Show your Squier Mascis JM Mods/Improvements!

[brucer]

Would there be significant improvements if that wiring harness was used with the stock pickups?

Not really. Its not going to change the tone a lot but will be less likely to have a switch fail.

I will recommend adding a treble bleed cap + resistor to keep it from getting muddy when you turn down. I found this made a big difference and cost only pennies.

^^Really good suggestion. Check out the Treble Bleed Mod here: http://www.guitar-mod.com/rg_diag_general.html

[brudy]

Would there be significant improvements if that wiring harness was used with the stock pickups?

Not really. Its not going to change the tone a lot but will be less likely to have a switch fail.

I will recommend adding a treble bleed cap + resistor to keep it from getting muddy when you turn down. I found this made a big difference and cost only pennies.

Well, my harness had the treble bleed mod so it has a huge tonal functional difference. I also felt like the clarity in general on the guitar went up pretty dramatically with the harness. I've switched out pots and stuff on other guitars and haven't witnessed a huge difference so YMMV but in this case it was a huge difference.

[megamaeng]

I'm thinking about installing a novak jm180 and jm90 so I'll definitely keep that treble bleed cap and resistor mod in mind when I swap them out. I was also thinking about doing some more shielding while I was in there. What is the general consensus on shielding in the JMJM? Is it sufficient with what's in there from the factory? Can I get by with just some shielding tape in the cavity like this:

http://www.stewmac.com/Pickups_and_Elec ... _Tape.html

Or is the pickup shield more effective:

http://www.guitar-mod.com/mm5/merchant. ... e=J_SHIELD

Or should I do both?

I'm thinking about switching out to a mint pickguard so I won't be using the gold one if that makes any difference.

Thanks!

p.s. any thoughts on whether it's even worth upgrading to the jm90? i'm sold on the jm180 but wondering if I should save the $100 and use the stock jmjm pickup for the neck.

[caliban]

Would there be significant improvements if that wiring harness was used with the stock pickups?

Not really. Its not going to change the tone a lot but will be less likely to have a switch fail.

I will recommend adding a treble bleed cap + resistor to keep it from getting muddy when you turn down. I found this made a big difference and cost only pennies.

^^Really good suggestion. Check out the Treble Bleed Mod here: http://www.guitar-mod.com/rg_diag_general.html

I generally have my guitar volume on 10, but this is interesting for people using their volume knob a lot, regardless of the pickups (in my opinion every pickup I use tends to get muddy when lowering the volume knob).

[ljholland]

I'm thinking about installing a novak jm180 and jm90 so I'll definitely keep that treble bleed cap and resistor mod in mind when I swap them out. I was also thinking about doing some more shielding while I was in there. What is the general consensus on shielding in the JMJM? Is it sufficient with what's in there from the factory? Can I get by with just some shielding tape in the cavity like this:

http://www.stewmac.com/Pickups_and_Elec ... _Tape.html

Or is the pickup shield more effective:

http://www.guitar-mod.com/mm5/merchant. ... e=J_SHIELD

Or should I do both?

I'm thinking about switching out to a mint pickguard so I won't be using the gold one if that makes any difference.

Thanks!

p.s. any thoughts on whether it's even worth upgrading to the jm90? i'm sold on the jm180 but wondering if I should save the $100 and use the stock jmjm pickup for the neck.

The JMJM's aluminum guard provides a lot of shielding. If you go with a plastic guard, you'll probably want to add shielding tape to the back. I've also used plain aluminum foil glued to the back of the guard and found it worked well. The commercial aluminum tape from Stew Mac is better for shielding the cavity.

[megamaeng]

great thanks for the tips!

Forgive my ignorance, but if I swap out the pickups for humbuckers, would shielding be as important? Can I get away with not needing any extra shielding on the replacement plastic pickguard or in the cavities since the pickups are hum canceling? Or is it a good idea to do it anyway.

[ljholland]

great thanks for the tips!

Forgive my ignorance, but if I swap out the pickups for humbuckers, would shielding be as important? Can I get away with not needing any extra shielding on the replacement plastic pickguard or in the cavities since the pickups are hum canceling? Or is it a good idea to do it anyway.

While shielding is much more critical for single coils, I'd still recommend it for humbuckers. Also, it's not just the pickups that can be affected by noise, the electronics and wire leads are other ways for noise to infiltrate the guitar. Considering how cheap/easy it is to do, there's not reason not to.

[megamaeng]

While shielding is much more critical for single coils, I'd still recommend it for humbuckers. Also, it's not just the pickups that can be affected by noise, the electronics and wire leads are other ways for noise to infiltrate the guitar. Considering how cheap/easy it is to do, there's not reason not to.

Thumbs up, thanks!

For those who have swapped out humbuckers, or really anyone, is there a favorite rhythm circuit mod to do? The Rothstein STB mod looks interesting. I like the "preset" idea of the stock rhythm circuit but wondering if there were any alternatives for the sound you can get out of the switch.

[Johnny Burrito]

While shielding is much more critical for single coils, I'd still recommend it for humbuckers. Also, it's not just the pickups that can be affected by noise, the electronics and wire leads are other ways for noise to infiltrate the guitar. Considering how cheap/easy it is to do, there's not reason not to.

Thumbs up, thanks!

For those who have swapped out humbuckers, or really anyone, is there a favorite rhythm circuit mod to do? The Rothstein STB mod looks interesting. I like the "preset" idea of the stock rhythm circuit but wondering if there were any alternatives for the sound you can get out of the switch.

I've always wanted to use that space for an onboard compressor.

[megamaeng]

The stock TOM is actually decent. I wanted to try a Staytrem to see how it changes things. It's a small improvement. If you go there, be sure to get the one that's for Squiers. You'll also need to swap out the thimballs to install them as there is no longer a drop in replacement available. I didn't have any problem removing the old thimballs using a bolt that threaded into the existing thimbals and drove them out of the body. You may see a thread where someone did that and the bolt broke through the back of the guitar....I'm not sure how that happened...mine popped out easily. There's nothing wrong with the stock vibrato....unless you need to see "Fender" logo for some reason.

Can anyone help me find the thread where this threaded bolt removal process is shown? I'm having a hard time finding it. I received the bridge and thimbles but now I'm having second thoughts if it doesn't make much difference and the process to replace it isn't very straightforward.

[ljholland]

The stock TOM is actually decent. I wanted to try a Staytrem to see how it changes things. It's a small improvement. If you go there, be sure to get the one that's for Squiers. You'll also need to swap out the thimballs to install them as there is no longer a drop in replacement available. I didn't have any problem removing the old thimballs using a bolt that threaded into the existing thimbals and drove them out of the body. You may see a thread where someone did that and the bolt broke through the back of the guitar....I'm not sure how that happened...mine popped out easily. There's nothing wrong with the stock vibrato....unless you need to see "Fender" logo for some reason.

Can anyone help me find the thread where this threaded bolt removal process is shown? I'm having a hard time finding it. I received the bridge and thimbles but now I'm having second thoughts if it doesn't make much difference and the process to replace it isn't very straightforward.

Email Staytrem and ask them for the specs on the bolt to use to remove the stock thimbles. You literally screw the bolt in and the old thimbles slide out. It's trivial.

[megamaeng]

Nice! Thanks!

[Coldacre]

For those who have swapped out humbuckers, or really anyone, is there a favorite rhythm circuit mod to do? The Rothstein STB mod looks interesting. I like the "preset" idea of the stock rhythm circuit but wondering if there were any alternatives for the sound you can get out of the switch.

I put some 250k pots in the rythmic circuit. I then had it wired for all 3 pickup positions (bridge, bridge & neck, neck). so now I can go to 1mg pots on the lead circuit or 250k for the rhythm. very handy wth these bright Antiquity 2 pickups.

[mildwest]

Here are my improvements.

• - fender AVRI tremolo,
  - Staytrem bridge,
  - upgraded to rothstein wiring kit with: CTS pots, Switchcraft switches, treble bleed, cloth wire,
  - SD Antiquity 1 pickups,
  - witch hat knobs that I fake aged in some tea,
  - bone nut,
  - and of course, thanks to Joeybsyc on the forum a matching headstock

Found a bunch of the stuff used or on Reverb sale so basically an AVRI for half the price with the exact look I want. Sounds just as good as it looks.

[joeybsyc]

Looks awesome! Thanks again for the business!