Love/Hate with Johnny Marr

Discussion of newer designs, copies and reissue offset-waist instruments.
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Maggieo
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Re: Love/Hate with Johnny Marr

Post by Maggieo » Thu Jan 10, 2019 9:32 am

RiffRider wrote:
Wed Jan 09, 2019 6:27 pm
Likes:
I really like the neck. I actually have two, and one has a slightly thicker neck profile that feels perfect to me. It's the best feeling neck I've ever played.

The short scale allows for more adventurous chord extensions, and the 7.25 radius is very comfortable, although I fret out on big bends.

The tremolo just feels right for how I play.

The clean tones sound vintage and the dirty sounds snarl. Perfection.

Dislikes:
Volume control-- no range.

String spacing of stock bridge too wide.

Weight ( my "heavy " one is 8 lbs 5 oz, the light one is a fluke at 7 lbs 8 oz)
I'm pretty much on the same page. Oh, and the tone control is shite, too. My bridge doesn't bother me.

Oh and the body is one of the most perfectly sculpted pieces of ergonomics I've ever held. It just melts into me.
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thegumbootman
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Re: Love/Hate with Johnny Marr

Post by thegumbootman » Fri Jan 11, 2019 12:36 am

I used to own this Marr Jag:

Image

I definitely get the love/hate thing. I could not get past the sticky neck, the really low output pickups and the small frets.

I ended up replacing it with this EGC neck Jag that I put together. Similar wiring to the Marr, but with a phase switch instead of that high pass filter thing:

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JONFROMJERSEY
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Re: Love/Hate with Johnny Marr

Post by JONFROMJERSEY » Fri Jan 11, 2019 3:59 am

I got mine about 5 years go and since then have made a few changes/fixes.

I have an Olympic White one. Start there. The finish became almost beige after like two years so I had it refinished in stark white. Now it looks good, aging naturally.

The pickup selector tip was too big and clunky so I put a strat switch tip on it instead.

The pickup selector itself became loose and sloppy so I replaced it after about three years.

The neck was sticky so I sanded it down a little bit.

White pickup covers instead of the cream ones that came with it. I have also periodically had a black pick guard and pick up covers. That looks a bit 80s.

The HPF switches are kind of pointless for me I think. I could do without them but feel compelled to use them since they are there and since Johnny Marr thought they would be such a great idea. I turned them off and unscrewed them from the control plate and tucked them in under the control plate so now I don´t have to see them or think about them. I put a little silver tape over the holes. I would like to buy a blank control plate if I can find one.

I have found that the tuning is pretty string-sensitive. I have tried different gauges from 9s to 12s and I think it really prefers 10s because otherwise it was hard to get the lower strings in tune up and down the neck.

The frets are wearing pretty quickly I think, but they are excellent. Perfect size.

What I love is the shape and feel of the guitar and neck. The rosewood is really nice. The pickups are excellent for both clean and fuzz tones. I play through pedals into a very old Vox amp and recently an old Marshall amp. It always sounds good.

I am satisfied with the volume and tone functions, as well as the tuning machines.

I currently own a 73 Tele and a 66 Mustang, and have owned MANY other guitars in the past 30 years, and the JM Jag is by far the best guitar I have ever owned. You can see signs of quality all over the guitar both inside and out. Sometimes I try some very nice and expensive guitars at the store but nothing has ever been as good as this guitar. I wish I had a band again...

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