Japanese Jazzmaster/Jaguar hardware

Discussion of newer designs, copies and reissue offset-waist instruments.
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casper
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Japanese Jazzmaster/Jaguar hardware

Post by casper » Mon Nov 12, 2018 11:40 am

I know many like to swap the bridge on their Japanese Jazzmaster/Jaguar to a StayTrem, Mustang, or Mastery bridge, but I'm curious how many here think the stock Japanese bridge is worth replacing with an American Vintage bridge? Is there much difference in quality between the Japanese and American Vintage bridges like there is in the vibrato units? Also, have any of you felt the need to replace the Japanese Jazzmaster/Jaguar tuners?

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Re: Japanese Jazzmaster/Jaguar hardware

Post by Danley » Mon Nov 12, 2018 11:48 am

I haven't tried the AVRI bridge, but by reputation they are better than the wiggly MIJs. I replaced the MIJ bridge on my Jaguar with an actual vintage bridge, and that guitar is now as trouble free as one could hope.

I absolutely want to swap the Japanese Klusons from that same Jaguar, because after twenty years there is quite a lot of slop in them. Vintage/US tuners won't fit, different ferrules (and you can't just use the MIJ ferrules with vintage tuners.) So I'm just dealing with it for now.
King Buzzo: I love when people come up to me and say “Your guitar sound was better on Stoner Witch, when you used a Les Paul. “...I used a Fender Mustang reissue on that, dumbass!

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Re: Japanese Jazzmaster/Jaguar hardware

Post by leokula » Mon Nov 12, 2018 1:44 pm

I'm always on the opinion that you should mod anything on a guitar to achieve a specific goal or because there's something specificly lacking in the part you want to replace.

Anybody can make anything work on a guitar... People diss the TOM so hard but everybody was using it before the mastery even existed. So I try not to mod something based on how many people replace stuff.

I'd try it before modding anything, I've tried guitars people describe as terrible and they were just fine to me.

I got a CIJ jaguar since forever and never felt the need to replace anything so far, not even pickups. Specifically about the bridge, I wouldn't even know why or when to replace it lol
Jaguar > Jazzmaster :)

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Re: Japanese Jazzmaster/Jaguar hardware

Post by casper » Mon Nov 12, 2018 2:57 pm

leokula wrote:
Mon Nov 12, 2018 1:44 pm
I'm always on the opinion that you should mod anything on a guitar to achieve a specific goal or because there's something specificly lacking in the part you want to replace.

Anybody can make anything work on a guitar... People diss the TOM so hard but everybody was using it before the mastery even existed. So I try not to mod something based on how many people replace stuff.

I'd try it before modding anything, I've tried guitars people describe as terrible and they were just fine to me.

I got a CIJ jaguar since forever and never felt the need to replace anything so far, not even pickups. Specifically about the bridge, I wouldn't even know why or when to replace it lol
Oh yeah, I hear you on not replacing something unless there is a problem. I was just curious to see if it was common to go to the American Vintage bridge on the Japanese guitars.

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Re: Japanese Jazzmaster/Jaguar hardware

Post by Danley » Mon Nov 12, 2018 3:09 pm

My response is geared toward the issues I had that led me to perform the bridge swap on my guitar. That said- I used the MIJ bridge for over a decade before I decided to swap. It didn't give me 90% of the problems people deride them for- no rattling or backing out of screws. I still have them on a couple guitars. Really my big issue with the MIJ bridge is the lack of stability on the low E string; the saddle can move laterally under heavy/tremolo picking, even if it doesn't rattle. That can make the high e sound weak.
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Re: Japanese Jazzmaster/Jaguar hardware

Post by andy_tchp » Mon Nov 12, 2018 4:10 pm

Danley wrote:
Mon Nov 12, 2018 11:48 am
I absolutely want to swap the Japanese Klusons from that same Jaguar, because after twenty years there is quite a lot of slop in them. Vintage/US tuners won't fit, different ferrules (and you can't just use the MIJ ferrules with vintage tuners.) So I'm just dealing with it for now.
???
Tuners on Fender Japan offsets are made by Gotoh, and are the same as used on the AVRI equivalents.
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David McComb, 1987.

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Re: Japanese Jazzmaster/Jaguar hardware

Post by Danley » Mon Nov 12, 2018 4:15 pm

andy_tchp wrote:
Mon Nov 12, 2018 4:10 pm
Danley wrote:
Mon Nov 12, 2018 11:48 am
I absolutely want to swap the Japanese Klusons from that same Jaguar, because after twenty years there is quite a lot of slop in them. Vintage/US tuners won't fit, different ferrules (and you can't just use the MIJ ferrules with vintage tuners.) So I'm just dealing with it for now.
???
Tuners on Fender Japan offsets are made by Gotoh, and are the same as used on the AVRI equivalents.
That's weird. I tried to momentarily swap vintage Klusons onto my 96 MIJ Jaguar, and the ferrules would not fit. If I tried to use the stock MIJ ferrules, the tuners wouldn't fit in the holes so that was a no-go. The set of modern US Fender Klusons I tried next would also fit my vintage guitar, but not the MIJ.
King Buzzo: I love when people come up to me and say “Your guitar sound was better on Stoner Witch, when you used a Les Paul. “...I used a Fender Mustang reissue on that, dumbass!

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Re: Japanese Jazzmaster/Jaguar hardware

Post by andy_tchp » Mon Nov 12, 2018 4:22 pm

That is curious.

I wonder if there was a transition point from the earlier to later MIJ/CIJ production?

Were the vintage spec ferrules bigger or smaller than the holes drilled in the MIJ neck?
"I don't know why we asked him to join the band 'cause the rest of us don't like country music all that much; we just like Graham Lee."
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Re: Japanese Jazzmaster/Jaguar hardware

Post by Danley » Mon Nov 12, 2018 4:32 pm

I hate that I don't remember - But I will report back.
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Re: Japanese Jazzmaster/Jaguar hardware

Post by casper » Mon Nov 12, 2018 4:54 pm

andy_tchp wrote:
Mon Nov 12, 2018 4:10 pm
Danley wrote:
Mon Nov 12, 2018 11:48 am
I absolutely want to swap the Japanese Klusons from that same Jaguar, because after twenty years there is quite a lot of slop in them. Vintage/US tuners won't fit, different ferrules (and you can't just use the MIJ ferrules with vintage tuners.) So I'm just dealing with it for now.
???
Tuners on Fender Japan offsets are made by Gotoh, and are the same as used on the AVRI equivalents.
That's interesting. I thought they'd be a little different given that Fender Japan tends to use similar but different components than on the US guitars. The tuners on my brand new Japanese Jazzmaster look the same as the US tuners on the outside, but they seem to me to turn a lot more easily than the ones on my American Jazzmaster, and I actually prefer the firm nature of the tuners on my American Jazzmaster.

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Re: Japanese Jazzmaster/Jaguar hardware

Post by gusgorman » Sat Nov 17, 2018 5:07 am

casper wrote:
Mon Nov 12, 2018 11:40 am
I know many like to swap the bridge on their Japanese Jazzmaster/Jaguar to a StayTrem, Mustang, or Mastery bridge, but I'm curious how many here think the stock Japanese bridge is worth replacing with an American Vintage bridge? Is there much difference in quality between the Japanese and American Vintage bridges like there is in the vibrato units? Also, have any of you felt the need to replace the Japanese Jazzmaster/Jaguar tuners?
Tuners on my Fender 2006 CIJ Jazzmaster (made by Fujigen) are great Never goes out of tune.

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Re: Japanese Jazzmaster/Jaguar hardware

Post by gusgorman » Sat Nov 17, 2018 5:10 am

andy_tchp wrote:
Mon Nov 12, 2018 4:22 pm

I wonder if there was a transition point from the earlier to later MIJ/CIJ production?
Fender Japan stuff has been made by different companies/factories at different points so I'm sure there are differences.

I think in the 90s alot of it was made by Tokai. Both before and after that Fujigen had the contract.

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