JonW
Joined: Mar 07, 2008
Posts: 237
Indiana
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Posted on Jan 27 2010 09:36 AM
After trying out many guitars and shopping around for a long time, I decided that a thin skin Jazzmaster was the guitar for me. I got one a few months back in Lake Placid Blue. Its a wonderful guitar and almost everything Ive dreamed of. Except for 3 things that have been driving me crazy:
1. the vibrato arm flops down and wont stay in place
2. when I wiggle the vibrato arm it vibrates or moves around in the housing/trem assembly a little
3. any use of the vibrato sends the thing out of tune quickly
I read every thread here at sg101 about how to fix problems 1 and 2. I decided to try bending the arm, as many of you suggested. Wow! Its perfect now. It stays in place wherever I want it. It takes neither too much nor too little force to move it to where I want. AND: The vibration in the vibrato assembly is totally gone. Thanks to you all here for the many helpful posts I read about this!
In case this tip helps anyone: I put the arm into a hole (3/16) drilled in a piece of 2x4 wood until the small part of the arm was half way into the hole. Then pulled up on the long part of the arm to put a tiny bend in the short part. OK, that part is known. I kept bending it until I could see a slight bend in that small part of the arm. To see if there is a bend hold the short part up to your eye and look down the line of the short shaft. If you can see a slight bend youre good.
After fixing the trem arm I put on a new set of strings. I put them in the tuners using a locking type of wind (Fender style #5 in Dan Erlewines book). And I greased the nut, bridge, and string tree using Nut Sauce. Remarkably and quite unexpectedly the thing stays in tune much better now with vibrato use.
Now I have one amazing Jaazzmaster. It feels great, plays great, and sounds great. A Jazzmaster -> reverb tank -> BF Bandmaster -> Weber 12F150T. Ahhh, life is very good. 
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19335
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Jan 27 2010 09:41 AM
Congrats!
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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Joelman
Joined: Sep 07, 2006
Posts: 1506
Redlands, CA
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Posted on Jan 27 2010 10:37 AM
GOOD for you!
You have figured out the most important thing about guitar playing.
If your going to play guitar, learn how the darn thing works, and fix it your self.
again I say GOOD FOR YOU!!
Joel
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dp
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 3546
mojave desert, california
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Posted on Jan 27 2010 10:46 AM
The Jazzmaster (with all it's quirks) sure does seem to grow on a person, don't you think? Did you keep the original bridge? On mine, I installed the Mustang bridge. I remember the first time I disassembled the tremplate and adjusted it myself...replaced the spring with a heavier one, set the tremlock up for fatter strings...such a great feeling of accomplishment. And the Jazzmaster responded to my efforts: it played extremely well and sounds so good. I really don't want anyone else touching that guitar...even though my luthier dude does a fine job tweaking my bass necks...the Jazzmaster is stable and totally fits me like a glove now.
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JonW
Joined: Mar 07, 2008
Posts: 237
Indiana
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Posted on Jan 27 2010 03:34 PM
Thanks guys. I hadnt thought about it until you mentioned it but that was the first guitar thing Ive ever fixed. I picked up a cheap Tele as a project guitar to play around with- change the bridge, pickups, pots, etc. to learn. But I just havent had any time to get to it yet.
dp,
Yup I have the original bridge on there. From all of what I read I figured that it would have to be changed. But I havent had any problem with it at all. No complaints.
The Jazzmaster is a quirky guitar. When I first found sg101 I thought this place was populated by people oddly fixated on these strange, ugly offset guitars. ;) But then when I took about a year to find myself one dream guitar- neck profile, feel of the neck finish, nice body contours, tall (not vintage) frets, a sound that has some character, available in nice colors, rosewood fingerboard, has a vibrato, etc.- I ended up with a Jazzmaster. Not what I expected. But now that I have 2 or 3 of those niggling problems fixed
yeah, it fits like a glove.
Now I just have to get my playing ability up to the level of this guitar. Right now my playing is about at the level of a $19.99 plastic ukulele from Toys R Us.  But having the right guitar sure makes you want to pick it up and play more.
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dannylectro
Joined: Aug 18, 2008
Posts: 373
Orange, CA
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Posted on Feb 02 2010 01:12 AM
JonW
I greased the nut, bridge, and string tree using Nut Sauce. Remarkably and quite unexpectedly the thing stays in tune much better now with vibrato use.
Yeah, Nut Sauce is great for vibrato use. Made a huge difference in my tremolo equipped guitars. Good stuff 
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scotstandard
Joined: Nov 09, 2008
Posts: 1140
Davenport Iowa
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Posted on Feb 02 2010 11:49 PM
Good job!
once you get into it you will never stop.
always something that needs tweaking or work!
— Give me reverb or give me death!
facebook.com/onenightstandards
https://www.youtube.com/scotstandard
scotstandard@yahoo.com
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JonW
Joined: Mar 07, 2008
Posts: 237
Indiana
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Posted on Feb 05 2010 03:26 PM
dannylectro
Yeah, Nut Sauce is great for vibrato use. Made a huge difference in my tremolo equipped guitars. Good stuff
I didn't expect it to help nearly as much as it does. Maybe the different string post wind I am using, the new strings, and/or the better behaved vibrato help a little. Not sure but I'm also not complaining.
scotstandard
Good job!
once you get into it you will never stop.
always something that needs tweaking or work!
Thanks. Yeah, it makes me want to work on the guitars more. Lots I want to do with my Tele. The Jazzmaster is almost perfect as is. All I want to change now is add a treble bleed. How do you remove the bridge to get off the pick guard? I haven't tried anything yet.
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josheboy
Joined: Mar 13, 2009
Posts: 2367
Twin Cities, MN
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Posted on Apr 11 2013 02:09 PM
Here is another very cheap fix for trem arm flop:
http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=68870
Much cheaper than a staytrem, lol
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eddiekatcher
Joined: Mar 14, 2006
Posts: 2778
Atlanta, GA
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Posted on Apr 11 2013 04:43 PM
That Eddie Katcher is a clever boy. Clever indeed.
That almost nonexistent "mod" really works. And it is free..
Jazzmaster trem tip #2...........(sharpen the "knife edge" on the trem block pivot). It lowers the friction and helps the unit get back to pitch. Like the slight bend, don't overdo it.
Always trying to help!
ed
— Traditional........speak softly and play through a big blonde amp. Did I mention that I still like big blonde amps?
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6V6
Joined: Nov 15, 2008
Posts: 284
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Posted on Apr 12 2013 12:03 AM
Eddie, that IS clever. I have though of all sorts of schemes, but never arrived at anything like that.
I bent the arms of both my Jag and JM about a year ago...a very quick and simple fix. The only problem is that I must have put too much bend in and now I have to press really hard to remove the trem.
And nice as the fix is, I do sort of miss having to reach for the arm..now that its so handy, I think I probably overuse it!
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ArabSpringReverb
Joined: Jul 13, 2012
Posts: 490
San Diego CA
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Posted on Apr 13 2013 07:50 PM
Lubing all the moving parts and the nut really works wonders to help stay in tune with vibrato action.
TriFlow Superior Lubricant (super refined oil and teflon)is a good substitute for Beg Bend Nut Sauce and way cheaper...the Big Bend is good stuff though.
The floppy arm on my Jazzy is a hassle,I tried teflon tape on the treads but I think I'll try a little bend.My strat has a callaham block and the arm fit is firm and stays where I like it..wish I could say the same for the jazzer.
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