Testing the Definition of Insanity - NGD Redux - Squier 40th AV Vntge. Edt. JM

[Surfysonic]

The Squier 40th Anniversary Vintage Edition Jazzmaster in Satin Desert Sand that I pre-ordered in January arrived today!











Tuned it up and the pickups sound terrific, very reminiscent of late '50s pickups or Seymour Duncan Antiquity I pickups. The only plans are to put on some D'Addario EXL115-10P 11-49 strings...



Welp...I'll probably lower the pickups just a wee bit, too...

Loving the Satin Desert Sand finish and the neck is pleasantly slightly fuller than expected. There was a little grime on the body that rubbed off easily, nothing permanent. The "aged chrome" tremolo bar popped in easily/securely.

I was on the fence about keeping this due to the 2 shipping delays but I'm in love with it.

[Embenny]

Looks great! That's certainly an aggressive pickup height they chose, haha.

[Surfysonic]

Looks great! That's certainly an aggressive pickup height they chose, haha.

Thanks, Mike! I know, right?!?!

[Sonichris]

Yeah. Whats up with that neck pocket depth? The neck is up like 1/2". That ain't right. The bridge looks maxed out.

[Surfysonic]

Yeah. Whats up with that neck pocket depth? The neck is up like 1/2". That ain't right. The bridge looks maxed out.

I'll have a look (and take photos) tomorrow when I lower the pickups and put on the D'Addario 11s.

I wonder if someone at CME was trying to be "helpful"?

[lastactionhero12765]

How was the action out of the box? As others have said, there were some wild choices on this setup and makes me think that a few slight changes (e.g., lowering pickups & changing strings) would lead to needing a complete overhaul.

[Surfysonic]

How was the action out of the box? As others have said, there were some wild choices on this setup and makes me think that a few slight changes (e.g., lowering pickups & changing strings) would lead to needing a complete overhaul.

As shown above, that is the action out of the box. I spent more time than I planned today getting this back to playable shape as far as my humble home setup skills (mediocre) will allow.

One thing to be aware if getting one of these guitars is the "aged chrome" hardware.



It looks great (to me) but the pickup screws were problematically soft. Two of them were pretty much stripped before I attempted to lower the pickups. I ended up having to use needle nose pliers to remove two of the screws. I decided to replace all of the pickup screws. I did a little damage to the pickup covers, which I'll probably replace at some point. Not a big deal to me at this point.



Fortunately, I have on hand a number of suitable, stronger pickup screws. They won't have the aged look but I'd rather go with function over form.

Another pic showing the string height over the neck and pickups (yes, the pickguard screw was not completely screwed in out of the box - no biggie, easily sorted).



There was no shim in the neck pocket.





The bottom of the heel of the neck is thicker than the top of the heel.



The pickups now lowered and the bridge lowered as far as I can at this point (again, bottom of heel is fairly thick).



Before putting on the new strings.



I put in a cardboard shim to even things out. I actually had to take it back out and fold it over to thicken it for better height on the top part of the heel.



I'm sure it doesn't look pretty, but it works for me at this point. Lowering the bridge any further becomes problematic with string buzz. I can try to keep tweaking if recommended.





For you guys who are lightyears ahead of me in expertise - if this still isn't great, would you recommend sanding down the bottom of the heel? I wouldn't try this myself (I tend to always over do it ). Or perhaps putting in a thicker ship at the top of the heel? I guess I should get some proper StewMac shims.

Aside from all this, it's playable for me now and wow, I'm really impressed with the neck feel and the pickups. It's a keeper.

[Sonichris]

What part of this mess is a keeper? The neck pocket is too shallow, and the neck might be too thick and or slanted at the heal. And it's got a crack in the body already from someone doing the UPS shift on the neck.

As it sits now, your pickups are way too low, and your bridge is still too high, and the neck angle is still wrong, with a really bad shim jammed in.

The best "Fix" for this is to put it back in the box and return it for another. WAY too much work to make it right.

Don't hang on to it and mess with it until you wreck something and can't return it.

[Pacafeliz]

Yeah lately Squier is shipping them out with the bridges pretty much maxed out, also my Mustangs arrived like that, and the CFM Jag too.
Shim and a little bit of playing around with the truss rod and I got them to an ok point...

[ainm]

Sorry, dude, but that guitar should never have left the factory. I agree with Sonichris - neck pocket looks too shallow. And I like a nice 'n' chunky neck, but something looks off with the taper towards the heel to me (too thick). Really bad combo of parts. It's like a factory cutting a car's wheel arches too small, putting truck wheels on it and then lifting the suspension up 3 foot to compensate.

Yeah lately Squier is shipping them out with the bridges pretty much maxed out, also my Mustangs arrived like that, and the CFM Jag too.
Shim and a little bit of playing around with the truss rod and I got them to an ok point...

If Squier are doing this as standard, then there are serious issues with their production line. I have a few Squiers but seeing these pictures means I'm going to keep away from blind purchases of them going forward. Shocking.

[Embenny]

Yeah, I'm afraid that everyone here is making sense and being reasonable.

It's great that you like the neck profile and pickups. But if you get a replacement, it'll have the same neck profile and pickups, bur hopefully a proper neck pocket.

It really does look like the neck is too thick or the pocket is too shallow. You shouldn't need that thick a shim to get the bridge slightly down from maxed height.

Sorry if this sounds like party-pooping, but you deserve a properly made Jazzmaster.

[ainm]

Sorry if this sounds like party-pooping, but you deserve a properly made Jazzmaster.

Echo this. Hope my post didn't come across as a downer, OP. Those guitars are absolute lookers, but make sure you hold them to account and get the rest of the great guitar you chose.

[Sonichris]

A quick look at a bunch of these and some other new Anniversary Jazzmasters show this guitar is really out of spec. I looked at probably 10 others at Sweetwater, so real guitars and pictures, and they all look more correct.

[Surfysonic]

It's all good - I was trying to be positive/possibly in denial.

I'll get in touch with CME to see about getting a replacement or straight refund, although I'm not sure about either due to my swapping out the screws and damaging the pickup covers.

I'll keep y'all posted.

[Surfysonic]

So I sent off an email to CME listing all the issues. I'm concerned that they won't take it back due to my swapping out the pickup screws and while doing so, damaged the side of the pickup covers with the problematic screws. Guess we'll see what happens.

In preparation of sending it back or in case I have to keep it, I took out my shim and raised my pickups a bit. I don't really want them any higher and they sound alright to my ears (I'm just a home player at this point in life, anyhoo). After a bit of tweaking, I was able to get the string height down a little.







The bridge is still too high and not perfect by any means but it's better. In the event I have to keep it, I guess I'll have a go at sanding down the heel with my table-top sander and hand sand down the pocket by hand. I don't really want to put a different neck on it, as the whole point of buying it was having a Jazzmaster with a maple neck. Hopefully, they'll accept the return for replacement or refund so I won't have to mess with it.