JAG-STANG Prototype - Reverse Engineering

[Rgand]

It sure looks like the vintage Daphne on the Jagstang is the one, doesn't it?

[AcrylicSuperman]

It sure looks like the vintage Daphne on the Jagstang is the one, doesn't it?

Yep. Because the custom shop had such a small amount of time to finish the guitar, they needed a clear coat that would dry in about 24 hours. Because nitro takes so long to cure, it was never a viable option. Because SW didnt have anything close to Daphne (they have a color called daphne but it is a dark, dark blue gray) Larry used old SW sonic blue as a base and essentially darkened it to try to match the nitro color without having any nitro in it. Of course, a clear coat will also change the color a bit too.

I have one color, high resolution photo of kurt playing the jagstang and while there are lights hitting it pretty hard, namely reds and yellows, he is holding it at an angle. At that angle, you can see the gloss shine and the one thing you can take from that photo is that while the clear is high gloss, the clear coat is also shallow, which I believe is Larry's attempt to preserve the color beneath it.

[Rgand]

This has been one of the more fun threads to follow. Your research is tops.

[AcrylicSuperman]

Thanks. It has been, for me, 15 years in the making. Amon and I crossed paths at the perfect time. We really basically had two different pieces of puzzle. Pretty much everything but that finish came together relatively easily.

There were a lot of legends around this guitar the we were able to prove false, some true and very few unconfirmed.

The time just happened to be now. The technology existed. Some of the people involved were still around. In a world where whatever records existed of this guitar is on a floppy disk and probably in a landfill somewhere, we were still able to put it together and I think that is miraculous in its own right. As a Nirvana fan, I see the Jagstang as one of the final pieces of Kurt's legacy left behind. I personally think it is a shame that is took this long for the guitar to be uncovered. I have no doubt that the first jagstang wasn't considered perfect, but you can absolutely see where it was starting to go. I wonder how he would have reacted to the second prototype had he lived. I'm sure that one wasn't perfect either, but I can't help but imagine it was a lot closer for his final vision. I do personally think that had he got the red one and maybe a couple others, the blue one would have likely been wrecked as he fought with it so much to make it something it simply wasn't.

[dc]

this might be best OSG thread ever, and that's not dissing anyone -

[AcrylicSuperman]

I wanted to add something to this in case anyone decides to replicate this guitar in the future. As far as I can tell, Fender only makes the Texas Special right handed, so if you are a lefty, the right handed texas special is historically accurate. However, if you are a righty, you will need to rout the neck pickup cavity backwards and install the pickup upside down. Not a big deal or anything. I just wanted to throw that out there to save everyone from searching for a left handed texas special.

[lhwarp]

Well, Amon 7.L... I was unsure, but yes - the Jag-Stang did indeed exist in LH as a regular model :



I even saw one last year on a local (French) craiglist - exactly the same color - It was an UK import and the guy asked for 1000 Euros, IIRC.

-lhwarp

[Amon 7.L]

It sure looks like the vintage Daphne on the Jagstang is the one, doesn't it?

Right on the spot, Sir

This has been one of the more fun threads to follow. Your research is tops.

Thanks a lot Rgand, much appreciated.

Thanks. It has been, for me, 15 years in the making. Amon and I crossed paths at the perfect time. We really basically had two different pieces of puzzle.

Pretty much so, mate.
"Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.”
This time we got the very good one.

this might be best OSG thread ever, and that's not dissing anyone -

You're too kind. Thanks a lot dc.

[Amon 7.L]

Well, Amon 7.L... I was unsure, but yes - the Jag-Stang did indeed exist in LH as a regular model :



I even saw one last year on a local (French) craiglist - exactly the same color - It was an UK import and the guy asked for 1000 Euros, IIRC.

-lhwarp

Yup, the left handed Jag-Stang exists and was only produced during the first run.
It was available in both blue and fiesta red and it's a very rare specimen, especially the "sonic blue" ones (those -to my knowledge- are all finished in what we now know being the Citroen "pacific green", just like the guitar you've posted) which price has skyrocketed throughout the years.
I managed to play one in Denmark Street in 2009 and even thou I don't remember the exact price it was already a bit more than 1000£, the neck was amazing to say the least.

[Amon 7.L]

Welcome back to another episode of "C.S.I.: Jagstang forensic luthiery (copyright fellow dc)" - OSG edition.

I know we have already provided a full array of technical & photographic amount of evidence to support our foundings about the Jagstang prototype being a custom colour that is meant to reproduce the good old vintage Daphne Blue, we've got all of our check boxes filled and we've been satisfied enough to consider all of our work complete.

Yet, I've got a surprise for you.
If you followed this thread from the beginning, you know by now that the reverse-engineering has been worked out by using pictures & frame-shots I've taken out the rare apparitions of the Jagstang. The colour was something that bugged me from the get go, and in an ideal world, we would have simply had to put the CIJ sonic blue Mustang and the deceitful blue-ish Jagstang side by side to spot how do they differ from each other.
I never had the chance to do that easily, the best I could do was taking two snapshot from the same show with the same type of stage lighting and judging by naked eye. I re-attach the old comparison:


They indeed look different, we know now that after all the research has been done later until completion.

Today, my partner in crime AcrylicSuperman sent me a link to a video of the second apparition of the Jagstang suggesting me that even though It is hit with a ton of lights there are two moments where the it gets hit with just a regular stage light and that guitar becomes absolutely daphne.
He also pointed me that during Drain You, he broke a string, indicating that there is still a burr in the saddle.

I had already seen the Drain You video in question, but it wasn't the full concert, it was just that very song.
So, I went on and watched the rest of the show.... At a certain point during Lithium, from 37:05 onwards, Kurt broke a string AGAIN, this time off his Mustang, then this happened and my jaw dropped. Look it up.
https://youtu.be/A24-uYN6ALA?t=2221

(AcrylicSuperman, this is for you, mate!) Here's a GIF I've put together. It's the final proof.
I'm giving you: Daphne Blue Jagstang Prototype next to Sonic Blue Mustang:


I took several snap-shots and put'em together at slow pace in order to see each passage clearly.
Thanks to Big John Duncan who brought the Jagstang onstage we now have the very last piece of evidence that confirms our hard work.
Same show, same stage lights, two guitars next to each other. TWO DISTINCT COLOURS.

Case fully closed.

peace, love, empathy

[AcrylicSuperman]

I thought I would add an enhanced still frame of that moment as well.

[JSutter]

I recently watch that concert. I couldn't believe how many guitar problems he had in one night. You could see his frustration, heck I could feel it.

[Jaguar018]

I am amazed by the research here and attention to detail. Question: did I miss the explanation why you are not using the same wood for the body as on the original?

[AcrylicSuperman]

I recently watch that concert. I couldn't believe how many guitar problems he had in one night. You could see his frustration, heck I could feel it.

I imagine the Mustang was just from Kurt's heavy playing. The Jagstang on the other hand, according to Earnie Bailey was extremely difficult to set up. That is definitely evidenced by that video as he has had the guitar for 41 days at that point and it still isn't functioning right. The beauty of that situation is that Earnie Bailey complained about the problems he had trying to get that guitar set up and we can visibly see it still fail 41 days later. As this show was December, Jim Vincent has taken over for Earnie Bailey. Clearly, it is giving him headaches too.

[Amon 7.L]

Question: did I miss the explanation why you are not using the same wood for the body as on the original?

I couldn't find any alder locally but and at that point I had a very lightweight slab of Okoume Mahogany available, so I went onwards with that.