What's on your workbench right now?

[kifla]

I take it you took a flight back to Europe? Those are the worst

Word! And in two weeks...back to the States

[Embenny]

I have this very special John Squire Jag build on my workbench! The pickups are super cool - they're custom made by Fletcher pickups with a bar magnet underneath and ferrous screws on the outer coils like a standard humbucker, but with Alnico rods instead of the slugs!

The roller slots are going to house 3-way slider switches that will pick between one or other or both coils per pickup

That's amazing in every way. I've long wanted to experiment with that exact configuration. It's what Gibson did on the old Victory MVX pickups in the 80s, and as far as I can tell the design was abandoned ever since then.

Never made much sense to me, since it seemed like literally the best way for a humbucker to split to a proper-sounding single coil.

Did you have the bobbins wound asymmetrically? That would be my only tweak to the basic Victory formula - wind the alnico pole coil until the bobbin is completely filled with 42 AWG wire (maybe even step down to 43 AWG), and then wind the screw coil a little lighter than a PAF, maybe to ~3k with the same wire, to keep the humbucker's tone from getting too dark.

Wouldn't be a good fit for a 3-way slider like on yours (the screw coil would be hella thin), but would be great in a regular toggle/push-pull setup, or with a dial-a-tap.

I really ought to get into winding my own pickups. I find it utterly fascinating.

[Shadoweclipse13]

...
Any thoughts?

I haven't made a set neck yet myself. It's a more advanced skill for sure. If you want a simpler option, Potvin sells a bolt on explorer template. Then, firebird drawings are readily available online and you can print those to scale and use them to shape a paddle headstock neck and position your pickups.

Another option is to buy a few basic templates for things like neck pockets, bridges, and firebird pickups, while making your own explorer template using full scale prints of the explorer plans glued to mdf. It's a relatively simple shape, being mostly straight edges, so it shouldn't be too difficult to recreate the body or pickguard.

Also, exoticwoodzone.com has a bunch of options for explorer sized body blanks.

Good luck!

I'll just say in advance of any post or PM that I've missed, that this year has been crazy and I apologize to anyone who I didn't yet reply to. Thanks for the reply on this! I haven't bought any templates yet, but I may do so very soon. I haven't started the project at all yet, and am still debating on a few things before I do.

[Insomnicide]

IMG_20221123_172119_981 by Rosie Brennan, on Flickr

Making progress on the sharkbyte Jag. Got it strung up. Need to reposition the vibrato as it's a bit askew. Will wire it up and rock it for a while to see how I feel about it. Probably needs a bit more work refining the belly cut and sharkbyte, as well as a lot more sanding. It's fun though.

[seenoevil II]

IMG_20221123_172119_981 by Rosie Brennan, on Flickr

Making progress on the sharkbyte Jag. Got it strung up. Need to reposition the vibrato as it's a bit askew. Will wire it up and rock it for a while to see how I feel about it. Probably needs a bit more work refining the belly cut and sharkbyte, as well as a lot more sanding. It's fun though.

When I look at this, I think of Beachwood. Could anything be more surfy than that? Any thoughts on a finish?

[Insomnicide]

When I look at this, I think of Beachwood. Could anything be more surfy than that? Any thoughts on a finish?

Thanks! It's old rescued Tas Oak. I put a stain on it and then sanded most of it off. Will probably just sand it back more so the stain is only in the grain/ cracks, then go for another clear coat. I've got a water based clear that I brush on these days as I'm trying to avoid using rattlecans.

[s_mcsleazy]

did the mods to my bandmate's bullet mustang. it's a 90's super distortion and an unknown mustang pickup that's loud as hell. they said "i trust your judgement" i certainly hope so.

[Shadoweclipse13]

That's rad Sean !! I love the color and pickups and everything about it!!

[Dr Tony Balls]

Whenever i'm making a new pedal model I always make one for myself just so that I have one. Usually it's in some old mistake of an enclosure with plugged holes or chipped paint...whatever i have on hand. The other day I made a prototype of a new *very light* overdrive circuit that got the royal treatment and went in a Gorva Design S90 enclosure in some kind of bass boat purple-to-green sparkle finish that I just happened to have around. Shit is pretty as hell and will probably look better than the actual production units hahaha.

[ThePearDream]

I did a clean rewire to my VM Jag, using three different diagrams, and I got everything right the first time. Then I replaced the maple board neck with my 27" conversion neck and tuned it to C#



The PV65 pickups sound as great as ever. I think this is pretty conclusive proof that Jaguar pickups are all around great, and can sound good in any scale or tuning.

[Skarrgus]

I did a clean rewire to my VM Jag, using three different diagrams, and I got everything right the first time. Then I replaced the maple board neck with my 27" conversion neck and tuned it to C#



The PV65 pickups sound as great as ever. I think this is pretty conclusive proof that Jaguar pickups are all around great, and can sound good in any scale or tuning.

Have you considered whiting out the neck?

[hulakatt]

I did a clean rewire to my VM Jag, using three different diagrams, and I got everything right the first time. Then I replaced the maple board neck with my 27" conversion neck and tuned it to C#



The PV65 pickups sound as great as ever. I think this is pretty conclusive proof that Jaguar pickups are all around great, and can sound good in any scale or tuning.

That white out look is fantastic and really makes that fretboard stand out!

[ThePearDream]

Have you considered whiting out the neck?

That hadn't occurred to me. The previous version with the pale maple neck may have been just right for you.

That white out look is fantastic and really makes that fretboard stand out!

Thanks so much!
For anyone interested, it is a zebrawood fretboard.

[Dr Tony Balls]

LIGHT-ASS DRIVE:





https://youtu.be/DevYbyXFD48

[Norrin Radd]

I did a clean rewire to my VM Jag, using three different diagrams, and I got everything right the first time. Then I replaced the maple board neck with my 27" conversion neck and tuned it to C#



The PV65 pickups sound as great as ever. I think this is pretty conclusive proof that Jaguar pickups are all around great, and can sound good in any scale or tuning.

NICE!

Mind if I ask where you sourced those white thumbwheels?