MoreSpaceEcho wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 2:41 pm

TylerDeadPine wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 12:09 pm I now understand the comical pain of the stock jazzmaster bridge - I didn't 'get' the issue, but I do now. If anyone has a staytrem bridge for 9.5" they want to get rid of, im yer dawg.

Not a staytrem but I still have the Mastery if you're interested.

ah! Thanks I'll think about that

TylerDeadPine wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 2:57 pm

MoreSpaceEcho wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 2:41 pm

TylerDeadPine wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 12:09 pm I now understand the comical pain of the stock jazzmaster bridge - I didn't 'get' the issue, but I do now. If anyone has a staytrem bridge for 9.5" they want to get rid of, im yer dawg.

Not a staytrem but I still have the Mastery if you're interested.

ah! Thanks I'll think about that

what makes the staytrem diff than a mustang bridge. Looks the same and I hated the Mustang bridge on my JM.

c jury wrote: Thu Feb 02, 2023 10:02 pm Been watching this with interest. Setting up offset Fenders is a special skill. It seems like they were just never properly manufactured, and so getting them playing properly requires a mountain of work.

pff, I have ... six? Fender offsets, MIA, MIJ, MIM, Jazzmasters, a Jag, a VI and a Mustang, 60s, 80s and 2010s, they're all perfectly set up (and I'm fussy about intonation). Conversely I often have trouble getting Strats dialled in right. I'm wondering if there are procedures which work well for one and not the other.
A well set up Jazzmaster is probably the most comfortable guitar I've ever played (aside from my old Squier Tele) so I recognise I'm not in the mainstream. There's something about the strings breaking gently over the bridge and the low saddles (Mustangs preferably).
I'll join the choir praising wound G, that's what they were designed for.

I have this jazzmaster set up really well, didn't have an issue there - it does have a "vintage jazzmaster" bridge. The setup initially wasn't too hard once I realized the bridge could float and tilt so I pushed it up against the post and at least the intonation was good. Problem being within 5 minutes of playing it seems to move down the threads of the set screws and the strings are sitting on the frets. I'm going to try some thread locker until I can get another bridge in here, don't really trust it for high energy playing

I didn't read closely enough to know if this could really be the issue, but:

If one pickup (or especially both!) are too close to the strings, the magnets can pull strings out of tune.

You can see the wobble on a good digital tuner or a strobe. You'll have trouble getting the string(s) to settle on a pitch when tuning.

If you haven't tried lowering the pickups (in your case, if i read correctly, maybe even just the "bottom" side under the higher strings), give it a shot and see if it helps. Easy to test and easy fix if that's it.

Geoff Benge showed me this a long time ago. He said it gets overlooked a lot. Geoff is the best intonator of guitars that I know--if you lived here, I'd say take it to him and he'll just fix it for you.

Apologies for the lack of updates.

The issue is present even unplugged (so I think the magnets aren't the problem?).

Fresh 11s didn't help. I thought I was going a bit mad as the amount it was out would vary, even with a capo on the first fret (i.e. my terrible fingering was definitely effecting it; it has jumbo frets too, fwiw). However, with the capo it's quite reduced on the G string (almost completely gone except for half a point in one fret), though not as much on the B string (still a cent or two out). I also don't need to have this degree of careful fingering in the other frets or on other guitars so... I suspect it's a mix of bad technique and moreso something structural (quite possibly the nut as people have been saying).

I'm just waiting on the tech I found to have space in his calendar (he's operating reduced hours at the moment).

elisha wiesner wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 4:37 pm Andy, can you take an accurate measurement from the end of the nut to the middle of the 12th fret and then from the middle of the 12th fret to the break point of the saddles on both E strings? Preferably in MM.

Hi Elisha, I may be a tad out, but from the saddles to the middle point of the fret itself, then to the nut they're:

32.85 - 65.25 Low E
32.6 - 65 High E

andyman wrote: Mon Feb 13, 2023 5:54 am The issue is present even unplugged (so I think the magnets aren't the problem?).

The pickups are still magnetic without the guitar plugged in. They'll still pull on the strings.

Oh God, I'm an idiot. I always assumed they were some sort of electromagnet, but thinking about it that's incredibly dumb.

I remember raising the bridge one slightly after the setup, so when I had a break earlier I lowered it quite a bit just to see, and it just seemed to make everything way worse: the G string was too sharp in every fret including the 12th, while the saddle is already as far back as it can go.

eephus wrote: Sat Feb 11, 2023 3:21 pm Geoff is the best intonator of guitars that I know--if you lived here, I'd say take it to him and he'll just fix it for you.

+1 on this. I usually do all of my own simple setups, but every time I have a problem guitar with issues I take it to Geoff and it always comes back intonated perfectly.

andyman wrote: Mon Feb 13, 2023 5:54 am

elisha wiesner wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 4:37 pm Andy, can you take an accurate measurement from the end of the nut to the middle of the 12th fret and then from the middle of the 12th fret to the break point of the saddles on both E strings? Preferably in MM.

Hi Elisha, I may be a tad out, but from the saddles to the middle point of the fret itself, then to the nut they're:

32.85 - 65.25 Low E
32.6 - 65 High E

This seems way out to me. Assuming you have action of say 2mm, If the Low E is 328.5mm from the nut to the center of the 12th fret, I'd expect it to be roughly 662mm from the nut to the bridge. You have 652.5mm That's 10.5mm off! With the High E at 326mm from nut to center of 12th fret, I'd expect it to be roughly 655mm from the nut to the bridge and you have 650mm. If your measurements are correct, I don't see how the guitar could properly intonate.

Can you get the saddles back any farther? If not, and again if your measurements are correct, it will never intonate properly as it is without moving the bridge back or the neck forward. It's possible that the bridge is simply in the wrong place (more common than you'd think) or that the nut is in the wrong place or some combination of both.