To rewire a MIJ Jaguar or Not - who's done it?

[Johnophean]

Hey all I was thinking about completely gutting out all the wiring, caps & pots of my 15 yr old MIJ Jaguar in the hopes of making it have the wiring (ie-sound) of a Vintage spec Jaguar.
I've done so much work to it since 1995 I figure I might as well go for it.
I also want to wire it to do parallel/series as well on the lead circuit.
I'd need to get the correct wire, pots and caps for the Vintage spec. job but I already have AVRI Jaguar pickups.

I was wondering who has done this and what differances did you notice in the sound etc?
Any compare and contrast stories, any sound samples or videos and pro's & cons?
I am just tired of plugging into a Vintage Jaguar at a boutique store and going "that's it, thats a Jaguar"!
And then coming home and going "wot wah "
This Jaguar has been with me through everything for a loong time and always comes out on top as the most used, live and in the studio of all the 30+ something guitars I've had, but yet...
it still lacks that sparkle, that clarity, the Leo Fender American Made Jaguar sound we and so many all around the world through past and present love. Think of the tone of the classic players ...
From My Bloody Valentine to Johnny Marr to Lenny Haise in "The Wonders".
So I ask...will changing the wiring and electrical in this MIJ workhorse give my magical musical friend it's due reward?

[Orang Goreng]

Changing the pickups: yes. Changing the rest will, IMHO, mostly be cosmetic improvements, and you might wonder if that's useful considering how everything is under the guard and control plates. The parallel/series mod is super-easy to do and a useful addition.

But yeah, I've done exactly that, change PUs (within a month of buying it in 1989 or so); unreal improvement. I added the series thing in much more recent years, and it's a fun sound. Everything else is still there, and I see no reason to change it as I'm very happy with the sound.

[Johnophean]

Does it at least improve the tone of the guitar to get better pots and caps though than the stock MIJ ones it came with?

[Orang Goreng]

There's nothing wrong with the pots and caps in mine, so I can't see how to improve on that . Replacing a resistor by another resistor with the same value, or a capacitor by another capacitor with the same value... sure, there can be some differences, but for a large part that has to do with how different each component is from the ideal value it should have. If you don't like the way the guitar sounds when you've replaced the PUs, then you can start playing around with different pots and caps (you might want to try different values than the ones the official schematic calls for, you can't break a guitar that way). But if it's doesn't sound broken to begin with, there's no need to fix stuff. Of course, that's a matter of personal preference. If you like to tinker, just knock yourself out .

[Johnophean]

The pickups don't really bother me, although I feel like the neck (through the Lead Circuit) is a bit muddy.
I do actually use the Rhythm circuit and it has always been a part of my sound.
I feel like wehn I play the Jaguar, I play the Jaguar, not as an instrument but a machine. It's not like playing just guitar.
After playing with it since 1995 and using all the switches and each differant sound in between songs choruses and verses etc it has become a part of me. It's my second oldest guitar and dozens have come and gone since it but it still is the one I use the most when writing songs for my own music or doing film scores, studio work etc.
When I installed the AVRI pickups back in 2005 the Jaguar had 3 humbuckers in it before. (I guitar has had more work on it than Michael Jackson's nose).
I switched the 500K pots back to the 1Meg pots that it came with in 1995.
A funny thing then happened. Somehow the tone knob became reversed and when all the way ON was Off, and all the way OFF was a snarky half cocked wah tone. Dunno how this happened but somehow it sounded way cooler than a regualr TONE know turned all the way down.
I think I rewired it wrong or I may have fried the TONE pots capacitor w/ the soldering gun. Weird any which way.
I just feel like maybe it isn't getting the true JAGUAR tone it can and thought maybe vintage spec caps and pots would help.

[sookwinder]

maybe slightly off topic , but have you seen:
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[null.fuzz]

There's nothing wrong with the pots and caps in mine, so I can't see how to improve on that . Replacing a resistor by another resistor with the same value, or a capacitor by another capacitor with the same value... sure, there can be some differences, but for a large part that has to do with how different each component is from the ideal value it should have. If you don't like the way the guitar sounds when you've replaced the PUs, then you can start playing around with different pots and caps (you might want to try different values than the ones the official schematic calls for, you can't break a guitar that way). But if it's doesn't sound broken to begin with, there's no need to fix stuff. Of course, that's a matter of personal preference. If you like to tinker, just knock yourself out .

I usually don't do this, but +1 w/ emphasis added. But if it just doesn't sound "right" compared to other ones you've played it can't hurt. If it were mine and the neck pickup was too muddy, I'd definitely do it - because that's what I'd use most of the time. If I knew the wiring was 100% correct I'd probably even replace the pickup.

[ohm-men]

I have completelly rewired a CIJ Jaguar(s) and Jazzmaster(s) a few years back with cloth wire, CTS pots, etc, etc...when upgrading the pu's.
It's a lot of work and like Orang said, mostly cosmetic. Apart from the Pu's I hear no difference at all. A pot is a pot, a cap is a cap, wire is wire.
There is no audible difference in sound, tone, etc.

The pu's are the difference, so is properly shielding the guitar. Other then that, I would not call in an improvement.
The real upside if you use cloth wire, it's far easier to solder, re-solder swap parts etc.

I you want to improve your "tone" "sound" then a pu upgrade, bone nut, aftermarket bridge and AVRI or vintage trem are "audible" upgrades, meaning the "alter" your sound. I'd just go with a new nut, bridge and Pu's and you'll love the JAG. If you are a heavy trem user, then also upgrade the trem.
And while your at it, change the jack with a switchcraft one. (especialy since your MIJ jack is at least 14 years old by now)

[Johnophean]

Very true, the pickups were changed 5 years ago to AVRI Jag PU's and the bridge was changed 11 years ago to a Gibson Nashville bridge. I recently have been using the tremolo more and more but it may just be a fad as listening to more and more My Bloody Valentine and Dinosaur Jr. does that.
Gotta love the seasons changing and bringing on the yearly musical Nostalgia kicks.
But then again when don't I listen to anything from this decade? HAha.
Thanks guys for all the help.
Can't wait to do the SERIES/PARALLEL mod though. Just don't know if I should go w/ the Strangle/Bass Cut or a phase switch on the 3rd switch. I have a few other ideas as well but none w/ audio examples floating in my brain just what I think in my head from being a studio engineer for over a decade and what it would be like EQ and resonance/tone wise...but that usually is a bust when dealing w/ stuff like this and it's never what u visioned in your brains ears it'd actually be.
Anyone ever think about putting a Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster w/ it's 3 way DIP switch in a Jaguar?
See i'm nuts...I need to sleep more.