Anyone tried Curtis Novak's JMX-JAG Pickups?

Talk about modding or building your own guitar from scratch.
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mr.plastic_soul
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Anyone tried Curtis Novak's JMX-JAG Pickups?

Post by mr.plastic_soul » Mon Apr 24, 2017 2:31 pm

I've been really jonesin' for a Jazzy BUT... I utterly love the feel of my VM Jaguars.

I have two: one in Surf Green which is totally stock (save for a black pickguard upgrade and an Ubik sticker - Philip K Dick anybody?) and the other is Olympic White with custom Buddha jag pickups (in black) and a white pearl pickguard. The Buddha pickups sound so fabulous that it's made using the stock VM Jag a less than exciting prospect.

Ergo why not combine my desire for a Jazzy with my wonderful feeling, yet anemic sounding, unused VM Jag?!?

I've scoured this forum for examples of this being done. Many crow that "It won't sound like a Jazzy anymore!" or "The scale-length will make the pickups sound too dark!"... etc etc, but I'm down to have something that's not quite Jag and not quite Jazzy!

I'm not a woodworker or mechanical person of any kind, so re-routing the pickup cavities is beyond my capabilities. Lo and behold, I come across Curtis Novak JMX-JAG "No Mod" pickups. Check em out here if you don't know what I'm referencing: http://curtisnovak.com/pickups/JMx-Jag.shtml

[Images below are from Curtis Novak's website. I am using them as reference and do not claim to own them in any way]

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Has anyone had any experience with these? Thoughts?!? It seems like the answer to my prayers, and at a very reasonable price!

Another question: how to go about modifying my pickguard? Remember I am not good at this stuff, nor have I the tools to make it happen... if I tried, it would be ugly

I was thinking I could send it back to the guy in Austin (who is a member of this website) who made my white pearl pickguard, to reroute for Jazzy pickups. But would he need a template to line things up properly? Or is that something that could easily be done by an experienced pickguard maker?

Thanks for any responses!

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theworkoffire
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Re: Anyone tried Curtis Novak's JMX-JAG Pickups?

Post by theworkoffire » Mon Apr 24, 2017 2:43 pm

I think Curtis has an arrangement with Pickguardian for supplying the guards - they're the people to cantact.

I'm up to something similar with my current Jag build, but with a straightforward Novak JM neck:

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Re: Anyone tried Curtis Novak's JMX-JAG Pickups?

Post by tylerforyou » Mon Apr 24, 2017 2:48 pm

That pickguard is the tits. We need a thread on that!

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Re: Anyone tried Curtis Novak's JMX-JAG Pickups?

Post by mr.plastic_soul » Mon Apr 24, 2017 2:56 pm

Yeah, I did see that he recommended that arrangement, but the link is dead. I was thinking of emailing them for a template, or I suppose I could send it to them to modify...

BTW, the skateboard deck pickguard is totally groovy! It looks very much like my friend Nick's work. He owns and operates a company called Prisma Guitars that builds custom guitars from skateboard decks.

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Re: Anyone tried Curtis Novak's JMX-JAG Pickups?

Post by theworkoffire » Mon Apr 24, 2017 3:04 pm

tylerforyou wrote:That pickguard is the tits. We need a thread on that!
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=98100&start=45#p1428826 :)

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Embenny
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Re: Anyone tried Curtis Novak's JMX-JAG Pickups?

Post by Embenny » Mon Apr 24, 2017 4:01 pm

I don't know how they sound, but Curtis knows how to wind a great pickup. I'd definitely use 1meg pots, and I've always wondered how those would sound, but all my jags have pickups in them that I am extremely happy with, so I haven't been motivated to gut any of them to find out.

I don't know if they're still available (and I have no affiliation with the seller), but someone was selling a set of JMX-JAG pickups together with a white pickguard for an awesome price on the board a while ago. It seems that the pickups were still available when last bumped a little while ago: http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/vie ... &p=1365060. Even if you didn't want a white pickguard, you could use it as a template for whoever to make a pearl one if that's your preference.
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Re: Anyone tried Curtis Novak's JMX-JAG Pickups?

Post by mr.plastic_soul » Tue Apr 25, 2017 1:28 pm

Unfortunately, it won't allow me access to that thread... :wacko:

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Re: Anyone tried Curtis Novak's JMX-JAG Pickups?

Post by Embenny » Wed Apr 26, 2017 4:36 am

mr.plastic_soul wrote:Unfortunately, it won't allow me access to that thread...
Oh, just saw your post count. Check the FAQ for the classifieds section - I think it requires 50 posts and a message to a mod to gain access.
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