Jaguar pickups with regular controls (question for pickup geeks)?

[Gear_Junky]

My SX SJM VWH is the best feeling of the three - the fretboard almost looks like ebony and it is my favorite color. I'm not sure why I decided to corner it into "baritone" duty back when I did. I love the idea of a baritone guitar, but maybe having this one set up as a frequent player makes more sense.

Digging through my boxes I found that I have a set of Fender USA Jaguar 62 pickups. I know I wanted to try them in one of the SJM's. The whitey has "Gretsch lapsteel" pickups now, so I'd need to figure out a new pickguard anyway and I definitely want something single coil. I don't think Dynasonics will be happening and already have P90 and FIltertrons in the other SJM's, so...

The full look of a Jaguar, with the 2 control plates and "circuits" would be awesome, sure. But it occurs to me like a major pain (an endless project) as well as expense. In my reading I found that original Jags had linear pots on the "rhythm circuit". Why? And I know they use 1Meg pots elsewhere (rhythm tone is 50k).

So the QUESTION: will I still get "jag tone" (or jag-ish tone) if I just set it up as a 3-way switch, 2 pickup guitar with 500k pots and .047 tone cap? The main goal would be to get surfy bright tones and other clean chimey tones, jangly rhythms, etc. I won't be playing Nirvana/grunge/punk power chord chugs on it. I'm not good enough to play jazz, but even if I did, I'd probably use another guitar for that...

Thoughts? Considerations? Suggestions?

I do love the "look" of Jag controls, so I might try just using the upper plate for phase switching (I'll have to see if it's worth the hassle tonally).

[Gear_Junky]

A gentleman named "gruvsyco" at Offsetguitars forum had a thread on his project.

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http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/vie ... =8&t=37688

[Gear_Junky]

By way of a bump: form the little reading that I've been doing, it sounds like if I skip the "rhythm circuit", I should still get a decent "Jag tone" by using 1Meg pots and maybe by also using same value/setup of tone cap and treble bleed resistor.

Any thoughts on whether "modern" vs. "50's" wiring of volume/tone affects the character of the pickups or only what happens when they are rolled off (loss of treble)?

There are so many superstitions out there, I even came across a comment that said that Jaguar pickups were designed for short scale guitars. Could that even be a thing?

[golem]

Jaguar single coils are similar to strat singles. The claws, supposedly, do change the inductance and magnetic field a bit. But, the pickups themselves are just a hair different in construction from what I hear.



Looking at this picture you can see what I mean. I've heard of people putting jag pickups in starts and liking the results and of people putting strat pickups in a Jaguar (lipstick pickups seem to be popular and one of my favorites aesthetically).

[Gear_Junky]

Jaguar single coils are similar to strat singles. The claws, supposedly, do change the inductance and magnetic field a bit. But, the pickups themselves are just a hair different in construction from what I hear.

Yep. Difficult to judge without comparing in the same guitar with identical circuit. I am hearing both "similar", yet "distinctly different". Some say somewhat similar to a mild P90. Of course, it's possible to be similar to a strat and to a P90, without being either.

I already have the pickups, so I might as well use them. They have all the chances of being pretty good. And I love the look.

[Gear_Junky]

Incidentally, I am far from being an offset historian or "buff" (or purist), but I came across a brief mention that Fender Jaguars also exist with P90's. So the SX SJM/Liquid are not as far off base.

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(actual P90's, not Jazzmaster pickups).