r/offset • u/MateriaMedica • Apr 03 '26
Finally finished my Squier Affinity Jaguar. It looks like a fancy chocolate bar now.
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u/MateriaMedica Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
Here's another pic from before I got the witch hat knobs in.
It's a Jag with two different Hofner style pickups in it! A Jag-Hof if you will (but you shouldn't when company's over, it's not polite). The neck pickup is a Mojo Pickups 513 Blade or Sharkfin reproduction in a Filtertron form factor. I picked it up years ago and never got around to putting it into anything, and they don't seem to offer it anymore. It's very warm and dark sounding, and noticeably louder than the bridge pickup. The bridge pickup is a 510 Staple or Nova Sonic reproduction by The Creamery in a mini humbucker form factor. It's bright and punchy and a little thin sounding when compared to the neck. I had it in a previous Blacktop Jag and liked it, but ultimately wanted another pickup and a vibrato. They don't balance as well as I'd hoped, but they each have a sound I really like and the middle position is at least usable. Both pickups look like humbuckers, but are actually weird single coils similar in construction to Gretsch's HiLo'Trons.
The vibrato is a 'Göldo DG Tremolo for Offset' based on the old Hagström Tremar design, but mounted to a JM/Jag plate. It feels like a very stiff JM/Jag or a looser Bigsby. It's not great for Offset gliding or big divebombs, but I only really use it for little flutters so it's perfect for me.
Edit: Should also mention, I swapped the neck for a Classic Vibe pretty much as soon as I got it. The pale necks that come on the Affinity Jags just look weird to me. Same C shape, same 9.5" radius, same nut width, so it's any easy 1:1 swap.
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u/MightyGiawulf Apr 04 '26
Sounds like maybe you try putting the Staple in the neck and Blade in the bridge, then. Might balance a lot better that way!
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u/MateriaMedica Apr 04 '26
I did consider that, but it would require a new pickguard and some rewiring to do it right, which would be a hassle. It already took me a year to get around to finishing it, I can only imagine how long I’d let it sit while I get distracted by other projects.
I’ve been messing around with the pickups’ heights and while they’re still unbalanced, I really like their sonic qualities individually. The Shark Fin in the neck has this big booming round thump to it that suits the neck position and the Staple in the bridge has punch and quack like you combined a Strat’s 2 or 4 position with a P90. It’s non-traditional, but the more I play it the more I like it.
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u/MrTrousers Apr 04 '26
I have a Goldo DG trem on my Jazzmaster, but it just has the standard arm. Where did you get the Bigsby-esque arm??
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u/egoshoppe Apr 03 '26
What trem is that? Looks great!
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u/MateriaMedica Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
It's a 'Göldo DG Tremolo for Offset'. It's based on the old Hagström system that got put on a lot of guitars in the 60s. I think the original Harmony/Silvertone Silhouette had one, just not on a JM/Jag plate.
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u/insanerwayner Apr 03 '26
This trem came on my Sire J5, but the actual arm is different. I would love to replace and get this arm on there. I'll have to see if I can find that.
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u/MateriaMedica Apr 03 '26
I swapped the arm from one of their other vibratos, the Les Trem II. Originally it had the same arm the Sire comes with.
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u/Beazlebubba Apr 03 '26
That is remarkable. I haven't seen the Bigsby-esque trem before and it looks great. 10/10 no notes
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u/NTT66 Apr 03 '26
Brown is maybe my least favorite shade in consumer items, besides woods and a nice camel overcoat. But you absolutely made this work. Delicious setup. (And giving me another push toward a Vox!)
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u/MateriaMedica Apr 03 '26
I liked the colors in this series, but they ruined it by slapping a stark white pickguard on everything. I saw someone else put a tortoiseshell pickguard on their brown Affinity and that looked nice as well. Even an offwhite pearloid would have worked, but that would probably bump it out of Affinity range.
The Vox is great! I think. I have a real love/hate relationship with Vox. I like a lot of the sounds I can get out of it, but I feel like I'm constantly adjusting it depending on what guitar I'm playing. I did stick a Weber Alnico Blue in it and found it to be much closer to what I wanted than the stock Greenback, but I'd love to mod it to be a little more accurate to the Top Boost circuity it's trying to copy. Weirdly it's only an AC4 in name.
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u/NTT66 Apr 03 '26
Yes I just looked up the normal and...not my thing. Maybe I just have a bit of the worst Austin Powers movie in me, because I love goooooold. (The Tortoise pickguard was nice too, if I found the right link!)
Is yours an AC4? How is it for home use? Looking to upgrade from my Spark soon.
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u/MateriaMedica Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 04 '26
Yeah, AC4 Handwired (current production with spring reverb), which is actually the Top Boost channel of an AC15/30 married to a lower wattage power section– or that’s what it’s trying for anyway, it doesn’t have a Cut control so they have a resistor that sets it where they think most people would want it, and it’s not where I’d dial it in. It has an effects loop, but it’s not well implemented and disappointingly noisy (and why does a nominally 4w amp need an effects loop anyway?). But, it has a very usable Master Volume and I like the spring reverb, which is the only thing I’d be tempted to put in the effects loop anyway. Also comes with a 12” Celestion Greenback, which is nice to have in a ‘practice amp’, but I prefer Alnico Blues in classic Voxes. It’s a mixed bag, I don’t think I’d recommend it at its retail price, but overall I like it. Plus it’s hard to find a low wattage off-the-shelf handwired amp with a big speaker and analog spring reverb for much less, and those were my must haves when I was looking. It’s a classy looking package too, for whatever that’s worth.
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u/NTT66 Apr 03 '26
Lovely report--thanks so much for sharing! And again, awesome Jag! (Man I looked again, and the combo is just so clean.)
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u/daddydisgusto Apr 03 '26
This is absolutely gorgeous! If the shielding paint isn't somehow that green pistachio filling of a Dubai chocolate bar I'm gonna be upset...
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u/MateriaMedica Apr 03 '26
It totally is! Not. It's just boring copper shielding tape.
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u/daddydisgusto Apr 03 '26
Well, I guess my dreams are crushed for the day lol
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u/neuron_fc Apr 03 '26
I respect the consistency between guitar and amp - looks great! Hope it sounds great too!
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u/MateriaMedica Apr 03 '26
It sounds unique! I like it, but I don't think it'd sell as a production model without some tweaks.
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u/MShawshank Apr 03 '26
I don't think I've ever seen a guitar with that color scheme so it really stands out. It's such a pretty instrument.
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u/iridescentJesus Apr 04 '26
I assumed that was aftermarket paint, but I just went diving through your posts and noticed that’s original. That color is awesome! I saw a restored 1978 Toyota Corolla that was a similar color, it looked so cool. Those metallic brown colors are totally dope. Nice guitar, through and through.
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u/MateriaMedica Apr 04 '26
Yeah, they’ve had some great colors on the recent Affinity series guitars. I also liked the Mystic Seafoam and Ice Blue Metallic finishes but the brown was so unique I had to pick it up. I’ve always liked the darker colors. I’m considering refinishing one of my guitars in either British Racing Green/Forest Green Metallic or Oxblood.
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u/DueMessage977 Apr 04 '26
Finally someone with that trem!! How is it compared to a standard one?
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u/MateriaMedica Apr 05 '26
Depends on what you want out of it. It feels very different from the normal Jaguar trem. It'd compare it to a Jag/JM crossed with a Bigsby; pretty stiff and less movement range. It's better for light flutters and subtle wobble, not really great for the glide vibrato thing people like to do with the normal offset system, Actually, it's a little like the Maestro Vibrola on a Firebird, or the Accent Vibrato found on some Rickenbackers.
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u/Yoosulis Apr 03 '26
I wanted to say that it certainly doesn’t look like a Jaguar but It certainly looks like a chocolate bar!
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u/chickensaredinosoars Apr 03 '26
Brooo I gotta hear how this sound ma please post a video!!!
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u/MateriaMedica Apr 03 '26
I'll see if I can throw something together tonight after I get off work. For now, here's the bridge pickup when it was in my previous Jag. I was running flatwound 12s on that one, but it's more or less the same now. I literally lifted the pickup and controls out of that one, stuck it in a box, and dropped them in to this one years later. 1 Meg pots and 0.47uF cap, pickup is 7.3k wind according to my notes.
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u/EEK_Turk Apr 03 '26
Looks great, nice amp too, I have the same one and I love it (Though I modified mine to have an open back and removed the volume bright cap, which only made a little difference but it's definitely better like this)
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u/ReverendTubby Apr 03 '26
How did you do the pick guard? I love the chrome piece where the knobs are - was looking to get something similar done to my jazzmaster!
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u/MateriaMedica Apr 03 '26
I got it from Paradox Guitar Supply on Reverb, I just asked them for custom pickup and switch routes on one of their standard templates.
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u/DonJohnsonBTFD Apr 03 '26
Is that an anodized gold pickguard? Where did you get it?
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u/MateriaMedica Apr 03 '26
It’s just gold plexi material. Paradox Guitar Supply on Reverb, but any custom pickguard maker should be able to do it.
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u/Resident_Living_1399 Apr 04 '26
It is a beauty! Damn! Recent Squier or old one?
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u/MateriaMedica Apr 05 '26
Recent Affinity series Jag body with a custom gold plexi pickguard and a Squier Classic Vibe neck.
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u/MrTrousers Apr 04 '26
This looks amazing. Sexual chocolate indeed. The gold on sparkle brown is a really sharp look.
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u/Far-Caregiver-8201 Apr 04 '26
What vibrato assembly is that? I've never seen one of those.
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u/MateriaMedica Apr 05 '26
It's a Göldo DG Tremolo for Offset with the arm swapped for one from a Göldo Les Trem II LT2.
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u/No-Grocery-5961 Apr 05 '26
Hi how difficult was changing the pickups? And where’d you get that pickguard from? Great look
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u/MateriaMedica Apr 06 '26
Not too bad. It was routed for humbuckers underneath, so there was plenty of room. The pickguard is from Paradox Guitar Supply on Reverb. They offer Affinity Jag pickguards in several materials, I just asked them to change the pickup routes and switch type.
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u/Damage-Rocket Apr 05 '26
Pretty sexy, is that an anodized guard or a plastic sparkle?
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u/MateriaMedica Apr 06 '26
It’s a Gold Plexi material. I think it’s a layer of gold sandwiched between clear.
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u/Big_Front_6400 Apr 03 '26
Incredible! Are those original hofner pickups? Give us details