Mute, Mastery, & Vibrato Install | Modding my Fender Jaguar #1

Do you want to drill holes in your guitar? I sure as hell don't!
But sometimes the mods I want to do push me a bit out of my comfort zone.
Instagram: @_nisebelle
Thanks for watching!

[@nisebelle]

I swear the deck @ 5:52 had too much land in it anyway

[@GrinningFeline]

Can we get a deck tech next?

[@nisebelle]

@@GrinningFeline haha I am so behind the current meta that this deck is not even remotely relevant. It’s pretty much a counter spell deck that’s frustrating to play against but really has no endgame

[@GrinningFeline]

@@nisebelle ewwwwww

[@GrinningFeline]

Sounds really fun to ‘nope’ everyone, but certainly not fun for them, hahahahah

[@nocturnal101ravenous6]

You really shouldn't do that, I know alot of people like to just stick homemade shims in but the parts that are not flush over time will bubble and bow the wood in the neck pocket from the uneven force and pressure, TBH you should probably eventually get on Stew Mac and get their wooden angle shims to do it properly. ..Still cool you used an Island from MTG.

[@Puisheen]

Hey you did great work! Drinking that plunger hole is so scary but you nailed it. Those Lacquer Jags are really good instruments, too. Funnily enough, this video just popped up in my feed and I was curious to see how you did everything, but I did NOT expect the shoutout! What a lovely surprise. Thanks so much for that. Again, GREAT video and I loved the music too. Happy holidays, Nisebelle!

[@nisebelle]

Thank you so much!! That absolutely means the world coming from you! And thank you for all the resources and videos you’ve made available on your channel, they’ve really made a huge impact on my guitar tech career. I’ll be swinging by Mike & Mike’s to grab some Lollars to finish the one up! Happy holidays to you as well!

[@shitstain001]

Are you still in the Seattle area? I’m turning a CV jazzmaster into pretty much an entirely new guitar and would love hire your services

[@dr6934]

Mike Adams is a legend in the offset world. Great job from both parties.

[@Dudeitsmeee]

Fantastic. I think Mike Adams is a treasure to all us offset owners.

[@Jacollier97]

What a high-quality video! The installations were super satisfying to watch as well

[@nisebelle]

Thanks Jacob! It was a fun build, and a fun video to make

[@poppopperrocker]

your videos are so relaxing to watch omg

[@IntoTheImpossible321]

You did great job installing the bridge and mute. It was good that you are honest about your consternation about drilling holes. I've felt that myself during a mod. Also, I chuckled at the Magic card you used for a shim.

[@nisebelle]

Thank you so much! I was definitely nervous about modifying the body that heavily, but glad I’m not the only one! Haha I spent a good couple hours scouring my supplies and racking brain for a thin enough shim and my deck was the only thing I could come up with

[@timvanboening9432]

So cool. I came here from your “vintage” neck video. I have wanted to install a mute in my Jag, have all the parts, just haven’t tried drilling the hole for the plunger and spring. My Jag is a ‘96 MIJ, and the pickguard has the stock holes for the screws and plunger in it, so it’s essentially pointing and saying “DRILL HERE!” I have a Staytrem bridge and trem collet on mine, also, so stock width for the bridge posts, too. I’ve swapped out the pots for CTS pots and Orange Drop capacitor, put Fender Pure Vintage ‘63 pickups in it, rewired it with vintage-spec cloth wire, also. Shielded the full cavities with copper tape, too. I also filed the lead circuit slider control plate to accommodate a three-way toggle switch, and left the filter switch wired, so that still works. I did all this in 2017, and have since seen online a nice control plate to accommodate a three-way switch and strangle slider, but I haven’t purchased it. It’s a beast that punches well above it’s weight class now, for sure!

[@CreamyBone]

The accompanying music was pretty awesome too!

[@nisebelle]

Thank you! I had a lot of fun writing it!

[@CC-te5zf]

Philadelphia Luthier carries metric sized CTS pots for "import" guitars - no more drilling for pots. Check them out. Excellent video! Turned out great!

[@nisebelle]

No way!! Thanks for the heads up, I’ll check them out!

[@BingoBabyO]

You are brave and did a great job! Thanks for posting that process exactly what I needed as well.

[@DougMayer]

Was really helpful to see the mute drilling done, thanks! Gonna drill my CV Jaguar for the mute soon.

[@athathoththegreat3901]

This is an excellent video. That thing you installed reminded me of the peddles on a piano. Same effect.

[@heavyjoechipman3594]

I'm 52. Been playing since about 10 years old. You, dear, sweet, lady, are an awesome-badd-ass! You DO know what you're doing. You're quite a lovely person. Subscribed. Happy New Year sweet lady/fellow picker.❤☺🎸👍

[@nisebelle]

Thank you so much! Have a happy new year as well!

[@mattgehringer7292]

nisebelle you did an awesome job. I haven't tried a Mastery bridge yet but have only heard great things about them. I replaced the stock bridge in my Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar with a Staytrem bridge which worked out really well.

[@nisebelle]

Thank you so much! I've been really happy with the mastery so far and can definitely vouch for it! How are you liking the staytrem? I'm between putting either that or another mastery on my bass vi

[@joeferris5086]

Great video! I just wanted to mention your shim. While I love the idea of using mana as a shim, I have heard quite a few things about mini shims supposedly causing a ski jump in the neck over the years. Stew mac makes full pocket shims of .25, .5 and 1 degrees. They are worth the cost, which is a couple bucks.

[@Perimemo189]

wonderful video and guide! all of the background music is so tasteful as well! I'm assuming those are all originals?

[@nisebelle]

Thank you so much! And yes they are all originals!

[@StrawHatLaw13]

I keep going back to your vids because of the music. Thank you!

[@nathancoronel8308]

This channel is such a great find! Wish you nothing but the best!

[@mykdmenez]

MIke's videos are the best vids for everything offset! and I love seeing your journey through this process with your jag. I will eventually get around to doing this with mine :-) Looking forward to more of your vids!

[@nisebelle]

His videos have been such an incredible resource! Thanks for watching!

[@Ari_Calamari]

Just popped up in my feed. I really enjoy diy-ing guitar stuff.

[@euro51116]

WOW I did not realize how much I wanted a lake placid blue jaguar. Very jealous of that beautiful instrument and awesome mod work!!

[@kmac123ize]

Gawd this is sick im so geeked to get my mute in the mail. I've been watching these kind of vids to quench the thirst for the mute till I get it lol

[@nisebelle]

Haha I did the same thing before I installed mine!

[@gushutchinson8758]

Fortune favours the bold where angels fear to tread looking before they leapt... Go for it!!! F#*k you make it look SO easy... I'm sure you double check then check again off camera... It's important we all have a go and don't let fear stop us... It's exciting to see how it's done, your way .. How you tackle things really encourages us lot out here to be bold too... I'm grateful to have stumbled across your channel on the hunt for a squire 40th anniversary jazzmaster then being pretty amazed the squire jazzmaster V1 bass... Actually exists... Just as I start believing it wasn't a typo there you stripping one down called penelope and rebuilding it with amazing gusto.. Finished off with your own great song... Jazzmaster heaven!!!

[@nocturnal101ravenous6]

I know this is an old video but the fact you used an MTG island Card as a shim is hot.

[@richarde3378]

Great vid! Can't wait for the next mod. Thanks! :)

[@nisebelle]

Thanks!! Hopefully I can get started on it soon!

[@nickjanczak9665]

A good vid. I have one suggestion for you though, get a StewMac shim for your neck pocket, that ensures the neck makes full contact with the body.

[@nisebelle]

Thanks for the suggestion! Last I checked, they were out of stock on stewmac, but I’ll add a couple to my next order if they’re in by then!

[@joserl95]

That mute is sick. I didn’t know about them until now and I think I’m gonna put one on my jazzmaster now??

[@londonztoa6359]

Amazing guitar. You were pretty brave to take the upgrade job on!

[@nisebelle]

Thank you!! Glad it went as well as it did!

[@philmckrackensr2159]

Nicely done! I’m going to do this soon and you made it look easy so thanks. I like to use wood shims they won’t compress over time like paper.

[@richsackett3423]

I have a bag of old ivory piano keytops. They are the best.

[@DragonKidSlayer3]

Great quality vidoe, you did the holes so effortlessly I would be rethinking it over and over hoping it works. Looks Great!

[@nisebelle]

Thanks so much!! Haha I think I must have spent at least an hour marking and remarking before I even thought about drilling. Thankfully I was able to cut down that part in the edit!

[@DragonKidSlayer3]

@@nisebelle hah i bet , the amount of confidence to just go and put a hole in a guitar, thats terryfying. Glad I got some BTS of the process haha, Bet your channel is going to blow up

[@aftertheendtimes]

Great awesome work you did, interesting to see the transformation😄😍🎸🙏🙏🙏☯

[@markward2396]

Nice job. And kudos for being honest about drilling big holes in someone else’s guitar!!! Been there. ;)

[@amq1996]

hey nice video, I really like the color of your jag!

[@nisebelle]

Thank you!!

[@martianmurray]

I just put some Graphtech saddles on my Squier Jag and they seem good so far tho I’d like to compare it to a Mastery bridge. Next I gotta decide on a Mastery or AVRI vibrato. I’ll probably do similar to my JMs too.

[@deadleg6]

I like that you used an MTG card to shim the neck pocket.

[@RebelScum312]

spent some quality time with the ventures yesterday & the cool stars on guitars doc (love the surfrajettes & discovered the awesome neptunas) & the blue christmas waves brought me here to this great video, loved the pacing & your playing on the soundtrack! this jaguar with a matching headstock is my dream guitar, custom hot rodded of course to make it mine. if you swap the stock pickups hope you can film some before & after playthroughs (with the new mute too), you've got really sweet tones on that pretty mermaid & you got me subscribed with bells! 💙🎸🌊🎸🏄‍♀🎸🏄‍♂🎸✨

[@nisebelle]

That would be such a cool jag! I thought about trying to do a matching headstock here but I’m a bit less than confident in my painting abilities haha. I’ll definitely do a comparison between the two pickups, thanks for the suggestion! So glad you found your way over to this video and my channel!

[@martinclayton7260]

I love Jaguars, they are beautiful guitars.

[@frankiechan9651]

Love the MTG card as a shim. Could become your signature for any guitars you work on. I think I learnt how to make mine via a Crimson Guitars video - just a thin piece of balsa wood, taped down then sanded to the angle I needed. Cheap too - that one piece has also been used to shim nuts and a few other things - still have 90% of the one sheet left. Nice work on measuring and checking before the drilling.

[@matthewrgiorgio]

How do you feel the Magic card worked vs. a traditional shim? I have a 96 MIJ Jag and I’ve been reading about shims. Might want to give it a try.

[@bobbyneedle]

Enjoyed your Video 💪

[@SpiderStratagemVI]

You, have a new subscriber! Love the offset and upgrades you made to it. Definitely want to see future projects! Mod on!

[@nisebelle]

Thank you!!

[@dereksstupidmusicchannel]

Nicely done! The song that you played at the end was very beautiful. Standard tuning or something more open?

[@nisebelle]

Thank you! I love the way second inversions sound with the mute on. It was in standard tuning key of D. If you’re interested in the full track, I can throw it on SoundCloud or something, let me know!

[@relativity1581]

Im trying installing a mute next weekend. Thank you for the video .

[@NuGundam_]

Great video!

[@nisebelle]

Thank you!! Also I love your username, one of my favorite gundams and one of the best mgs I’ve ever built!

[@malfunction5448]

Great job! Like you, I'm super nervous about making new holes in a guitar body 😄

[@nisebelle]

Thank you!! Hopefully drilling those holes gets easier for both us haha

[@ericinthekitchen]

WoW ! Nice work there ! On the guitar and with the video …

[@nisebelle]

Thanks for watching! It was a fun one!

[@fleadoggreen9062]

Nice backing track !!

[@nisebelle]

Thank you!!

[@dandylion6]

Very helpful, thank you. I’m still scared to remove those AOM thimbles though. I’ll wait for my mastery to get here and I’ll pay somebody I guess.

[@thenoyrd]

I wanna also do this to my jag, but I'm a bit scared of drilling the body :D (Also the Fender Mute assembly is kinda hard to find here in Spain). Thanks for the video!

[@baronvonchickenpants6564]

I enjoyed that

[@nothingandmore]

Nice work. I am about to do mine on my fsr charcoal black jag

[@thesausage351]

I know how you feel. I have a Tele routed for singles and I’m going to modify it to take P90’s. I don’t like routers.

[@snoooozer]

Your guitar is so nice. good job!

[@nisebelle]

Thank you!

[@johnwalls1614]

Hi good stuff!

[@tendingtropic7778]

supercool channel! subscribed! what was the original model of this jaguar?

[@kirkgreenman1386]

Awesome video,The mute was cool. I will see if I can afford a Bass VI.

[@kingpishful]

The mute only fits the original bridge....but the one that comes standard won't innotate properly 😢

[@vidma6]

Nice work

[@nisebelle]

Thanks so much!

[@danielstoddart]

If you have a Mastery bridge, the Fender mute is completely unnecessary. I didn't even like it with the stock Fender bridge, so I took mine off and tossed it in the guitar case where it's been ever since. Know what else is completely unnecessary? The Fender locking vibrato, since if you have a Mastery vibrato then your chances of breaking a string are very slim unless you are using old strings. There are no sharp edges anywhere on the Mastery hardware that will cause a string break. That's why the Mastery doesn't have a locking vibrato. The result is a much simpler, smoother, and bulletproof level of action.

[@salvadormirandaguardiola7144]

Nice! That was useful, thanks

[@nisebelle]

Thanks for watching!

[@tigredejadeec]

subbed!

[@lukebenjamin]

I've used a bit of pokemon card as a shim, so it's nice to see some validation with your method looks like your mod turned out great!

[@nisebelle]

That’s awesome! I’m all about that card shim haha. I set up a Jazzmaster for my brother a few years back and used a yugioh card for that shim. I’ll try a Pokémon card on the next one!

[@jamiewhite6798]

Awesome job and well done on video quality new Sub..

[@nisebelle]

Thanks so much!!

[@jaywells5283]

Don’t use card stock for a shim! Paper compresses!

[@nisebelle]

It’s now been replaced! She now has a quarter degree full pocket shim from stewmac, thanks for watching!

[@richsackett3423]

A better way to remove the anchors is to thread in a bolt and pull/pry on it. Extra jaw marks are something no hardware needs.

[@bubupianisimo]

whats the difference between the vibratos she replaced?

[@angusbarry9159]

Where can I find a mute kit for jaguars like the one you have?I can't find one anywhere online or in-store.

[@tambow44]

Why the magic card inside the neck joint? Ty

[@mitchmurrell753]

What was the background music in this vid?

[@nisebelle]

It was all just stuff I wrote for this video, wanted to see what new sounds I could get out of that mute!

[@mitchmurrell753]

I thought is was great. Your obviously talented.

[@Robinbermann]

Unrelated but I am kinda sad that I cant seem to get a good tone out of my jag, normally I play teles in the neck position but the jag cant seem to get something similar out of it:(

[@davidm4146]

How deep did you drill the big hole for the plunger?

[@onlyshallot]

great job!, maybe next u can darkening the fretboards to get vintage jaguar look

[@nisebelle]

Thank you! Hmm I might give that a shot! I’ve never stained or refinished a neck before so I’ll have to do some research before taking that on. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@inthestudy]

@@nisebelle If you go all the way to a refinish... matched headstock? ;)

[@nisebelle]

@@inthestudy I’ve thought about it! I’m super paranoid that I wouldn’t be able to get the EXACT color match, but maybe I’ll do a few test runs on some neck blanks. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@ry7hym]

di-... did you just take a random island out of a deck for that??!

[@NHail]

will a mute fit on a jag with humbuckers?

[@sonicd57]

Hi Nisebelle, do you happen to know which year/model/series your jaguar is? Thanks and great video and information for us jag enthusiasts out there!

[@nisebelle]

Hi sonicd57! She is a 2016 Fender 60s lacquer jaguar. The line was made in Mexico from 2015-2019. I think it was replaced by the vintera line but I’m not quite sure. Hope that helps and glad you enjoyed the video!!

[@sonicd57]

@@nisebelle Awesome 😎

[@tonyevans9999]

I have the exact same soldering iron therefore I am duty bound to subscribe

[@nisebelle]

Haha no way!! I hope yours is in better shape than mine! I would go in and replace the led, but unfortunately I need my soldering iron to do that…

[@tonyevans9999]

@@nisebelle oh mine is in worse shape sadly but it does the thing and naturally I'm led free also

[@nisebelle]

@@tonyevans9999 Glad to hear it's still getting the job done even despite it's condition, hopefully mine continues the same!

[@inthestudy]

@@nisebelle My LED is still good, but I also lost the cellulose pad. The stupid thing is I use those for washing up, so always have 10 or so. There is literally no good reason I haven't replaced it yet. :(

[@MultiSpeedr]

Nice! Rock on...

[@Rachels123]

I wish you would have talked about the new parts. Why you changed vibrato, you slid over the name so quickly, I had to rewind several times, and still not sure what you said. Avr??what was the new one, why the old one was not good enough.

[@nisebelle]

Thanks for letting me know! I actually had a section where I talked about the new components including the vibrato and why I chose them, but I wasn’t sure that anyone would actually be interested in my thoughts on them so I cut it out in the edit. I’ll be sure to include something like that in my next ones! For the vibrato, I used the fender American Vintage Reissue (AVRI) vibrato. I found that now matter how I adjusted the stock one, I had to exert too much force to actually get it to actuate, and when I did, I couldn’t get a subtle pitch shift only larger intervals. I chose the AVRI over the Mastery since the AVRI has a weaker spring in it. I don’t have a ton of strength in my right pinky/ring finger so the weaker spring works to my advantage when trying to get expressive pitch shifts while I play. Thanks for the comment!

[@ciatangallaghe2485]

Jazzmasters are for people scared of the jaguar

[@brittboyette461]

Did you apply Chapstick to the bridge saddles? Do you do the nut with that as well?

[@nisebelle]

I did! It’s a trick that I learned from a Mike Adams (@puisheen) video and yes I use it on both the nut and saddles

[@brittboyette461]

@@nisebelle I'll have to give that one a try. Probably not a good idea to use cherry favor on a bone nut though I'm assuming!

[@Annunaki_0517]

Hammering directly on the finish of the guitar made me cringe. I’d have padded the top of the guitar with a thin sheet of balsa wood or felt or heck even an old tshirt to give the finish some cushion just in case that hammer didn’t come down perfectly square.

[@BennyEatsCheese]

How could you mangle that island like that 😭

[@saxophool]

I've built a couple of guitars from kits but I don't think I would like to mod a store bought guitar. How do you know that it needed a shim?

[@nisebelle]

I’ve seen those kits around, but I’ve never built one myself! How did you like them? Shims are pretty common in a lot of older offset guitars (newer ones sometimes have an angled neck pocket so they don’t require a shim or even need a reverse shim in some cases). This is because offset bridges (stock and aftermarket) need to be raised off the body to create enough downward pressure to keep the bridge and strings in place. The problem is that raising the bridge also raises the action, so the shim helps to lower the action while still maintain the necessary downward pressure. I actually had a thicker shim in here before the mods, but the mastery bridge requires less pitch back than the mastery does.

[@saxophool]

@@nisebelle I got a Tele style kit from a company in Canada and a Strat style kit from a company on Amazon. Both were pretty easy to put together. I ended up going over both of them with better parts and second paint jobs so it was like I built each one twice. Pretty fun.

[@davegrohlnonottherealone5171]

I can’t afford a jaguar, let alone a bridge that’s $300

[@RSMusic4L]

damn she pulled out the 11 , 52's . HAHA she dont play.

[@jackwallacephotography7467]

And Every MTG fan died 😭😅

[@tobisteffen]

The weirdest thing I've ever seen. A woman telling me how to install a Mastery bridge into a Jaguar. I need to let that settle now.

[@djsnackypants]

Magic The Guitarering

[@IHateDRM]

Huh I hadn't considered a mute when I built a parts master with stuff from warmoth, but kinda wish I had from the point of view of just having a guitar that does All Of The Things (If I can get it to work). I think my main take away from this very cool video though is the hair tie around the headstock for putting the strings on. I swear every time I restring I always let go of one mid process and have it fly off somewhere

[@dfuzzybuzzy]

Killer job and guitar!

[@shitstain001]

What made you pick the AVRI vibrato over the mastery?

[@nisebelle]

It was a few things: first the spring tension. I felt like the weaker spring in the avri was a better fit for my play style as opposed to the stronger on in the mastery Second was aesthetics, the brushed metal look of the mastery I felt didn’t really match with all the shiny chrome on the jag And lastly was price, I got my avri used for $60 I still have a mastery vibrato that I’m planning on throwing on my bass vi

[@shitstain001]

@@nisebelle thanks for the reply! I’ve been watching tons of this stuff and trying to get opinions on it all because I’m changing pretty much everything in a squirt jazzmaster and haven’t settled on everything yet

[@nisebelle]

@@shitstain001 of course! Those squier JMs are awesome! I did an overhaul of a CV squier for a commission with a mastery and a set of antiquity IIs and that thing was so fun to play!