Jaguar: is converting a squier to lefty a workable proposition?

mixolyd

So I'm planning on getting a guitar next year and right now the Jag is looking like the target, but buying a lefty or making one is a costly proposition.

Given that I've never played one, I'm thinking about picking up a used righty squier to convert before going all in on a lefty.

For both geographic and health reasons there's no prospect of me trying a righty in person unless i cheekily order one and return it so I'm curious what owners think.  Are the controls, jack and trem going to be in the way, or is it like a Casino, Strat etc where they're not a bother?

stickyfiddle

Hendrix did it with a Jazzmaster which seemed to work just fine! You'll have switches above and below the strings either way so I don't see why not. 

The trem might be a bit odd if you want to use it, but otherwise I reckon ok

dogload

The thing to bear in mind is that the offset waist is going to be the wrong way round so sitting down, the neck will feel like it's too far to the right and you are reaching further than normal (which is how I felt when sitting down with a Firebird!). It may feel weird, although the shorter scale length might mitigate that issue.

Top fret access might be limited too, due to the top cutaway being much further forward than the lower one. 

To be honest, I would hesitate to recommend buying a Jag if you have never played one before, as they are not always to everyone's taste. This is especially so with the Squier VM's as they can be a bit patchy and really do need to be set up well as it can effect everything from playability to the sound. 

Sassafras

Learn to play like a normal human being.

mixolyd

stickyfiddle said:

Hendrix did it with a Jazzmaster which seemed to work just fine! You'll have switches above and below the strings either way so I don't see why not. 

The trem might be a bit odd if you want to use it, but otherwise I reckon ok

Good call on Hendrix! Turns out he had a couple Jags too.

http://i.imgur.com/En3VplJ.jpg


When Jimi arrived in the U.K. word got around about his talent. Well known band members told each other, “you have got to go see this guy.” It was around this time that Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones gave Hendrix a dark coloured Fender Jaguar with dot inlays. Jimi also owned another Fender Jaguar that had block inlays. This block inlay guitar was auctioned off in 2011 for $25,000.

mixolyd

dogload said:

The thing to bear in mind is that the offset waist is going to be the wrong way round so sitting down, the neck will feel like it's too far to the right and you are reaching further than normal (which is how I felt when sitting down with a Firebird!). It may feel weird, although the shorter scale length might mitigate that issue.

Top fret access might be limited too, due to the top cutaway being much further forward than the lower one. 

To be honest, I would hesitate to recommend buying a Jag if you have never played one before, as they are not always to everyone's taste. This is especially so with the Squier VM's as they can be a bit patchy and really do need to be set up well as it can effect everything from playability to the sound. 

That's a great point on the waist and relevant since I'd mostly be playing sitting down.  I'm pretty sure those last few frets would be very difficult to reach but that would be an inevitable compromise.

Buying a Squier Jag would be a shot in the dark but far cheaper than going straight to lefty where it could take 6 months to find one under £900.  My disability means that I'm going to be buying one in order to play my first Jag or never playing one at all so I'm resigned to that.

mixolyd

Sassafras said:

Learn to play like a normal human being.

Insufficiently troll-ey, 2/10.

stickyfiddle

Wouldn't the waist thing make it better, not worse? i.e. bringing the headstock nearer to the leg the guitar is resting on?

mixolyd

stickyfiddle said:

Wouldn't the waist thing make it better, not worse? i.e. bringing the headstock nearer to the leg the guitar is resting on?

Yeah it will make the fretboard more accessible at the cost of pushing the picking hand back and up a bit I think.  Could work well for sitting with legs crossed and neck diagonally upward like a classical player which is what I like.
 

http://bestnetworx.com/uploader/files/48/JimiHendrixJaguar.jpg