Bought a MIJ Jazzmaster and it needs some work. Suggestions?

[digitalzombie]

Hi all. I got my hands on a used MIJ JM-66B. The previous owner had done some mods to it so I'm not entirely sure what's stock on here and what's been replaced.

First thing should be easy - I'm not happy with the output of the bridge pickup. They're both that newer style of Fender Jazzmaster pickup in that they're basically Strat windings in a JM PU casing with 500K pots. I actually really like the sound of the neck PU so I don't think I need to bother swapping that out, but when I switch to the bridge it's just too weak. They're both about 0.125" away from the 6th & 1st strings, and the neck pickup volume is about on par with my J. Masics loaded with Lollars. So I'm looking for a good bridge PU replacement that has a "vintage" sound and decent output. I'll move the neck PU further away from the strings if I have to but I don't want the overall output to be that much different than my Masics if that's possible.

Second issue is the tremolo system. I'm sure there are countless posts commenting on issues with the MIJ tremolo systems but I haven't seen any solid fixes suggested. I put an AVRI tremolo on the Masics and it works beautifully with the trem lock. The JM-66B however with 52-10 strings there's a lot of pull, and I have to loosen the spring nut almost all the way to get it to engage. Add to that the arm goes over a cm through the bottom of the collet. So basically when I engage the trem lock I have almost no play whatsoever with the trem arm before it bottoms out inside the cavity. I took pictures of the inside of the trem with the arm in it of both the MIJ and the AVRI so I could see the difference - let me know if sharing that would be of interest to anyone.

So is there a fix to this? Is there a different spring I could buy? Or would I be stuck buying a whole new tremolo system? I really like the way the Japanese arm is curved so if there's any way I could keep that it would be my preference.

Thanks.

[eternal learner]

Re the collet the trem arm goes through, I fitted a simple zip tie on it to keep the arm snug, have done this to both mij jazz masters I have, effective cost nothing solution. Re pickups, so many choices and any of them are better that what the guitar came with from the factory.

[MattK]

For the original JM sound, the reasonably priced pickups that come to mind are Fender AV65 or Troy van Leeuwin; Seymour Duncan Antiquity II; or even the Squier Classic Vibe ones are pretty fantastic.

[andy_tchp]

That's what 'vintage spec' Jazzmaster bridge pickups sound like.

Especially when compared directly against the comparatively thunderous output from the neck pickup on its own.

[digitalzombie]

Re the collet the trem arm goes through, I fitted a simple zip tie on it to keep the arm snug, have done this to both mij jazz masters I have, effective cost nothing solution. Re pickups, so many choices and any of them are better that what the guitar came with from the factory.

Interesting fix, but the issue isn't that the arm is loose. In fact it's quite snug and stays in position well. It's that it goes too far through.

I can't figure out how to embed google photos....

Here's the AVRI trem:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/vcBwBSB7xAqwXjox6

and here's the MIJ trem:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/m2S7Sf2JP5fBxzvW9

[GilmourD]

Re the collet the trem arm goes through, I fitted a simple zip tie on it to keep the arm snug, have done this to both mij jazz masters I have, effective cost nothing solution. Re pickups, so many choices and any of them are better that what the guitar came with from the factory.

Interesting fix, but the issue isn't that the arm is loose. In fact it's quite snug and stays in position well. It's that it goes too far through.

I can't figure out how to embed google photos....

Here's the AVRI trem:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/vcBwBSB7xAqwXjox6

and here's the MIJ trem:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/m2S7Sf2JP5fBxzvW9

You could shave the end of the bar off. Just make sure it has enough length to engage the collet.

[MechaBulletBill]

you could bend the arm in a vice so that, in use, it matches the height of your USA arm