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Post subject: NGD: Say Hello to "Pattie", my Squier VM Jaguar guitar
Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2015 11:29 pm
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Here's Pattie!
My wife forced me to buy it. "YOLO, income tax refund, blah-blah...", so I caved, even though I knew it might be a bit of a project to get it set up.
Pattie likes posing next to the Bridal Wreath Spirea.
(I hope you don't mind large pix. I'm spoiled by FibreOP internet service.)
Image
At this point I've only tried intonating it with the factory strings still on it (.009"-.042"). Not successfully. A Dmaj chord was a real dog's breakfast.

In the box with the guitar: whammy bar, 1.5 mm Allen wrench, 4 mm Allen wrench, a couple of small silica gel packets..
Nothing resembling any kind of documentation, except for the warnings not to eat the silica gel in several languages.

Here's the "before" closeup of the bridge.
Note the fully compressed springs on the low E and A saddles, which precluded any further adjustment; and the high angle of the intonation screws, nearly touching some strings (and actually touching the low E). I could have dropped it a bit lower with the two little grub screws, but then the saddle would not be following the neck radius profile.
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Oops! the bridge tilted back and did not recover, because it slipped under the too-low string pressure, and "snapped" into this position.
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The two posts for the bridge are about 6 mm diameter, while the holes are 8 mm. The bottom of the holes are slightly conical, to keep bottoms of the two bridge height adjustment screws centred.
I had read on the interwebs how some people shimmed the legs with aluminum foil tape (or electrical tape, or heat-shrink tubing), which I did. Here we see just one leg wrapped, so far. I left some wiggle room for it to rock back and forth with whammy bar use. It's and easy thing to undo if I change my mind.
I'm guessing that the two little holes in the pick guard are for if you want to install one of those mythical mute bars.
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Now, I looked closely at the bridge, and notice that except for the string saddles and the holes for the intonation adjustment screws, it appeared to be totally bi-symmetrical, front to back and side to side.

So . . . I rotated the bridge 180º, putting the intonation screw heads on the pickup side instead of the tail. That's was the gimmick.
This gave me a few millimeters of additional room for the saddles to go back (for intonation) and it lowered the intonation screw tips so thst there's no chance of them buzzing on or abrading the undersides of the strings.

I this photo: New strings (Roto "Purples" .012"-.052"), reversed bridge, and intonation adjusted.
I was fairly generous with the "Graphitall" lube at the string tree, nut, and tops of the bridge saddles. Since the bridge rocks with the trem use, I suppose I didn't really need to use any lube on the saddle tops (?) but, force of habit, and it seemed like a good idea at the time.
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The intonation is now such that it's off by only one yellow bar (on my SNARK SN-8 digital tuner) at the first fret for most strings, which is better than on any of my other four electrics. If the strings fitted the nut slots better, I suspect it would be even better, but I prefer not to do irreversible mods to original equipment.

There, doesn't this look better? Lots of clearance under the strings, and it's just as easy to reach the intonation screws with a phillips screwdriver as the other way round.
Image

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Post subject: Re: NGD: Say Hello to "Pattie", my Squier VM Jaguar guitar
Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2015 11:35 pm
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Say Hello to "Pattie" - Part II

About the whammy bar.
Again, Fender/Squier ("Squender"?) is notoriously silent on how to install it, as evidenced by the billions of forum posts on the topic. I mean, it doesn't even have any threads or anything, like the Strat does.

I had it pressed in hard enough that friction would hold it where I left it some times, but not most times, and once it completely fell out when I stood up. I had read some posts about people somehow breaking the collet hidden inside, so I feared to push it any harder.
It look like this, for a day:
Image

Clearly though, what I did was not quite right, so I sucked it up and pressed harder.
Scrape - click!
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And now it's good to go.
It hold position much better than my Strat's trem bar (which has a slightly more robust coil spring than usual at the bottom of the hole, salvaged from a defective hand-held shower sprayer).
I can't say if this is exactly how it looks on other flavours of Jaguars and Jazzmasters, but this is how it looks on my Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Guitar. (See what I did there by spelling out the full name? That's for Forum search engine optimization.)

Another thing I had to do was to pull the volume and tone knobs off and put them back on pointing in any sort of logical direction. I think in the first photo they were both at max clockwise, and not pointing at any sort of logical reference point nor lined up with each other. Now the white mark is at right angles to the strings when cranked up to max, the same as my Strat.
They were on really tight, and I had to put popsicle sticks under them (to protect the chrome finish) and then use thin-bladed screwdrivers on opposite sides to gently pry them off. I gave the slotted pot posts just a wee little squeeze with pliers, and the knobs went back on much more easily.

I really like the tuners with the holes and slots in the top, once I found out that you're supposed to insert the cut end of the string in the hole and then bend it over before winding. That means no sharp pokey ends stabbing you when you're fumbling to switch the clamp-on tuner on and off.

My only remaining problem is how to adjust the trem spring pressure, when there is no trem lock, as there is on most other Jaguars. You're supposed to adjust it so that the rest position of the anchor plate is the same as where it would be when the trem lock switch is in the lock position.
Since I don't have a trem lock to use, then no doubt the anchor plate doesn't have to be exactly anywhere, but I can't help but think that if it's way off, it may affect the tuning after using the trem bar, which is now the symptom. Going from .009"s to .012"s is quite a jump. Occasionally I have to give the trem bar a little tap up or down to bring all the strings back into tune. At least they all go out of tune together. :?

In the future:
- I will take the foil tape shims off the bridge posts. The heavier strings might be enough to do the job.
- This is my first set of Roto strings and my first Jaguar so I don't know exactly what to expect for tone, but I think I'm gonna want .011"s instead of .012's on it. The Roto Purples don't have quite enough brightness for my taste. I find also that I'm doing more bending these days, and the lighter strings will help there. I might be able to find some Roto Reds locally (the Purples were a special order), or I'll just go with D'Addario EXL115 (.011" to .049"), same as on my Strat.

Over all, I'm liking this guitar.
I got it for $379.99 CDN from Long & McQuade, which is somewhat less than the $499.99US MSRP price. (Not that I've ever seen it anywhere for that much)

It is really comfortable to hold.
The fret ends were finished nicely.
There's no hardware needlessly crowding the bridge area *cough-Stratocaster-cough* and the top of the bridge is relatively smooth so it feels great for palm muting.
It's got the contouring for your ribs and forearm.
It balances nicely hanging from a strap or resting in your knee.
Surprisingly, it masses 3821 g (8.42 pounds), which makes it heavier than all my other guitars, even the Jag Short-Scale Bass (which is the lightest). It doesn't feel all that heavy.
The plethora of switches were easy to get used to, especially once I learned that the "tone circuit" switch merely throws in a passive high-pass filter when it's switched up towards the strings. More or less the opposite of backing off the tone knob a bit. That made it easier to understand what it would do.

I am happy to finally have a guitar with a single coil bridge pickup that also has a tone control that works with the bridge pickup.

I haven't quite figured out whether the pickups are in or out of phase with each other. Again, the distressing lack of documentation. I hear a bit of "quack" when they're both on, but it's not as dramatic as pickup selector switch positions 2 or 4 on a Strat. Could it be because the pickups are farther apart on the Jag?

I do like the sounds I've been getting, but I'll be tweaking my Mustang I amp's "Surfy" presets to take better advantage of it. Bear in mind that this is the first Jaguar I've ever played for more than 30 seconds, so I'm no authority on the topic of pickups and such. I just know what I like to hear.

I do wish the headstock was painted, and I wish it had the Trem Lock button.

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Post subject: Re: NGD: Say Hello to "Pattie", my Squier VM Jaguar guitar
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 12:46 pm
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Congratulations John !

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Post subject: Re: NGD: Say Hello to "Pattie", my Squier VM Jaguar guitar
Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 7:39 pm
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John L Rose wrote:
In the box with the guitar: whammy bar, 1.5 mm Allen wrench, 4 mm Allen wrench, a couple of small silica gel packets.

Yeah, about the smaller allen wrench.
I had add a touch of blue locktite (actually, blue "Permatex" threadlocker, same stuff) to the saddle elevation screws, and expected a bit of resistance when adjusting it later. One of the grub screws in the high E saddle seemed to have been stripped, in that the supplied wrench just rotated, with clicks every 60º.
Grrr. I figured I'd take advantage of the warranty to get a new screw and/or saddle assembly (just the one, out of six).
Before that though, I thought I'd try a 1.5 mm wrench from a different set. Same slipping, and only on that screw. On all the others, it also had a fair amount of wiggle (20-30º or so) before it caught and turned. Same wiggle when using the Squier-supplied wrench too. The Squier wrench measured 1.45 mm from flat side to opposite flat side.
Then I tried a 1/16" (=1.58 mm) wrench from my Imperial set, and it worked just fine. A snug fit in all of them.
Except for the two bridge height screws. The supplied wrench fits snugly in them, but the 1/16" does not even go in.

Are they mixing Metric and Imperial parts at the factory? So, now I'm going to tape a little memo onto the Squier-supplied wrench: "For bridge only. Use 1/16" on saddles screws".

All that was discovered after I swapped the strings to D'Addario EXL115 strings (.011" to .049") instead of the Roto Purples (.012" to .052"). The lighter set fits in the nut much better.

I then found that with the reduced string tension, the low E saddle had a tendency to rock (but in a bad way) because it was at the far end of the intonation screw. I decided then to flip the bridge back the way it's supposed to be, so that the saddles are nearer the heads of the intonation screws and don't jump around. I lowered the saddles so that the intonation screw tips don't touch the strings, and raised the bridge to compensate. I may have to remove or shorten some of the springs to get the intonation better.

The new strings seemed really floppy and almost too twangy (for Surf) at first, and I almost regretted taking off the .012s, but after a few hours of playing I'm used to them. Much easier to bend too.

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Post subject: Re: NGD: Say Hello to "Pattie", my Squier VM Jaguar guitar
Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 1:14 am
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Hello, Pattie, looking gorgeous today :wink:
John L Rose wrote:
My wife forced me to buy it.
You should buy her at bouquet of roses. Or a fancy restaurant dinner. Or a puppy. Well, you get my drift...

But, seriously, folks, some pointers on the adjusting & other "challenging points" you mention.

First, I don't think you could have both imperial&metric saddle screws; the thread size (4-40 vs M3) would also differ. Probably just a question of screws not meeting the tolerances.
But anyway, your memo tape will be 'lost in transit' at some point. As the permanent solution, you could a) get a set of new screws b) use a suitable tapered torx wrench (T6 IIRC) or c) taper a 2mm allen key so it fits all the height adjusting screws.


John L Rose wrote:
The intonation is now such that it's off by only one yellow bar (on my SNARK SN-8 digital tuner) at the first fret for most strings, which is better than on any of my other four electrics. If the strings fitted the nut slots better, I suspect it would be even better, but I prefer not to do irreversible mods to original equipment.

If the notes are off on 1st fret (and 2nd/3rd fret; gradually getting better as you go up the frets), the nut may be too high. Checking & adjusting the nut slots for any given string gauge is not a mod, it's just a (crucial) part of a normal first setup for a new guitar. If the nut slots aren't right for the string set used, you get all sorts of problems. Mind you, a nut slotted for a .012 set works fine with a .009 set, but not necessarily the other way around.

On the bridge in general: the "rocking posts" is a design feature belonging to this bridge model - the idea is that it returns better to tune after whammy uses when the bridge rocks, instead of the strings having to glide over the saddles. (Edit: this trem system is not meant for dive bomb playing...)
Now, a Jaguar has that 24" short scale, so the string tension on light (.009/.010) string sets is prone to cause problems with the "downforce" on the bridge. These work best with a bit thicker strings (which were the only strings available when the guitar was designed).
But if you like lighter gauge strings, the old school way cure is to shim the neck, so the break angle of the strings over the bridge is steeper. (Funny enough, for some geometric reasons this sometimes also makes intonating the guitar easier...).


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Post subject: Re: NGD: Say Hello to "Pattie", my Squier VM Jaguar guitar
Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 5:22 pm
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jmattis wrote:
If the notes are off on 1st fret (and 2nd/3rd fret; gradually getting better as you go up the frets), the nut may be too high. Checking & adjusting the nut slots for any given string gauge is not a mod, it's just a (crucial) part of a normal first setup for a new guitar. If the nut slots aren't right for the string set used, you get all sorts of problems. Mind you, a nut slotted for a .012 set works fine with a .009 set, but not necessarily the other way around.
With the .012"s installed, you could clearly see a space below the low E string at the nut (almost half a diameter), but I dislike permanent changes like cutting it wider. The .011"s sit in the nut slots better, and are more "playable" at the expense of some of the Surfy tone.
To be scientific about it though, I did change brands as well as the gauge. Maybe the Roto Reds (almost identical gauges to the EXL115 set) would have been a better choice.

Quote:
First, I don't think you could have both imperial&metric saddle screws; the thread size (4-40 vs M3) would also differ. Probably just a question of screws not meeting the tolerances.
[. . .] As the permanent solution, you could a) get a set of new screws b) use a suitable tapered torx wrench (T6 IIRC) or c) taper a 2mm allen key so it fits all the height adjusting screws.
My permanent solution is to use the 1/16" wrench from my general-use imperial hex set.

Something I am considering is to swap out the intonation screws with a set that has hex socket heads, and buy a dedicated ball-end wrench for it. I hate having to use a philips on them because you have to keep the handle so low to line it up that you can't get a good grip on the handle, and you have to apply so much pressure that the bridge slips forward. If you use the other hand to keep the bridge in place there is the risk of stabbing yourself.
The ball-end hex tools would not require much pressure and can be used with a bit of offset, well above the strings.
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Post subject: Re: NGD: Say Hello to "Pattie", my Squier VM Jaguar guitar
Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2015 7:06 pm
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I swapped in half a dozen 12 mm M3 screws (all of 10 cents apiece, from my local Home Hardware store) and a bunch of thinner compression springs. They're still philips heads, but yay! I can set the intonation as far back as I need, and the screw tips do not come near the strings. (Original screws are 18 mm long.)

Life is good.

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