Trem or no trem on a Mustang body. Which one to go for?!

Creed_Clicks

I plan to transplant a Squier Bullet Mustang neck to this body if it fits. I can't decide on a trem or a hardtail conversion plate. Help me choose! 

Sesh

Do you need a trem? If yes, then yes, otherwise no. I'm planning to hardtail my mustang next string change. I hope it doesn't stiffen things up too much. You got plenty of string behind the bridge if you hardtail it so that should help. I keep wondering how a mustang with a trapeze style tailpiece would look. 

Creed_Clicks

@Sesh I don't have any guitars with trems, so humming and hawing about it. More for the chimey sound you get from a JM bridge. I suppose I could still get it with the hardtail.
I might look for a hardtail with holes further back.

ICBM

Trem, absolutely every time.

I don’t think I’ve actually ever seen a Jaguar trem on a Mustang before - it looks like it was designed for it, much better than the somewhat ‘quirky’ Mustang one.

Sesh

Creed_Clicks said:

@Sesh I don't have any guitars with trems, so humming and hawing about it. More for the chimey sound you get from a JM bridge. I suppose I could still get it with the hardtail.
I might look for a hardtail with holes further back.

Well, that's your answer then. If you go hardtail then you'll always wonder how the trem would be, and whether it had the sound you're looking for. And, looking at the hardtail plate again there is a big blank metal section that I would find annoying. If it was engraved, or as you say, the string holes where further back it would look better. You can always lock the trem off if you don't like it. Or not, I find with my vm jag that it stays in tune and it can't be locked. Unless of course I palm mute too hard on the bridge and knock it out of position, but that's my fault not the trem's.

I think there is a middle ground between a mustang and jaguar where my ideal guitar is. It's not a cobain jagstang though, the squier jarman thing is nearer. 

@ICBM Bilinda Butcher from My Bloody Valentine had a mustang with jag trem, and many have copied it. (Google Bilindastang if you want to lose a few hours on the offset guitars forum.) Or just join the Harley Benton pick up swappers club and buy an MS-60. 

Creed_Clicks

@Sesh yeah, I have been thinking of saving myself a lot of faffing around and just get the Harley Benton. I am aware of the Bilindastang which is why I went for this body.
I swapped the pickguard on the Bullet Mustang to a neck only single coil, and it sounds just perfect, but with this body, I may put in a bridge single coil as well, or a neck single coil JB Jr, and a single coil in the bridge. Better to be looking at it, than looking for it!

ICBM

Sesh said:

I think there is a middle ground between a mustang and jaguar where my ideal guitar is. It's not a cobain jagstang though, the squier jarman thing is nearer.

The Jag-Stang somehow managed to combine all the bad features of both models, and then added terrible pickups…

Creed_Clicks

Just on the body, if I give it e.g. several coats of tru oil, at the final stage, should I be adding some kind of sealer over the coats of tru oil? (Or is the tru oil sealer in itself, and several coats of it is doing the trick?) 
Sorry for the total NOOB question!