The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Discussion of newer designs, copies and reissue offset-waist instruments.
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BobDarren1
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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by BobDarren1 » Thu Oct 11, 2018 3:04 pm

Debaser wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:54 am
BobDarren1 wrote:
Wed Oct 10, 2018 3:45 pm
Did you consider returning it? I would in your shoes, because all your mods (and gripes) suggest doing a build/partscaster might be the better path to get what you want. You might not even need to spend as much money, and hey, it could be considered MIA :unsure:

I'm an avid DIY/modder and have irreversibly altered new stock guitars in pursuit of weird, inconsequential OCDs. I'd be first to encourage you on this project, but my personal rule is anything over a grand needs to be 80/90 percent "there", 2k+ 95 percent. Splitting the neck and body up is only reasonable to me on sub-1k dollar guitars. More often now, I just make what I want.

I know, that's just me, do as thou wilt and all...
Like I said, I was given this guitar, so so far I have't payed anything for this thing. Let alone the $70 AM PRO mustang bridge I just bought online that was suggested earlier.

so, so far I've only payed $70 for this guitar
I hardly think a new American bridge and trem arm sleeve are inconsequential OCDs. Those are functionality upgrades. Pickguard is just an aesthetic choice, and a new custom neck is only an idea, but definitely would be an improvement.

everything else is just an idea way down the road if things naturally go that way.

If I dont do a refin, I could be spending close to $700 on this guitar. That's why below it's list price

but now that I'm looking at things, maybe I should ask for a TVL. They're look pretty similar and seem way more worth it for the spec's that they got.

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by BobDarren1 » Thu Oct 11, 2018 3:05 pm

Debaser wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:54 am
BobDarren1 wrote:
Wed Oct 10, 2018 3:45 pm
Did you consider returning it? I would in your shoes, because all your mods (and gripes) suggest doing a build/partscaster might be the better path to get what you want. You might not even need to spend as much money, and hey, it could be considered MIA :unsure:

I'm an avid DIY/modder and have irreversibly altered new stock guitars in pursuit of weird, inconsequential OCDs. I'd be first to encourage you on this project, but my personal rule is anything over a grand needs to be 80/90 percent "there", 2k+ 95 percent. Splitting the neck and body up is only reasonable to me on sub-1k dollar guitars. More often now, I just make what I want.

I know, that's just me, do as thou wilt and all...
Like I said, I was given this guitar, so so far I have't payed anything for this thing. Let alone the $70 AM PRO mustang bridge I just bought online that was suggested earlier.

so, so far I've only payed $70 for this guitar
I hardly think a new American bridge and trem arm sleeve are inconsequential OCDs. Those are functionality upgrades. Pickguard is just an aesthetic choice, and a new custom neck is only an idea, but definitely would be an improvement.

everything else is just an idea way down the road if things naturally go that way.

If I dont do a refin, I could be spending close to $700 on this guitar. That's way below it's list price

but now that I'm looking at things, maybe I should ask for a TVL. They look pretty similar and seem way more worth it for the spec's that they got.

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by zeero9 » Thu Oct 11, 2018 4:54 pm

BobDarren1 wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:44 pm

No, it is what I meant. They're not American parts so therefore they're cheaper. They're not built as well as American manufactured parts. Even if you look at the tremolo, it doesn't have a lock button. Look at all the Jazzmaster's Fender is putting out right now. The only guitars that don't have lock buttons are MIM's except for, the classic player Jag (which still isn't over $1k), and the TVL(which Troy was hands on enough to put a mustang bridge, and a 7.25" radius, so of course he's going to have a lock button), also the Squires dont have these. This indicates that this tremolo is cheaper than the MIA or the MIJ models. Even if you try to buy a new tremolo from their website it's MIJ and $70 with a lock button, so this is where my term "cheap" comes from. They're cheap parts, not wrong, just cheap and not as good.
Again, a good majority of my playing/songs require me holding onto that trem arm while I'm strumming. I can't do this with the trem arm pushed so close to the pickguard (which is the only place that I can get it to stay put). This also limits a huge range of motion from that trem arm that you're not accessing. Possibly you're playing just isn't as trem heavy, which is fine.

They have stuck with a bridge design that doesn't work well for a lot of people, not just modern light gauges. There's a reason why companies like Mastery and Staytrem were created, There's a reason why people switch these bridges out time and time again. This is why the Squire J Mascis has a Tune-O-Matic, like you mentioned. J. Mascis (along with Thurston Moore) are notorious for Tune - o -matic's on theirJazz's. J. even has them on his CIJ series. I wouldn't write this off as being a problem "solved" though. Tune-O-Matic's are not really the best solution for Jazzmasters. All that movement from the tremolo, the strings start digging into those Tune-O-Matic saddles making them sharper and sharper until you're constantly breaking strings. I think even Thurston Moore uses mastery nowadays. I've noticed a pattern with Fender though, if an artist, like J. Mascis, puts a part on their signature guitar, and Fender realizes they can either save or make money doing the same thing, they will. So J. throws on a tune-o-matic on his Squire, and those bridges are probably next to nothing to produce so yeah, lets throw them on all the Squire Jazzmasters. Same with Johnny Marr and TVL, they throw mustang saddles on their sig's and then boom, Fender makes an AM PRO with a mustang bridge because they know people love those bridges and will pay more to get them, even though they probably aren't that much money to make either.
I'm also going to point out your last point about the look of the vintage bridge being important. If it was that important to LOOK authentic to the vintage model for them to put on a vintage ( or crap) bridge on the guitar, where's the lock button on the tremolo? More money then they're willing to put into the guitar? Cheaper to make it "look" like an old Jazz but not function as well? ah yes lets put these cheaper parts on this guitar and get people to buy it because of the look but not the playability and jack up the price.
Essentially this logic is similar to a replica gun or replica anything, looks and feels like the real thing but doesn't function like it.

I think there needs to be a change. Fender needs to stop jacking up the price on these guitars because of the "look" that they achieve while maintaining cheap not as functional parts and saving them a buck by having them MIM. And if you want the real thing or something that works a little better you gotta cough up $400-$700 extra dollars. MIM regardless of how they look should be under $1k
I'm not here to discuss the merits of specific bridges. I personally dislike the AOM bridge on a Jazzmaster and I've replaced it with a Staytrem. But others have said many times that it works perfectly for them, who am I to judge that?

I think you don't get what I'm trying to say at all. You are basing your evaluation of the pricing of these guitars based on an arbitrary amount of $1k. I paid $366 for my MIM Strat many years ago. Today the equivalent model is $650. Your nice round number of 1000 doesn't look so pretty in my local currency. I'm sorry but I just can't get why you maintain this view that "MIM should be under $1k". In a few years inflation would have caught up with that, if it hasn't already done so. You can judge a product against its price based on its own merits, but you shouldn’t establish an artificial benchmark.

I didn't say I think the vintage look is important. I said that FENDER thinks it's important, particularly pertaining to the bridge. I don't necessarily agree it's a good direction, but I can see why many players want things to look more vintage.

I think saying that Fender puts in cheap parts to save money is over-simplification. Cheaper doesn't mean cheap, how much do you think they save by skipping a lock button, when they already mass produce the locking version? I'm saying they decide which parts to use, what features to put in, not purely based on how much those parts cost. You can get guitars from them that work better at lower price points. Again, the cheaper Player series has "Mustang-like" bridges. Yes, I've done some mods to make my CP work better. Does my anniversary work properly without mods? Yes it does.

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by Debaser » Fri Oct 12, 2018 7:42 am

BobDarren1 wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 3:05 pm
Debaser wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:54 am
BobDarren1 wrote:
Wed Oct 10, 2018 3:45 pm
Did you consider returning it? I would in your shoes, because all your mods (and gripes) suggest doing a build/partscaster might be the better path to get what you want. You might not even need to spend as much money, and hey, it could be considered MIA :unsure:

I'm an avid DIY/modder and have irreversibly altered new stock guitars in pursuit of weird, inconsequential OCDs. I'd be first to encourage you on this project, but my personal rule is anything over a grand needs to be 80/90 percent "there", 2k+ 95 percent. Splitting the neck and body up is only reasonable to me on sub-1k dollar guitars. More often now, I just make what I want.

I know, that's just me, do as thou wilt and all...
Like I said, I was given this guitar, so so far I have't payed anything for this thing. Let alone the $70 AM PRO mustang bridge I just bought online that was suggested earlier.

so, so far I've only payed $70 for this guitar
I hardly think a new American bridge and trem arm sleeve are inconsequential OCDs. Those are functionality upgrades. Pickguard is just an aesthetic choice, and a new custom neck is only an idea, but definitely would be an improvement.

everything else is just an idea way down the road if things naturally go that way.

If I dont do a refin, I could be spending close to $700 on this guitar. That's way below it's list price

but now that I'm looking at things, maybe I should ask for a TVL. They look pretty similar and seem way more worth it for the spec's that they got.
Ah, my bad, didn't see that :whistle: In that case, this is a well-under 1k guitar, so I now see it as free to plunder. Sell the neck, sell the bridge, loaded pickguard. Strip the paint for a refin. At this rate, your ideas basically mean you have a donor body. My confusion stemmed from the 'cheap' hardware comments. I don't agree with some of those statements, as an AV65 and AO come with a similar bridge. IME, it works, even with 10s. The MIA trem is an upgrade though, I agree there.

As for inconsequential OCDs, this is just real talk that I face as a modder/diy'r. Making guitars that make sense to me is part fun, part learning, part GAS. Hardly any of that matters when making music, and I've to terms with that, but I do what I want anyway :D
50,000 watts out of Mexico, this is the BorderRadio...

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by SummerLeftMe » Fri Oct 12, 2018 8:27 pm

BobDarren1 wrote:
Wed Oct 10, 2018 3:45 pm

HARDWARE:
bad. horrible. 10 thumbs down. what are you doing? this is what people payed $1200 for? You'd think by now Fender would wise up. They've listened to the masses say "no no, we like the 9.5" radius cus we can shred better blah blah blah" but they can't listen to people for decades complain about these Jazzmaster/Jaguar bridges? When a Jazzmaster or Jaguar feels perfect, you are in heaven. Thats why there's a website called offsetguitars.com. We've been there, we've picked up a perfect offset and realized how amazing the body feels. How cool we look playing them, and most importantly the beauty of the floating tremolo goodness. "You mean I can glide these strings down with ease and then it stays in tune??" "yes my son, play that Maj7 chord and wiggle that tremolo on your way to heaven!" This is how we feel. This is why we want these guitars. BUT only if they have a proper setup/hardware to do so. No wonder for decades people have written off this guitar as a piece of crap, these bridges suck! And I won't accept it being the "anniversary edition" for keeping it like the classic Jazzmaster as an excuse. We got tall frets, and a 9.5" radius where do you see that in the 60's - 70's? come on, they can change some things.
The buzz, is unbelievable, I've went inside and put tape in between the majority of the saddles so they dont vibrate on each other and create buzz. Even after doing that the individual screws that raise and lower the saddles will buzz, so.. gotta throw some tape on those. The actually tremolo system isn't bad but the sleeve holding the tremolo is horrible. The only way to make it not fall out, or move is to push it all the way in as hard as you can, and by that point the tremolo sits very very low. It's not screw in, nor does it have a sort of "staytrem" nylon sleeve to hold it in. It's just metal inside a hole that vibrates and actually clunks around inside the hole so youre not getting the full tremolo experience. Yes I know I can change this part out, I'll get to that in a sec, I'm just confused on where they get off charging the public so much, only to have them end up paying more for better parts. Maybe it's the neck binding, wow geez, thanks for charging us so much for a cosmetic/aesthetic issue.


When it comes to the vintage bridge I don't think it's necessarily the cost that determines how stable it is. I don't use the original bridges on my 2 USA Jags because I just think the original design is just not the greatest. I actually have been using a Squier original jazzmaster bridge on my classic player jazzmaster and its been really stable.

I have the daphne blue 60th anniversary Jazzmaster and surprisingly my bridge is fine. I too was going for a staytrem till I found out they wont ship to the US anymore. What I really like about the vintage bridge design is that you can change the string spacing. I even put on a mustang bridge and it lost its jazzmaster twang, so I'm pretty happy with the stock bridge. . . for now.

I will say my only concern with my daphne blue 60th is the finish. I had mine for just a couple weeks and it was already starting to yellow on the arm contour and belly cut. Have been pretty bummed about that, but since yours is black you wont have to worry about that.

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by andy_tchp » Fri Oct 12, 2018 10:37 pm

Stock bridge can be great when setup properly.


But for the love of $DEITY... the word is 'PAID'.
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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by BobDarren1 » Sat Oct 13, 2018 1:21 am

zeero9 wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 4:54 pm
BobDarren1 wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:44 pm
I'm not here to discuss the merits of specific bridges. I personally dislike the AOM bridge on a Jazzmaster and I've replaced it with a Staytrem. But others have said many times that it works perfectly for them, who am I to judge that?

I think you don't get what I'm trying to say at all. You are basing your evaluation of the pricing of these guitars based on an arbitrary amount of $1k. I paid $366 for my MIM Strat many years ago. Today the equivalent model is $650. Your nice round number of 1000 doesn't look so pretty in my local currency. I'm sorry but I just can't get why you maintain this view that "MIM should be under $1k". In a few years inflation would have caught up with that, if it hasn't already done so. You can judge a product against its price based on its own merits, but you shouldn’t establish an artificial benchmark.

I didn't say I think the vintage look is important. I said that FENDER thinks it's important, particularly pertaining to the bridge. I don't necessarily agree it's a good direction, but I can see why many players want things to look more vintage.

I think saying that Fender puts in cheap parts to save money is over-simplification. Cheaper doesn't mean cheap, how much do you think they save by skipping a lock button, when they already mass produce the locking version? I'm saying they decide which parts to use, what features to put in, not purely based on how much those parts cost. You can get guitars from them that work better at lower price points. Again, the cheaper Player series has "Mustang-like" bridges. Yes, I've done some mods to make my CP work better. Does my anniversary work properly without mods? Yes it does.
If you've gone ahead and switched out your bridge, I'm confused at what we're discussing then. All I'm saying is that bridge sucks and many people say and think this. You yourself have taken the liberty to change out your bridge. Obviously something made you unhappy enough with the original bridge to change it out.

I do know what you're saying. You think it's ridiculous that I'm putting a price cap on MIM's. I don't think that's ridiculous. I also hope you don't think I'm taking a knock at MIM's, I'm not. I have MIM's and Squire's that I've toured the world with and still do to this day. One of my main guitars, a MIM Strat, I bought for $50 from a guy in a car. Over the years I've heavily modded it, but that's my point. MIM's are really well functioning guitars that don't break the bank to own . When you're younger and can't afford expensive guitars it's great to get MIM's and/or Squire's and over time work at making them function a little better through upgrades for you. Or even if you want to start a project of spec'ing out a guitar. This is the fun and beauty of Fender's assembly line design. You just said that when you bought your MIM Strat years back it was $366 and now they sell the same strat for $650. This is what I mean, I think I've missed something. The price on MIM's have gone up. They still function the same way they did when the price was lower (or maybe not) but now they're more money. Maybe I'm getting old and haven't been paying attention. I just feel like the way my 60th AC Jazzmaster feels and plays is more indicative of something around the $800 price point. From my experience, MIM are delegated more as really good "budget guitars" that you can modify yourself to make almost better then MIA's. IMO there's nothing "budget" about a guitar that is $1200 - $1400. I feel like back in the day I would never see a MIM go over $1k, this is my confusion, I believe they've increased their pricing, that is all. In my mind anything over $1k should play very damn well, you shouldn't have to change out basic components like nut, bridge, and tremelo, just to make it function better. That sounds like something more for the $200-$800 price range.

"I think saying that Fender puts in cheap parts to save money is over-simplification. Cheaper doesn't mean cheap, how much do you think they save by skipping a lock button, when they already mass produce the locking version? I'm saying they decide which parts to use, what features to put in, not purely based on how much those parts cost. You can get guitars from them that work better at lower price points. Again, the cheaper Player series has "Mustang-like" bridges. Yes, I've done some mods to make my CP work better. Does my anniversary work properly without mods? Yes it does."


It's not that overly simple. That's the discernible difference between MIA and MIM's. That's sort of the whole thing. That's why MIA all have nicer parts.
by the player series do you mean this ?
https://shop.fender.com/en-US/electric- ... 03500.html
because these have the vintage bridge.
I'm glad your 60th AC works well without mods, mine doesn't. That's why I'm sharing my project.
My other point is that I think this guitar is over priced, and that MIM's have gone up in value with out a change in parts/playability. They still play well, just not at their price point.

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by BobDarren1 » Sat Oct 13, 2018 1:28 am

SummerLeftMe wrote:
Fri Oct 12, 2018 8:27 pm
BobDarren1 wrote:
Wed Oct 10, 2018 3:45 pm
When it comes to the vintage bridge I don't think it's necessarily the cost that determines how stable it is. I don't use the original bridges on my 2 USA Jags because I just think the original design is just not the greatest. I actually have been using a Squier original jazzmaster bridge on my classic player jazzmaster and its been really stable.

I have the daphne blue 60th anniversary Jazzmaster and surprisingly my bridge is fine. I too was going for a staytrem till I found out they wont ship to the US anymore. What I really like about the vintage bridge design is that you can change the string spacing. I even put on a mustang bridge and it lost its jazzmaster twang, so I'm pretty happy with the stock bridge. . . for now.

I will say my only concern with my daphne blue 60th is the finish. I had mine for just a couple weeks and it was already starting to yellow on the arm contour and belly cut. Have been pretty bummed about that, but since yours is black you wont have to worry about that.

I'm only bringing up the cost because they tend to put this bridge now only on their "budget" models, except the squires all have the tune-o-matic, which IMO and many other's is a better bridge. That's probably why that bridge is working better for you on your classic player.

I know isn't it so sad about the staytrem.. :'( RIP
The string spacing option is a really nice feature I agree. But I'd rather have something more reliable and streamlined for touring purposes.

Whoa! yours is yellowing already?
I guess it really is a nitro finish. In a lot of ways I think that's cool but bummer you don't personally like it.

also is that your daphne blue jag in your photo?
super cool.. 8)

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by BobDarren1 » Sat Oct 13, 2018 1:35 am

andy_tchp wrote:
Fri Oct 12, 2018 10:37 pm
Stock bridge can be great when setup properly.


But for the love of $DEITY... the word is 'PAID'.

I was wondering about that.
oh well, I got that AM PRO mustang bridge comin'. Maybe I'll stick the stock bridge on a future guitar and have it set up.

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by Mechanical Birds » Mon Oct 15, 2018 1:06 am

Mind sharing the circumstances that led to you getting a free guitar from Fender? That’s awesome!

And I dunno if it’s been suggested but it seems to me that if you could exchange it you’d probably find something that suited you better so you wouldn’t have to end up with a $1,300 of which the body is the only thing you want to keep.

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by unreal77 » Mon Oct 15, 2018 8:25 am

Man, If I was getting a free guitar from Fender, I would go quietly about the mods and the complaints about quality.

That’s just me...

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by Fuzzbuzz » Mon Oct 15, 2018 8:27 am

unreal77 wrote:
Mon Oct 15, 2018 8:25 am
Man, If I was getting a free guitar from Fender, I would go quietly about the mods and the complaints about quality.

That’s just me...
Word! That’s also just me, too.

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by BobDarren1 » Mon Oct 15, 2018 1:17 pm

Fuzzbuzz wrote:
Mon Oct 15, 2018 8:27 am
unreal77 wrote:
Mon Oct 15, 2018 8:25 am
Man, If I was getting a free guitar from Fender, I would go quietly about the mods and the complaints about quality.

That’s just me...
Word! That’s also just me, too.
Let it be known what the purpose of this post is for.
From most important to least important:

1. sharing my journey of modding my Jazzmaster.

2. Giving my honest review of the guitar before I mod for anybody that's thinking about buying this particular model and seeking somebody else's experience playing it before buying.

3. Asking why MIM's have upped in price. Because I'm just genuinely confused.

I'm not here to complain.
nor am I here to argue whether MIM's hardware are on par to MIA or boutique (they're not)

I got this guitar with the sole purpose of modifying.
I'm not going into the exact details on how Fender deals with their products and artists.
but I will say if I wanted to not mod a guitar, I could pay, and get something that's already great.
I chose this guitar to be a base for me to customize into something unique.
Also I wanted to start a project. I have enough guitar's by this point and wanted to take on the journey of customizing one. I thought I'd share that process because I figured I love reading people's mod stories. Figured I'd make one myself
I have no interest in complaining.
thanks

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by BobDarren1 » Mon Oct 15, 2018 1:23 pm

UPDATE!

After an exhausting day, I came home tonight only to be greeted by the package of my new AM PRO bridge!
Got it up stairs, replaced the bridge. Took the tremolo off and adjusted it so it would sit higher. Re-strung, adjusted intonation.
and Wow! so good.
Such an improvement. Guitar sounds better, and plays better.
I dont feel like I'm shredding my fingers on those frets anymore.
Just feel's sturdier.
Thank you Jesterpunk68 for the tip about darrenriley.com.
I was going to get a real vintage mint guard or at least a relic'd mint
but I think I'm just gonna grab one of these off darren riley for like $38
great price!
I'll take photos soon!

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by zeero9 » Tue Oct 16, 2018 8:26 pm

BobDarren1 wrote:
Sat Oct 13, 2018 1:21 am

If you've gone ahead and switched out your bridge, I'm confused at what we're discussing then. All I'm saying is that bridge sucks and many people say and think this. You yourself have taken the liberty to change out your bridge. Obviously something made you unhappy enough with the original bridge to change it out.

I do know what you're saying. You think it's ridiculous that I'm putting a price cap on MIM's. I don't think that's ridiculous. I also hope you don't think I'm taking a knock at MIM's, I'm not. I have MIM's and Squire's that I've toured the world with and still do to this day. One of my main guitars, a MIM Strat, I bought for $50 from a guy in a car. Over the years I've heavily modded it, but that's my point. MIM's are really well functioning guitars that don't break the bank to own . When you're younger and can't afford expensive guitars it's great to get MIM's and/or Squire's and over time work at making them function a little better through upgrades for you. Or even if you want to start a project of spec'ing out a guitar. This is the fun and beauty of Fender's assembly line design. You just said that when you bought your MIM Strat years back it was $366 and now they sell the same strat for $650. This is what I mean, I think I've missed something. The price on MIM's have gone up. They still function the same way they did when the price was lower (or maybe not) but now they're more money. Maybe I'm getting old and haven't been paying attention. I just feel like the way my 60th AC Jazzmaster feels and plays is more indicative of something around the $800 price point. From my experience, MIM are delegated more as really good "budget guitars" that you can modify yourself to make almost better then MIA's. IMO there's nothing "budget" about a guitar that is $1200 - $1400. I feel like back in the day I would never see a MIM go over $1k, this is my confusion, I believe they've increased their pricing, that is all. In my mind anything over $1k should play very damn well, you shouldn't have to change out basic components like nut, bridge, and tremelo, just to make it function better. That sounds like something more for the $200-$800 price range.

It's not that overly simple. That's the discernible difference between MIA and MIM's. That's sort of the whole thing. That's why MIA all have nicer parts.
by the player series do you mean this ?
https://shop.fender.com/en-US/electric- ... 03500.html
because these have the vintage bridge.
I'm glad your 60th AC works well without mods, mine doesn't. That's why I'm sharing my project.
My other point is that I think this guitar is over priced, and that MIM's have gone up in value with out a change in parts/playability. They still play well, just not at their price point.
I took a break from this thread for a few days because I didn't like where it was headed. I'm sorry if I came across too harsh on you, I can see from your tone you have no ill will and I appreciate your keeping the discussion civil.

1. I swapped out the AOM bridge on my Classic Player, because I want a rocking bridge, the way Leo intended it to be. I'm keeping the vintage style bridge on my 60th Anniversary.

2. Okay, your comment on the $1k figure is what compelled me to respond to your thread. I see I have not explained it well enough. Just one word, inflation. Things just cost more these days. Because I'm in Asia, I've always had to convert to and fro the US dollar, so there's never been been a magical figure for me. I've seen the price of a Mexican standard doubled through the years. Also, Mexican Fenders are not considered budget anymore. That's your Chinese and Indonesian made Squiers. There are even Fender branded guitars made in China. From what I've observed, Fender prices MIM above Japanese guitars. Your disappointment in a guitar priced at this range not performing up to your expectations is valid, however IMO this is skewed by an impression on pricing that is not in line with current trends. For example, do you know that Ibanez sells a "Premium" line that's made in Indonesia, with street prices of USD$1300 and beyond?

3. That link is correct. I know Fender describes it as vintage-style. but if you zoom into the pic, you can see it has Mustang-style saddles with height adjustment screws. They do have arguably better performing parts for MIM guitars, they even put them into much cheaper models. They just chose to go with vintage for the anniversary line, so it takes more effort to make them work right. It's not a matter of which bridge is nicer or cheaper. Supposedly the casual player going for a Player series doesn't want to deal with a vintage bridge(saddles), but someone paying more for an anniversary model wants a vintage bridge and is willing to deal with its complexities. Why did they use a 9.5" fretboard radius then? Maybe to set it apart from the AVRI models.

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