Inspired by an interesting theory that a colleague has about how DAW-based recording systems are sucking the life out of music...

So you think that no one wants to go out to see live bands anymore? Maybe it's because you sound like sh*t. But read on! It may not be all your fault.

As both a musician who has played in many different venues for the better part of twenty years, as well as an obsessive music fan, who at one point in time, would drive to Boston, Northampton, Providence and New York city within the same week just to catch any and every band that I liked, I have made many observations about why I enjoy a show or don't. As a recording engineer, I have the added benefit of an understanding of how music gear works.

Now here's the disclaimer. Please don't think because I have an opinion about this or that, that I'm an expert. Please don't assume that I'm more right than anyone else in the world. I struggle as much as anyone could when it comes to trying to get a good sound from my own band when we play in clubs. As much as I struggle, I feel that I at least am aware of what I would think of as common sense practices to give yourself a fighting chance. If you care enough to at least tune your guitars, you should care enough to sound good, whatever good is.

Vibrato is pitch based and Tremolo is amplitude based, you are correct.

Here's a description of the subtle and not-so-subtle differences between two of Fender's most interesting guitars.

Roger Lavallee
Patchbay
roger@curtainsociety.com




A Jag is short scale (more like a Gibson's scale length) and feels a little smaller. It has sharper, slightly brighter and sometimes plinkier sounding pickups (which look like a Strat's pickups with metal claws around them. Because of the shorter scale length and the pickups, they tend to have a thinner, more percussive (less sustain) tone. I have Seymour Duncan Hot Jaguar pickups in my '63 Jag and it is substantially heftier sounding. I would dare to say it's too thick sounding now, but it still has a bright, "surfy" tone.


A Jazzmaster on the other hand has a longer (standard Fender) scale length, and "soapbar" style pickups. They LOOK like P-90 pickups, but aren't exactly the same thing. The tone of a Jazzmaster is still bright and somewhat plinky, compared to say, a Strat, but has what I would say is a "broader" tone, especially in the middle pickup position (in my opinion, the best tone out of either guitar) due to the space between the pickups.

I would characterize the tone of both guitars are similar to a Telecaster, except in the Jaguar's case brighter and with less sustain (remember, the strings don't go through the body, and the bridges are sitting in the body on two small posts, which don't exactly ENHANCE the sustain), and the Jazzmaster a little warmer but still very chimey. The Jazzmaster particularly has what I would say is a colorful tone, especially in the middle position. It's got quite a blend of the plinky bridge pickup and the warm neck pickup.

The string length (due to the strings going behind the brige to the tailpiece) really lends itself to the guitars sounding very "zingy" and "ringy."

The vibrato arm is my personal favorite. It's definitely of the Bigsby style, and is best used for tasteful warble. Not for the Floyd Rose fan. They stay in tune quite well.

By the way, lots of people ask about the switching configurations and how they work. Here's the deal:

Both guitars have your standard single master volume and tone controls, that are in line with a standard pickup selector: on the Jazzmaster it's a standard Gibson-style three-way toggle switch, on the Jaguar it's a series of slide switches, one for each of both pickups. The Jaguar also has a "strangle" switch on the pickup selector plate, which is a capacitor in series that acts as a bass-cut. As if the guitar wasn't bright enough!!!!

Now, on the top bout of both guitars is a slide switch and two roller pots. This is the "rhythm circuit." What it does is to allow you to preset a second sound comprised of the neck pickup with it's own volume and tone control. Flip the slide switch one way, and the guitar operates like normal, flip it the other way, and you get JUST the neck pickup with it's own volume and tone settings (which are not affected by the master volume and tone in this position). The original idea was to have a bright "lead" setting in the normal position, and a dark, jazzy setting in the rhythm position.

I never use that setting. I keep the volume on the rhythm circuit off so I can do "les paul" type choppy sounds (think the end of any early Who song)

One modification that I've done to a few of my Jazzmasters is to use a Mustang bridge on them. The difference is that there is only one channel for the string to sit in, as opposed to a Jag/Jazzmaster's threaded saddle. Look at the difference: here's the Mustang Bridge:


The Jazzmaster/Jag bridge has different, and granted, more adjustable saddles (with hex screws to raise or lower it):


I find that the height of the Mustang saddles are fine, and I never need to adjust them, and the strings stay in the thread better, while the original Jazzmaster/Jaguar bridge will lose height adjustment screws too easily (I have to use Loc-Tite in mine, and it still doesn't always help) and that I'm always popping the strings into the wrong thread (screwing up the string spacing...)

Another mod that I do is to limit the movement of the bridge when used with the vibrato arm. The bridge is MEANT to rock back and forth (it reduces friction on the strings) but I like to limit it a little bit by putting sheathes of vinyl heat shrink tubing around the collets that fit into the body. This doesn't eliminate the bridge's ability to rock back and forth, but it limits the range a little, so it's less likely to rock so far that it gets stuck somewhere where the intonation is totally off.

The Buzz Stop:

This is an aftermarket part which can be used to increase the break angle of the strings against the bridge. It helps to keep the strings from falling out of place on the saddles, but I recently discovered that I prefer the feel and tone much more without it. I had it on my '63 Jag since I restored the guitar, and never thought anything of it. I recently took it off, and I was amazed at how much more comfortable the guitar was to play and I even noticed an improvement in it's tone.

---Roger Lavallee