My jazzmaster quest

[wardpike]

ok, I started off rather easy...

Dear Shambles,
I have some minor questions...please indulge me as I possibly ask some "stupid questions".

First of all, you mention it's a CIJ Jazzmaster yet the bridge is a USA bridge? As it's not all original, does this diminish the value?
Do you have the original bridge and will it be installed on the unit when I receive it...or can you include it in the deal along with instructions on how to reinstall it?

Also, what colour is the guitar? It looks yellow, but I checked with the Fender website and cannot find yellow available as a colour choice. That being said, I think banana yellow is brilliant and should be offered by Fender.

I may be back with more questions. Thanks in advance.

[wardpike]

Ok, here's the reply I got back...

Hiya there.

CIJ Jazzmasters with USA or Mustang bridges usually fetch more money than those without because the standard Japanese bridge is fairly unbearable. The USA bridges are especially expensive because the only way to get them is to take them off of a USA guitar, making them a lot rarer than the Mustang bridges which are often made by other companies. The USA bridge looks the same as the Japanese bridge except that the metal it's made from doesn't look cheap.

There were many problems with the Japanese bridge: the saddle screws would rattle, the saddle screws had a tendency to shear quite easily, very easy for the string to fall out of the saddle because the saddles are a lot shallower than those on the USA bridge, the saddles would often budge sideways while playing it so the guitar would suddenly go out of tune and the intonation would have to be redone.

I don't have the original bridge but they usually come up on eBay for under £20. If you wanted to put a Japanese bridge back in, all you would have to do is loosen the strings, take the old bridge out and put the new one in. Nothing needs to be unscrewed or anything like that because the bridge is held in using the pressure from the strings.

The colour is Olympic White (with tortoise-shell pickguard), which is a sort of cream colour. Here's a good picture of another Jazzmaster in the exact same colours: http://www.vintageguitars.org.uk/graphi ... er72p6.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

None of your questions have been stupid so far, so if you have any other questions then please do ask! (As long as they're about the guitar :p)

Best wishes,
Joel.

Should I now start with the stupider questions? Like is the warranty voided, can I buy a new warranty, do you have original papers etc etc . . .

Cheers,
Ward