Jazzmaster bridge - dumb noobie question.

BSAKing

Hi there. I have a number of guitars and other Fenders among them, but..

I recently bought a vintage modified squire jazzmaster (#ICS12061673) and the bridge assembly does not fit well at all in the ferrules sunk into the body. It is able to move approximately 1/8" back and forth or be skewed on an angle backwards or forwards towards the neck or back part of the guitar. Obviously it can shift while playing.

Any of these factors affect at least the intonation of the guitar. It seems wierd that it would slop around like that. 😠

Is there some part missing? Like a sleeve that fits inside of the body ferrules so that the bridge fits snugly into it?

I called Long and Mcquade here in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and they said it did not seem proper, but they did not really know.

If it is designed like that, are you able to provide me with the logic behind it? Or is there a fix? I was considering getting an extra sleeve to fit the bridge into the base ferrul, but I thought I would check here first.

Any clues appreciated!!!! 😁

Regards,

robertoriginal

the jaguar,jazzmaster, and mustang bridges were designed to move back and forth with the trem. its completely normal. as long as you set it up in the middle position, even with alot of trem use, it will be fine. i garuntee you that much.

if you so wish you can put some tape around the posts, or some bored out washers, or even certain tuner bushings will fit in there just fine.

so in short,

its supposed to move, there are remedies for this if you wish to take them

Sobriquet

Yep! Completely normal. It keeps tuning stable.

hoddyman

The Jazzmaster and the jaguar have that "floating tremolo" wherein the bridge rocks back and forth with the vibrato arm's motion. You can intonate the guitar with the bridge in the center position, as was assumed when they designed the thing, but I dare you to be able to keep the bridge assembly upright and centered while applying pressure with your screwdriver when you adjust the saddles (more powre to ya, if you can pull it off). My solution is to rock the bridge all the way back for intonation. Since I usually use the vibrato for bending down from, or up into, notes, the bridge's ability to only rock forward from it's position isn't a problem. Actually, a small ammount of shimmer up and down is also possible without displacing the bridge, and in any case, it's easy (even in mid-song) to pull the bridge back into place anyway, if it migrates forward from pulling back on the arm a little too much.

This isn't for everybody- it depends on if, and how, you use the vibrato. Tape, wire insulation, or rubber tubing wrapped around the bridge posts can be used to keep the bridge from rocking altogether, if you want, and then there's the replacement "mastery bridge" that's designed to fit snugly in the ferrules/thimbles.

BSAKing

Yes - I finally ended up wrapping tape around the posts to keep it in a centered upright position. I prefer that to having it move all over the place on me. That just doesn't seem to be the best way to do things to me. My other Fenders aren't like that at all. So we'll see how that works out, but seems fine so far.

Now I have another issue. When I drag my finger over the pickguard, it snaps and pops. And when I'm playing. Wrote to Fender and they said it sounds like static and to use a damp cloth. Yah right.

None of my other guitars do it - even my other Fenders. I suspect a poor/missing ground or bad wiring of some sort. Some day when I have time I'll tear it apart and check it out and see that it's done properly....

If it weren't just an inexpensive vintage modified squire jazzmaster I'd be miffed, but for the $$ you still can't go wrong. It's actually a pretty nice guitar with the proper rhythm circuits in it.

Does anyone know if they followed the same parts and wiring routing as the original Jazzmaster? Or did they play with that at all? I know the pups are 'new and improved' designed by duncan......

Cheers!

hoddyman

The bridge rocks back and forth to make the vibrato action smoothe and to minimize friction between the strings and bridge. It actually works well to keep the guitar in tune while using lots of vibrato. You may notice that a Stratocaster bridge rocks, too, but of course it's a completely different mechanism. The crackling with your pickguard sounds like a grounding problem. there's a metal shield under the pickguard on older Fender guitars, the same shape as the pickguard. I don't know if that's what they use anymore, but it sounds like a likely culprit. I think that, other than the specs of the "improved" pickups, the wiring on your guitar should be schemed just like any stock or vintage instrument of your model.

BSAKing

I only lifted a corner of the guard and there is no metal shielding. I know my 65 strat has it as you mention. Probably this thing just needs a good going over and maybe the cavity and the guard covered in a grounding material and/or proper grounding techniques applied. You pay cheap, I guess you get cheap. But still a nice playable guitar none the less. I'll just put a little effort into it when I have the time.

robertoriginal

since its the squier it probably has the black shielding paint rather than the big peice of copper like most of the fenders have. and even then they chagned up certain years and places depending on wheather it was mostly shielded paint or if it was large pieces of copper.

sometimes i believe the copper to make the guitar a bit more microphonic in sound, but it sort of depends on the setup you are using as well. i.e. amp, pedals, cords, and where you are playing. living room with lots of electrical crap going on(tv's radios, floursecent lights) or a basment jam space, with designated outlets for each peice of gear and minimal lighting.

BSAKing

The noise is not radiated in nature - ie picked up from flourescents or dimmers, it is more of a loose connection type of sound. It could be static electricity, but even at that, my other guitars do n ot have it so it is something that can and should be eliminated.If I ever find time to tear it apart, I'll report back on the issue, but I suspect a missing ground to some component or a flakey connection.....

johnnykazz

I have the same pop and click sound occasionally with my Telecaster. In my case, it is static electricity and Fender's "damp cloth" suggestion works for me as a temporary fix but I also have to do that about once a month as the problem gradually returns.