Menu
I still haven't tried the Mustang bridge, and they have been
recommended to me by many a Jaguar player. I really don't see what
the big deal is with the stock bridges. Ok, my CIJ needed a little
elmers glue to keep the set screws and intonation screws in place,
and I also had to widen the bass E saddles grooves. On my AV I have
seriously done nothing to the bridge and the strings DO NOT move,
and there is no rattle or buzzing. I think the key is to shim, use
heavy strings, shim, raise bridge, and shim again. :)
a little more sober Bill
--- In , "Bruno" <brunobrnr@l...> wrote:
> I'm jokin',but at last I get myself a pleasure: 2 mustang
bridges 4 my 65 jag&65 jazzy,another story!!!!
> no troubles,no wrench,just take off one and put in the mustang,do
not need any buzzstop or other(I used to put some finger nail glue
on the top of the saddle's screws........).
> got it at Stewart mc.donald,3 dsays from ohio to me in Italy,fast
and cheap,they goes at 28$. never come back!!!!
> ciao bruno wet-tones
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I have never had a problem with my CIJ Jag either. I too have shimmed
the neck and raised the bridge a lot. I like my action high anyways.
There is no way I will be buying a mustang bridge or buzzstop. If a
mustang bridge is given to me I might try it but if a buzzstop was
given to me I wouldn't use it. It changes the tone with the strings
being at a greater angle over the bridge. You get more sustain but
part of the Jaguar sound is not having very much angle over the
bridge. I think that is what gives the Jag the jangle it has.
--- In , "supertwangreverb"
<supertwangreverb@y...> wrote:
>
> I still haven't tried the Mustang bridge, and they have been
> recommended to me by many a Jaguar player. I really don't see what
> the big deal is with the stock bridges. Ok, my CIJ needed a little
> elmers glue to keep the set screws and intonation screws in place,
> and I also had to widen the bass E saddles grooves. On my AV I have
> seriously done nothing to the bridge and the strings DO NOT move,
> and there is no rattle or buzzing. I think the key is to shim, use
> heavy strings, shim, raise bridge, and shim again. :)
>
> a little more sober Bill
>
>
>
>
>
> --- In , "Bruno" <brunobrnr@l...> wrote:
> > I'm jokin',but at last I get myself a pleasure: 2 mustang
> bridges 4 my 65 jag&65 jazzy,another story!!!!
> > no troubles,no wrench,just take off one and put in the mustang,do
> not need any buzzstop or other(I used to put some finger nail glue
> on the top of the saddle's screws........).
> > got it at Stewart mc.donald,3 dsays from ohio to me in Italy,fast
> and cheap,they goes at 28$. never come back!!!!
> > ciao bruno wet-tones
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I got fed up with my stock bridge on my AV jag because the grooves were
not wide enough for the low E string. The low E would get itself
positioned on the knife edge of a groove and buzz on me. I had to pick
it up and move it all the time. And once or twice the height screws on
the saddles lowered themselves. The Mustang saddles fix those problems
without me having to mess with loctite, glue, or filing wider grooves.
But please note that the after market Mustang saddles that places like
Stew Mac, etc sell are not as wide as the vintage Mustang saddles, so
you'll get gaps between them and they will wiggle under heavy playing. I
had to find a vintage set before I became happy.
I also think shimming is not necessary if you have heavy strings. Heavy
strings are going to stay in place better. When I put the Mustang bridge
on my guitar and raised it up high to get some nice buzz free action,
the string angle became so great that the strings were hitting the
intonation screw heads on the back of the bridge. Rather than remove my
shims (taking off the neck is scary) I just turned the bridge around.
I also would never consider using a buzz stop but then I learned Dave
Wronski uses them on some of his Jags.
I think these guitars are finicky enough that it varies wildy if you
will need shims, Mustang saddles, or just a good setup to fix your
problems. If you are lucky you won't have any problems. I didn't for the
first few years, but then the low E buzzing began.
BN
I think Brian is right about the guitars being different enough that
everyone might find different solutions to the problems.
I started with a Buzzstop in my AV JM, because I didn't want to deal with
the problems, and Dave W recommended it. I'm glad I didn't buy a new Mustang
bridge, after I found out that Brian bought one and didn't like it. On the
other hand, I wouldn't have a clue if my guitar is set up as good as it can
be, as I tend to just get used to any little shortcomings. I'm thinking that
if someone who really know about how to set up these guitars for surf music
would look at it (like Dave W or Steve Soest), I might get a litttle more
"squeezed" out of it, but for the most part a lot of guitar techs don't have
a clue to what surf guitarists need.
Ran
----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Neal" <>
To: <>
Sent: Saturday, February 19, 2005 11:17 AM
Subject: Re: [SurfGuitar101] Re: jazz-jag nightmare......(bridges)
>
> I got fed up with my stock bridge on my AV jag because the grooves were
> not wide enough for the low E string. The low E would get itself
> positioned on the knife edge of a groove and buzz on me. I had to pick
> it up and move it all the time. And once or twice the height screws on
> the saddles lowered themselves. The Mustang saddles fix those problems
> without me having to mess with loctite, glue, or filing wider grooves.
> But please note that the after market Mustang saddles that places like
> Stew Mac, etc sell are not as wide as the vintage Mustang saddles, so
> you'll get gaps between them and they will wiggle under heavy playing. I
> had to find a vintage set before I became happy.
>
> I also think shimming is not necessary if you have heavy strings. Heavy
> strings are going to stay in place better. When I put the Mustang bridge
> on my guitar and raised it up high to get some nice buzz free action,
> the string angle became so great that the strings were hitting the
> intonation screw heads on the back of the bridge. Rather than remove my
> shims (taking off the neck is scary) I just turned the bridge around.
>
> I also would never consider using a buzz stop but then I learned Dave
> Wronski uses them on some of his Jags.
>
> I think these guitars are finicky enough that it varies wildy if you
> will need shims, Mustang saddles, or just a good setup to fix your
> problems. If you are lucky you won't have any problems. I didn't for the
> first few years, but then the low E buzzing began.
>
> BN
>
>
>
> .
> Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
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>
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I've followed the advice of the sobering Bill . . . for my AV Jag, I had
some buzzing issues which were solved by raising the bridge height, tweaking
the grub screws on the saddles, and by adding some shim height (that allowed
the action to get a bit lower, which was nice). FWIW, I use D'addario 11's
on the Jag . . .
My CIJ Jazzmaster doesn't really have buzzing problems, but the grub screws
on some of the saddles "unscrew" themselves and mysteriously raise up - I
really need to hit them with some Elmer's or Loctite!
-Dick
----- Original Message -----
From: "supertwangreverb" <>
To: <>
Sent: Saturday, February 19, 2005 12:32 PM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Re: jazz-jag nightmare......(bridges)
>
>
> I still haven't tried the Mustang bridge, and they have been
> recommended to me by many a Jaguar player. I really don't see what
> the big deal is with the stock bridges. Ok, my CIJ needed a little
> elmers glue to keep the set screws and intonation screws in place,
> and I also had to widen the bass E saddles grooves. On my AV I have
> seriously done nothing to the bridge and the strings DO NOT move,
> and there is no rattle or buzzing. I think the key is to shim, use
> heavy strings, shim, raise bridge, and shim again. :)
>
> a little more sober Bill
>
>
>
>
>
> --- In , "Bruno" <brunobrnr@l...> wrote:
>> I'm jokin',but at last I get myself a pleasure: 2 mustang
> bridges 4 my 65 jag&65 jazzy,another story!!!!
>> no troubles,no wrench,just take off one and put in the mustang,do
> not need any buzzstop or other(I used to put some finger nail glue
> on the top of the saddle's screws........).
>> got it at Stewart mc.donald,3 dsays from ohio to me in Italy,fast
> and cheap,they goes at 28$. never come back!!!!
>> ciao bruno wet-tones
>>
>> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
>
>
> .
> Visit for archived messages,
> bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Most of us can do the little things on our own but
I've found that pretty much any decent quality
instrument when properly setup by someone that really
knows what they're doing can be made to play
fabulously. My local guy does a really good job and
is very thorough, so don't mind paying him to tweak
anything I plan on keeping.
Problem with Jags and Jazzmasters is finding someone
who's familiar with them or is at least willing to sit
down with them. The first guitar teacher I ever had
kept telling me not to bother to pay to have my MIJ
Jag set up and restrung because of all it's many
inherent design flaws, it's not a "real" guitar, blah
blah.
Richard
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--- In , Richard <errant_jedi@y...> wrote:
>
> Problem with Jags and Jazzmasters is finding someone
> who's familiar with them or is at least willing to sit
> down with them. The first guitar teacher I ever had
> kept telling me not to bother to pay to have my MIJ
> Jag set up and restrung because of all it's many
> inherent design flaws, it's not a "real" guitar, blah
> blah.
>
I agree 100%, nobody knows these things very well. That's why I have
taken it on myself to do my own setups. But my patience wears thin
after a while. I think Dano from The Nebulas once characterized these
setup issues as akin to "building a ship in a bottle". :)
If only I lived near Steve Soest...!
BN
When I played Gretsch guitars and a Strato#@$#@. I used to take
them in every so often for setups. Then with the Jaguar I figured I
better learn how to do this. Now, I save myself 40 bucks guitar, and
if you can set up a Jaguar, you can set up ANY guitar.
Bill
--- In , "Brian Neal" <brian@s...>
wrote:
>
> --- In , Richard <errant_jedi@y...>
wrote:
> >
> > Problem with Jags and Jazzmasters is finding someone
> > who's familiar with them or is at least willing to sit
> > down with them. The first guitar teacher I ever had
> > kept telling me not to bother to pay to have my MIJ
> > Jag set up and restrung because of all it's many
> > inherent design flaws, it's not a "real" guitar, blah
> > blah.
> >
>
> I agree 100%, nobody knows these things very well. That's why I
have
> taken it on myself to do my own setups. But my patience wears thin
> after a while. I think Dano from The Nebulas once characterized
these
> setup issues as akin to "building a ship in a bottle". :)
>
> If only I lived near Steve Soest...!
>
> BN
I'm with you Brian - although a "pro" would do a much better job than
myself, there don't seem to be too many around here who can set up Jags/JMs.
In such a case, self-reliance is almost a necessity. Although I consider
myself to be a "do-it-yourselfer" (for most things), the set up on these is
like "ship in a bottle" affair: time consuming, frustrating (solve problem
"A", but then "B" goes out of whack - don't even think about variable "C"),
but, oh so rewarding when it all comes together! With things like this, I
figure I'm better off if I can deal with it . . . but yes, if only Steve
Soest were right down the street!
-Dick
----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Neal" <>
To: <>
Sent: Saturday, February 19, 2005 3:27 PM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Re: jazz-jag nightmare......(bridges)
>
>
> --- In , Richard <errant_jedi@y...> wrote:
>>
>> Problem with Jags and Jazzmasters is finding someone
>> who's familiar with them or is at least willing to sit
>> down with them. The first guitar teacher I ever had
>> kept telling me not to bother to pay to have my MIJ
>> Jag set up and restrung because of all it's many
>> inherent design flaws, it's not a "real" guitar, blah
>> blah.
>>
>
> I agree 100%, nobody knows these things very well. That's why I have
> taken it on myself to do my own setups. But my patience wears thin
> after a while. I think Dano from The Nebulas once characterized these
> setup issues as akin to "building a ship in a bottle". :)
>
> If only I lived near Steve Soest...!
>
> BN
>
>
>
>
>
>
> .
> Visit for archived messages,
> bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Not again! You mean to say we're back to discussing the Jaquar and Jazzmaster
bridges?! It's time to rename this list Jazz-Jag-Bridge101 !!
...that is until we recycle the Fender Reverb RI Tank and the useless mods
[oops, did I say that? ;-)] again. Actually, I think we have reduced ourselves
to four recycling topics which include:
1. Jazz-Jag bridges.
2. Fender reverb tanks.
3. Pick-up changes.
4. Flatwound strings.
We gotta come up with some new ones. Does anyone have a good recipe for Chicken
Florentine?
-Marty
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I'm purdy much a do-it-yerselfer when it comes to guitar set-ups as well. Once
you're over your fear of cranking the truss rod, it's a piece-o-cake. But that's
the most common concern I hear from other guitarists, not wanting to twist the
truss rod. I'm hear t'tell ya, you ain't gonna snap the neck folks. Go for it!
If you want to lower your action and/or reduce buzz, at the middle frets (8 - 14
or so), or adjust for heavier strings, take some dip out of the neck with a
righty-tighty turn to the truss. If you have buzz at the 1st - 4th frets or so,
put some dip back into the neck with a lefty-loosey turn. There is some trial
and error involved. It's the same trial and error story with shims. Good shims
can be made from business cards.
-Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: supertwangreverb
To:
Sent: Saturday, February 19, 2005 12:53 PM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Re: jazz-jag nightmare......(bridges)
When I played Gretsch guitars and a Strato#@$#@. I used to take
them in every so often for setups. Then with the Jaguar I figured I
better learn how to do this. Now, I save myself 40 bucks guitar, and
if you can set up a Jaguar, you can set up ANY guitar.
Bill
--- In , "Brian Neal" <brian@s...>
wrote:
>
> --- In , Richard <errant_jedi@y...>
wrote:
> >
> > Problem with Jags and Jazzmasters is finding someone
> > who's familiar with them or is at least willing to sit
> > down with them. The first guitar teacher I ever had
> > kept telling me not to bother to pay to have my MIJ
> > Jag set up and restrung because of all it's many
> > inherent design flaws, it's not a "real" guitar, blah
> > blah.
> >
>
> I agree 100%, nobody knows these things very well. That's why I
have
> taken it on myself to do my own setups. But my patience wears thin
> after a while. I think Dano from The Nebulas once characterized
these
> setup issues as akin to "building a ship in a bottle". :)
>
> If only I lived near Steve Soest...!
>
> BN
.
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Marty:
You forgot the never-ending "trad versus experimental"
debate...you know, the one that always ends with: "well, I
guess it's all simply a matter of personal subjective
taste..."
;) dp
--- Marty Tippens <> wrote:
>
> Not again! You mean to say we're back to discussing the
> Jaquar and Jazzmaster bridges?! It's time to rename this
> list Jazz-Jag-Bridge101 !!
> ...that is until we recycle the Fender Reverb RI Tank and
> the useless mods [oops, did I say that? ;-)] again.
> Actually, I think we have reduced ourselves to four
> recycling topics which include:
>
> 1. Jazz-Jag bridges.
> 2. Fender reverb tanks.
> 3. Pick-up changes.
> 4. Flatwound strings.
>
> We gotta come up with some new ones. Does anyone have a
> good recipe for Chicken Florentine?
> -Marty
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
> --------------------~-->
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> efforts!
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>
> .
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>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
__________________________________
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The all-new My Yahoo! - What will yours do?
I thought that trad vs progressive was a Cowabunga exclusive. I've been lettin'
it slide here when folks talk about distortion, pods and solid state amps. Sure,
we can add it to the short list.
-Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: DP
To:
Sent: Saturday, February 19, 2005 4:14 PM
Subject: Re: [SurfGuitar101] Re: jazz-jag nightmare......(bridges)
Marty:
You forgot the never-ending "trad versus experimental"
debate...you know, the one that always ends with: "well, I
guess it's all simply a matter of personal subjective
taste..."
;) dp
--- Marty Tippens <> wrote:
>
> Not again! You mean to say we're back to discussing the
> Jaquar and Jazzmaster bridges?! It's time to rename this
> list Jazz-Jag-Bridge101 !!
> ...that is until we recycle the Fender Reverb RI Tank and
> the useless mods [oops, did I say that? ;-)] again.
> Actually, I think we have reduced ourselves to four
> recycling topics which include:
>
> 1. Jazz-Jag bridges.
> 2. Fender reverb tanks.
> 3. Pick-up changes.
> 4. Flatwound strings.
>
> We gotta come up with some new ones. Does anyone have a
> good recipe for Chicken Florentine?
> -Marty
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
> --------------------~-->
> Has someone you know been affected by illness or disease?
> Network for Good is THE place to support health awareness
> efforts!
>
>
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
>
>
> .
> Visit for
> archived messages, bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
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__________________________________
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sorry bout the blank post.
About the four recycled topics,
There are some of us are new and haven't heard it before. (Me) I
guess someone could search the topic, then summarize the findings,
and post the "white paper" on the files.
But me I just enjoy the discussions.
Dave
By the way, has anybody ever tried to build a SG15? Does it use an
Accutronics tank? I see the schematic is available on the field
guide. I know I culdn't do it. But I know someone who could.
BTW version 2 Has anybody ever done a surf version of "Underture"
by The Who (one of the guitar instrumentals from Tommy)? I was
listening to it the other day, and was thinking that it just begged
for a surf version.
--- In , "Marty Tippens"
<mctippens@e...> wrote:
> Not again! You mean to say we're back to discussing the Jaquar and
Jazzmaster bridges?! It's time to rename this list Jazz-Jag-
Bridge101 !!
> ...that is until we recycle the Fender Reverb RI Tank and the
useless mods [oops, did I say that? ;-)] again. Actually, I think we
have reduced ourselves to four recycling topics which include:
>
> 1. Jazz-Jag bridges.
> 2. Fender reverb tanks.
> 3. Pick-up changes.
> 4. Flatwound strings.
>
> We gotta come up with some new ones. Does anyone have a good
recipe for Chicken Florentine?
> -Marty
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
as you're envolved in something so-special is not unusual to say the same
thing many times,if yo u likes hot rod you'll talkin, time by time about
engines,tyres,carburetor,so let us talkin about what we likes most,tech tips
are not boring anymore!!
bruno
----- Original Message -----
From: "stratrhythm" <>
To: <>
Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2005 6:03 PM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Re: jazz-jag nightmare......(bridges)
>
>
> --- In , "Marty Tippens"
> <mctippens@e...> wrote:
>> Not again! You mean to say we're back to discussing the Jaquar and
> Jazzmaster bridges?! It's time to rename this list Jazz-Jag-
> Bridge101 !!
>> ...that is until we recycle the Fender Reverb RI Tank and the
> useless mods [oops, did I say that? ;-)] again. Actually, I think we
> have reduced ourselves to four recycling topics which include:
>>
>> 1. Jazz-Jag bridges.
>> 2. Fender reverb tanks.
>> 3. Pick-up changes.
>> 4. Flatwound strings.
>>
>> We gotta come up with some new ones. Does anyone have a good
> recipe for Chicken Florentine?
>> -Marty
>>
>> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
>
>
> .
> Visit for archived messages,
> bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
