I sold my Squier CV Jazzmaster a few years back because, though I’m a more than capable guitar tech, I couldn’t get it to ”feel” like a Jazzmaster. Whatever I did just made it feel wrong. Thanks to this video I’m on the lookout for a new one! Love the channel, love your way of explaining things. Simple without making us feel dumb!

Wow! Thanks for helping to keep these guitars relevant and showing the kids that they are really the best guitars that fender made. For me, I decided back in 1968 that playing right handed meant my fast hand was on the fretboard, and my clumsy hand didn't have to move as much doing the picking. So when dad went to work, I would"borrow" his guitar, which was still pretty new, and I dug out the records he brought home with it. "Play guitar with the fabulous Ventures! And listened, and watched and learned the chords to all the songs. The chords were almost Barre chords, but you used your thumb on the bottom string, and the top strings were index finger! Needless to say, I fell in love with that guitar! It played effortlessly, had such a tone... It was a 1965 jazzmaster, tobacco burst, tortoise shell pick guard, with a locking trem.. you set the trem , then if you broke a string, simply locked it into place until the song was over and you could put a new one on. I went from ventures and country right into blues and rock. When I saw kiss in 75 it made me work to get that type of tunes. I was the only one in my family to take that guitar into the bars, and perform. Well, dad passed away 09, and left that guitar and a 65 bandmaster reverb to me. I can say it plays as good now that I'm 65 as it did when I was 13. As you can probably tell, they are worth the world to me. I've been offered 6k and turned it down flat it's so good to see that they are getting a good following because guys like you are showing folks how to use them peace, brother, this video means a bunch to me!

Eric, thank you. I just opened up my new Jazzmaster, tuned it, played it for 60 seconds, and said, wow, what a piece of crap. You get what you pay for. However, I found your video and have some assurance that I can get it to play well. Thank you so much

Been playing guitar for 14 years, owned >10 guitars which have come and gone (some cost me more than I could afford!) and yet I never bothered to set up any of these guitars properly. I just treated myself to a new Troy Van Leeuwen Jazzmaster after not having owned an electric for a couple of years. I decided to set this one up properly (having never attempted anything guitar techy before) and used this and a couple of other vids (but mostly this one). Thank you Eric. Such good advice in this. Even the Loctite which I didn’t think would be necessary! Thank you very much, man.

I bought this exact guitar and now have the exact issues you described, going to get everything recommended and give it a shot! Thanks for such a detailed video, your teaching style is wonderful

As a lefty guitar player myself, I've been eyeing up one of these for a while. They look great! I got my other two guitars set up properly by a tech and it makes such a difference. Great video, thank you

Mine had a stiff feel and bad sustain. Turned out the tension in the tremolo spring was way to high. Turned that much more loose and play ability and tone improved so much! 😊 I hope someone here finds this helpful!

Just ordered a Squire classic vibe JM so this is an excellent run through of what to expect and how to fix issues. Many thanks Eric!

Your video gave me the confidence to buy my own! Fellow lefty, didn't want to pay an arm and a leg for my first offset guitar. Thank you!!

I've been eyeing one of these guitars, so this video was helpful in letting me know that there may be some work involved. It all seems fairly uncomplicated, just requiring some patience.

Enjoy the Silence🎶 Neck shims & Depeche Mode.... Glad to see you got your Jazzmaster sorted out Eric. But those neck shims at over $100 a pack from Stew Mac🤑 I'm surprised you didn't make your own with a little bit of trial & error like back in the days before Stew Mac started cashing in on every guitar gizmo they/you could think of. String height rulers....I've always found a plectrum or two works. And I've always been grateful of the micro tilt adjustment on my 70`s strat(one of the reasons why I bought it, that along with how it felt in my hands with its chunky U shaped neck(loads of wood=sustain)along with its massive headstock. Don't Fender make any Jazzmaster`s with a micro tilt neck adjustment❓ It would sort out all the problems that you mention here with correct neck angle, string action & downward pressure on the bridge(super important for sustain & tone as seen on any decent sounding acoustic 🎸 especially a high bridge saddle which is essential. And like you mentioned a high bridge on a Jazzmaster helps keep the strings in place & stops them slipping out of the saddle when playing hard. Anyway all the best man,now you've got your Jazzmaster sorted you can get to making some sweet springtime 🌱 tunes 🎶......😊

Just ordered a Squier 40th Anniversary Jazzmaster and this video will surely come in handy! Thanks for taking the time!

I also have another pro-tip for anyone who bought one brand new. When I got mine, it was making a static-like crackling sound through my amp whenever I switched pickups, depressed the tremolo bar, or even just from the guitar being idle. I took it to the shop for its first setup and they told me the pickup selector was garbage. I’m not mechanically inclined so I do not know if they swapped just the selector or the entire assembly but basically that should be replaced asap out of the box whether you do it yourself or have someone at the shop do it. Anyways, it’s been too long since it’s had its first setup and thought it was due today for some routine maintenance. I bought some new strings which I already know how to change but I still didn’t know how a setup exactly worked. Looked it up and found this video, was delighted to see it was the same lefty model as mine! Will be doing this myself from here on out to save money instead of going back to the shop, thank you so much!

I bought a lefty just like this months ago and have had it looking cool in the corner of my room. I just started to pick it up, and as a strat/guy have been trying to work out the bridge setup. Your video is really well presented and contains all the information that I need. Thanks so much 👍🏻

I just bought one from this years batch but in the reviews I found the exact same three things mentioned you addressed here, needs a setup with a shim, dry fret board and occasions of bad tuners. People said this a great guitar for its price with a setup, so Ill make it a great guitar than if all it takes is new strings, a shim and some DIY care. Im just glad the sellers left the honest reviews up so I am not disappointed if its not ready to play out the box.

Neck shimming makes all the difference. Not being afraid to up the string gauge helps too! Great video man!

I have also have the olympic white Squier. The only thing I will do to mine (her name is Durga - yes, I name them all!) is put a coat of mineral oil on the fretboard since Indian laurelwood 'appears' drier than rosewood; but to my ears sounds just as good. Thank you! ☮

Just in time! This crazy weather has all my guitars in need of a setup. Thanks for doing this!it's tough to find jazzmaster-specific setup tutorials.

I used a lot of these pointers you described in this video to set up my Classic Vibes Jazzmaster I just got. Used two guitar pics in between the neck and body as a shim, and raised the bridge to accommodate for the height, and it came out smooth. I noticed rattling behind the bridge too, and no matter how many times I went to adjust the spring for the vibrato, it kept eventually coming loose and rattling again, so I took it upon myself to unmount the vibrato and just toss the spring entirely since I never use a whammy bar as it is, then reseated that screw and it’s been perfect since then. The next thing I’ll likely do is apply some loctite to the bridge height screws like you did. I noticed that the mustang bridges on these things lose a bit of height anytime the strings come off, and you have to reset it to where it was. That’s been my experience at least, but anyway, I just wanted to say thank you. I managed to setup my own Jazzmaster better than the guitar tech at the local shop here where I live did during a setup I paid for, and it was all thanks to this video. Very, very insightful.

There is a Fender design flaw: the entire neck needs to be removed to get access to adjust the truss rod. The access point is not at the head stock, but at the other end

These methods can work on a Squier bass Vi as well thank you so much for the information

Great explanation on the finer points of the Jazzmaster's setup! Others don't bother to tell us these things. Perhaps they don't know about them? Thank you, Eric!!

About to add microtilt to my classic vibe bass vi when I swap most of the parts for Fender American. Been lots of research. Glad the Classic Vibe has a wider nut and string spacing compared to vintera and previous ones like vintage modified. Picking a bridge though, many aftermarket ones are aimed at the narrower string spacing. Staytrem removed the 55mm spacing option. Going for the panorama tremolo and trying the existing CV spring first. Hoping with careful adjustment it will be able to balance. Otherwise ill be ordering a lot of springs. It will be a fun project. As a new player the idea of playing an octave lower appealed to me. I'm excited about it, and working on them is almost as exciting to me as the sounds I'm learning to make.

Offsets for life: I have the JM JM, Squire VI, and Jaguar. I love these weird guitars.

Thank you. I own Jazzmaster and lower bridge has some problems. So I started to search about them. Thank you to you, now I know what are the problems and how to fix those issues.

Thank you! I just bought this exact guitar secondhand and this was just the video I needed to get 'er dialed. Really appreciate the attention to detail here. Cheers!

My first time rewiring and setting up a MIJ Jaguar, was exhausting. However it’s great a proving ground, to do this kind of work. It’s also very rewarding when you get it sounding how you want. Good video.

Even after having this same guitar (left-handed, too) serviced at the local shop, it still has intonation issues...Thanks for this video!!

Great video Eric, I don’t own a Jazz Master, but it’s still cool to see how different guitars work. One thing I’ll say is that I don’t buy guitars that cost more than $300 any more. One thing that is universal with that is that the tuners need to be replaced. None of the guitars I own have the stock tuners on them, well except my acoustic and I don’t really play that very much. Great job, keep up the great work!!!🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼

Dude you got a thumbs up from me for that amazing tone on the intro music alone. Absolutely beautiful.

Really helpful..Got into Jazzmasters this year, some of the same frustrations.. Also really frustrating that the guitars cant come from the manufacturer already in a better way, without us needing to do all this.. I also swapped out the bridge for a $25 All Parts Mustang one, it also helped..

Thanks a lot! I think this is the most informative and helpful video for a jazzmaster setup

Excellent video Eric! I own 3 CV Squier jazz/jags and I love them! I replaced the bridges to the mustang bridge on all which helped alot but after watching this, I will shim the necks!. Also, locking tuners are good too. For those reading, this sounds like alot of cash upgrades but it isn't really. You will not beat the Squier CV series for the price pluuuss, these are such cool looking and fun playing guitars!! Thanks again Eric!

Good, straightforward video. I have just done my Squier VM Jag & it plays & sounds like a dream. I will highlight that neck relief still needs to be set. If there is too much pitch back ie. the bridge has to be raised over 4mm, you can run into problems setting pickup heights. Despite having the Stew Mac shims I settled on a suitable bit of cardboard. Studying pictures of vintage instruments, which had been deconstructed, was helpful.

Awesome video, thanks for sharing! I'm picking up a Jaguar very soon so this will be super useful. Also, I was cringing so hard when it looked like you were about to polish the frets without taping the pickup, such a relief to see it go on! It looks so much better after a little bit of love

This is helpful as I get started with my first Jazzmaster. Thank you so much!

Excellent video! All the information I needed to set up a Classic Vibe in readiness for my son’s 14 birthday. Frets and tuners all fine - but the low E buzzed. To remedy thisI tried to raise the bridge (The bridge is a crude design and poor build quality). NB The required Allen key (wrench) is much smaller than the access holes suggest) However, to😊 cure the buzz - the action became too high…but thanks to you Eric, I now know I that I need a neck shim! One other observation- I adjusted the saddles to set the correct intonations . Not all saddles would move far enough backwards, until I discovered that the whole bridge rocks back and forth!

Gotta try the Tread locker! That's been my issue with my VM Jazzmaster. Thankfully, the previous owner put the shims in before I got it. Thanks for the video!

Thank you. I have a Squire 70s Classic Vibe Jaguar coming in so these tips will most likely work for the Jaguar as well.

I've just ordered my 1st Jazzmaster, so this video will be very helpful if I encounter any of these issues :-)

Sweet, I just picked up the 40th aniversary jazzmaster for Christmas, now I can work on my older Jazzmaster and still have one to play. I picked up a used butterscotch Squire Jazzmaster a couple of years ago, but the darn thing has playablity issues, and the neck pick ups are dead. I used to use matchbooks to shim out the squires back in the day, I like the ones you got, less quessing.

My squier j mascis had an angled neck pocket, but I had to use the shim for the cv jaguar. Night and day difference.

A really excellent and detailed tutorial on this subject Eric. I just bought a new Jazzmaster Pro 2 last week. The action is a bit high for me and I was wondering why there is no bridge height adjustment. At your recommendation I Just ordered a 0.50 shim for the neck pocket which should make me very happy. Thanks so much for the information. I will need to lower the nut slots just a tad too. The high E and B slots are too narrow for the files I have though. Great channel Eric, I have subscribed.

Informative video. I am also a lefty and have been looking at this model since it was introduced. Thanks!

Thanks a lot, thinking of buying one. Scared about the setuping but ok.. Eager to get one (love the sound).. Thanks for Your setup video, very explanatory !

My jazzmaster came set up good. Idk I just raised my bridge a little and that worked for me. Strings stay in the bridge and in tune even with the vibrato bat. Not using the jazzmaster to bend super crazy, that’s more the Stratocaster for me. Squier is killing the game!

my Troy Van Leeuwen signature JM will be here Tuesday MUCH EXCITE

Super helpful video ! I noticed my e string was playing the same note on two different frets. turns out the bridge had lowered itself to the point wheree the e string was touching two frets after a certain point on the neck. All I had to do was use the allen to raise it ! thanks a ton

Great hints...I have a real oldie jazzmaster probably mid70s my dad got&was collecting dust so I'm trying to get it back to life. Just adjusting the tension bar bar has made a huge diff need a metal rule to get that decent. Will apply your other hints &compare

I plan to get the Squire CV Jazzmaster. Thanks for the tip regarding the neck shims.

I shaved my 1° shim abit down on my CV. To 0,85 aprox. I saw it on Piusheen. Thank you both for the information:) With this shim youcan also put thicker strings on it and downtune.

Bought this same guitar and it went straight to proper guitar repair shop for set up today. :) LH but to be strung USD. One of the most interesting guitars for the money I reckon.

This content was nothing short of awesome! I’ve had to Frankenstein many cheap guitars in my day. (I’ll always love me an Epiphone Les Paul Special ii,) but I wish I had this type of information back then! Keep it up, Eric! Your channel rules!!

Thank you for the tip regarding the bridge! Just what I was hoping for :-)

Thank you so much!! Saved me an unneccasary trip to the guitar shop

Great video I wish I saw this weeks ago before I learned most of this lol. Going to watch more of your videos !

Awesome video. Helpful I’ve always replaced the bridge and plate with Mastery bridge. So superior, a mastery bridge is a must MO.

I have a Squier JM JM with 65 Fender pickups and damn its an amazing combination.

Thanks, dude, for sharing your knowledges with us! Very helpful video! Respect ✊

Really good thank you so much my man! I’m just having trouble intonating. All my guitars end up sharp on the 1st-3rd fret, I think it’s the nut

mine jammed right out of the box

One thing I ran into with the bridge was not only it lowering from playing, but I can't even get it to raise using an Allen wrench. I tried different sizes and none of them worked. I had to take it all the way out and adjust it by hand at the screw points. I ended up just stuffing a tiny bit of toilet paper in the hole to raise it, but the loc-tite thing is a great solution that I might try. I've run into a couple of problems with the tremolo system. after a few months it started creaking whenever I depress the tremolo. It's coming from inside, but I can't tell if it's from where the two metal plates of the tremolo meet rubbing together or from the spring. I guess I'll take it apart and grease everything. maybe that will help. The other issue with the tremolo is the arm. it's like the part of the arm that goes into the guitar is just slightly too short, so the corner of the arm rubs against the slot on the bridge and making a squeaking. very annoying because even if I pull it out slightly to be raised high enough to not rub together, it quickly pushes back into the slot and starts doing it again. But overall, a really great guitar that plays really well.

Thanks for a great video! I have never owned a jazzmaster but I have considered getting one of these ones. If I do ever get one, I'll know what to do to set it up real nice.

I've just picked up the CV Late 50s Jazzmaster and it's perfect. Only thing I'm not keen on is the tremolo arm but I believe it's era correct.

I'm totally gonna do this to my jazzmaster. Thanks!

Eric I can’t thank you enough buddy for this video! I got my first jazzmaster today snd and it’s the same squier as yours except sonic blue, very very pretty guitar! I’m new to the offsets I’ve spent the better part of the afternoon trying to set it up and stay in tune but the g string is making kind of a weird noise when I pluck it so I was wondering if there’s a way to fix it myself without taking it to someone because I’d love to really know how to set these up myself. I don’t mean to make this too long man I just wanted to let you know that your video made me feel better about the jazzmaster. Rock on 🤘

My new jaguar has given me more headaches than any other guitar I have owned, pain in the arse guitars to get set up right, now it's done though it's my favorite guitar

Extremely helpful thanks!

WOW! I bought a 2nd hand INDIO "Jazz master" knock off, and it performs WAYY better than this squire did out the box!!!

I just picked up a Squier CV Jazzmaster yesterday. It was different from all my other guitars, and it peaked my curiosity. So far it has played well and has a great feel and sound to it, but I know it will need to be set up. So thank you for the video.

Thank you. Well done!

The high e tuner on my lefty squier jazzmaster was also faulty. I swapped the whole set out for some Wilkinson deluxes. Mine wasn't too bad otherwise, though the body finish was full of small burrs. Put a set of 11s on it.

Literally just bought this exact model today. I’ve never owned an offset before, always used my workhorse strat. I didn’t realize there’s so much that goes into setting up a Jazzmaster. I’ve literally only used my one strat and it came really well set up. It’s action was amazing, played really well, pickups weren’t too hot, etc. So I’m hoping I get a similar experience with my Jazzmaster once it arrives. One question I do have is, how great are the pickups? They sound really well in the video, but personally how are they? I’m really thinking about modding the pickups on mine or at least one of them if the bridge sounds too bright/thin or neck is too muddy/dark.

Well done.

Thanks for the tips! I recently bought an American Vintage 1966 series Jazzmaster from Sweetwater, and the action is a bit high, so now I feel confident enough to get into it. Do you have any videos on adjusting the intonation? Thanks! I'll let you know how it goes.

Have to admit I started to cringe when I saw the steel wool come out without the pickup taped off. I would also advise to tape off the fingerboard when polishing the frets just to be safe. Thanks for the tips specifically on the CV. I just got my son this guitar for graduation. I can setup a Tele, Strat, LP, and even a Floyd Rose but never even considered a Jazzmaster before so this was very helpful. Have you considered another video on the vibrato?

thanks a lot i didn't know how to setup this beauty

Bro there was something wrong with mine when I got it, like dead frets and a major buzz on the low e string. I tried to raise the bridge height but I’m pretty sure I made it WAYY worse . 😟😟

That issue with your tuner is surprising. While Squier has to cheap out on some things to keep costs down, the CV series is still their "dearest" series. I've owned a couple and played probably a dozen and I've never seen that. In fact, aside from the lack of the Fender name being stamped on the back, and the slightly different sizing, they've been just as good, if not better, than the "real" Fender ones I've got on other guitars.

What a video, man. I thought my Jazz was defective.

Great video. Thanks!

I got a classic vibe jaguar when they came out. It was the worst setup ever. I could put a pencil under the first fret almost. The nut was cut terribly and the bridge was a mess and the neck wasn't straight and I swear the finished alot of wood and bone dust in the lacquer of the neck. I set it up the best I can, but it looks weird. Got a bridge cover and a buzz stop and did filing and shiming. I got a classic vibe jazzmaster a couple weeks ago and whoever inspected and set it up did an irrationally unbelievable good job. It's the only guitar i ever got that came out of the box in tune with no case and the action was so comfy. I dont know how I got so lucky. Even expensive guitars in cases don't often come this good.

My Jazzmaster bridge likes to buzz/vibrate when I play but it’s never audible through an amp. 👀

Fender just dropped the price by $40. I don't know how long that is good for (September?) I ordered one right away and it will be here in a couple of days. Can't wait!

Oh shit Im pretty sure this is the exact same model Squier JM I just brought home today. Awesome.

subbed- fellow lefty. cheers dude!

This is SO useful!

I've heard numerous guitar techs say that a shim doesn't need to be tapered. A flat shim will get the job done. The object is to slightly lift the neck so in turn the bridge can be raised and string action adjusted. Having a taper in the shim doesn't make a difference for this. I have no horse in this race but have used a flat shim and it worked just fine.

There is a fingerboard oil made for violin and cellos etc which is linseed oil that I use on guitars. But really it is a personal preference. I am looking for a guitar with a trem. This could be it.

Great advice! Thanks! :)

Same guitar, same issues. I think I watched a Puisheen vid to help me sort it out (but I could've easily had sorted it out with your vid, if I had come across it). I've not tried Lock-Tight, but I've heard it mentioned a lot. Does the bond break if you make adjustments? I've been using "plumber's tape" on my bridge screws. It's an ultra thin tape meant to go over the threads of plumbing fixtures, to prevent leaks....but it adds enough resistance to keep those lil' Allen screws in place.

I have a J Mascis and it fantastic- but true the tuners are cheap and the frets needed work how ever it a great value.

Just got one use for $300 in mint condition and im already regretting it! 😅

Great vid. I have a 60s classic vibe. Can you tell me the size of allen wrench to adjust the height of the bridge (not the saddles, the bridge itself)? Thx

1:08 sweet sitar lick

Excellent! Thanks

Hello Eric. My intonation was good out of the box. My test: Tune an open E chord. Play a bar E chord at the 12th fret.. If that is in tune I dont need to check intonation with a tuner.

I bought a guitar just like this one and when I started playing it I noticed that the low e string has fret buzz will following the instructions in this video be able to fix that problem?

I picked up a Squier J Mascis JM a couple months ago. The low E slides off of the fret board on some chord changes (probably my trash playing, but it has never been an issue on any of my other guitars), and the high E is noticeably quieter with less sustain than the other strings. I haven’t had the patience or time to troubleshoot either issue yet.

I must be pretty lucky because I have six Classic Vibes now, and not a single broken machine head. Honestly as well you can polish the frets by just playing the guitar for a few hours.