and since done that with an adjustable Mustang to fit the 9.5 radius.

There were no other bridges that met the radius unless I get a genuine Fender that's used on the Pro lines. (and I have that as well on recent mods to a Vintera MIM Jag as you know)

I'll say again, on the Squire, the bridge is the issue...and is still the issue even with the Mustang adjustable...it buzzes. And I think its the micro height adjustment screws. Thinking of epoxy setting them next.

As others said about the Squire PU, the bridge is hot, and maybe not so vintage. I tamed it by lowering to the strings.
Its my basement man cave guitar and perfectly happy with it as is tho.

Meanwhile, back in MIM Vintera Jag world, the Fender Pro bridge mod is super stable, no buzz, perfect match to 9.5 radius.

Will be posting soon for another guitar project in the works!
Tele convert to TV Jones Filtertron & Bigsby tremelo!

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Last edited: Feb 02, 2024 16:00:20

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Last edited: Feb 02, 2024 16:00:27