UNDER THE HOOD
Circuits? Let’s take a look, Jaguar-style
If the Jazzmaster’s wide and shallow single coil was meant to add depth and a more ‘jazz-like’ tonality, you could easily state that it was an abject failure. The Jaguar’s pickups are more Fender-like with their narrower coils, but also the U-shaped sawtooth-sided metal surrounds (which increase inductance) subtly alter the magnetic field and, in theory, add some shielding.
But the Jaguar also uses a slightly expanded version of the Jazzmaster’s circuit. So we get 1meg-ohm audio taper volume and tone pots, and a large .01μF (103k) ceramic disc tone capacitor. The rhythm circuit uses mini-pots: 1meg-ohm for the volume and 50k (both linear taper) for the tone, with the same tone cap as the lead circuit. That strangle switch simply uses a .003μF (302Z) cap wired in series.
Another unique feature that’s not on the Jazzmaster (or any other guitar this writer has ever seen) is an extra 56k resistor on the lead circuit tone control whose purpose is debatable. In the absence of an explanation from Fender, Bare Knuckle Pickups’ Tim Bartle offered: “[It is] adding a secondary variable series resistor that is controlling the amount of signal that gets to the tone control between the output of the pickups and the master volume and tone controls. It’s kind of like a quasi-tone control and, of course, the circuit is all working together interactively.” In short, it’s a simple addition that has quite a complex effect.
The Jaguar’s tone certainly works in a different fashion to the Jazzmaster’s, which acts as a normal tone control would. On the Jaguar, as you turn the control down it thins the sound a little, but even fully off we don’t get the extreme treble drop-off. Then, a little like a 50s‑wired tone control, as you pull the tone back up it seems to subtly increase the volume, too. It also seems to work slightly differently with the strangle switch engaged.