"Odd Jag Project" Restoration

Bringing your older offset back to life.
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dain
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Re: "Odd Jag Project" Restoration

Post by dain » Sun Dec 30, 2007 2:36 pm

also, be aware that not all not jaguar necks are the same.  i had a B+B 68 jag that i sold specifically because the neck was bugging me.  the profile was completely different than my 63 and 64 that i have now.  i couldn't say what the diff was now, possibly a wider profile, but i was much happier when i switched to pre CBS necks at least on jags.  so i would get it in your hands, see if you form a connection with it and get rid of it if its not what you want.  i've had WAY too many guitars that looked great but played horribly to go on looks alone.

actually i have a similar story with electric XIIs.  i had a dots and binding neck sunburst that absolutely killed my B+B.  the finish on the necks was night and day.  the B+B had a think finish that made it feel cheap like a teisco or something...

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Re: "Odd Jag Project" Restoration

Post by MrWizard44 » Sun Dec 30, 2007 2:50 pm

Well, I played a B&B '69 Jag and was completely blown away by the neck.  It felt g-r-e-a-t.  Best thing I've ever played.


And you guys are missing the problem here!  I know I shouldn't paint the neck that the guitar already has,

I need to know where to get the new one!

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Re: "Odd Jag Project" Restoration

Post by dain » Sun Dec 30, 2007 3:09 pm

time to buy a new guitar!  :D

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Re: "Odd Jag Project" Restoration

Post by fullerplast » Sun Dec 30, 2007 3:26 pm

And you guys are missing the problem here!  I know I shouldn't paint the neck that the guitar already has,

I need to know where to get the new one!


Watch the bay... thats about all I can tell you.

They pop up from time to time...

But personally, I go with B&D.. original to the guitar and actually much more rare!

:)
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Re: "Odd Jag Project" Restoration

Post by sookwinder » Sun Dec 30, 2007 4:01 pm

USCG  make jaguar necks  (the call the shagwires)  and the can add binding  (they only do dots not blocks)  .

you could go that way and save the vintage neck ... sell it or stick it under the bed.

when i restored my first 66 jaguar from fucked sunburst to olywhite of course the thought of refinishing the headstock came to mind, but the fact that the decal was in relative good condition stopped me immediately.  It looks great to my eyes and for historical accuracy I have seen photos of custom colours and also oly white without matching headstocks :
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Re: "Odd Jag Project" Restoration

Post by northern_dirt » Sun Dec 30, 2007 4:05 pm

sookwinder wrote: USCG  make jaguar necks  (the call the shagwires)  and the can add binding  (they only do dots not blocks)  .

you could go that way and save the vintage neck ... sell it or stick it under the bed.

when i restored my first 66 jaguar from fucked sunburst to olywhite of course the thought of refinishing the headstock came to mind, but the fact that the decal was in relative good condition stopped me immediately.  It looks great to my eyes and for historical accuracy I have seen photos of custom colours and also oly white without matching headstocks :
Image
Warmoth will do binding for $90 more
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Re: "Odd Jag Project" Restoration

Post by MrWizard44 » Sun Dec 30, 2007 4:27 pm

fullerplast wrote:
And you guys are missing the problem here!  I know I shouldn't paint the neck that the guitar already has,

I need to know where to get the new one!


Watch the bay... thats about all I can tell you.

They pop up from time to time...

But personally, I go with B&D.. original to the guitar and actually much more rare!

:)
Funny you should say that, because I see at least twice as many B&D necks as I do B&B. 

And to the guy who mentioned Warmoth, they won't do block inlays on a 24" neck... bastards.

Going with USCG B & D and just saving my neck doesn't sound like a terrible idea, though I am a big fan of those blocks...

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Re: "Odd Jag Project" Restoration

Post by northern_dirt » Sun Dec 30, 2007 4:44 pm

MrWizard44 wrote:
And to the guy who mentioned Warmoth, they won't do block inlays on a 24" neck... bastards.
Really? Well there goes one of my projects out the window..
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Re: "Odd Jag Project" Restoration

Post by MrWizard44 » Sun Dec 30, 2007 4:47 pm

northern_dirt wrote:
MrWizard44 wrote:
And to the guy who mentioned Warmoth, they won't do block inlays on a 24" neck... bastards.
Really? Well there goes one of my projects out the window..
Yeah, I was kinda pissed...  oh, also their smallest radius is 9", and I need 7.5".  Warmoth just kinda sucks.  I was under the impression that the purpose of a site like that was to give people opportunities to build guitars just like they want them, but it seems that they only sell the crap you'd need to build the guitars that are already out there!

Does that make sense? 

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Re: "Odd Jag Project" Restoration

Post by sookwinder » Sun Dec 30, 2007 4:51 pm

MrWizard44 wrote: Warmoth just kinda sucks.  I was under the impression that the purpose of a site like that was to give people opportunities to build guitars just like they want them, but it seems that they only sell the crap you'd need to build the guitars that are already out there!
Does that make sense? 
that's why I have gone USCG on two occasions ...
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Re: "Odd Jag Project" Restoration

Post by fullerplast » Sun Dec 30, 2007 4:53 pm

Funny you should say that, because I see at least twice as many B&D necks as I do B&B.


You may have a point. B&D were only made for about a year, and B&B were made for almost 10 years. But the one year of B&D happened to be the pinnacle of Fender sales... and the Jag was still king.
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Re: "Odd Jag Project" Restoration

Post by RumorsOFsurF » Sun Dec 30, 2007 7:48 pm

sookwinder wrote:
MrWizard44 wrote: Warmoth just kinda sucks.  I was under the impression that the purpose of a site like that was to give people opportunities to build guitars just like they want them, but it seems that they only sell the crap you'd need to build the guitars that are already out there!
Does that make sense? 
that's why I have gone USCG on two occasions ...
Warmoth does suck!  :k :k :k :k

The guy who owns it is an asshole, too. >:(
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Re: "Odd Jag Project" Restoration

Post by Regan » Mon Dec 31, 2007 5:36 am

sookwinder wrote: USCG  make jaguar necks  (the call the shagwires)  and the can add binding  (they only do dots not blocks)  .

you could go that way and save the vintage neck ... sell it or stick it under the bed.

when i restored my first 66 jaguar from fucked sunburst to olywhite of course the thought of refinishing the headstock came to mind, but the fact that the decal was in relative good condition stopped me immediately.  It looks great to my eyes and for historical accuracy I have seen photos of custom colours and also oly white without matching headstocks :
Image
That sounds exactly like me......only mine is a '65 Jag. It too was sunburst. I chose to go with Olympic White specifically because Fender did some of them without the matching headstock. Even if it had not been historically accurate I would not have messed with my neck since it is in great shape.

By the way, I hope mine looks as good as yours does when I get finished. Looks like you did a fantastic job!

Regan

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Re: "Odd Jag Project" Restoration

Post by MrWizard44 » Thu Jan 03, 2008 7:09 pm

Alright, the guitar came today.

I'll start with the case, because it's the first thing I saw -- the outside is pretty good and sturdy.  There's some rust on the metal bits, but nothing you wouldn't expect from a forty year old case that's likely seen some abuse.  Oh, and very surprisingly for me -- the case is black.  It looked extremely blonde in the pictures, and at least one other guy here thought so too, but it's very black.  And very dirty.  Wow.  It needs to be cleaned badly, and I'm actually going to be doing that when I finish typing.  The inside stuff is kinda rickety -- the little accessory compartment and the neck rest both like to wobble around.  It's hard to describe without getting too wordy, but the case is definitely forty years old.  Not bad enough to warrant replacement, mind you.

As far as the guitar itself goes, it's actually not as bad in person as it is in the pictures.  The body is pretty rough, though.  About what you'd expect.  He actually had the humbucker screwed and pasted into the body, surrounded by some kind of blue waxy shit... there was a pop sickle stick in there too, for some reason.  There was some wiring from an old lamp between the pickups and his dimestore switch, and it looks like he cut the humbucker route with a hacksaw...

Pretty depressing stuff -- all the while my dad and I were cutting into it I couldn't help but feel a great sense of pride -- like I was really doing the vintage guitar world, the offset world, and the guitar itself (of course) a very great favor by saving it from this guy and undertaking its restoration to former glory.

That said, in my eagerness to verify that the neck was the real McCoy, I popped it off as soon as I oped up the case and we just sort of started taking it apart from there, so... I forgot to get pictures of the pre-state.  Too bad, but I still have the eBay ones. Before too long I'll take some good pictures of the pieces, though.

Speaking of the neck... it is awesome.  There's some serious checking on both sides of the headstock and the whole package smells like my sixty-year old WWII stuff (you really need to know the smell to understand).  Still, the thing is awesome.  It's in fabulous condition, really -- finish aside, of course (but some would say that's just added mojo).  The decal is in really, really great shape, and it's still got the original tuners.  Oh, and the somewhat muddied heel stamp reads  15FEB66B -- though it looks kind of like 15FFR66B.

Honestly, the case, tremolo, and neck are worth what I paid for the whole thing.

In the actual body, we managed to save the neck pickup and the tremolo tailpiece... the bridge is pretty crap, unfortunately.  Also, the pots and lower control plate is original, so that's cool.  And as a fun little extra surprise, there was a little bit of cloth wiring left in the mess.  And some shielding!


So, here's the score as it is --

The body is in depressing shape, but it's better than I anticipated.  There are pretty clear lines where the bondo and filler crap is, so getting it out shouldn't be too tough.  The neck is terrific.  The tuners might need to be replaced.  The lower control plate, input jack, and lead volume/tone pots are in good shape, and we've got the volume knob, too.  The neckplate is in good shape.  The tremolo tailpiece and arm are a little rusty, but I think they'll make it.  Oh, and I'm pretty sure that the surviving pickup is good to go.

So, I need a pickguard, lead pickup, upper control plates and necessary switches/pots, a string mute, a bridge, bridge cover, tone knob, strap buttons, strings (I'm thinking flatwounds?)...

oh, and a paint job!  I mean, my God!  it's awful!

Pictures are soon to come.
Last edited by MrWizard44 on Thu Jan 03, 2008 7:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: "Odd Jag Project" Restoration

Post by mezcalhead » Thu Jan 03, 2008 10:14 pm

I wouldn't give up on the bridge just yet .. you can often resurrect them by soaking in WD40 for a while after which they come apart and you can clean the rust off the pieces individually before reassembly .. painstaking but worth it.

I'd also hang on to the tuners, you haven't said what's wrong with them but there are a few tips around here for helping them out too.

I've recently cleaned a few cases and if you can find a little steam cleaner (the kind they use for cleaning curtains without taking them down) they are excellent for both inside and out. Otherwise soap and water and good hard scrubbing works well on the outside .. you can use car shampoo on the inside of the case but you have to be very careful that it doesn't react with nitro and that you get all of it out of the plush (the steam cleaner does this beautifully). Doug cleaned a case he sent me with a particular brand of car shampoo and it's come up really well. The bits of wood that make up the neck rest and pocket are held in place by a couple of nails front and back which may need replacing (they often seem to get bent), and then I think there is also glue to secure them as well.

The parts you are missing shouldn't be too hard to come by with the exception of a vintage pickup as they get scavenged for Strat forgeries. You still see them around though, and there are plenty of good aftermarket options for a temporary  (or permanent) replacement.

Anyway, congratulations! There's nothing like restoring one of these old guitars .. you'll have really bonded with it once you're done. I may have missed it, but do you have a colour in mind?
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