If this axe had something like a JB/jazz combo..

[astrozombie]

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...tar?sku=519635

could it sound decent?

[super rad stuff]

depends on what your idea of decent is what kinda sound do you want specifically from this guitar, and what don't you like about the stock pickups? btw i'm not completely sure but your current pickups may be these:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/product...ssive-2/hb102/
they're already based on the jb/jazz, but chinese made and with less clarity. they might also be these:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/product...ntage-2/hb101/
which are based on the '59 set, which are also just low quality/clarity chinese made versions. personally, i don't care for for jb/jazz in it's stock form but with some magnet swaps they've become my favorite pickup set....

edit: btw you do already own this guitar, right?!

[hanumanlangur]

Definitely, as long as the actual guitar you have isn't a total dud or something. Fixing up an inexpensive guitar like a Squier to sound as good as a much more expensive one, is very cool. Along with the right pots/caps, and maybe a new set of tuners, you could turn that into a nice guitar.

[The Usual]

My friend has one of these. Cool little guitar. The pups in his are monster huge. I don't know what they are, but they are notably louder than anything else on his wall.

[BigJoe77]

I played one of those at the local GC. Nice axe for the dough. Fun to play and, at least the one I picked up, seemed to have quality wood.


(I would have seriously thought about adopting it, except I have a strict "No New Guitars With Trems" rule in place.)

[ImmortalSix]

Fixing up an inexpensive guitar like a Squier to sound as good as a much more expensive one, is very cool. Along with the right pots/caps, and maybe a new set of tuners, you could turn that into a nice guitar.

I just did some upgrades to my Squier '51 and it's a monster now.
(See here for upgrade thread and video demo of pickups)

I actually played one of those Jagmasters the day I bought my 335 --- It was a solid guitar, and the pickups were good. It's important to note that it has a 24" scale neck, notably shorter than both Fender (25.5) and Gibson (24.75) standard scales.

I think you could get one of those and replace the nut and call it good, if you can deal with the short scale.

Also, if you are looking for a HH guitar, you don't have to rush into anything because you have a world of options available to you.

-Hunter

[Diocletian]

I would say yes - but it's still gonna look like crap!

[astrozombie]

I would say yes - but it's still gonna look like crap!

HAHAHA

As for the scale length, I dont mind, since I play a Jaguar.

i just thought it would be a cheap way to get a customized jaguar thats HH.

I remember playing that guitar at the Sam Ash in NYC...

I was stunned. It was amazing. Seriously! I've played thousand dollar fenders that were as good as that 300 dollar squier!


I just wanted to ask what your opinions were, what could I put in that guitar, with those woods, that would make it very versatile? good for almost any kind of music?

without a coil tap or anything. lol.

[Diocletian]

Well, the JB/Jazz combo would work well, but you're not going to be playing much metal are you, so you might wanna go for a bridge pickup with a little less output.
Maybe a 59 or Alnico Pro 2 would suit you better than the JB.

[super rad stuff]

JB2 isn't as hot as a regular JB

[Stevo 42]

A jazz/jazz would also be nice. I have recent experience with that combo and have been pleasantly surprised.

[Koreth]

I had one of those squire Jagmaster up until a few weeks ago when I sold it off. There was very little wrong with the guitar. The wood was nice and light and resonant - it sounded good both plugged in and not. The stock pickups are a Duncan Designed set patterned after the Duncan Distortion set. Not top of the line Duncan's but still decent pickups that sounded good. It was a good guitar, but in the end that 24" scale was too short for me. Having learned to play on 25.5" scale guitars, whenever I'd try to do a chord, it felt like my fingers were bunching up in too little space.

Be careful though. The Jagmaster's are made in Fender's Chinese factory and the quality on them is not as consistent as a MIM or MIA Fender. When I originally got mine, there was another in the store that had the action set wrong and needed a truss-rod adjustment. It had come that way from the factory. The pickguard and pick/control cavity is completely unshielded, making for a noisy guitar at higher gain levels.

But if you can find one that plays comfortably and has nice resonant woods that make for a good unplugged sound, there's no reason a Jagmaster shouldn't sound great with Duncans.

[hanumanlangur]

For versatility, I think a '59/JB combo is really a good way to go, with a 300k volume pot and a 500k tone pot, with a 0.01uf or 0.015uf capacitor. A '59 in the neck of a short scale guitar like that is warm, rich, and full. A Jazz neck pickup would work well too, a bit brighter with more sparkling top end.

And a JB with a 300k pot in that sort of guitar would work nicely too. It strikes a pretty good balance between a '59 type A5 pickup, and single coil type clarity, but with rich harmonics and a lot of sensitivity. A '59 bridge pickup would also work well, but it might sound a bit scooped....

Also, if you're going to go for one of those axes, get the black & white one! Looks wayyy cooler....

[Diocletian]

An A2Pro in the neck might also sound pretty nice.
In fact, and A2Pro set would be a good choice for you IMO.