Jazzmaster Classic Mods: My Experience Part 1

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Half a month into the new year, how are you all doing? I’ve been upgrading the wheels on my beloved NA Roadster. But I haven’t forgotten about guitars! As the new year rolls in, it’s a given for gear enthusiasts to dive into new equipment. With that spirit in mind… So...

I bought a Bacchus Jazzmaster-type guitar, model BJM-60E, made in Japan.
I usually talk about guitars like Floyd Rose, humbuckers, and LA metal, but truthfully, I’ve always been a big fan of Strats and Jazzmasters. I used to play a Jazzmaster during my student days, but I ended up giving it to a friend. It left me with a lingering regret until I found the same model in a different color, which led me to this purchase.
This time, I plan to use this guitar as a subject for trying out various classic Jazzmaster mods. I’ll break it down into 2-3 parts since it might get lengthy.

What are Classic Mods?

Some of you might be wondering what kind of mods are considered classics. Here’s a quick list of what came to mind:

• Installing a buzz stop bar
• Switching to Mustang saddles, Tune-o-Matic, or Mastery bridge
• Changing capacitor/pot values
• Replacing the tremolo unit
• Adding a shim to the neck pocket
• Fixing the bridge
• Removing the preset circuit

Like this. Let me know if there are others! This time, I’ll cover the first five items and explain the stringing and adjustments in the final part. I’ll walk you through each process, so feel free to join me.

Now, let’s get to work.
Since one of the steps involves adding a shim, I’ll start by removing the body and neck. For Fender-type guitars/basses like the Jazzmaster or Strat, the wiring is housed in the pickguard, and the truss rod is located at the neck heel. Removing the neck significantly improves workability.

01 Saddle Replacement

First up, saddle replacement. I used this saddle for the swap.
The reason why I decided to do this was because the original spiral saddle was tricky...

As you can see in the photo, the string grooves are narrow and shallow. Moreover, due to the Jazzmaster’s low string tension, strings tend to slip off the saddle frequently, a phenomenon known as ‘string jumping’. On top of that, the string spacing between strings was slightly off, causing further frustration for Jazzmaster players. This is why various solutions exist for these issues.
Here’s what it looks like after the swap:

It already seems promising, right? Switching to these saddles alone should reduce string jumping by about 80%. The downside is the lack of individual string height adjustment. Depending on the instrument, it might not match the fretboard radius, so be cautious if that concerns you. If you need adjustable saddles, consider this or this.

02 Tremolo Unit Replacement & Buzz Stop Bar Installation

Since these tasks are at the same spot, let’s tackle them together.
Here’s how it looked before the swap:

Being a non-Fender, it lacks the logo and tremolo lock. It’s a minimalist design at its core.
After the swap and installing the buzz stop bar, here’s the result:

I used this tremolo unit and this buzz stop bar for the replacement.
The buzz stop bar’s orientation is correct as shown.
Each serves a different purpose: the buzz stop bar prevents string jumping by increasing downward pressure on the bridge, while the tremolo unit addresses tuning stability issues. The cause of these tuning problems is...

Can you see it? On the right is the Fender-made unit. The string spacing is wider. Narrow spacing here means that the strings are pulled apart at the bridge, affecting tuning stability negatively compared to a straight string layout.
Fun fact: Even Fender Japan units with the Fender logo have narrower string spacing. If you’re swapping for the same reason, opt for a USA-made unit.

So far, I’ve completed saddle replacement, tremolo unit replacement, and buzz stop bar installation. Even at this stage, there’s a noticeable difference from the original setup. I’ll continue to tweak it further in the next installments!

That’s it for this time. The outro music is this track because Troy Van Leeuwen’s Jazzmaster is so cool!

(By the way, we have the Troy Van Leeuwen signature model available!)