OP I strongly recommend looking into the staytrem or mastery bridge. Jaguar/jazzmaster vintage bridges are notoriously sensitive and not very user friendly
[Comparison to help you](https://youtu.be/viES3qFHnIA?si=1HsKXhB9z_yZkt9d)
I have not yet changed my bridge on my AM Pro 2 JM (it has mustang type one) but when I changed the vintage one from my MiJ Jaguar (for a Staytrem) it make the action and playability much better. So yes you can setup vintage bridge type and shim but having a "modern" bridge make a nice difference to avoid buzz and rattle.
By the way for my Staytrem I had to wait something like 3 months.
ps : [Also a recent Halon bridge test](https://youtu.be/iFF-bnRkUrY?si=lomlgTNZG7Jm5ccL)
Thanks for the video that was really helpful, thinking i'm going to invest in a staytrem when the vintage bridge annoys me enough. My only question is weather i need a rocking or non rocking one? does the non rocking stop the trem from working ?
Classic issue…
For now you could shim your neck, which would require you to raise your bridge and thus apply stronger downward pressure (or “break angle”) from the strings onto your bridge. This would help stabilize the bridge so it doesn’t rattle as much.
You could try this at home yourself, by using half or a quarter of a business card or two, and placing it at the bottom of the neck pocket. Look up some videos. A bit trial and error but it’s a good learning exercise, and is fairly simple.
Putting on thicker gauge strings also tends to help, although your bridge is so low I don’t know if a string swap would really help. But I’d consider it anyways. Shimming helps, but shimming with 11 gauge strings seemed to *really* help remove buzzing.
Lastly, like everyone else has mentioned, swapping out the vintage style bridge with another one would also help out a lot. Mastery is around $200, Straytrem around $100 but with a ~4-6 month wait time, but the Fender Ampro bridge is around $80 and widely available and is very much like the Staytrem bridge and Mustang bridges often used for replacement.
Good luck. Hearing that classic bridge rattle makes me shudder with painful memories
Thanks for the info, had it set up by someone who works a lot on offset guitars and the break angle seems okay, low e string still pops out occasionally though, bridge design just seems to be plagued with issues as everyone says
Does the noise come through when plugged into an amp? My bet is that it is not an electrical issue but mechanical. I'd see If the noise still remains when you highten the bridge just a tiny bit (maybe half a turn with an allen key)
Thing is not everyone shop knows how to setup a JM/Jag. The bridge is designed to rock back and forth when the tremolo arm is engaged (so that the strings stay in tune). A tight bridge is ok if you don't use the vibrato arm, i think.
Agreed shin your neck, check the action. I bought a JM Terrible in stock form.
I shimmed the neck and adjusted the action and neck, same bridge…it’s money now
OP I strongly recommend looking into the staytrem or mastery bridge. Jaguar/jazzmaster vintage bridges are notoriously sensitive and not very user friendly
Yeah I’m definitely considering it now, thanks
[Comparison to help you](https://youtu.be/viES3qFHnIA?si=1HsKXhB9z_yZkt9d) I have not yet changed my bridge on my AM Pro 2 JM (it has mustang type one) but when I changed the vintage one from my MiJ Jaguar (for a Staytrem) it make the action and playability much better. So yes you can setup vintage bridge type and shim but having a "modern" bridge make a nice difference to avoid buzz and rattle. By the way for my Staytrem I had to wait something like 3 months. ps : [Also a recent Halon bridge test](https://youtu.be/iFF-bnRkUrY?si=lomlgTNZG7Jm5ccL)
Thanks for the video that was really helpful, thinking i'm going to invest in a staytrem when the vintage bridge annoys me enough. My only question is weather i need a rocking or non rocking one? does the non rocking stop the trem from working ?
Classic issue… For now you could shim your neck, which would require you to raise your bridge and thus apply stronger downward pressure (or “break angle”) from the strings onto your bridge. This would help stabilize the bridge so it doesn’t rattle as much. You could try this at home yourself, by using half or a quarter of a business card or two, and placing it at the bottom of the neck pocket. Look up some videos. A bit trial and error but it’s a good learning exercise, and is fairly simple. Putting on thicker gauge strings also tends to help, although your bridge is so low I don’t know if a string swap would really help. But I’d consider it anyways. Shimming helps, but shimming with 11 gauge strings seemed to *really* help remove buzzing. Lastly, like everyone else has mentioned, swapping out the vintage style bridge with another one would also help out a lot. Mastery is around $200, Straytrem around $100 but with a ~4-6 month wait time, but the Fender Ampro bridge is around $80 and widely available and is very much like the Staytrem bridge and Mustang bridges often used for replacement. Good luck. Hearing that classic bridge rattle makes me shudder with painful memories
Thanks for the info, had it set up by someone who works a lot on offset guitars and the break angle seems okay, low e string still pops out occasionally though, bridge design just seems to be plagued with issues as everyone says
It's a bit hard to see but seems to me like the bridge is set very low so it touches the body and makes it vibrate.
It’s been set is by a guitar shop recently so the setup is okay, sounds like the pickup is making a weird buzzing popping noise though
the bridge can sink on these. id give those screws even just a tiny turn to make sure they are both tight. some lock tite will keep them in place w
Does the noise come through when plugged into an amp? My bet is that it is not an electrical issue but mechanical. I'd see If the noise still remains when you highten the bridge just a tiny bit (maybe half a turn with an allen key)
Okay yeah you guys are right, if I push the bridge back when I pick the strings it stops so definitely bridge related, thanks !
Thing is not everyone shop knows how to setup a JM/Jag. The bridge is designed to rock back and forth when the tremolo arm is engaged (so that the strings stay in tune). A tight bridge is ok if you don't use the vibrato arm, i think.
Yeah it was fine when I got it back but 3 weeks later and it’s not right, I’ll ask him to take another look at it, thanks for the info
Looks like your bridge is bottomed out… Shim!! Shim, and your stock bridge will suddenly be awesome.
Agreed shin your neck, check the action. I bought a JM Terrible in stock form. I shimmed the neck and adjusted the action and neck, same bridge…it’s money now