Join the Jaguar build thread - 2024

[MayTheFuzzBeWithYou]

I didn't see you were from Austria, I'm based in France so I have the same custom/shipping issues as you. Can you give the names of these two shops?

That‘s the weird one

And that‘s the German one - they sell regular Jag and a 25,5“ version too (which I‘m currently selling to make room - and also because it‘s a bit heavy for me. Would probably be good to discuss body thickness, cavity depth and stuff like that before ordering.

[beauzooka]

First pic:

[BTL]

Looking good!

[Daitong II]

Ah, you’re the one who bought that one. I was looking at it, but alas.

Looks great man!

[beauzooka]

Ah, you’re the one who bought that one. I was looking at it, but alas.

Looks great man!

Thanks! There was actually two in a row that looked the same. I missed out on the first but snagged the second one.
It's a little more green than it appears in the pic.

[MayTheFuzzBeWithYou]

Ohhhh wow! Sick colour! Love it!

[John Cassady]

I didn't see you were from Austria, I'm based in France so I have the same custom/shipping issues as you. Can you give the names of these two shops?

That‘s the weird one

And that‘s the German one - they sell regular Jag and a 25,5“ version too (which I‘m currently selling to make room - and also because it‘s a bit heavy for me. Would probably be good to discuss body thickness, cavity depth and stuff like that before ordering.

Thanks. The German one could be interesting, but they give very little info on the specs :/

I think I've made up my mind and will go with Guitar Build

[OffYourFace]

First pic:

What's the story with this fantastic looking body?? who made it?

[alexpigment]

What's the story with this fantastic looking body?? who made it?

Pretty sure it's this "Ice Green" MJT that was in my eBay saved search results a few weeks ago:

[OffYourFace]

ahhh ok cool, thanks

[carausius]

I really like the JG thinline with the Ricky style slash hole. Are the top & bottom both alder? I'm not sure exactly how it's constructed? Probably like a Telecaster thinline.



I have my master template set here ready to go, gotta make some body & neck MDF copy templates, I'm going to try out that JG slash hole if I can do it?

Hardwood prices still going up, 1.2m 194mm X 44mm Cherry PAR £57.6, Sapele (Mahogany) £37.44. Probably Ash or even Maple would be lighter in weight LOL! I can't find Alder anywhere?

A JG thinline with two layers of 20mm Ash or Cherry body so about 1.575" or 1 9/16" thickness plus glue thats close enough to 1 5/8". It'll be way lighter than my Jazzmaster body.

As previously done by Deed Poll 4 piece JG thinline body nicely bookmatched. https://www.tdpri.com/threads/thinline-jaguar.1080234/

[Guitarslinger21]

My first forum reply!

Just finished this one a few days ago.

I got this pine mjt body on ebay. Warmoth neck. Creamery extra width pickups. Pickford pickguard. Usa trem. I had lots of trouble with this build. Lol.
Made a mistake assuming the width of my TOM posts were going to be closer than they were to the jag bridge post width. Had to buy the kluson offset conversion posts to fix it. Worked great. Also had to shim this neck a lot with the height of the TOM. (Probably not using a tom next time.

Sounds good though. These pickups rock.

[MayTheFuzzBeWithYou]

I really like the JG thinline with the Ricky style slash hole. Are the top & bottom both alder? I'm not sure exactly how it's constructed? Probably like a Telecaster thinline.



I have my master template set here ready to go, gotta make some body & neck MDF copy templates, I'm going to try out that JG slash hole if I can do it?

Hardwood prices still going up, 1.2m 194mm X 44mm Cherry PAR £57.6, Sapele (Mahogany) £37.44. Probably Ash or even Maple would be lighter in weight LOL! I can't find Alder anywhere?

A JG thinline with two layers of 20mm Ash or Cherry body so about 1.575" or 1 9/16" thickness plus glue thats close enough to 1 5/8". It'll be way lighter than my Jazzmaster body.

As previously done by Deed Poll 4 piece JG thinline body nicely bookmatched. https://www.tdpri.com/threads/thinline-jaguar.1080234/

Yes, Alder Top on Alder Body. But in comparison to my Fender MIJ Thinline Jaguar - which is swamp ash top and bottom and alder sides - there is a lot more „open room“ - meaning I have no idea how to shield this thing…

[carausius]

Yes, Alder Top on Alder Body. But in comparison to my Fender MIJ Thinline Jaguar - which is swamp ash top and bottom and alder sides - there is a lot more „open room“ - meaning I have no idea how to shield this thing…

My 1963 Jaguar had a thin aluminium sheet underneath the wiring channels & at the bottom of the pickup channels. Most Japan MIJ CIJ models do have black conductive paint in the wiring / control channels.
I did add thin brass sheet on the bottom of the wiring channels & control panels on my Jazzmaster build. Then connected wires in between them.

My Rickenbackers, a 300 & a 360 / 12, neither has shielding on the acrylic control plate or anywhere else. Just lightly twisted wires together & adjacent wires passing at right angles. I don't think many semi / hollow body guitars have shielding in the cavities, I've also looked at Epiphone, Gretsch & not seen any. Does the Telecaster thinline even have any shielding in the cavities?

Meanwhile I've used a Bosch jigsaw with a Bosch hardwood blade to cut a pair of 24 3/4" Jaguar & Jazzmaster necks from a block of American Maple. My coping saw blades had trouble with this maple & 2 of them broke LOL!



Once I've carved the first neck & drilled the neck plate holes I'll confirm the details with the Jazzmaster 24 3/4" neck & body.

The JM 24 3/4" neck is actually shorter from the nut to the heel, mostly because the bridge to heel JM distance is 7 1/8", compared to JG distance of 6 1/4".

Custom conversion neck / scale calculations

Standard Jaguar neck
S = Jaguar 24" scale = 24"
BH = Jaguar Bridge to heel (neck pocket edge) = 6.25"
NL = Jaguar nut to neck end 17.75"

S - BH = NL

Jaguar 24.75" scale neck (add required headstock length after nut width)

24.75 - 6.25 = 18.5

Jazzmaster 24.75" scale neck (+ headstock length)

Jazzmaster BH (Bridge to Heel) = 7.125"

24.75 - 7.125 = 17.625"

[Surfysonic]

I removed my Kinman Surf Jag pickups from my Marrguar and re-installed the stock Bare Knuckle pickups (which sound great). I love my Marrguar but it is a bit heavier than I like (9 lbs). I have a Vintera '60s Jaguar (8 lbs) that has Fender Pure Vintage '65 Jaguar pickups. It's a terrific guitar and I'm fine (now, lol) with the Pau Ferro fretboard. Both guitars have 7.25" radius necks that have thick necks that I prefer.

So, what to do with the Kinman Surf Jag pickups? Why, put together my first Jaguar build, of course. In this build, I'm going with a B&B 9.5" radius neck.

I ordered some components along with some existing stuff I had on hand. I'll list out with cost per component as best I'm able.

Jaguar 2-piece Alder body with a "Blue Metal" poly finish, made in China, sold by "Kevin's G-Shop" on eBay - $109.99. I was planning to refinish the body either in Sherwood Green or Lake Placid Blue but this color is so lovely that I don't have the heart to refinish it. It sometimes has an almost Ocean Turquoise tint to it. Really well-done body with no discernible flaws for a great low price.

Roasted Jaguar/Mustang Maple neck with Rosewood fretboard, Block & Binding, , Modern C-shape, 9.5" radius, 24" scale, sold by"Guitar Closet" from New Mexico on eBay - $ 147.87. Thickness at 1st fret: 21.5mm and Thickness at 12th fret: 23.0 mm. I prefer a matching headstock but I clearly don't have a matching color for the neck headstock. So I went with what I had on hand that was close-ish...Gracey's Vintage Finishes Lake Placid Blue. Not a perfect match as the LPB is slightly darker, but it doesn't clash and hey, this isn't going to have a Fender Jaguar logo on it, so the world's my oyster. Very impressed with the neck build quality. Super happy with the neck.

Kinman Surf Jag pickups - $407.00 - Outstanding noiseless Jaguar pickups.

Spitfire pickguard - bought used here on OSG some years back. Pairs nicely with this Blue Metal body finish.

Fender Chrome Jaguar Jazzmaster Vibrato Tremolo Tailpiece & Arm (swapped out the stock white arm tip with a Mastery black UFO tip) - $119. Bought on Reverb.

Guitar Cavity Shielding Ground Lug with Screw and Ground Wire - $4.59. Bought on Reverb. I bought 4 of them (2 for this build, 2 for future builds). In the photos, I have a bunch of old ground wires, too. I know I won't be needing so many, but it's nice to have some for backup.

Hoagland Custom Handcrafted Jaguar Wiring Harness - OD cap - 3 Pieces for Guitars w/Routing Holes - $179. Bought on Reverb, based on recommendations here on OSG.

Decoboom ATOMIC RINGS Engraved Nickel Neckplate - $22. I've probably bought 3 of these now - love the atomic rings and it's in keeping with this build (more on that, later).

Steel Mustang bridge, black, 9.5" Radius with post thimbles - $26.77

Standard Fender Tuners & Standard Bushings, Volume and Tone Jazzmaster knobs, Fender strap buttons - stuff I had on hand, don't remember the prices, sorry.

Here are some photos of my gathered components:













Hope to get it all put together over the coming weekend if time permits. Oh, I also created a new logo since the neck & body aren't Fender-licensed. I've been having a blast creating the logo in MS Word. Along with watching some excellent YT tutorials, I got some great tips/help from Chris (HNB), who made my "Surfysonic" logo for my last Jazzmaster build.