Welcome again to Mod Storage. This month we’ll take a deeper look contained in the Fender Jaguar and what may be completed to its wiring to make it extra practicable. The 1962 Fender Jaguar is likely one of the offset outlaw axes and we dipped into this topic some years earlier than in “Mod Storage: Rewiring a Fender Jaguar.”
This time, we’ll focus totally on the controls of the usual Jaguar, as an alternative of specializing in the quite a few switches and extra pots as I coated earlier than. I’m all the time blissful about receiving requests to jot down one thing about such guitars, as I actually like these outlaw buddies and I don’t suppose they get the eye they need to. So right here we go.
Right now we’ll dissect the Johnny Marr Jaguar wiring discovered within the Fender Johnny Marr signature Jaguar mannequin. My PG colleague Charles Saufley not too long ago did a terrific interview with Johnny Marr, so undoubtedly learn it if you wish to discover out extra about him.
The U.Ok.-born Marr is finest often known as the guitarist and songwriter behind the Smiths, who redefined and dominated British pop within the 1980s. He’s additionally identified for taking part in with The The, Modest Mouse, the Cribs, and, after all, his solo work in addition to enjoying on numerous periods. Rolling Stone listed Marr at No. 51 of the 100 Biggest Guitarists and No. 67 on the 100 Biggest Songwriters of All Time. What else can one say?
Sound acquainted? It’s! The 4-way pickup swap is the 4-way swap from the sequence Telecaster wiring and the intense swap is the great previous mid-tone reduce swap (aka “strangle swap”) from the unique Jaguar wiring however in a doubled model.
Marr began enjoying a Fender Jaguar round 2005 and used it throughout his stick with Modest Mouse, leading to his signature mannequin, launched in 2012. The guitar and its wiring underwent a number of modifications since then, and immediately we’ll speak concerning the precise model constructed by Fender (mannequin #0116400705).
Concerning the electronics, you possibly can spot the variations at first look: As a substitute of the standard three switches on the lower-horn chrome plate, the Johnny Marr Jaguar sports activities a {custom} chrome plate with a Fender-style 4-position pickup selector swap. On the upper-horn chrome plate, the 2 further pots have been changed with a second slide swap in a {custom} chrome plate, which sports activities two slide switches. As well as, the guitar has a number of {hardware} upgrades, custom-wound pickups, and the unique grasp quantity/grasp tone configuration.
Let’s look underneath the hood as to what these parts are doing on the Jaguar, right here, in Fender’s personal phrases:
4-Manner Pickup Change:Moderately than conventional slide switches, Marr’s signature Jaguar has a particular four-way blade pickup swap on the decrease horn, delivering the bridge pickup alone, the bridge and neck pickups in parallel, the neck pickup alone, and the neck and bridge pickups in sequence.
Two “Shiny” Slide Switches:In an extra-special design aspect, the higher horn of the Johnny Marr Jaguar options two slide switches—a “common” vibrant swap that kicks every part up a notch or two, and a separate vibrant swap that solely impacts the “sequence” pickup swap place.
Sound acquainted? It’s! The 4-way pickup swap is the 4-way swap from the sequence Telecaster wiring and the intense swap is the great previous mid-tone reduce swap (aka “strangle swap”) from the unique Jaguar wiring, however in a doubled model.
Along with this switching matrix, we discover the standard classic Jaguar grasp quantity/grasp tone controls underneath the hood: two 1M audio pots with a 0.01 µF tone cap and a single 56okay resistor on the tone pot.
Fig. 1
Earlier than we dissect the wiring in Fig. 1, please observe that it’s in an optical simplified model for a a lot better overview. The 2 switches are the standard Jaguar on/off switches—the bottom of the bridge pickup is linked to widespread floor and to not the pickup-selector swap, identical as for the Telecaster 4-way wiring.
Changing the pickup switches with a normal pickup-selector swap not solely makes working the guitar loads simpler, nevertheless it permits a further tone a normal Jaguar doesn’t have—each pickups collectively in sequence for a really fats and loud lead sound. It’s the identical 4-way swap that you simply all know from the Electroswitch firm (previously Oak Grigsby) that’s used for the Telecaster. The draw back of this mod is that you simply want a brand new {custom} chrome plate for the swap, however this kind is obtainable from a number of corporations for a good value. Becoming the swap is usually a drawback relating to the depth of the routing within the physique. I’ve completed this modification to a number of Jaguars, and in all instances I needed to reroute the physique to make it match. It’s not an enormous take care of an excellent handheld router device, however you need to find out about this drawback. Should you order a brand new Jaguar physique, you need to point out that you simply want a deeper routing at this location, so it’s a trouble-free operation.
Changing the 2 further pots with two switches on the higher horn additionally signifies that you want one other new {custom} chrome plate, however this one can also be obtainable with none issues. The adaption of two particular person strangle switches seems to be complicated, however, for no matter purpose, Marr needs a common one influencing the entire wiring plus a particular one just for the pickup place with each pickups in sequence. I can consider a number of functions for this wiring nevertheless it’s a matter of private alternative and preferences. If in case you have the enjoying chops of Marr, you’ll sound glorious with each guitar and each wiring inside. Us mere mortal pickers want some assist from the wiring, so it’s no crime to mod it, however extra about this later. Basically, the intense or strangle swap makes use of a 3000 pF cap forming a set high-pass filter. In different phrases, it cuts bass, so the sound will get a lot brighter.
Utilizing two 1M audio controls for grasp quantity and grasp tone follows within the heritage of the Jaguar, identical as for the only 56okay resistor on the tone management along with the 0.01 µF tone cap. Nothing new right here.
The mixture of all this works, not less than for Mr. Marr. However let’s break it down in sections.
The 4-way swap everyone knows from the Telecaster 4-way mod works completely and is a good addition to any guitar with two pickups, not just for a Jaguar. The switching order is identical as on the Telecaster (bridge solely / bridge+neck in parallel / neck solely / bridge+neck in sequence), so it seems like residence. I don’t suppose there’s a helpful variation for this mod: It’s good the best way it’s.
It’s as much as you when you want a strangle swap, or when you want two of them. I feel you need to give it a attempt to play it for a while to see when you prefer it. Personally, I don’t want or like this characteristic, and in my very own Jaguar I might use the 2 switches so as to add a kill-switch and phasing like we did with the Duo Sonic guitar in 2021. The sequence characteristic is already current within the Marr wiring, so the second swap can be my kill swap on this wiring. You can even tinker with the worth of the intense caps on the 2 switches. Cheap values can be from 1000 pF as much as 6800 pF and every part in between. I feel Marr’s idea behind the 2 switches was that he needed to play a fats rhythm half with out the intense swap, however when switching to solo mode (each pickups collectively in sequence) the sound will get very loud and fats and the devoted vibrant swap helps to chop by means of the combo on this scenario. So, it’s a type of preset sound you possibly can dial in—an idea that has custom on the Fender firm.
I actually like 4700 pF on a Jaguar to dial in some nice nuances of heat.
Concerning the 2 pots utilizing 1M audio pots, this strictly follows the Jaguar classic route and is boon and bane on the identical time. The profit is that with the pots absolutely opened, they’re near a no-load pot with full excessive finish. The draw back is that within the Jaguar’s pure passive system the useable vary of the pots is near zero, performing like an on/off swap fairly than a helpful management with an impact over the entire rotation of the pot. Personally, I might change out each pots for 2 250okay audio pots or a 250okay quantity and 500okay tone pot in order for you a tad extra high-end. The useable vary is a lot better in comparison with the 1M pots, however that is additionally a matter of private alternative. Marr appears to love it, so it’s value a attempt.
And final, the tone management. Selecting a 0.01 µF tone cap clearly exhibits the Jaguar was not designed for darkish jazzy tones and that the tone ought to nonetheless have some good portion of treble when utilizing the tone management. A 0.01 µF cap is an efficient alternative, however when you want darker tones, go as much as 0.015 or 0.022 µF and past. If 0.01 µF remains to be too darkish for you, go right down to 6800 pF and past. I actually like 4700 pF on a Jaguar to dial in some nice nuances of heat.
The 56okay resistor on the tone management is a wired development and there was numerous debates about it for many years. The physics behind it are very advanced and I feel Fender needed to supply one thing new and versatile, however, because it typically goes, the highway to hell is paved with good intentions. Which means, it really works on the drafting board however not so good in actuality. In very simplified phrases, it’s a mix of restricted tone management and a little bit little bit of Gibson ’50s wiring. With the tone management absolutely opened, every part is regular and as it from different guitars like a Strat or Tele. Once you begin to shut the tone pot, the 56okay resistor is slowly pushed into the sign path, forming a low move along with the 0.01 µF cap, leading to attenuating the tone and the resonance peak. With the tone pot absolutely closed, it acts like a ’50s wiring and there’s no resonance shift.
It’s not a foul design per se—some prefer it whereas others don’t. An attention-grabbing element is that if you begin to shut the tone pot, the pickup’s inductance can be decoupled from the cable capacitance, leading to a glassy and ice-picking tone, and I feel this was precisely what the Fender designers had in thoughts. In actuality, this impact is totally offset due to the next high-end roll-off attributable to the guitar electronics. Possibly Fender needed to attempt one thing new, placing as many tonal options as attainable into the Jaguar. It shall stay a secret and a thriller.
I might take away the resistor and rewire quantity and tone as in a normal Telecaster for a conventional management. Give it a attempt to see when you just like the Jaguar technique higher. Who is aware of? You can even experiment with the 56okay resistor; cheap values are from 22okay as much as 100okay.
That’s it for now! Subsequent month we’ll cowl one thing you’ve requested for lots: a mod for each electrical and acoustic guitars to boost tuning stability.
Till then … carry on modding!
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