Modern Construction Jaguar Concern

Smallestparts

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Hello forum!

This is my first post here, so hello!

I’m starting a jaguar build and, unfortunately, the only fender short scale neck option is modern construction. I’ve read a lot about the argument of whether or not the modern construction drastically affects tone, and I’ve watched the video comparison. I def hear a difference, but I’m wondering if anyone has any first-hand experience with modern construction necks on a Jaguar, Mustang or even Jazzmaster.

I’m lumping these three models together because they all have a specific reediness / airiness to them that I really love. I’m curious if the modern construction neck will drastically reduce that.

Anyone use the modern construction neck on any of those styles?

Thanks so much!
 
Between my strats I have both Modern and Vintage Modern necks. If someone does a lot of recording and has a lot of years on the clock even I would be interested in what they think but for me, for live playing, I think the pickups have more influence and my best sounding guitar to me (clearly highly subjective) has a Modern neck. That's the guitar Cagey here put together for me where he put inserts in the 4 mounting holes so that the screws screw into that rather than the bare wood in the neck and it has sustain for days.
 
While I don't have experience with a jaguar neck, I do have experience with vintage, vintage modern, modern,  tiltback, 24 3/4 and 25.5 scales, and different widths, different profiles, swapping necks on the same guitar.  I can't tell a sonic difference due to construction.  There may be something, but at the end of day, at volume, it's not much.

As to weight, the piece of wood will make a difference too, but the kind of tuners you use will have more impact.

Just go with what feels best to you, that's where happiness lies.

 
I have several Mustang/Jaguar necks. Since 24” scale is the right size for my hands that’s what I’m using and since it’s only available as a Modern type neck that’s what I have to go for.
You mention a ”specific reediness / airiness” when it comes to Jaguars, Mustangs and Jazzmasters. But since the Jazzmaster is a 25,5” scale, then the sound you’re talking about can’t have anything to do with the scale length.
I’m a firm believer of the notion that the sound of a particular guitar have more to do with the amp, pedals and pickups than of things like a specific construction of the neck. All things contribute to the sound of course, but the construction of the neck is probably several steps below things like for instance what type of pick you’re using (a severely underrated factor to shaping your sound).

As for weight ... that also depends and differs from neck to neck. As an average, the Modern construction might be 1/3 lbs heavier, but the type of wood will make for a bigger difference. One of my necks is a Bloodwood one and it’s extremely heavy.

 
I have many warmoth necks with modern and vintage/modern.

I don't really hear any difference.  I actually hear more of a difference going from standard thin to fatback.

FWIW, I prefer the modern neck in all cases.  I get consistently better setups with the double expanding trussrod, and I prefer the finer adjustment range by the heel.
 
I have several Mustang/Jaguar necks. Since 24” scale is the right size for my hands that’s what I’m using and since it’s only available as a Modern type neck that’s what I have to go for.
You mention a ”specific reediness / airiness” when it comes to Jaguars, Mustangs and Jazzmasters. But since the Jazzmaster is a 25,5” scale, then the sound you’re talking about can’t have anything to do with the scale length.
I’m a firm believer of the notion that the sound of a particular guitar have more to do with the amp, pedals and pickups than of things like a specific construction of the neck. All things contribute to the sound of course, but the construction of the neck is probably several steps below things like for instance what type of pick you’re using (a severely underrated factor to shaping your sound).

As for weight ... that also depends and differs from neck to neck. As an average, the Modern construction might be 1/3 lbs heavier, but the type of wood will make for a bigger difference. One of my necks is a Bloodwood one and it’s extremely heavy.

This is helpful. To be clear on the reediness description, I lumped in Jazzmaster there because a huge part of that are the overtones coming from the amount of string length behind the bridge. Was just hoping the neck wouldn't do much to diminish that. I think I'm now convinced that the modern construction neck will be just fine.
 
Regarding your weight question. Given that my guitars have the forward strap button on the top horn that is well past the base of the neck where it meets the guitar I have not experienced any balance issues. Also, one neck (A Modern Warmoth neck) is all Bubinga and is definitely heavier than maple necks of whatever style Warmoth offers. But then that guitar does not have a super light body either. I don't feel anything different in using it with the guitar strapped on. You ask an interesting question and I am staying with this thread to see the different responses.

Also, welcome to the forum. Its a very helpful group that has helped me learn a lot as I waded into the partscaster world in about 2012.
 
I'll start with the standard disclaimer that of course user experience and taste is entirely subjective and just because I like or don't like something doesn't mean you also will like or not like it.

With that out of the way...

I rarely feel comfortable recommending a Warmoth ''pro'' neck, and I would absolutely never endorse them for 24" builds. They do not weigh 1/3rd of a lb more than regular necks; more like a full pound. Just last year I was helping a friend pick out a replacement for the Warmoth 24.75" conversion neck (i.e. ''pro'' construction) she had on a Strat, which was neck-diving, and the neck (from another company, also 24.75" conversion, with the same woods and with a similar thickness but a normal truss rod) we ended up ordering and fitting weighed 392g lighter, which if my maths is correct is 0.85-and-a-bit lbs. Close to a full pound, anyway. In the case of bodies or very thick necks you can argue that the wood might have been much denser or lighter on one neck than the other, but in this case both necks were thin profiles with narrow nuts, so there wasn't much wood mass there for it to cause that much of a variation.
This also fell in-line with my other experiences with Warmoth's ''pro' construction necks, of all scale lengths. They're always very noticeably heavier, they always sound stiffer, and the side adjustment system has always been loose, vague, and of course downright ugly. The one thing I'll grant them is the ones I kept around for long enough to see multiple season did keep their shape very well and I've never had to adjust a Warmoth ''pro'' neck for temperature or humidity shifts. But I think that is where the problem lies; they're more metal than wood. 

Buy Warmoth's bodies, by all means. I still do. They make the best bodies around, with the obvious exception of a one-off body from an experienced luthier or the big Custom Shops. For parts builds Warmoth's bodies are absolutely great. I don't question the bodies any more. I've had enough of them (and bodies from other companies) that at this point I simply go right ahead and order bodies from Warmoth without worrying about what else might be out there or what might go wrong. Warmoth get bodies completely right. I trust them fully for body finishes, too. (At least sprayed-on ones; I still like to the occasional wiped-on hand finish myself.)

But unless you very specifically want the stiffer, brighter, and slightly compressed 'clang' from the ''pro'' neck construction, I have to say get a 24" neck from anywhere else. Warmoth's don't balance well and they don't sound like other necks, either. I'm piecing together a Warmoth 7/8 Strat body with a Musikraft 24" neck at the moment and it's working out superbly other than a prototype neck pickup which needs more work. I've gotten 24, 24.75" conversion, 25" conversion, 25.125" conversion, and 25.5" necks (never cared for baritone, myself) from many other companies and, again, I've never had any particular problems from any of the better-known companies and all of them have been preferable to the Warmoth ''pro'' necks I've had in the past. (None of which are still attached to any of my guitar bodies; I've had several Warmoth ''pro'' necks and they've all been replaced.)

And quickly, regarding the supposed 'reediness' of the guitars you mention, the only thing I can think of that might be doing what you mean is that all these guitars have more extensive routing under their pickguards than other comparable shapes, and due to the way all the hardware is mounted the parts can often end up being fixed down a bit tighter than you'd get on, say, a Telecaster Deluxe; if you flick a pickguard on a Jaguar or Jazzmaster, for instance, the vibration is a lot more intense but dies off faster than you get with other top-routed guitars. That routing and stiffness of the hardware mounting is really the only part of the construction or hardware which could contribute any inherent difference in tone compared to other models.
That said, I've made Jazzmasters, Mustangs, Jaguars that sound like LPs and a Mustang that sounds like a Telecaster, even with the 'standard' bridges, woods, and construction. Most of the time all it's taken is a change of pickups and pots; the furthest I've had to take any of those body styles to radically change the tone is the Tele-like Mustang got a metal pickguard, which helped add in some extra 'twang' to the bridge pickup (though didn't seem to make any audible difference to the neck pickup). The electronics really do dictate the sound much, much more than anything else. Even the difference in tone between Warmoth necks and others', as much as I don't like Warmoths', only becomes apparent when you are swapping necks on the same body, with everything else already in place, so you can very precisely compare the two. (The same can not be said for the weight, which is extremely obvious even if you compare necks on different bodies or whatever.)
 
I've had "vintage" Fenders with real "Skunk Stripe" necks and I never thought they had anything to do with the sound and they were a pain.  Every string change, every move, and it was setup time.  And it you had a Rosewood Fingerboard it took "infinite patience" got get the action right.
And, they could rattle in the slot if they started to come loose at the anchor.
Jaguars are weird guitars to play, even harder to get balanced.  It's like if your dad was 6'3" and your mom was 5' on a good day.  Some of your arm/leg/body proportions just wouldn't be "balanced."
The Jag has a neck too short for a body originally designed for your basic 25.5" neck.  So the balance point isn't where it is for 90% of guitars.
You could put banjo tuners on a Jag neck it it still might nose-dive no matter the construction.  It is just the opposite of a Bass-6.
After playing and working on amps and guitars for 50 years, I think being a slave to "vintage" misses the real advantages to having a nice double-action truss-rod. 
I like the modern construction necks - have one on a custom Jazzmaster - I got it with the fancy "birds eye" maple.  The only difference between it and the rosewood one I had was the rosewood fingerboard.

MY advice, get a modern construction, go a bit fancy on the wood, if weight is a factor look at some of the nice new "open" tuners from Schaller and Hipsot - pricey but light.  Even vintage Klusons are lighter than some of the modern ones. 
 
I've always found the modern/pro necks from W to be warmer sounding compared to similar single truss rod necks. Didnt they do a comparison video on the You tubes? i'll let U be Judge, Judy, and Ranchescutioner.

They defs weigh more but more mass is more gas for shreddin
 
For me, the difference is more in feel than sound.  Double-expanding truss rod necks feel stiffer, like they don't express as much string vibration as single-truss rod necks.  Probably not very scientific, but just my experience.  I enjoy the perceived "liveliness" of single-truss rod necks, but it's not a deciding factor - I have both types of necks around.    I've had a couple of thin-bodied mahogany guitars with thinner, mahogany necks, and I enjoyed how "lively" they felt.  That being said, it's not anything I've fixated on (don't have either of them anymore). 
 
Thank you all for the thoughtful replies. After reading through some of your suggestions, I think I may pivot to a musickraft neck. I lose the oversized headstock, but I think it’s less of a gamble in weight and feel. And I, too, really don’t like that side adjust.

The body arrived on Friday, I want to throw it out the window filling grain with the stewmac version of aqua coat, but that’s a different thread altogether.

 
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