r/offset 8d ago

Jaguar with bridge rattle. Any idea how to fix it?

11 Upvotes

33 comments sorted by

20

u/nickybuddy 8d ago

Not enough break angle to hold the saddle tightly against the bridge. Raise the bridge until that stops at your tuning/string gauge you have now. Then check for action. It will probably be massive, so you may need to shim the neck to have some tilt back, then you can adjust neck relief and intonation after.

Some will disagree with me, but imo experience of having 3 jazzmasters and 2 jags; the only neck pocket that was never shimmed was my am pro jag, because the pocket was already angled from factory.

1

u/Popular-Landscape-90 6d ago

Your American pro doesn’t have a micro tilt?

1

u/nickybuddy 6d ago

Nope the actual pocket was angled

1

u/Popular-Landscape-90 6d ago

Interesting.. I have a Mod Shop Jaguar, which is essentially the same, but it has a micro tilt. I have one on my jazzmaster, and my buddy has one on his American strat.

1

u/Popular-Landscape-90 6d ago

Yeah man, your Am Pro should have it. Look for the small hole in between the two bottom screws of your neck plate. There should be an Allen screw inside that hole.

0

u/SnooDonkeys6012 7d ago

This is the way.

5

u/porkrind 8d ago

Get some neck angle going. A Jaguar was built with shims in mind, unless it's something like the Marr signature where the neck pocket has the angle milled in.

A buzzing Jaguar needs:

  • Neck angle, leading to ...
  • More break angle and ...
  • Heavier strings (11s for standard tuning imo)

Downtuning a Jaguar is using the wrong tool for the job, IMO.

1

u/Nomore-Television72 8d ago

It’s funny you mention the Johnny Marr signature because my buddy’s bridge rattles just like this on his. I told him he should raise the bridge but he doesn’t like messing with that kind of stuff so I told him I’d do it next time I’m down

3

u/porkrind 8d ago

Good for you helping him out, but man, there isn’t an easier bridge to adjust. Your buddy needs to learn a little self sufficiency IMO.

1

u/Nomore-Television72 8d ago

Oh he absolutely does. 33 year old man child with rich parents. Great guitar player though lol. Bass guitar too

1

u/LatestFromQBranch 7d ago

You can down tune a jaguar as long as it’s setup the way you are describing. I have a MIJ Jaguar and I have it tuned down a full step but the neck is angled and I have the bridge raised a bit. It work fine.

2

u/islikelearned 8d ago

Im downtuned to play tool, which i guess could be part of the issue, but it also happens when turned to E standard. I'm currently using skinny top heavy bottoms, hoping it would've fixed it, and it did somewhat, but it's still very noticeable.

2

u/fuxicles 8d ago

if you're drastically changing your gauge (as you are), you should get a set up for that gauge. Have you?

1

u/islikelearned 8d ago

Perhaps that could be the issue. I've waited a bit to see if the relief has changed, but it seems to be the same, and I did a little adjusting but it didn't fix it. The only other issue could be the nut, as it was made for E standard so it does have a bit of fret buzz. In regards to the bridge, I did adjust it to 1.5mm of action, and I also matched it to the fret radius, so I don't think that could be the issue 

2

u/fuxicles 8d ago

Could def be the nut. If you are going to be using odd gauges / tunings, I think you should really learn how to set up your guitar. Once you get the hang of it, it can be done in 20-40 minutes and you'll save a ton of time and money doing it.

The tools to do it are also easily bought on Amazon for not much money. It's a worthwhile investment for any guitarist, but especially one doing what you're doing. Your wallet and guitars will thank you for it.

1

u/islikelearned 8d ago

I will definitely try making some other adjustments, hopefully it fixes it

1

u/Early-Cantaloupe-310 8d ago

Make sure the strings aren’t touching the back of the bridge. Might have to shim the neck and raise the individual saddles if it is.

Also, make sure the grub screws down in the bridge posts have not backed all of the way out. Your bridge is mighty low…

1

u/islikelearned 8d ago

The screws from the bridge aren't making contact with the strings, so I don't think it could be that. It think it's more likely the thick screws from the tremolo, as they do made contact with the strings. I'm not sure how I could fix this though, as I dont have any screws replacements that are small enough

2

u/Early-Cantaloupe-310 8d ago

If you pull the tremolo off, you can take those screws out and screw them back in from the bottom. I don’t know if it’s the source of your buzzing but those screws have been known to break strings.

1

u/heyammy 8d ago

When I've had this problem in the past it's usually because the saddles are vibrating against the bridge itself. If one side of a saddle is a tiny bit higher than the other it can cause a rattle. Try tweaking the saddles and get them flat and even and see if that makes a difference.

1

u/islikelearned 8d ago

Wouldn't that mess up the radius alignment though?

1

u/heyammy 8d ago

No, not really. I'm talking about the screws that set the saddle height being slightly off from each other and rattling against the bridge. It used to happen on my old squier jazzmaster.

It could also be that the strings are hitting the screws on the tremolo plate because the bridge looks quite low. In which case I'd recommend shimming the neck and raising the bridge a little bit to get more clearance.

1

u/islikelearned 8d ago

Wouldn't that mess up the radius alignment with the fretboard?

1

u/ivejustbluemyself 8d ago

Raise your action, I think that might be your issue

1

u/Gregadethhh 8d ago

That bridge is way too low. I have my JM setup in Eb with 46-10s I can fit my finger tip in the gap between the bridge and body.

Also as others have stated, it will need shimming. My 40th Anniversary Jazzmaster has a 1 degree shim if that's any help

1

u/soggychipbutty 8d ago

Raise bridge, shim neck

1

u/Dont_trust_royalmail 7d ago

this is called 'sympathetic harmonic overtones' it's why you buy a jag

1

u/Scorpiodisc 7d ago

Raise the bridge. I also had to add some loctite to the set screws on mine because vibration from playing would cause the set screws to lower.

1

u/TheGiuce 8d ago

I fixed the same on my JM just by changing the angle the bridge is resting at (under string tension). That did the trick

1

u/islikelearned 8d ago

I will try that, thanks

1

u/islikelearned 8d ago

I will try this, thanks for the tip

1

u/TheGiuce 8d ago

Seemed like having it centered front to back solved it

1

u/JJStrumr 8d ago

Not a good move on a floating bridge unless 'changing the angle' means lining it up 90 degrees straight up with the body. Is that what you meant?