Squier VM Build Project

Talk about modding or building your own guitar from scratch.
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Acidhouse
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Squier VM Build Project

Post by Acidhouse » Fri May 25, 2018 4:02 am

I have a few guitars and with them are always projects. My recent goal has been to complete as many as possible. I’m tired of having so many around. One long term project was a VM Jag neck and body that I bought off CL a while back. I bought some parts for it but not enough to complete. I’ve finally bought all the parts and I am starting to put it together. I’m really excited about it as I’ve wanted a Jag for a while. Originally, the goal was to put this together for the price of a used VM Jag. I might be getting closer to the price of a new one. Oh well. It will be unique to me.

It’s an Oly White model. The only thing it came with was the trem and of course, no trem arm.

Parts I’ve bought:

Rose Magic Dragons
Jag wiring kit from eyeguitar
Cream Jag/Mustang knobs from Reverb
Three control plates off of eBay
Mustang style bridge, (can’t remember the source but I bought two and upgraded my SX SJM 57 bridge too).
Cream pearloid pickguard
Wilkinson vintage tuners eBay. (Shipping was too much from GFS).

One thing I realized is that this will be a white guitar. The switches are white, pickup covers are white and the pickguard and knobs are cream. Usually, I would want something to offset it like the pg, but I decided to roll with it. There is very little on this that will be Squier so I didn’t want to go out of my way to recreate the factory white Squier VM Jag look.

Parts that are on the way are the tuners, volume and tone knob control plate, pickguard, and knobs. I already started piecing together the parts with the switch plates. I’m hoping to have everything or most everything here by early next week.

Anyway, thanks for reading the long post. I may very well be posting some wiring help in the near future but I wanted to start an intro thread to the build first.

I pulled off a wiring diagram from Seymour Duncan but I was much more impressed with the one that came from eye guitar. It seems much easier to decipher.

I will try and post some pics once I figure it out. I’m a Photobucket refugee and haven’t found a replacement hosting site yet.

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aliendawg
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Re: Squier VM Build Project

Post by aliendawg » Fri May 25, 2018 5:45 am

Nice! Looking forward to see it.

btw Imgur has been great so far
"With the resurgence of offsets it seems like we're also seeing a resurgence of people who don't know what to do with them" - 601210

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Acidhouse
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Re: Squier VM Build Project

Post by Acidhouse » Fri May 25, 2018 11:07 am

Luiz Spindola wrote:
Fri May 25, 2018 5:45 am
Nice! Looking forward to see it.

btw Imgur has been great so far
Thanks, I will check that out.

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Acidhouse
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Re: Squier VM Build Project

Post by Acidhouse » Sun May 27, 2018 10:47 am

This was a couple of days ago. I'm ditching the pickguard as it is a bad fit.

Image

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Acidhouse
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Re: Squier VM Build Project

Post by Acidhouse » Fri Mar 27, 2020 4:45 pm

Holy Hell! I finally finished this never ending project.

Corona Quarantine has its upsides.

Image

Image

This was my inspiration

Image
Last edited by Acidhouse on Sat Mar 28, 2020 6:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Acidhouse
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Re: Squier VM Build Project

Post by Acidhouse » Fri Mar 27, 2020 6:19 pm

Can’t seem to post pics. Argh!!!

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jthomas
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Re: Squier VM Build Project

Post by jthomas » Fri Mar 27, 2020 7:38 pm

Great pickguard against the white! Look forward to seeing the finished git.

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Acidhouse
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Re: Squier VM Build Project

Post by Acidhouse » Fri Mar 27, 2020 8:10 pm

Thanks. I actually switched to a white pearl pickguard. That one was a really poor fit.

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timtam
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Re: Squier VM Build Project

Post by timtam » Fri Mar 27, 2020 10:01 pm

Misfits seem to be par for the course with jag partscasters because they have so many interfaces that have to match up. Count yourself lucky if things are 'close'. But a few pickguard and/or plate holes sometimes need filling/re-drilling. And the pickguard edges where they meet the plates may need a little filing. Unless you have original parts from the same source as the body.

BTW you need a URL that ends in ".jpg" for image links.
"I just knew I wanted to make a sound that was the complete opposite of a Les Paul, and that’s pretty much a Jaguar." Rowland S. Howard.

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StrangeIdols
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Re: Squier VM Build Project

Post by StrangeIdols » Fri Mar 27, 2020 11:02 pm

timtam wrote:
Fri Mar 27, 2020 10:01 pm
Misfits seem to be par for the course with jag partscasters because they have so many interfaces that have to match up. Count yourself lucky if things are 'close'. But a few pickguard and/or plate holes sometimes need filling/re-drilling. And the pickguard edges where they meet the plates may need a little filing.
I had that happen to me with my jag, ended up scraping about 2mm off the bit of the pickguard below the rhythm circuit plate. Looks nice from afar but it's far from nice

Anyone got a guess as to why jag parts seem to be hit or miss with fittings sometimes? The body size/shape difference between vintage/us/overseas can't be that significant, right?

Edit: forgot to add, it's shaping up to be a nice guitar OP! It's a shame about the first guard but white pearl on white always looks class!

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Acidhouse
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Re: Squier VM Build Project

Post by Acidhouse » Sat Mar 28, 2020 6:22 pm

Finally got the pics up. Still a little hum but it goes away when I put my hand to the bridge. Probably will resolder the grounds and put on some shielding tape on the back of the pg. I’m also planning on upgrading to a better bridge and maybe dropping a Fender trem as opposed to the cheap trem.

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aliendawg
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Re: Squier VM Build Project

Post by aliendawg » Sat Mar 28, 2020 8:08 pm

Wow!! Congrats! It looks good
"With the resurgence of offsets it seems like we're also seeing a resurgence of people who don't know what to do with them" - 601210

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Acidhouse
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Re: Squier VM Build Project

Post by Acidhouse » Sat Mar 28, 2020 8:11 pm

I just realized that my inspiration picture is actually the Jag of a fellow forum member Jim93. I really loved the look of his white on white on white.

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