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Mel,
Thanks for that cool sounds page. What a nifty thing to be able to
check out a guitar tone library!!! Ain't the Internet great?
I know this has been kicked around a bunch on this site, but I wanted
to get your opinions on the subject because, gosh, I really respect
your sound.
1). Straight up, no mods, which guitar do you like best for overall
playability and tone? Jag or Jazz?
2). Compare the pre-CBS Jag to the CBS-era to the reissue MIJ and MIA.
FOR THE MONEY, do the reissues compete well with the originals? And
which of the reissues have the best hardware?
By the way, I just received my 23 CD surf music collection including 2
CDs from Los Meltones. They're twisterific! I especially liked "Rocket
Sled to Oahu," the intro to "Moonwalk" and "Mission to Malibu," off
Surfin' At Black Point. The band had a great, fat tone!
Can't wait to hear Mach IV!
Gavin
These are good questions...
--- In , "windanseabeachboy
<gavinehringer@m...>" <gavinehringer@m...> wrote:
...
> 1). Straight up, no mods, which guitar do you like best for overall
> playability and tone? Jag or Jazz?
>
I was asking Zak I. from the Treblemakers this same question. He felt
that the Jaguar cuts through the mix better live, but a good
Jazzmaster is still a great guitar. I kind of got that same
impression from listening to your samples Mel. The Jag sounds more
aggressive and the Jazzmaster warmer. What do you think, Mel, Ferenc,
anyone else with experience on both? I suppose the scale length may
be the deciding factor for some, although I am comfortable with both.
> 2). Compare the pre-CBS Jag to the CBS-era to the reissue MIJ and
MIA.
> FOR THE MONEY, do the reissues compete well with the originals? And
> which of the reissues have the best hardware?
>
I have an AV Jaguar and have been following the Fender Forum for
several years now. People have high praise for the AV reissues being
very faithful to the vintage guitars. I had my guitar opened up today
doing some setup work and trouble shooting. They even use cloth
covered wire! The quality of the parts and materials is really good
in my opinion. I have not looked at a vintage guitar real close, just
vouching for the AV reissues here.
Again, I'm looking forward to hearing what others think of the
differences between Jags & JM's. They really are different animals,
sharing a body shape and trem system only.
BN
PS. VH-1 was showing a Beach Boys infomercial today. They had some
footage of them playing on TV in black and white. Al was playing a
white strat with white guard, Brian had a white bass, Carl had a
white Jaguar, and they all had blonde Showmans and reverb tanks.
Yow!!!
"Brian " wrote:
> PS. VH-1 was showing a Beach Boys infomercial today. They had some
> footage of them playing on TV in black and white. Al was playing a
> white strat with white guard, Brian had a white bass, Carl had a
> white Jaguar, and they all had blonde Showmans and reverb tanks.
> Yow!!!
And I bet they got them all for free...
fd
Gavin,
I'm glad you like the sounds page. It was fun to do and I'm glad that it's
proving useful.
Now, for your questions:
1) Jag or Jazz?
Tough question to answer, and much of it winds up being personal preference.
I like the Jaguar for the thin switch, and the mute. I find the mute in
particular useful for muted strumming effects. Jags also have 22 frets,
giving you a high D note, where the 21 fret Jazzmaster ends at C#.
I like the Jazzmaster for the longer scale and the wide coil pickups. I
also find that the three-way pickup toggle is easier to use mid-song than
the Jaguar switch plate.
For playability, the Jag's shorter scale makes it easier to move around the
fretboard more quickly, but the Jazzmaster's longer scale makes it easier to
fret notes high up the neck, especially if you've got big hands/thick
fingers. Also the Jag tremolo is set closer to the bridge than on a
Jazzmaster, which affects the arm height at the bridge.
For tone, the Jag's shorter scale creates a mid-range response that is
different than any other "professional" Fender (Strats, Teles, Jazzmasters),
but the Jazzmaster's wide-coil pickups create a wide frequency response that
is unique as well. Jaguar pickups have better shielding, and tend to be
less noisy than Jazzmaster pickups, but I've found this to be a minor issue.
Personally, I prefer Jazzmasters, but I own a Jaguar, too. I find the
Jazzmaster a bit more comfortable to play, plus I like the cleaner look of
the one piece pickguard. However, if the choice was between owning two
Jazzmasters and owning one Jazzmaster and one Jaguar, I'd opt for one of
each. They completement each other quite well. I've never had a problem
with cutting through the mix that wasn't fixable. Usually it's a case of
instrument setup creating "dead spots" or, more often, other instruments in
the same register in the song.
2)pre-CBS v. CBS v. MIJ v. MIA Jaguar comparison?
First, the "vintage" guitars: I'd make the split at about 1968. That's
when CBS really started to change things. Prior to that, the major changes
are cosmetic. Clay dots or pearl dots or blocks? Binding or no-binding?
Personal taste. In 1968, Fender changed over to a polyurethane finish that
is thicker than the earlier nitrocellulose finish. Also, the quality of the
magnet wire used started to vary. That being said, the few post 1968 Jags
and Jazzmasters I played were excellent guitars. I think there is more
variation in playing feel within any given year than there is between years,
especially now that these instruments have all had thirty-plus years of
aging.
MIJ guitars: These too must be split up. Some people will compare MIJ (Made
In Japan) versus CIJ (Crafted In Japan) guitars. To me, the big difference
is whether is instrument was made for US export. The US export models
(through about 1998) had basswood bodies. The current production Japanese
models, which can be ordered from the Fender Japan website, have alder
bodies. All have polyurethane finishes. I've owned two MIJ Jaguars. The
first was a blonde/gold limited edition model (1993, I think) that I didn't
care for and traded for an MIJ Jazzmaster which I liked more. The second is
my current 1996 sunburst guitar, which I like a lot. The big weakness to
the MIJ guitars is the pickups. This is an easy fix, as are swapping the
pots and tone caps to higher quality components. As for the body wood, I
don't have a problem with the basswood body on my Jag, but I didn't like the
basswood body on my Jazzmaster - there was a high end resonance to the
guitar that disappeared when I swapped to a vintage US alder body. It could
have been a fluke, however.
MIA guitars: I don't have as much experience with these, but what I have I
liked. It was hard to gauge playing guitars in stores with light strings
and bad setups, but the necks felt nice and the pickups sound good. I've
got MIA pickups in my Jaguar, and I like them a lot.
For the money - hard choice. I think the used MIJ prices have bottomed out
around $400-$600 dollars. Vintage Jag prices are rising, but you still can
find them occasionally (in varying states of disrepair) for under $1000.
Clean vintage Jags usually fetch at least $1200 and more for custom colors
($2000+). MIA Jags new are $1300, and you can find them used in the
$800-$1000 range.
So what's the best value? Depends on your budget. I just went through the
whole process, and wound up getting a MIJ Jaguar. I bought it for $500
(with case) and spend another $200 upgrading it (US pickups, electronics,
pickguard, mute). I think that MIJ guitars are the best if you plan to
modify them at all, and vintage guitars are best if you want a guitar that
holds its value. MIA guitars are best if you want a mint condition custom
color instrument.
3) Make a Strat sound like a Jaguar
The "classic" Jaguar and Jazzmaster sound is the neck and bridge pickup
together. The easiest way to get this sound with a strat is to switch the
middle and bridge pickups. Then your five way switch gives you: neck,
neck+bridge, bridge, bridge+middle, and middle. If you find you like the
sound but miss the neck+middle sound, then put the pickups back to their
original positions, add a switch for a neck pickup override. That way you
can add the neck pickup to any combination you get with the five-way. It's
a pretty common mod for strats so you should be able to find a schematic
online.
Well, that's a long ramble.
Finally, thank you for the complements on Los Mel-tones. We had a lot of
fun making those records. As for the Mach IV, we've got a live CD out (you
can hear some tracks on our website ) and we are in
the process of recording a studio album.
Hope it helps. Take care, and Happy Holidays.
Mel
-----Original Message-----
From: windanseabeachboy <>
[mailto:]
Sent: Monday, December 23, 2002 3:17 PM
To:
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Mel...Want your opinion on JMs, Jags, Strats...
Mel,
Thanks for that cool sounds page. What a nifty thing to be able to
check out a guitar tone library!!! Ain't the Internet great?
I know this has been kicked around a bunch on this site, but I wanted
to get your opinions on the subject because, gosh, I really respect
your sound.
1). Straight up, no mods, which guitar do you like best for overall
playability and tone? Jag or Jazz?
2). Compare the pre-CBS Jag to the CBS-era to the reissue MIJ and MIA.
FOR THE MONEY, do the reissues compete well with the originals? And
which of the reissues have the best hardware?
By the way, I just received my 23 CD surf music collection including 2
CDs from Los Meltones. They're twisterific! I especially liked "Rocket
Sled to Oahu," the intro to "Moonwalk" and "Mission to Malibu," off
Surfin' At Black Point. The band had a great, fat tone!
Can't wait to hear Mach IV!
Gavin
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