Jaguar vs Strat

[Brother_Budro]

Hey guys, haven't been around here in a little while

So i have my partscaster which is essentially a 62RI (to spec everything, even has a loaded guard from a 62RI) but i don't play it much.

I also have a Jazzmaster that i really like (mostly because of the body, but also sound)

so what if i sold my strat and bought a Jaguar?

 

1. how do the sounds compare? (i know about the scale differences)

2. Any idea what my strat is worth? (allparts body and neck)

 

 

 

 

(the one in the middle obviously)

[Doctor Morbius]

Well, you seem to have made it past the biggest hurdle I have with my Jazzmaster and that's the 7.25" radius and vintage frets. I'm always grabbing a Strat because of the 9.5" radius and med-jumbo frets.

 

I say go for a Jag and ditch the Strat. I like the shorter scale necks of Jags.

[kayd_mon]

1. Jaguars tend to be darker, but they have their own twang. The pickups sound thicker than Strats. If you like the scale (because I know a lot of players don't), it's a very cool guitar.

 

2. Is it a body and neck from a '62 RI? What's actually different about yours from the "real" thing? If everything is pretty much there, but you're honest when you sell it and call it a partscaster, then I'd knock $100 - $150 from the regular going rate of used '62 RIs.

[slushpup96]

Go for the jag and don't forget the pics.

[Brother_Budro]

 

1. Jaguars tend to be darker, but they have their own twang. The pickups sound thicker than Strats. If you like the scale (because I know a lot of players don't), it's a very cool guitar. 2. Is it a body and neck from a '62 RI? What's actually different about yours from the "real" thing? If everything is pretty much there, but you're honest when you sell it and call it a partscaster, then I'd knock $100 - $150 from the regular going rate of used '62 RIs.

 

 

It's not a body and neck from a 62RI just pickguard, the body and neck are allparts, but they are to 62RI spec, even the nitro paint

The main reason i am hesitant is i have had that strat the longest of any of my guitars so it's got some sentimental value, i revamped my collection a few years back but that is the only one that made the cut, and i do still like to play it

I think the only solution is to get more money so i can keep it and get a new jag

[Doctor Morbius]

Good choice. You can't put a price tag on sentimentality. It's not so easily replaced.

[Uma Floresta]

Hey guys, haven't been around here in a little while So i have my partscaster which is essentially a 62RI (to spec everything, even has a loaded guard from a 62RI) but i don't play it much. I also have a Jazzmaster that i really like (mostly because of the body, but also sound) so what if i sold my strat and bought a Jaguar? 1. how do the sounds compare? (i know about the scale differences) 2. Any idea what my strat is worth? (allparts body and neck) (the one in the middle obviously)

 

Definitely sell your Strat and buy a Jag. Strats have a really generic sound. Everyone plays them. Jaguars have a great, unique tonal character that really stands out in a recording.

 

Soundwise, Jaguars are more focused and have a more percussive attack. The low notes especially kind of have this midrangey thunk to them, while the unwound strings kind of jangle like a Rickenbacker. Jazzmasters have a less focused tonal character (wider range) and more snap due to longer scale length.

 

Jaguars are really interesting guitars - the short scale gives them a kind of murkiness in one sense, but there's also a brightness too.

 

Jaguars also sound very unlike Strats - although the pickups are similar, the string angle behind the bridge and the short scale and the position of the pickups make them sound very different.

[Roy]

you kidding me.....keep the strat. it's a beaut.

 

exactly why are you looking to change what you have? those 3 guitars cover a lot of ground.

[WRGKMC]

Keep them all.

[honeyiscool]

Jags have a great tone that leaps out in a recording? Strats have a generic sound? Boy, boy, what are you saying?

 

I've made many recordings with Teles, Jags, Strats, Mustangs... they all sound the same on a recording and if I told you I used one on a recording, you'd probably hear what you want to hear. I was just listening to a recording I made a while back that I swore I made with a Jag and halfway through, I realized I used a humbucker-equipped Tele, not even because I heard the distinctive sound of a humbucker, but because I heard the distinctive tone of a split humbucker.

 

Jags are fun guitars but they're also kind of silly guitars. Short scale but heavy, not particularly low maintenance, it sacrifices a lot for the aesthetics IMO... great guitars but it's kind of weird how it's everybody's second favorite guitar.

[yanktar]

Sell the LP and get an SG with coil taps!

[Uma Floresta]

 

Jags have a great tone that leaps out in a recording? Strats have a generic sound? Boy, boy, what are you saying? I've made many recordings with Teles, Jags, Strats, Mustangs... they all sound the same on a recording and if I told you I used one on a recording, you'd probably hear what you want to hear. I was just listening to a recording I made a while back that I swore I made with a Jag and halfway through, I realized I used a humbucker-equipped Tele, not even because I heard the distinctive sound of a humbucker, but because I heard the distinctive tone of a split humbucker. Jags are fun guitars but they're also kind of silly guitars. Short scale but heavy, not particularly low maintenance, it sacrifices a lot for the aesthetics IMO... great guitars but it's kind of weird how it's everybody's second favorite guitar.

 

 

You can kind of make your guitars all sound the same I suppose, if you're using lots of overdrive and such. But if we're talking clean or cleanish tones, there's a very distinct difference.

 

For me, Jaguars are #1, followed by Jazzmasters.

 

The reason why I say Strats have a generic sound is EVERYONE uses them. It's inescapable. They suffer from chronic overexposure.

 

As far as maintenance goes, 99% of the problems people have with them are instantly solved by using heavy strings.

[honeyiscool]

That's not really much of a solution IMO because why should you have to use heavy strings? It's 2011. That said, I've been able to use 9s on a Jaguar before, you just need a Mustang bridge. I generally recommend at least 10s, though.

 

I'm really not sure there's a distinct difference in clean tones either. It seems pretty obvious in person but by the time it's recorded and mixed, it's just not that different.

[Uma Floresta]

That's not really much of a solution IMO because why should you have to use heavy strings? It's 2011. That said, I've been able to use 9s on a Jaguar before, you just need a Mustang bridge. I generally recommend at least 10s, though. I'm really not sure there's a distinct difference in clean tones either. It seems pretty obvious in person but by the time it's recorded and mixed, it's just not that different.

 

Well, personally I think heavy strings sound great on any guitar. I'd use them regardless. The lightest string gauge I use is 12s . It's 2011 and lots of people use heavy strings. 9s are so 1970s!

 

To me, the clean tone is NIGHT AND DAY difference between them. Listen to these - you can't get this tone on any other guitar but a Jaguar:

 

[video=youtube;hOLlJ3_kqN0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOLlJ3_kqN0

 

 

Jag comes in at 45 second in:

[video=youtube;LQGGQ-FCe_w]

 

 

[video=youtube;Ipinrujp5sk]

[notjonahbutnoah]

Honey, uma likes jags to an obscene degree. You will convice him of nothing.

 

I mean, its totally hopeless. Let him think strats are inferior and overexposed, then go enjoy one.

[HanSolo]

Palm mute the Strat and you have a Jaguar.

[Uma Floresta]

 

Honey, uma likes jags to an obscene degree. You will convice him of nothing. I mean, its totally hopeless. Let him think strats are inferior and overexposed, then go enjoy one.

 

 

Not everything needs to sound like Sultans of Swing.

[Uma Floresta]

 

Palm mute the Strat and you have a Jaguar.

 

 

Not even close.

[honeyiscool]

I could get any of those sounds with a stock Mustang and the right amp and effects. Strats are difficult because the trem action doesn't let you quite get that Jag shimmer but the tone is not hard to accomplish with a Tele, actually.

 

I actually draw a lot of inspiration from Mustang and Jaguar sounds and end up wiring my Strats with a master volume and tone, and a treble cut. I also lose the B+M to have B+N. I really can't tell the difference between my own Strats and my own Jaguars and Mustangs in recordings because I don't really care for vintage Strat tones either and mod my Strats to sound different.

[oldschoolshred]

 

Jags have a great tone that leaps out in a recording? Strats have a generic sound? Boy, boy, what are you saying?

 

 

+1 here. Jags aren't my cup of tea but I respect that if they've lasted this long, there must be something to them. But they are NOT superior to strats. I like short scale guitars, mostly Gibsons, but I find their single most annoying shortcoming is that the they sound muddy in the mix. So a jag, with an even shorter scale has this problem even more. Plus, generic sounding has more to do with the player than this or that solid body electric guitar. In the right hands any one of them will sound good.

[Uma Floresta]

 

I could get any of those sounds with a stock Mustang and the right amp and effects. Strats are difficult because the trem action doesn't let you quite get that Jag shimmer but the tone is not hard to accomplish with a Tele, actually. I actually draw a lot of inspiration from Mustang and Jaguar sounds and end up wiring my Strats with a master volume and tone, and a treble cut. I also lose the B+M to have B+N. I really can't tell the difference between my own Strats and my own Jaguars and Mustangs in recordings because I don't really care for vintage Strat tones either and mod my Strats to sound different.

 

 

Okay, good point about the Mustang - that one's going to sound the closest to a Jag, due to scale length, similar pickups etc. But there's a sharper bridge angle and shorter length of strings behind the bridge, which takes away some of the thunk.

 

Teles sound closer than Strats, but only because of the pickup arrangements. I wouldn't mistake one for the other played clean, though.

[honeyiscool]

Jags have a strangle switch, though, which are really useful to get the sound just right. I had overwound Jag pickups and the strangle switch was really useful for me. I wouldn't say Jags sound muddy. If it does, it's because people put super heavy flatwound strings on them and then switch to the rhythm circuit.

 

A Mustang definitely never sounds muddy at 24" scale.

[Uma Floresta]

 

+1 here. Jags aren't my cup of tea but I respect that if they've lasted this long, there must be something to them. But they are NOT superior to strats. I like short scale guitars, mostly Gibsons, but I find their single most annoying shortcoming is that the they sound muddy in the mix. So a jag, with an even shorter scale has this problem even more. Plus, generic sounding has more to do with the player than this or that solid body electric guitar. In the right hands any one of them will sound good.

 

 

Short scale guitars with humbuckers sound muddy. Jaguars aren't muddy, though.

 

There are a few Strat players who make inspiring toanz, but you can only do so much with it. Mostly it's all the same few tones, over and over again. It gets boring.

[honeyiscool]

My biggest problem with Jags was that it does weird things under distortion. I guess all the extra pinging resonating stuff does weird things to the guitar that kind of give it a weird edge. Besides, it's way too heavy for a short scale.

 

I do miss the guitar, though. It was a looker.

 

[Brother_Budro]

 

Sell the LP and get an SG with coil taps!

 

 

sold the LP a while ago, made my own GFS LP from a kit, Jimmy Page wiring