Fender American Original '60s Jaguar?

[ElectricZombie]

I'm thinking about buying a Fender American Original '60s Jaguar in surf green. None of the guitar stores in my area have these in stock, so I would have to order it online. I've never tried a Jaguar, but like the look and tone quite a bit. I would be playing surf and classic rock with it.

My concern is the bridge. There seem to be some complaints regarding the vintage style bridge. People seem to complain of buzzing and the strings slipping. I play with 7 gauge strings and am not sure if that would exacerbate any issues further. I really don't want to spend $2k on a guitar and have to spend more money replacing the bridge just to make it usable.

Is the stock vintage bridge really that bad? People seem to imply that replacing the bridge is absolutely required for the guitar to function properly.

[andy_tchp]

You know I don't think the original ('vintage') style bridge has ever been discussed.

[Veitchy]

A quick search here will give you a range of opinions across the stock vs replacement spectrum. I would suggest looking into the articles written about offset bridge setups by people like Mike Adams and Tim Brennan (from Tym guitars). Both make it clear that the stock bridge can work fine depending on how they're set up.

Here's the short version. If required, shim the neck up a tad, and raise the bridge to compensate. This will increase the string tension across the bridge and reduce the chances of strings slipping or popping off. The bridge should rock back and forwards just vine when using the vibrato. Heavier strings help too.

If you want to use really light strings, play very heavily with your picking hand, or have to deck the bridge and your action for some reason then maybe some of the alternatives might be more appropriate. For surf and classic rock one could imagine you'll be okay with a decent setup.


Edit: Just saw you prefer 7s. Yeah, you're going to need to step that up a few gauges if you want to use a vintage bridge, especially with a Jag.

[timtam]

The principles for setting up the vintage bridge are well understood (although not always widely understood), and revolve around sufficient string downforce on the bridge. String tension is a key factor in this (entirely determined by scale length, tuning, and string mass per unit length ~= gauge). A 0.007" E has about half the tension of the 10's and 11's that most people probably use on (24" scale) jaguars (they were designed for 12+). So the chances of it working well are significantly reduced with 7's.
String tension tables ...
https://www.daddario.com/globalassets/p ... _13934.pdf

[BoringPostcards]

The vintage style bridges work just fine, but they need either a bit of blue loctite on the grub screws or a little rust, so they don't drop on their own.
No way in hell are you getting 7 gauge to work well on any guitar with that vibrato system/break angle.

The thing about strings skipping on the saddles is the most exaggerated thing, I have ever seen repeated about this bridge.
I have tried to knock them out intentionally using a 3mm gypsy swing pick and enough force to eventually break a string, yet they didn't move at all.
I use 10s with JM and light 11s on Jags. I have tried to knock strings out on every vintage equipped bridge, that I have come across, and have yet to actually do it.

[601210]

The thing about strings skipping on the saddles is the most exaggerated thing, I have ever seen repeated about this bridge.
I have tried to knock them out intentionally using a 3mm gypsy swing pick and enough force to eventually break a string, yet they didn't move at all.
I use 10s with JM and light 11s on Jags. I have tried to knock strings out on every vintage equipped bridge, that I have come across, and have yet to actually do it.

Same. I've had it happen once, but I was also dive bombing at the same time and doing a noise breakdown a la sonic youth, so it's kind of hard to blame the guitar.

I've also had that problem of saddle adjustment screws sinking once.

It was on a Telecaster.

[gusgorman]

as @BoringPostcards has already said, If you want a Jaguar I'm guessing you're gonna need to reconsider using 7 gauge strings regardless of what bridge you use. The break angle over the bridge is juts too low due to the trem system.

Most people use 11s or 12s.
Some get 10s to work with the correct set up.

[JamesSGBrown]

You know I don't think the original ('vintage') style bridge has ever been discussed.

[gusgorman]

You know I don't think the original ('vintage') style bridge has ever been discussed.

haha
yeah in retrospect this was troll post of the year.

[ElectricZombie]

Looks like I might just have to use heavier gauge strings if I want a Jaguar.

I'll have to experiment with heavier strings to see if I can even play them.

[wooderson]

An American Professional bridge is less than $100?

Dunno about 7s, though, with any offset bridge. That's almost uncharted territory I'd guess.

[cestlamort]

I think it'll be a challenge to get a Jaguar to play and feel right with 7s, whatever the bridge. (Maybe with a buzz stop? Maybe?) A lot of the bad rap that Jaguars and Jazzmasters got over the years for set up issues could be attributed to not getting along with light string gauges. Jaguars also make larger string sizes feel smaller, too, so 9s, for example, might feel like 7s do on a different guitar, etc. They were designed for their era, and, in my experience, they want 11s or larger.

[BoringPostcards]

The thing about strings skipping on the saddles is the most exaggerated thing, I have ever seen repeated about this bridge.
I have tried to knock them out intentionally using a 3mm gypsy swing pick and enough force to eventually break a string, yet they didn't move at all.
I use 10s with JM and light 11s on Jags. I have tried to knock strings out on every vintage equipped bridge, that I have come across, and have yet to actually do it.

Same. I've had it happen once, but I was also dive bombing at the same time and doing a noise breakdown a la sonic youth, so it's kind of hard to blame the guitar.

I've also had that problem of saddle adjustment screws sinking once.

It was on a Telecaster.

My first electric was a black Telecaster with a white guard. It was fantastic, but it had a real issue with the grub screws loosening and the saddles falling.
I learned about intonation and radius all in one afternoon, after bringing it to the local shop and had the tech explain to me why it happens, and what issues it causes.
No forums back then. No quick and easy answers.

7s won't work, there is no doubting that, but 9s can be made to work, and they feel super slinky on Jags. Will probably require a buzzstop, which look rather out of place, but they do the job.
One of those Swope Descendant Vibrato systems would likely work even better, and would be a significant upgrade, if you go with a cheaper Jaguar.

[Veitchy]

Looks like I might just have to use heavier gauge strings if I want a Jaguar.

I'll have to experiment with heavier strings to see if I can even play them.

What guitar do you have at the moment? Do you do a lot of rapid finger vibrato already? I'd recommend grabbing a set of 10s and seeing how they feel. you'd be surprised how quickly you can build up the finger strength just playing regularly. As said above, any string gauge is going to feel at least a gauge or two lighter once you get them on a Jag because of the scale length.

[OV7]

I'm thinking about buying a Fender American Original '60s Jaguar in surf green. None of the guitar stores in my area have these in stock, so I would have to order it online. I've never tried a Jaguar, but like the look and tone quite a bit. I would be playing surf and classic rock with it.

My concern is the bridge. There seem to be some complaints regarding the vintage style bridge. People seem to complain of buzzing and the strings slipping. I play with 7 gauge strings and am not sure if that would exacerbate any issues further. I really don't want to spend $2k on a guitar and have to spend more money replacing the bridge just to make it usable.

Is the stock vintage bridge really that bad? People seem to imply that replacing the bridge is absolutely required for the guitar to function properly.

I've got one of these in Daphne Blue. It is a great guitar and the pickups really sound fantastic. As far the bridge goes, the stock bridge worked perfectly fine after I removed the string mute(easy operation). With the mute on, I was going to need at least a 1 degree shim to get the action low and level, so I just removed it. I had to raise the bridge post screws a few turns and I got the action low, level, and buzz free with no need for a neck shim at all. I think the guitar shipped with 10's on it. The guitar sounded great as it was and I didn't get any real buzzing from the saddles but I replaced the bridge with a Mastery M1 anyway and liked it better. It made the guitar sound a tad different clean but through various fuzzes and distortions, I can't really tell a difference. If you're using 7 gauge strings, though, I would think you might have to do some minor tweaking to get everything right. I've never tried strings that small so I'm not sure if you would have to tighten up the truss rod or not. I bet the tiny strings would fit quite snug in to the saddle ferrules, though. Give it a shot. Can I ask why do you play such small strings? No judgement here, as it is all just parts and everyone has different preferences. I tried a set of 8's on my Jazzmaster and they sounded fine but I just couldn't get used to how tiny they felt compared to 10s. I had a hard time adjusting to the slinkier feel and went back to 10s. I really like those 9.5-44 D'adarrio's, though. I've got them on one of my Warmoth Jazzmasters and really think I'll stick with those.