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Planning a Jaguar build...


Pea Turgh

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Hello friends.

Inspired by recent builds, I’ve purchased a Warman Musicman style pickup, and need some other stuff to put around it.

I had a Musicman copy I (orchestrated rather than) built around 20 years ago. The neck was a slight disappointment as the “luthier” wot made it was a scoundrel. As I understand it, he has now moved cities to shed his poor reputation.

So, this time around, I’d like to do a Jaguar body, p width neck, with the MM pup. Lightweight tuners to keep good balance. A nice dark stain/finish, like what @Bridgehouse did.

This will be mega slow going - probably going to buy one thing per month, as not to alarm the Mrs or flamingo the household budget.

So, my next item after the pup will be the body. Jaguar bodies aren’t that common, so I had thought about buying a Jazz body and cutting it down. Does a Jaguar body dimension fit in a Jazz outline? Or am I better off manning up and getting a blank?

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My regular builder would do one but he’s stacked at the moment and his lead time is months. 

You could ask one of the online builders if they would do one as a one off which is a possibility - or, buy a template set and have a go yourself 

The other option is a cheap squier and strip it!

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I can’t get the printer working, so I drew around my JV instead. It’s a bit lumpy, but it’s close. Can’t be bothered with active electronics or even a tone control, and I want the pickup in roughly P position.

I’m thinking a black anodized aluminum pick guard (gawd knows where I’m going to get one of those made up!).

Ideally I’d have a roasted flamed maple neck, but budget won’t extend that far! I LOVE the look of the roasted Fender, so you can see where I’m coming from here...

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FD688005-71FB-4FFC-91B4-A763390B3DC5.jpeg

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10 hours ago, Pea Turgh said:

Can’t be bothered with active electronics or even a tone control,

I haven't seen many like that.  When it came up before, I thought it was a good idea especially if you are into your pedals and fx.  If the pickup placement is done with a bit of extra care and it has a solid passive output, I reckon it'd work for me.

 

10 hours ago, Pea Turgh said:

I’m thinking a black anodized aluminum pick guard (gawd knows where I’m going to get one of those made up!).

Try Custom Colour as a starting place and go for hard anodising.  As for the making of it, I'm a bit handy with metalwork.  PM me if you like.

Edited by SpondonBassed
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11 hours ago, Pea Turgh said:

I can’t get the printer working, so I drew around my JV instead. It’s a bit lumpy, but it’s close. Can’t be bothered with active electronics or even a tone control, and I want the pickup in roughly P position.

I’m thinking a black anodized aluminum pick guard (gawd knows where I’m going to get one of those made up!).

Ideally I’d have a roasted flamed maple neck, but budget won’t extend that far! I LOVE the look of the roasted Fender, so you can see where I’m coming from here...

65542229-5725-4F51-91EB-C99218051371.jpeg

FD688005-71FB-4FFC-91B4-A763390B3DC5.jpeg

Interesting project - let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

Cheers

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So this is the MM copy I (orchestrated rather than) made back in the 90’s when I was in college. The body was mahogany and probably a bit too thin. The headstock was waayyy too big (thick front to back too) so neck dive was slight, but annoying.

I was really happy with the body shape - again, I drew around a P and made it more curvy. Pity I didn’t consider the control plate in that process!

It played well and sounded superb (Seymour Duncan pup and preamp), but ultimately the little niggles grew to taunting jibes, so I broke it for parts and moved on!

B8122DDD-298E-43B1-97C1-33C7520AADF7.jpeg

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just got back from holiday where I’d been contemplating the meaning of life etc, so raring to go on this. Hopefully next pay day will be a handsome one so I’ll get all the bits I need and crack on!

Will fire up the printer again this eve and get the thingy bob printed out to ponder over.

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  • 4 months later...

Sooo, this stalled!  I’ve put together a bitsa and bought a headless Hohner Jack since starting this thread, so simultaneously scratched a new bass itch and reached a reasonable limit of new basses (according to Mrs Turgh).

However, all is not lost - I still have those parts, so I’ll have to build it at some point!  But it will have to wait until after I do a slightly bigger build - my garden studio!  Once that’s done, I feel the new bass embargo will be unenforceable. Mww hah hah hah!!!!

 

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Interesting to see you're using a Warman UK built MM clone.  I have one in my accessories draw that i fitted to one of the Vintage MM basses. The used a Wilkinson, IIRC.  I dumped it in favour of the Warman, and it was way better. When  i sold the bass , i put the Wilky back in and kept the Warman for a later project, which hasn't happened. Booo

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  • 2 months later...

Sooo, now the garden studio has stalled for a few months (budget hijacked by other responsibilities), back to the ssslllooooowwww  jag build.

@Andyjr1515 very kindly gave me a neck to practice on, but if I make an ok job of it, maybe it will stay on the jag!

Its jazz width but, and currently painted white, but the pearl square bits (what are they called?!) look rather fetching.

I also picked up a bridge from @Chownybass at the bash, and I have a set of cheapie tuners from the neck I bought for by bitsa last year.  

So, will crack on with the neck refinishing and think about the body blank.  I’d like to recycle something, so I’ll keep an eye out for something odd but salvageable.  Maybe driftwood scaffold planks?!  I did make a nice tea & coffee shelf out of a chunk I found on the beach once....A7B991F7-33F2-4863-A2D9-EFCEB203E52A.thumb.jpeg.38c7940bab145b7e42daf26fe5580733.jpeg

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Indeed Andy, its great to see recycling.  I am asbo lootly useless at bass mods, so i was never going to do anything with it.

By the way Pete, you'll be pleased to know that the neck is an ex Retrovibe off a  Jazz/P  bass that was 1 of only 2 white J/P's built by Retrovibe ...who i believe are now called Chowny ?

It very well built and really, too good to just practice on

Edited by fleabag
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