hi folks,
I have a question re my newly finished Jazzmaster build.
I have everything dialled in and it plays and sounds great, no issues at all........but !
Looking at other vintage and regular Jazzmasters, my bridge seems high, and my pickup height both bridge and neck seem too high. The action is low on he guitar and it plays fab, I have a fair few builds under my belt but as a newcomer to Jazzmasters in particular, although I did once own a J Mascis Squier, I wanted some opinions on whether this looks 'right'.
I guess some of you may say well, if it plays great, what you worried about, but I am curious as to whether the neck pocket is too shallow, it is around 13mm which after researching seems there or thereabouts. I have tried a Squier Classic vibe JM neck and the current roasted maple one, and both were giving the same result.
Thoughts folks ??
By the way I hope these image links work, not the best at sorting stuff like this.
https://i.ibb.co/qW60rKj/2024-01-22-16-51-14.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/ydmGZyJ/2024-01-22-16-50-17.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/q1YZ4Jf/2024-01-22-16-50-53.jpg
Does this look correct ?
- Veitchy
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Re: Does this look correct ?
I've got a neck shim in mine and the bridge pickup especially sits pretty proud of the guard. If it's playing well and you're getting the response you want out of the pickups I wouldn't worry too much about it.
- mynameisjonas
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Re: Does this look correct ?
Looks perfectly normal to me. Generally, having the bridge high is a good thing, because you get more downward pressure on the bridge from the strings, which helps eliminate buzzing and string skipping, and gives the guitar a more solid sound and feel. This is the reason people (including Fender themselves) use shims in the neck pockets, or build offsets with angled neck pockets.
- timtam
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Re: Does this look correct ?
Height looks fine. The bridge does look like it might be tilted back a little, although that could be an illusion. The high string-saddle downforce that comes from having the bridge at a good height helps the strings maintain their grip on the bridge (unless you lubricate the string-saddlde contact points, which you should never do). Thus the bridge tends to stay in the middle, neutral position, and also return there after consistent forward/backward rocking during trem use.
"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.
- bipedal2
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Re: Does this look correct ?
Nice finish on that guitar!
Looks pretty similar to the setup on my Squier JMJM, which plays well for me.
Probably not applicable to your instrument, but the only *super minor* issue with the setup on mine is that my guitar's bridge pickup sits high enough that the 4 pickup cover screws are just barely pulling into the wood body beneath, so the pickup feels a little little loose and wobbly, even with extra foam underneath.
Looks pretty similar to the setup on my Squier JMJM, which plays well for me.
Probably not applicable to your instrument, but the only *super minor* issue with the setup on mine is that my guitar's bridge pickup sits high enough that the 4 pickup cover screws are just barely pulling into the wood body beneath, so the pickup feels a little little loose and wobbly, even with extra foam underneath.