The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

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BobDarren1
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The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by BobDarren1 » Wed Oct 10, 2018 3:45 pm

Hey offset family!
So recently I had the opportunity of Fender sending me a guitar and I chose the new 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster in Black. (wow so cool!)
These guitars look super cool! Clearly they're taking different eras of the Jazz for their anniversary. 60's headstock and nitro finish, 70's block inlays and binding, but also some "modern" updates ( aka "the catch" IMO) 9.5 radius, tall frets etc. Could this guitar be more spec'd out? (7.25 radius, 6230 vintage frets, vintage C neck) could they save the "modern-izing" for a better functioning bridge and tremolo? yes they could, but hey, free guitar's a free guitar, let the modding begin.


Before I get into this however, I want to start off by bringing up a topic that I'm very confused on.
What the hell is going on with Fender and and their MIM's??
When I was growing up If you couldn't afford an American Fender (holy shit, the "holy grail")
your next best option was a MIM.
They still functioned well, but definitely below $1000 so you were fine with settling on not having all the "fancy" specs.
Now again, I didn't pay for this guitar, but if I had to, I'm going to be honest and say that I would be very bummed.
The list price for this guitar is $1,199.99!
and it's made in Mexico? :-X ??? huh?
if this guitar was $600 - $800 I would understand. but not $1,199.99
I guess I have to ask, why? Does any one know why they do this?
I know it's not the Pau Ferro fret board. Is it the nitro finish? (which I'm not sure I believe).
I've just never seen a MIM over $1000 and I'm very curious on when this started happening and why?
Also why choose their 60th Anniversary of the Jazzmaster to be a MIM? just doesn't add up.

Here's my review of the guitar, and then I'll can get into what I'm planning to do to it, and hopefully every one can follow along through my journey and/or also give me advice.


THE NECK:
The Neck on this guitar is pretty cool, and fun. I am definitely a 7.25" kind of guy but for now I'm enjoying the 9.5". The neck is pretty thick all the way through. Starts off around 0.840 on the first fret but doesn't get much bigger towards the 12th. Because of the 9.5" radius it gives it a little bit of a "wider" feel but definitely very fun to bend, and bend, and bend, from that flat fretboard. The tall frets IMO are a little much. The bending is fun as hell and when you're really shaking that B string with ease you feel cool as fuck, BUT after a couple hours of playing this thing, your fingers feel a little shredded from gliding over those tall ass frets. Would I like a little bit of a smaller vintage fret? hell yea, my hands would appreciate that. Maybe I can get these shaved down or something. I've never owned a Pau Ferro fretboard before, and reading up on the trading limitations that recently have been instilled and why companies are transferring over to Pau Ferro I'm not opposed to it. I love Rosewood, especially a very dark Brazilian rosewood, but these punchy dense Pau Ferro boards are pretty cool and Im down with the look contrasted on the black body.

THE GUITAR/PICKUPS
these pickups are actually rad, I dont have any complaints. I read that they're "classic series 60's" pickups which, I don't know how real that is, but they're very present and pretty hot. The cleans sound great, and they handle distortion pretty well surprisingly. I'm usually a neck pickup kind of guy, I always find bridge pickups to be way too "rock n roll" sounding for me and too bright, but I gotta say I've been rocking this bridge pickup a lot and it's tone roll off is very responsive.
Also its been super fun to switch to that rhythm circuit with the tone rolled off a little when you throw on some heavy distortion, very creamy!
The body of the guitar feels a little on the "modern" side, not as sharp and more modern chunky style, but ultimately I have no complaints It feels like a Jazzmaster. Like cruising in a big Buick. These guitars are LOOONG! how fun

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.


Moving on to modding and what I plan to do.
Overall, this guitar is cool. The frets are a little much, and the bridge and tremolo are stupid.
Ultimately what I plan on doing to this guitar is
1. switch out the neck
2. switching out the pickguard
3. new bridge and new trem
4. maybe way down the road do a refin? possibly firemist gold (cus who doesn't like that)


The Neck
I would love to get a 7.25" neck as I have talked about so much already. Keeping the binding and MOP block inlays would be ideal, i was thinking clay, but I think the block inlays look cool on this particular guitar, especially if I'm keeping it black.
dark dark Brazilian Rosewood fretboard, and keeping the matching black headstock. WITH SMALLER FRETS!
I would love to use a company thats not Warmoth. I'm not sure how much I believe in Warmoth these days. I've been looking into this company :
https://www.bhefner.com
but if anyone has better suggestions or experience using another company that is very good at making vintage style fender necks, that information would be much appreciated!


Pickups.
for now, these pickups are fun. Would it be awesome to possibly get a PAF humbucker in the bridge, and a Jaguar pickup in the middle while keeping the Jazz p-up in the neck? hell yeah it would.
but until that day comes I'll stick to these

Pickguard
first and foremost I want a mint pickguard. I think the black with mint look for a Jazzmaster is pretty sick.

Hardware
I've been looking into bridge companies and of course it narrows down to Mastery vs Staytrem.
Would I rather just get one of those new American Professional Jazzmaster bridges that are just mustang bridges made for a 9.5" radius? yeah, but of course, you can't buy those, and if you can, can someone show me where.
As far as Mastery vs Staytrem. I've read many reviews, and honestly I want to go Staytrem so badly. I have a Johnny Marr Jaguar that has basically the same bridge and Tremolo system as Staytrem, and I am so happy with that.
Mastery's look, and their "non moving" bridge just doesn't sound like the kind of thing I want. I am always holding onto that trem arm, and I need some movement in my bridge. Also I would love to get a classic cover for my bridge, and Mastery is very clear on stating that you can't use those with their product.
Also the horror stories of Mastery and their customer service is such a turn off.
However to my sudden surprise Staytrem is no longer selling worldwide. SUCH A BUMMER!!
I wrote John, and asked if there's any way I could still get one of these, and he said possibly if he has extra's but we'll see.
Does any one have recommendations for something that is a little more like staytrem, but I can get in the states, and/or does 9.5" radius?

Anyway thats all for now.
I plan to update this post the more mods I do.
Any suggestions/comments are welcomed
thanks guys!

Bob

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jesterpunk68
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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by jesterpunk68 » Wed Oct 10, 2018 4:00 pm

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

Hardware
I've been looking into bridge companies and of course it narrows down to Mastery vs Staytrem.
Would I rather just get one of those new American Professional Jazzmaster bridges that are just mustang bridges made for a 9.5" radius? yeah, but of course, you can't buy those, and if you can, can someone show me where.


Here you go

https://darrenriley.com/store/fender-am ... 709942000/

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by timtam » Wed Oct 10, 2018 4:14 pm

BobDarren1 wrote:
Wed Oct 10, 2018 3:45 pm
Would I rather just get one of those new American Professional Jazzmaster bridges that are just mustang bridges made for a 9.5" radius? yeah, but of course, you can't buy those, and if you can, can someone show me where.
Part number is 7709942000. Out of stock with some vendors ATM but generally available.
https://darrenriley.com/store/fender-am ... 709942000/
https://www.angela.com/fenderbridgeasse ... aster.aspx
https://www.ebay.com/itm/770-9942-000-A ... 3725188763
"I just knew I wanted to make a sound that was the complete opposite of a Les Paul, and that’s pretty much a Jaguar." Rowland S. Howard.

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by BobDarren1 » Wed Oct 10, 2018 4:34 pm

Wow! Thank you!!
Pulling out my card right now!

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by flysky578 » Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:37 pm

They would fit with the thimbles? Awesome, looks also proofer than the normal bridge.

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by timtam » Wed Oct 10, 2018 9:53 pm

flysky578 wrote:
Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:37 pm
They would fit with the thimbles? Awesome, looks also proofer than the normal bridge.
AFAIK the Am Pro thimbles are the same size as on the standard bridge. As installed on the Am Pro they just have the additional nylon flanged bushings, to restrict rocking (which some people have removed from their Am Pro, to get back to vintage-style rocking). If you buy the above-linked Am Pro aftermarket bridge you don't get thimbles or bushings. It should be a drop-in replacement.
"I just knew I wanted to make a sound that was the complete opposite of a Les Paul, and that’s pretty much a Jaguar." Rowland S. Howard.

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by zeero9 » Thu Oct 11, 2018 3:50 am

The TVL Jazzmaster is MIM and priced at $1325. There are two other MIM Jazzmasters that are above a grand. This is the “budget” anniversary model, the other two are MIA and $2k. The bound neck and block inlays are the standout features when compared to other MIMs. Only the TVL has those. The price makes sense when compared to the rest of the current lineup. Do you think MIM guitars should all be much cheaper, based on an arbitrary cap?

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by BobDarren1 » Thu Oct 11, 2018 3:55 am

zeero9 wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 3:50 am
Do you think MIM guitars should all be much cheaper, based on an arbitrary cap?
I think If anybody is going pay over $1000 for a guitar they shouldn't endure cheap parts.

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by zeero9 » Thu Oct 11, 2018 4:47 am

BobDarren1 wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 3:55 am
I think If anybody is going pay over $1000 for a guitar they shouldn't endure cheap parts.
I have one of these guitars and I don't think the parts are cheap, but I'm guessing that's not what you really meant. I don't have the issues you've described: none of my saddles rattle with factory setup, and I'm fine with using the tremolo arm pushed in all the way.

I don't think one should have to swap out factory parts on any guitar just for it to work properly. IMO, the problem is that Fender has doggedly stuck with a bridge design that doesn't work well with modern light string gauges. They have simply made the decision to use the vintage bridge on this anniversary guitar, even though they've made other modern changes. Maybe they think the fretboard radius is not as visually obvious as the bridge. They have solved the bridge issue on budget or cheaper models like the Squier J Mascis and Deluxe models and the Classic Player by using an AOM. The Player series Jazzmaster has a 9.5" radius Mustang bridge.

Maybe Fender should just issue vintage bridges along with 11 or 12 gauge strings, but it seems that the world has moved on from that, while the look of a vintage bridge is still important!

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by timtam » Thu Oct 11, 2018 6:17 am

zeero9 wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 4:47 am
They have solved the bridge issue on budget or cheaper models like the Squier J Mascis and Deluxe models and the Classic Player by using an AOM. The Player series Jazzmaster has a 9.5" radius Mustang bridge.
It's the Am Pro series that has the 9.5" Mustang bridge. And as of the last week or so when it was released, so does the Jag-Strat.

The Player series JM and jag have a bridge like the Warmoth modified Mustang bridge, ie Mustang-like but with smaller barrels and adjustable saddle heights (so you set the radius). Previously appeared on several guitars, including Cobain Mustang and Squier Vintage Modified Mustang. Part number 0081239001.
http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/gbridge_mustang.htm
Image
"I just knew I wanted to make a sound that was the complete opposite of a Les Paul, and that’s pretty much a Jaguar." Rowland S. Howard.

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by zeero9 » Thu Oct 11, 2018 6:40 am

Right, Mustang or Mustang-like bridge, it was shorthand.

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by Fuzzbuzz » Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:16 am

What’s crazy about those 60th MIM JM’s is Fender is currently shipping those with 9’s! Certainly not helping with any buzzing issue out of the box. I had buzzing coming from the

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by Debaser » Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:54 am

BobDarren1 wrote:
Wed Oct 10, 2018 3:45 pm
Hey offset family!
So recently I had the opportunity of Fender sending me a guitar and I chose the new 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster in Black. (wow so cool!)
These guitars look super cool! Clearly they're taking different eras of the Jazz for their anniversary. 60's headstock and nitro finish, 70's block inlays and binding, but also some "modern" updates ( aka "the catch" IMO) 9.5 radius, tall frets etc. Could this guitar be more spec'd out? (7.25 radius, 6230 vintage frets, vintage C neck) could they save the "modern-izing" for a better functioning bridge and tremolo? yes they could, but hey, free guitar's a free guitar, let the modding begin.


Before I get into this however, I want to start off by bringing up a topic that I'm very confused on.
What the hell is going on with Fender and and their MIM's??
When I was growing up If you couldn't afford an American Fender (holy shit, the "holy grail")
your next best option was a MIM.
They still functioned well, but definitely below $1000 so you were fine with settling on not having all the "fancy" specs.
Now again, I didn't pay for this guitar, but if I had to, I'm going to be honest and say that I would be very bummed.
The list price for this guitar is $1,199.99!
and it's made in Mexico? :-X ??? huh?
if this guitar was $600 - $800 I would understand. but not $1,199.99
I guess I have to ask, why? Does any one know why they do this?
I know it's not the Pau Ferro fret board. Is it the nitro finish? (which I'm not sure I believe).
I've just never seen a MIM over $1000 and I'm very curious on when this started happening and why?
Also why choose their 60th Anniversary of the Jazzmaster to be a MIM? just doesn't add up.

Here's my review of the guitar, and then I'll can get into what I'm planning to do to it, and hopefully every one can follow along through my journey and/or also give me advice.


THE NECK:
The Neck on this guitar is pretty cool, and fun. I am definitely a 7.25" kind of guy but for now I'm enjoying the 9.5". The neck is pretty thick all the way through. Starts off around 0.840 on the first fret but doesn't get much bigger towards the 12th. Because of the 9.5" radius it gives it a little bit of a "wider" feel but definitely very fun to bend, and bend, and bend, from that flat fretboard. The tall frets IMO are a little much. The bending is fun as hell and when you're really shaking that B string with ease you feel cool as fuck, BUT after a couple hours of playing this thing, your fingers feel a little shredded from gliding over those tall ass frets. Would I like a little bit of a smaller vintage fret? hell yea, my hands would appreciate that. Maybe I can get these shaved down or something. I've never owned a Pau Ferro fretboard before, and reading up on the trading limitations that recently have been instilled and why companies are transferring over to Pau Ferro I'm not opposed to it. I love Rosewood, especially a very dark Brazilian rosewood, but these punchy dense Pau Ferro boards are pretty cool and Im down with the look contrasted on the black body.

THE GUITAR/PICKUPS
these pickups are actually rad, I dont have any complaints. I read that they're "classic series 60's" pickups which, I don't know how real that is, but they're very present and pretty hot. The cleans sound great, and they handle distortion pretty well surprisingly. I'm usually a neck pickup kind of guy, I always find bridge pickups to be way too "rock n roll" sounding for me and too bright, but I gotta say I've been rocking this bridge pickup a lot and it's tone roll off is very responsive.
Also its been super fun to switch to that rhythm circuit with the tone rolled off a little when you throw on some heavy distortion, very creamy!
The body of the guitar feels a little on the "modern" side, not as sharp and more modern chunky style, but ultimately I have no complaints It feels like a Jazzmaster. Like cruising in a big Buick. These guitars are LOOONG! how fun

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.


Moving on to modding and what I plan to do.
Overall, this guitar is cool. The frets are a little much, and the bridge and tremolo are stupid.
Ultimately what I plan on doing to this guitar is
1. switch out the neck
2. switching out the pickguard
3. new bridge and new trem
4. maybe way down the road do a refin? possibly firemist gold (cus who doesn't like that)


The Neck
I would love to get a 7.25" neck as I have talked about so much already. Keeping the binding and MOP block inlays would be ideal, i was thinking clay, but I think the block inlays look cool on this particular guitar, especially if I'm keeping it black.
dark dark Brazilian Rosewood fretboard, and keeping the matching black headstock. WITH SMALLER FRETS!
I would love to use a company thats not Warmoth. I'm not sure how much I believe in Warmoth these days. I've been looking into this company :
https://www.bhefner.com
but if anyone has better suggestions or experience using another company that is very good at making vintage style fender necks, that information would be much appreciated!


Pickups.
for now, these pickups are fun. Would it be awesome to possibly get a PAF humbucker in the bridge, and a Jaguar pickup in the middle while keeping the Jazz p-up in the neck? hell yeah it would.
but until that day comes I'll stick to these

Pickguard
first and foremost I want a mint pickguard. I think the black with mint look for a Jazzmaster is pretty sick.

Hardware
I've been looking into bridge companies and of course it narrows down to Mastery vs Staytrem.
Would I rather just get one of those new American Professional Jazzmaster bridges that are just mustang bridges made for a 9.5" radius? yeah, but of course, you can't buy those, and if you can, can someone show me where.
As far as Mastery vs Staytrem. I've read many reviews, and honestly I want to go Staytrem so badly. I have a Johnny Marr Jaguar that has basically the same bridge and Tremolo system as Staytrem, and I am so happy with that.
Mastery's look, and their "non moving" bridge just doesn't sound like the kind of thing I want. I am always holding onto that trem arm, and I need some movement in my bridge. Also I would love to get a classic cover for my bridge, and Mastery is very clear on stating that you can't use those with their product.
Also the horror stories of Mastery and their customer service is such a turn off.
However to my sudden surprise Staytrem is no longer selling worldwide. SUCH A BUMMER!!
I wrote John, and asked if there's any way I could still get one of these, and he said possibly if he has extra's but we'll see.
Does any one have recommendations for something that is a little more like staytrem, but I can get in the states, and/or does 9.5" radius?

Anyway thats all for now.
I plan to update this post the more mods I do.
Any suggestions/comments are welcomed
thanks guys!

Bob
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...
50,000 watts out of Mexico, this is the BorderRadio...

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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by BobDarren1 » Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:44 pm

zeero9 wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 4:47 am
BobDarren1 wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 3:55 am
I think If anybody is going pay over $1000 for a guitar they shouldn't endure cheap parts.
I have one of these guitars and I don't think the parts are cheap, but I'm guessing that's not what you really meant. I don't have the issues you've described: none of my saddles rattle with factory setup, and I'm fine with using the tremolo arm pushed in all the way.
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.

zeero9 wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 4:47 am
BobDarren1 wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 3:55 am
I don't think one should have to swap out factory parts on any guitar just for it to work properly. IMO, the problem is that Fender has doggedly stuck with a bridge design that doesn't work well with modern light string gauges. They have simply made the decision to use the vintage bridge on this anniversary guitar, even though they've made other modern changes. Maybe they think the fretboard radius is not as visually obvious as the bridge. They have solved the bridge issue on budget or cheaper models like the Squier J Mascis and Deluxe models and the Classic Player by using an AOM.
The Player series Jazzmaster has a 9.5" radius Mustang bridge.

Maybe Fender should just issue vintage bridges along with 11 or 12 gauge strings, but it seems that the world has moved on from that, while the look of a vintage bridge is still important!

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

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BobDarren1
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Re: The 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster Project

Post by BobDarren1 » Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:47 pm

timtam wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 6:17 am
zeero9 wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 4:47 am
They have solved the bridge issue on budget or cheaper models like the Squier J Mascis and Deluxe models and the Classic Player by using an AOM. The Player series Jazzmaster has a 9.5" radius Mustang bridge.

The Player series JM and jag have a bridge like the Warmoth modified Mustang bridge, ie Mustang-like but with smaller barrels and adjustable saddle heights (so you set the radius). Previously appeared on several guitars, including Cobain Mustang and Squier Vintage Modified Mustang. Part number 0081239001.
http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/gbridge_mustang.htm
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oh interesting good to know!
I've went ahead an ordered one of those AM PRO bridges that was mentioned earlier

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