Not bonding with a guitar (Jaguar content)

wrinkleygit

The concept of playing my MIM Jaguar should suit me perfectly, short scale length easy on the wrinkley fingers & it hangs perfectly on a strap, the switching combinations are perfect to my mind & the slightly weaker bridge pickup has been swapped for a JB mini. As I’ve had no success in selling it on & cutting my losses I’m trying to understand where the problem lies, my only conclusion so far is the radius of the neck & my left hand are not getting on, my other guitars are  a LP std or PRS cu24 with flatter boards & I have no problem with either. The poor old Jag just seems like hard work, any ideas anyone? Forgot to mention it’s currently strung with 10-46, have tried 9’s but lost some tone & the feel wasn’t much different.

Brize

Is the neck shape uncomfortable? Also, what size are the frets on a MIM Jaguar?

Sassafras

Narrower nut width?

Voxman

How long have you had it?  Have you tried putting all your other guitars away and devoting time just to your Jaguar?  Some people can adapt naturally to different guitars very quickly, whilst others can struggle because their brain and muscle memory are fighting to adapt.  

Some guitars are harder to play than others..e.g. Strats are notoriously harder to play than Les Paul's and a lot of people struggle to switch between those. Others are so used to Strats they cant adapt to Les Pauls. Sometimes it's also about realising that different guitars are most suitable for different styles so trying to play the same things on them in the same way may not always be the best approach.

Then there's always the possibility that a guitar is just wrong for you. But invest the time and effort with it before being sure of that...you might just gel after all.

stimpsonslostson

I'd keep trying to sell it. Folk like Jaguars so it should go eventually (provided your price is reasonable). 

 I've tried persisting with several guitars I "should" like (usually Les Pauls) & they always get sold on sooner or later. The opposite has happened too- I've got a cheap pink SG Jr that I know is a bit rough, but for whatever reason it just makes me grin when I play it. 
Sometimes it's something intangible. 
Get rid & chalk it up to experience....

Buy a Jazzmaster. ;-)

Funkfingers

wrinkleygit said:

it’s currently strung with 10-46, have tried 9’s but lost some tone & the feel wasn’t much different.

Man up and try elevens or twelves. The ride will feel strange at first but the guitar will play better. 

wrinkleygit said:

the slightly weaker bridge pickup

Both of the stock MIM pickups are weak - partly out of trying to adhere to vintage specifications and partly because they are crap. 

wrinkleygit said:

JB mini

This will certainly up the output from the bridge/Treble position but it will also detract from the unique Jaguar sound.

Arjailer

I have a 24" scale guitar that I've had for ~30 years (it's a pointy metal shredder that my dad made for me when he was off work with a broken ankle) that also has an (accidentally) narrower than "normal" nut - it's less than 1 mm narrower than my Washburn's nut, but it's noticeable when you're playing.

I loved it in my late teens / early twenties, but these days I find it very difficult to play due to the short scale and narrow nut - the strings and frets are all just too close together. It's a shame 'cos it's a perfect shape for my metal covers band   

wrinkleygit

To sum up I’ve had this about a year or so, fret wire feels similar to my Gibson, nut width isn’t a problem either & the neck doesn’t feel too thin. The only conclusion I can make is it must be due fretboard radius, thanks for your replies tho’

Brize

wrinkleygit said:

To sum up I’ve had this about a year or so, fret wire feels similar to my Gibson, nut width isn’t a problem either & the neck doesn’t feel too thin. The only conclusion I can make is it must be due fretboard radius, thanks for your replies tho’

I can't imagine you'd feel the difference to that degree - my money would be on the scale length.

meltedbuzzbox

Try elevens and try a staytrem bridge.
Look at the height of your strings too.
I happily go from classical, to a jaguar, to a 345 to a Parker fly etc.
If they are set up well you won't really notice the board radius.
When I first had a jag I used to over reach with my fretting hand because I wasn't used to the scale but that soon went after an hour or so.