Candy Apple Red Squier vintage modified Jaguar

[allclaphands]

Just had to give a nasty itch a scratch again and have been and bought a Squier Jaguar
The one I chose was the Candy Apple Red Vintage Modified it sounded really good and
for the price I think it is a bargain.I think I started a thread a while back asking
about the Jaguar which Fender developed on the success of the Stratocaster and from
the feed back I received I always though about getting one.Now its happened and the
wife is leaving me next week, still it will give me plenty of time to play it
never mind Just thought who is going to make my tea and cook my meals.SORRY DARLING
I promise to take you on holiday and buy you something nice.

Keep Smiling
Pete

[harley]

Hi Pete

I have the exact same guitar but in olympic white with tort guard. fantastic guitar. I now have 3 vintage modified squiers. A surf strat with lipstick pick ups, a bass VI and of course the jag. I have to wonder how they do it for the money. I would add "enjoy it" but it seems you already are :-)

regards
Ian

[allclaphands]

Hi Ian
I remember you posting a picture of your guitar and me making a comment it looked a beauty.
Yours and fellow members posting were at the time very informative and interesting to read.
I will if the wife gets on at me say it was all your faults for saying complementary things
about the Squier Jaguar I have in the past gone for the white look when buying guitars,
and yours does stand out in that respect but I thought this time I would opt for the Red.

Pete

[alanmckillop]

I got the sunburst model and it's great. I did invest in a new bridge which made a vast improvement, but no need to upgrade anything else.

[Steve Reynolds]

ive just part exed my surf green one for a burns marvin, it was a great guitar, im really not keen on the original bridge though, a slight bend on the string and it slips on the bridge and goes out of tune but other than that it was great, good range on tones

[allclaphands]

Hi Steve
Thanks for posting.I shall keep a eye on the Bridge reference your experience with it.I read Alanmckillop
replaced his.Your choice of part exchanging your Jaguar for a Burns Marvin is indeed interesting.I have
a Burns Marquee and if the Marvin is as good as or if not better you should have a lot of fun playing it.
Perhaps you could put something together with it and post it as your a very talented with the guitar.


Pete

[somebodyelseuk]

Hiya Pete.
These come fitted with 9s, I believe. You MUST fit at least 11-49s on them. I have a Jazzmaster - same bridge. I looked into replacing the bridge, but the one I need is temporarily out of production - the Mustang one will NOT do on these, as it's the wrong radius. The one to get is the Staytrem bridge, when they restart production.
The bridge really is the Achilles heal on these things. It works, but is a nightmare of a balancing act to set up; there is literally half a millimetre tolerance on the saddles.
On mine, I put a shim (cigarette packet) at the end of the neck to get some back angle, raise the whole bridge unit (there are screws down inside the holes that take the same key as the saddles), fitted 11s and then spent about two days getting the saddles right. Problem is, too low and the strings catch the sides of the bridge unit, too high nad the intonation screws interfere with the string... and you have to play the whole length of each string before you find this out. Added to that, the bridge rocks, so you need it centred in it's holes, or the intonation will wander.
All the rattles and slipping string problems are down to a lack of string angle over the bridge and the only way around that is shimming neck/raising bridge and a minimum of 11s for strings (lighter strings won't give enough down pressure).
The trem is excellent and extremely easy to set - doesn't usually need adjusting even after the above changes.
After all that, you'll probably find the bridge needs readjusting every few weeks, as the screws at either end, especially the 'bass' end have an irritating habit of winding themselves in... again, the Staytrem bridge has a mod to cure that.
After the 'honeymoon period' wears off, you get to understand why the originals were not so successful, nevertheless, if you can tolerate this 'high maintenance bird' they are a lot of fun.
Mine is very much like my Gretsch for me - I love it, but I'd never gig the thing.
Cheers, Julian

[allclaphands]

Thanks Julian
For your posting reference the Jaguar I can see you are a very Knowledgeable chap when it comes to guitars
So YOUR MY MAN for help or advice if needed.I to have tried the Staytrem site recently but it seems there
moving or something and it closed till about the the end of February I think not sure of the date.

Pete

[alanmckillop]

I use Elixir 11's ( to 49) and still needed to change the bridge. The Staytrem, although expensive at circa £60, will give you the correct radius and is a vast improvement over the standard Jaguar bridge.

[somebodyelseuk]

Hi Alan,
The Staytrem is the best route to go, though the tweeks I mention do work. The Jag and Jazzer use the same bridge, on the Fender Vintage Reissues, you can use a Mustang bridge, because they use the 7.25" radius. The Squier VM Mustang also uses the Jag/Jazz bridge, though I suspect it works a lot better on those, as it's very close to the string anchor.
The Staytrem is available in 7.25 and 9.5" - it's the bridge that Fender fits to the Johnny Marr Jaguar (modifications designed by Mr Marr). To be honest, I think £60 is very reasonable for one - it's a better quality piece of kit than on the Squiers. Like I say, I have the Jazz which is longer scale, so maybe the Jag needs 12s, because of the slacker string tension... on a standard bridge? I know Johnny Marr uses 9s with his Staytrem bridge, though.
It says a lot that Fender strings the Reissues with 9s AND supplies a set of 12s in the case.
pete... It's all about getting stuck in. Compared to some things I've done, setting guitars up is child's play... Patience, observation and confidence... they're just pieces of wood - nobody dies if you get it wrong.

Cheers, Julian

[harley]

I have a staytrem bridge on my bass VI and they are £90 if my memory serves me right so £60 sounds reasonable enough to me. I have 11's on my jag and it plays fine with the standard bridge. Agreed, you have to stay on top of it set up wise but i havnt felt the need to change it. That said, i dont use the trem on it. Plenty of strats to use if i need a trem

regards
Ian