How can I make my Squire Jaguar playable/usable?

[Spitfire7]

Hey guys,

I have a Squire Jag that I decked out looking real nice, but it plays like crap. I just did a show and its now currently not even usable. It buzzes like you wouldn't believe, the action is horrible, and most annoyingly it goes out of tune during every song played. I have no clue how to do a proper setup either so that is why I come to you. I also have a Special Edition AV65 Jaguar with a Custom Shop professional setup and this is what I am comparing it too. I know, not a fair comparison. A $300 guitar compared to a $2000 guitar with Custom Shop all over it. With that said, I know I can get this Squire up to par and playing real nicely, but I haven't a clue where to start. It currently has 11's on it, Classic player pickups, and had a Mustang bridge, but that thing buzzed constantly worse that the stock Jag bridge. So, I put the stock Squire Jag bridge back on and its slightly better believe it or not. I shimmed the neck, but once again I don't know what I am doing. I also originally tried to go with a LPB look, but fell in love with what seemed to be a amber aged LPB which was gorgeous. I really do like the paint as is, but maybe a little too much green for me now since I originally had my eye on a LPB and the paint is still tacky after a year. I can put my nail into it and its covered in surface indentions. This guitar really needs to love and I can't do it without you.

How can I make this thing at least playable? Why do the strings go out of tune after 1 min of playing constantly? The strings are about 4 months old with a lot of play and I am not using the tremolo bar.

Here's what I would dream of, but may not go to that full extent. I would love to have this guitar refinished in a true vintage color LPB and a full setup that will last for a long time. Who can help me step by step to achieve this setup? The other option would be you give me a good price and I ship it to you for all this to be done.

Here is what it was:



Here is what it is now:






As you can see in the two top and bottom pictures, the color looks really cool and very LPBish, but in reality to the naked eye it looks like the middle picture, much more greenish teal. It really is a pretty color and it changes from the light source, but I have always wanted a LPB. Let me know guys. This will be a cool project guitar. I am not asking for anything perfect, just nice and definitely usable. Let me know. Thanks.

[adamrobertt]

Well, first thing I'm noticing is that 4 months is a REALLY long time to go without changing your strings. Old strings will go out of tune faster. I gig regularly and I change my strings every few weeks.

Overall though, you should shim the neck, raise the bridge, make sure that the truss rod doesn't need to be adjusted, things like that. Also find out where the buzz is actually coming from. It could be coming from anywhere on the fretboard, or the bridge, or the tremolo unit. I've noticed that a common source of annoying buzzing is actually the tremolo collet (where the arm is inserted) from having a loose fit. I have a Staytrem collet and arm on my JM which more or less solved that problem.

If the buzzing is coming from the neck, you may need a truss rod adjustment or fretwork. If it's coming from the bridge, try a better bridge. Once again, the Staytrem Mustang bridge works wonders.

When you shimmed the neck, how did you do it?

[k701]

It's good that you have a perfectly set up one to compare it to. Look closely at the nut- how do the 2 differ? Tuning problems commonly occur from here I've learned in my journeys. Are the slots too narrow and pinching the strings? Are the strings sitting too deeply in the nut. Is it lubed?

The strings look like it's set up for slide- must be uncomfortable. Is the neck the squire neck or from somewhere els? It sits high on the body. If it is a Squire or older neck- the frets could need levelling and dressing. No amount of tweaking will rid a guitar of its buzz if it is a fret problem.

Make sure the neck is not too straight. Capo the first fret and hold down the highest fret with your finger in the high E. Look at the gap from string to fret On the 8th fret. How does this differ on the 2 guitars? If the string is touching the fret- it's too straight. Loosen the truss rod an eighth of a turn counter clockwise and see how that affects it. Some guitars respond hugely to a tiny amount of turn, others need much more of a turn to make a small amount of difference.

[spacecadet]

Yeah, the action on that thing is super-high. The neck shimming is probably the main thing - I don't know how you put the shim you have in or what type of shim it is, but it should look something like this: http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/w ... k-shim.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I guess if someone *really* doesn't know how to shim, you might have put it at the top of the pocket or something, which would make the problem worse, not better. Make sure it's at the bottom of the pocket and that it's thick enough. You might need multiple shims if you only have very thin material. My AVRI came with one shim from the factory that was basically a piece of paper; I had to add a couple pieces of folded cardboard from some packaging I had lying around.

I'd replace the trem unit, personally. You've gone most of the way in making this look like a Fender anyway, but the trem unit brands it a Squier and it could also be the source of your tuning problems. I doubt Squier trems are quite as heavy duty as Fender ones (mine doesn't *feel* as heavy as my Fender ones, at least), and in any case they don't have the lock button that could be useful to you.

That's in addition to the other advice you've gotten, which is all valid too.

[k701]

It's like having to do detective work from each part. I'd get the relief in the neck sorted first and work from there. If you have another jag, put the trem unit in and see as the above post could have nailed it.

Shims serve different purposes depending on where in the pocket they're placed. Spacecadet- if you can find some thin wood the same thickness as the card you have, swap it over and see if you notice a difference in tone. I have noticed that with wood vibrations transfer better and the resonance improves tone greatly.

[Straight6DOHC]

Apologies if I'm trying to teach your granny how to suck eggs, Spitfire, but it sounds like you are asking for a guide on how to set up a guitar. Check this out:
http://gretschpages.com/news/mals-big-g ... eshooting/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There's loads of info on the internet on guitar setup but I thought the guide in the link was pretty informative. Hopefully, that's what you were looking for.

[phutyle]

Lots of great setup tips already posted. Here's a thread from over on ILF where the poster had a bad buzz problem on a VM Jag that was easily solvable in the end. Worth checking out anyway:

http://ilovefuzz.com/viewtopic.php?f=188&t=44430" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Spitfire7]

Hey Guys, thank you all so much for all the helpful feedback. I did look through some of those sites and I am either going to begin the step by step setup guide process or just have someone do it all for me while also doing the new paint job. I have decided to go with Ocean Turquoise . In regards to the pictures that I posted that some of you commented on, sorry for the confusion. The guitar was just painted and not set up yet. I took those pictures and attached them only to reference the paint. Yes that action was way way way to high and no setup at all was done yet. The shim I used was a hard piece of cardboard that I put in to give me enough height on the backside of the neck closest to the pickup. This made such a major improvement that I thought my setup was almost done. After getting the right bridge height for a nice action and no buzz everything seemed to be okay. Within the next day or so the buzzing was back. I think this is due to the bridge screws shaking loose and lowering. I haven't done the locktite thing yet because I am still not 100% on what is the right height and everything I do to this guitar I am skeptical and not confident. I need someone who really knows what they are doing. I have contacted Danocaster to see if he can give me his classic Dano setup and a paint job. We have been working together for a long time and I know he does some of the finest work.

Those links of how to that you guys set, were exactly what I needed although they seemed a little more like here is what you will need and the theory behind a setup more so than telling me exact measurements etc. I am hoping the Danocaster thing works out, but if not I will be right back here to continue this setup, because right now this guitar sucks and is a piece of junk. I do know it is just right around the corner of being something great though and that all depends on the setup. Who knows, I probably screwed it up even more with all my ignorant attempts. Its just a piece of eye candy for right now soon to be stripped down and paint removed.

Someone was saying that a lot of the buzzing can come from the tremolo screw area. I read a little bit about that, but they didn't say why or what they did, just that they did something with it. My trem seems to be really nicely set up right now, but still I don't know. I am really ignorant when it comes to setups. I don't get it, because I have had a Squire strat for decades and that thing was perfect right out of the box. I know Jags tend to have their share of issues anyways, but and a cheaply made quickly thrown together Jag is definitely going to be very problematic if not given the proper attention and that is where I am at. Stay tuned, no pun intended.

[Spitfire7]

Here is the nut for closer inspection. How does that look?

[Spitfire7]

Is there someone out there that could do a professional setup and a Ocean Turquoise Metalic paint job? If so, please do contact me.

[gutter rock]

Honestly, by the pics your guitar looks almost ocean turquoise already. My OTM jag is very greenish in certain light. It is definitely not as blue as LPB. I don't know if I would have it refinished to such a similar color if you aren't happy with it now.

[Spitfire7]

Honestly, by the pics your guitar looks almost ocean turquoise already. My OTM jag is very greenish in certain light. It is definitely not as blue as LPB. I don't know if I would have it refinished to such a similar color if you aren't happy with it now.

Well I think this picture best represents the color almost all of the time.




I am hearing Danocasters OTM is just like an amber'ed LPB.







It is close, but his looks lighter. The color of my guitar is actually very dark and greenish. In warm room light its just about a dark sherwood green.

Dan says, his OTM NEVER goes green, but always stays like an amber'ed LPB. He has a really good color. Plus I actually did like the color on my Jag now, its just that it never cured and is still sticky and tacky where I can put my finger in it. Its covered in print from the bad it arrived in and covered in scuffs and scratches. So even if the new Dano paint is similar I will definitely finally be happy with a solid rock hard paint job.

[gutter rock]

I see. Yeah that pic does lean towards sherwood. You should consider painting it yourself. I did my first one last summer (my sherwood marr copy that I put your tort on) and while it isn't perfect it was fun and has given me confidence to try it again. I think my next attempt will be much better. If I can just decide on a color I can get started on it!