A Fender Troy Van Leeuwen Jazzmaster came in for a setup and a tuning instability problem, with two saddles found swapped and the bridge radius off as a result.
What Came In
A Fender Troy Van Leeuwen Jazzmaster in Copper Age, the signature model with bound maple fingerboard and block inlays. The owner brought it in for a setup, plus the guitar wouldn't stay in tune.
What We Found
Two of the saddles had been swapped on the bridge, so the radius was wrong and the action felt uneven. The guitar was also out of spec on relief, intonation, and bridge height, and the tuning instability the owner described traced back to bridge movement, which is the Jazzmaster's well-known weak point.
What We Did
Saddles back into their correct positions, then a full setup pass. Truss rod, intonation, bridge height all dialed in. Recommended a Mastery bridge to the owner as the long-term fix for the tuning issue. About an hour and twenty minutes on the bench.
Result
Got the guitar set up and playing the way it should. The tuning instability isn't fully solved by a setup alone, because the cause is the bridge design itself.
Worth Knowing
The Troy Van Leeuwen Jazzmaster ships with brass-saddle Mustang bridge, which is already an upgrade over the stock Jazzmaster bridge. But the Mustang bridge still sits in the same two cup posts as the standard design, which means it still floats and still rocks under hard playing or tremolo use. That movement is what pulls the strings out of tune. We see this on Jazzmasters at the bench in Glens Falls regularly. A setup will get the guitar playing right, but if the tuning issues bother you, a Mastery bridge is the standard upgrade. It locks the bridge in place and solves the problem without changing how the guitar feels or sounds.
The other thing to watch for on Jazzmaster setups is saddle swaps. The bridge has six individual saddles, each cut to a slightly different height to follow the fingerboard radius. If two of them get put back in the wrong positions, the radius is off and the action will feel uneven, even if every other adjustment is correct.
Bring It In
Got a Jazzmaster, Jaguar, or any offset that won't stay in tune? Bring it in. Standard setup is $79 and we'll get it back in your hands as soon as possible.
Related
- New Fender Jazzmaster Setup, Factory Action Too High
- Why Won't My Guitar Stay in Tune
- What a Guitar Setup Includes and Why It Matters
- When to Take Your Guitar to a Tech vs. Fix It Yourself
Paul's Guitar Hideout is located at The Shirt Factory in Glens Falls, NY. Use the Cooper Street entrance and take the stairs up. If you need assistance, give us a call and we'll come down.
The Shirt Factory
71 Lawrence St., Suite 201B, 2nd Floor
Glens Falls, NY 12801
Wednesday to Sunday, 12 to 5pm
(518) 217-8695 · info@paulsguitarhideout.com