Hi.
I just joined the cult. My hair is already missing, so I'll get to business.
I am awaiting parts to doll up my first Jazzmaster. It's a Squier J Mascis and I dig the feel, balance, weight, and overall vibe. I just got the guitar itself a month ago and in a week or so the last of the items will be on hand. There will be a Descendant bridge (seemed the simplest option that didn't compromise the goal of an excellent aftermarket build) and vibrato, and Lollar '63s along with all the under-the-hood components suggested by Lollar.
I think the dude who shipped the guitar did kind of a bummer job on it. He detuned the strings and the neck was pretty straight, but he did not really pack it ideally and did not put anything between the strings and frets, and to my fingers, it seems there was some bumping that caused a bit of indentation on the frets that can be filed out pretty easily and polished up.
And that is how you take a $500 guitar and turn it into a $1200 guitar. Fortunately I'm working with a local guitar geek who knows all of the steps to doing that work and he's willing to help me learn the methods and steps that go into all this. i have enough other guitars and basses it's time for me to learn some guitar teching.