ShortScale.org

I'm not sure if the glow of intially having this great guitar faded and that allowed me to realize, or what. But, above the 12th fret my JM sounds buzzy, plunky, shitty.

What do I do?

(a) Get a Mastery Bridge? I've saved up enough to get one, but there are some other things I'd like to spend that money on, and I haven't had any serious problems with the stock bridge. But it is supposed to TEH SUSTAINZ and that's certainly what I'm missing above the 12th fret...

(b) turn the truss rod 1/8 turn? Offesters have suggested this, but I'm not sure that'd make a difference that far down the fret board.

(c) take it to someone smarter and more experienced than me? Maybe, but the local guitar techs don't seem to know much at all about the vagaries of floating tremolos etc.

(d) sell this mother and get something else? I don't want to do that very much but I could probably get my money back, I think.

Get it set up.

for real. that's all it needs, i'll bet.

I'm in Sacramento. Who in the bay area do you think can set it up properly?

Any guitar tech should be able to set intonation etc. Take it to your nearest guitar store, they will probably know someone if they can't do it themselves.

johnnyseven wrote:Any competent guitar tech should be able to set intonation etc. Take it to your nearest guitar store, they will probably know someone if they can't do it themselves.

Fixt
Still slightly pissed off that I got charged for a crown, level & setup a while back and they didn't change a damn' thing on the setup.

What did they leave the same on it? A fret-level would suggest they did truss rod/action tweaks too, they might've put it back to how it was before thinking it was your preferred specs.

good guitar tech , neck setup bridge setup , check if nut was poorly made.

If you want to head into San Francisco there's Gary Brower guitars and SF Guitarworks. Both do pretty great work. Not exactly cheap, but def good work.

Thanks. Anybody know anybody competent to deal with a jazzmaster in East Bay?

mastermorya wrote:
(b) turn the truss rod 1/8 turn? Offesters have suggested this, but I'm not sure that'd make a difference that far down the fret board.

try and get the neck as straight as possible and try adjusting string hight. There is no need to pay for a standard setup there is plenty of information on the internet and it is not exactly rocket science. If it doesn't make a difference I'd guess it needs a neck shim which I suppose is more technical but I'd probably still have a bash my self before taking it to a shop.

It just needs a neck shim. A truss rod adjustment, maybe, but you need to shim the neck first to tell.

Basically, just add a small shim in the neck pocket that is on the top half. So, put it between the top two screws. What you have to remember is that by doing this, you're really moving a lever, so it's not about lowering the bottom of the neck but raising the first frets. So, a small adjustment will effect the height 3x or 4x times the actual height of the shim. Start with just a piece of paper folded over and see how that goes. This is actually a relatively easy job because if you screw everything up, you just take it out and you're EXACTLY where you started. So, in that aspect, you should at least try it before you pay for a professional setup. That said, it does take a little time taking the neck off, tuning, playing a bit, and taking the neck back off if you didn't get it just right.

SKC Willie wrote:It just needs a neck shim. A truss rod adjustment, maybe, but you need to shim the neck first to tell.

Basically, just add a small shim in the neck pocket that is on the top half. So, put it between the top two screws. What you have to remember is that by doing this, you're really moving a lever, so it's not about lowering the bottom of the neck but raising the first frets. So, a small adjustment will effect the height 3x or 4x times the actual height of the shim. Start with just a piece of paper folded over and see how that goes. This is actually a relatively easy job because if you screw everything up, you just take it out and you're EXACTLY where you started. So, in that aspect, you should at least try it before you pay for a professional setup. That said, it does take a little time taking the neck off, tuning, playing a bit, and taking the neck back off if you didn't get it just right.

If you try the shim, remember to release the tension oh the strings first and it is good to capo the strings in place so it does not turn into a mess.

I like to use business cards for shims.

mastermorya wrote:Thanks. Anybody know anybody competent to deal with a jazzmaster in East Bay?

If you play guitar you should learn how to set them up properly.

Thanks for your input, that was really helpful. I know how to intonate a guitar, and I've been adjusting the bridge to fix my problem without success. But fuck all that, if I play guitar I should learn how to set them up properly, right? What the fuck was I thinking even posting my question?

Where would I be without such thoughtful and complete advice?

POUR BEER ON THAT SHIT.

or spend 200 dollars on a guitar fetish jazzmaster that actually works out of the box. throw out the one from fender that you payed too much for that dont work

New setup with thicker strings ought to do you right. I feel you about the Fender quality control, though. I had to get a new nut on my Blacktop Jazzer that I bought brand fucking new.

mastermorya wrote:Thanks. Anybody know anybody competent to deal with a jazzmaster in East Bay?

Sorry I didn't see this earlier! Take it to Benny Rodriguez in Pleasant Hill. Don't waste time going to SF, Benny does great work and is very reasonable. He used to work for Tom Anderson.

His website is bjrguitars.com

Let me know how this works out!!

Thanks dude. I will check him out. I've got 12's on there now with a wound g but I guess I could go heavier. It's getting worse every day somehow.

12's on a 25.5 scale in insane. I use .9's on a 25 inch scale currently. Is the neck warped? Are there uneven frets?