Can a Mustang be Jaguarized?

[WilburBufferson]

I'm not talking about a Jagstang. I know a lot of the sound of a Jag is the bridge and tremolo, but both guitars are the same scale length. One obvious difference is the angling (and possibly position) of the pickups along the length of the strings. So the question is... if a custom pickguard was made for a mustang that put the pickups in the same spot/angle, relative to a Jaguar, how close could you get to that Jag sound? BTW, I am contemplating all of this with respect to one of the newer hardtail Mustangs.

[adamrobertt]

IMO slapping a Jaguar pickguard w/claw into one would probably go a long way.

[andy_tchp]

Not very.

And a hardtail? Even less.

[alexpigment]

One thing I realized a few years ago is that you have to get an amp fairly loud (gig volume) for you to not hear any pick attack, rattles and buzzes, ringing behind the bridge, etc. The vast majority of time you're hearing some mix of an electric and acoustic sound, and Jags have a particularly unique acoustic sound. In that respect, I think you're going to have a hard time getting a guitar with Jaguar pickups and a hardtail bridge to sound like an actual Jaguar with a floating bridge and tremolo. And of course, there are elements of a guitar that have an effect on the amplified sound too.

All that being said, try it out if there's a Mustang you have your heart set on. The pickups alone might be exactly the sound you're going for, even if they're just one element of the Jaguar sound. For what it's worth, my main Jazzmaster doesn't sound exactly like a Tele, but the Tele bridge pickup in it does exactly what I want it to.

[WilburBufferson]

Does anyone know how much the sound changes with slanted (e.g., mustang, duosonic) pickups versus those that are perpendicular (i.e., Jaguar)?

[alexpigment]

Typical slanted pickups (i.e. the high E string is closer to the bridge) will have more treble and less tight bass. It's not a huge effect in the grand scheme of things, and in my experience it's akin to turning the treble knob up on your amp a little bit. The essential character/timbre will still be there.

[andy_tchp]

Does anyone know how much the sound changes with slanted (e.g., mustang, duosonic) pickups versus those that are perpendicular (i.e., Jaguar)?

Almost no change at all.

You might pick it in a blind A/B test played clean, probably imperceptible in a band/ensemble setting.

The 'bones' of the guitar will be the same and so will the main character as alexpigment mentioned.

[WilburBufferson]

Thanks to all! You've probably saved me a lot of time hunting down custom pickguards. (What I really want is a small offset with a sustainer like Johnny Marr's, but that is a whole other ball of wax!!!!)

[alexpigment]

By that description, I'd say look for a Fernandes JG-65s (probably have to get it used from Japan - I've only seen a handful in the US). Those only come with a sustainer lite, which means that there are no harmonic modes on the sustainer, but "small offset" is a perfect description for the guitar. On the other hand, if you can find a Fernandes Decade Elite (the one Billy Corgan used during their 98 tour), that has the full sustainer. Lastly, the brand Sustainiac sells basically the same concept as the Fernandes sustainer that you can put into various guitars. I'd recommend something with a lot of cavity routes so that you could more easily fit the circuit board, battery, switches, etc.

For what it's worth, I have a Fernandes MIJ guitar (Retrorocket I think?) with a sustainer in it, but I've been wanting to install a sustainer on a JM for years now. Keep us updated on your progress