January Birthdays 
Recently, while pondering just why I can't play (like say IvanP or maybe Dave W), I fell prey to the old....."It's just gotta be your guitar" syndrome. So, I figured I'd go downstairs and get into some trouble. Now I am fully aware that I should have been working on Mitch's very antique Kalamazoo bass amp (with pull-out controls), or one of Woody's guitars that he has trusted me to tweak on, but no......I can't leave anything alone, so how about I swap out the lead pickup in AVRI Jazzmaster #2 with a handy-dandy AVRI Jaguar pickup that's been lying on my workbench for maybe five years......
Well in my time, I've tried just about every combo you could think of: How about vintage P-90's in a Mosrite?. Or say Dimarzio Virtual Vintage Strat pickups in a MIJ Jazzmaster? Well......been there and done that for sure, I have actually messed around with putting some Seymor Duncan Jag PU's in Rich's MIJ Jazzmaster. That didn't really blow my dress up and those PU's ended up in Rip's Jaguar and he recorded "Locked and Loaded with 'em......my loss (again sigh....)
Well this time I attacked the project with good ole Eddie Katcher zeel. It ain't exactly a drop in replacement....but it CAN be done.
I carefully removed the plastic cover using a heat gun to soften the potting wax, then sawed off the top plate of the plastic cover. I Removed the "teeth and trimmed them all to the same height, dead even with the top of the bobbin. Reversed the polarity of the wires, remounted the teeth and plastic cover and eased this bad boy under the Jazzmaster pickup cover and suspeneded it with a foam spacer about 3/16" thick. hooked it all back up and bingo!!! boy, what a difference it made it that guitar!
I've used it both at practice and the last show we played a SweetWater and I was amazed at the difference in clarity the guitar has when this pickup is activated either by itself or in combo with the neck pickup.
I am going to fool with it for a while and if it continues to grow on me, I may drop the neck Jag pickup I have still lying around into the lead position on good old #1! Who would have guessed? ed
—Traditional........speak softly and play through a big blonde amp. Did I mention that I still like big blonde amps?
