Old jag pickup wire colors, did they change?

Discussion of vintage Jazzmasters, Jaguars, Bass VIs, Electric XIIs and any other offset-waist instruments.
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DeathJag
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Old jag pickup wire colors, did they change?

Post by DeathJag » Sun Sep 18, 2022 1:20 pm

It has been a dream of mine to hear my fingers playing a vintage guitar through vintage pickups. Ever since I got Johnny's amazing 1965 Jag, I have been searching for period-correct pickups.

A person just parted out two of '65 jag pickups and I won one, but lost out on the other one. The one I got reads 6.3k and has staggered poles and a red wire. Weirdly I put in on the bridge without popping off the cover and looking for a date code (what is wrong with me!). Haven't listened yet but I'm about to practice.

All the jag diagrams mention a yellow and white wire, nothing about a red wire. Any thoughts?

Thank you OSG!

Dan

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Re: Old jag pickup wire colors, did they change?

Post by DeathJag » Sun Sep 18, 2022 6:02 pm

And I'll just answer my own question here! Hope this helps someone besides just me. Neck is yellow and bridge is red.

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Re: Old jag pickup wire colors, did they change?

Post by JSett » Sun Sep 18, 2022 10:40 pm

The bridge pickup in my '67 had red & black wires....

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Silly Rabbit, don't you know scooped mids are for kids?

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Re: Old jag pickup wire colors, did they change?

Post by DeathJag » Mon Sep 19, 2022 4:21 am

johnnysomersett wrote:
Sun Sep 18, 2022 10:40 pm
The bridge pickup in my '67 had red & black wires....

Image
Cool thanks! That's consistent. I think I found a '65 neck pickup which makes it all period-correct except for the bridge. Thanks to your '67 bridge I'm not super crazy about getting a '65 bridge.

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Re: Old jag pickup wire colors, did they change?

Post by JSett » Mon Sep 19, 2022 6:50 am

DeathJag wrote:
Mon Sep 19, 2022 4:21 am
Cool thanks! That's consistent. I think I found a '65 neck pickup which makes it all period-correct except for the bridge. Thanks to your '67 bridge I'm not super crazy about getting a '65 bridge.
Yeah, indeed the vintage bridges are just as fucking shitty and useless as any other stock one. Staytrem, Mustang or Mastery 4 lyf
Silly Rabbit, don't you know scooped mids are for kids?

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Re: Old jag pickup wire colors, did they change?

Post by DeathJag » Mon Sep 19, 2022 8:11 am

Actually I'm getting along pretty well with that '67 bridge!

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Re: Old jag pickup wire colors, did they change?

Post by Highnumbers » Mon Sep 19, 2022 1:56 pm

Yes, typically the bridge position has red & black wires, while the neck position has yellow & black.

The reason for this is to differentiate the pickups on the assembly line because Jaguar (and Jazzmaster) pickups are reverse-wound, reverse-polarity from each other (RWRP). That way they are hum-canceling in the middle position without being out-of-phase.

If you test the polarity of the magnets, one should be south-pole up and the other north-pole up. This makes buying individual Jaguar pickups tricky, because you need to confirm the position and polarity.

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Re: Old jag pickup wire colors, did they change?

Post by DeathJag » Mon Sep 19, 2022 2:54 pm

Highnumbers wrote:
Mon Sep 19, 2022 1:56 pm
Yes, typically the bridge position has red & black wires, while the neck position has yellow & black.

The reason for this is to differentiate the pickups on the assembly line because Jaguar (and Jazzmaster) pickups are reverse-wound, reverse-polarity from each other (RWRP). That way they are hum-canceling in the middle position without being out-of-phase.

If you test the polarity of the magnets, one should be south-pole up and the other north-pole up. This makes buying individual Jaguar pickups tricky, because you need to confirm the position and polarity.
Ah! Dang! So that test is as easy as holding a magnet over the poles and seeing which way it tugs? I noticed the black wires are always toward the floor and the colors facing up towards the rhythm circuit. I did notice the claws are reversed from each other. I think I guessed correctly because the hum is gone with both pickups on.

I won that '65 neck pickup and should have that installed this weekend. Yay!

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Re: Old jag pickup wire colors, did they change?

Post by blacktiger » Tue Oct 04, 2022 8:22 am

DeathJag wrote:
Mon Sep 19, 2022 8:11 am
Actually I'm getting along pretty well with that '67 bridge!
I’ve never had a single problem with a vintage JM/Jag bridge (TBH, I’ve never had much of a problem with reissue ones either). I think all the gunk that works its way into them over the decades works the same as using Loctite…
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