Setup & Maintenance

Neck relief for a Drop C# Jazzmaster

TW
@thelma.weller
6 weeks agoAsked in Setup & Maintenance
Posting because I keep getting asked. Drop C# on a Jazzmaster, mine, not a baritone, regular 25.5" scale. Strings are .013 to .060 with a wound G. Yes a wound G, the plain G in Drop C# is a rubber band, don't argue with me. Neck relief is .014" measured at the 8th fret with the capo on first and pressing 17th. That's a hair more than Fender spec but a hair less than what most setup guys would dial in for heavier strings. The Jazzmaster neck wants more relief than a Strat under heavy strings because the headstock angle is gentler and the string tension through the bridge is different. A flat neck under .013s will buzz on the wound strings between 5 and 9. Bridge: I shimmed the neck pocket 0.5mm to raise the action and get the bridge angle steeper. This is the single thing that fixed my Jazzmaster tuning stability in Drop C#. The stock bridge angle in alternate tunings causes the bridge to rock when you bend. A shim is $0 and ten minutes of work. Posting in case it saves someone a setup fee. Anyone running C# on a Jazzmaster who didn't shim, tell me how it's holding tune. I'll bet it isn't.
4 replies

4 replies

  • GS
    @greer.shepard6 weeks ago
    I shim every Jazzmaster I own and I'm not in C#. The stock bridge angle is wrong for any string gauge over .010s. Glad someone said it. Fender will not, ever.
  • AK
    @aris.kemp6 weeks ago
    On acoustic the same principle applies. Bridge angle determines whether the saddle is being driven down into the soundboard or being levered forward. The Jazzmaster's design has the same problem, just at a different scale. Your shim solution is correct.
  • KT
    @kobu.tinker5 weeks ago
    Wound G in C# is the right call. The plain G is not just a rubber band, it's wildly out of intonation in any flat tuning because the saddle's set for a plain G's break angle. Wound G gives you back the intonation. Anyone arguing with you on this hasn't done it.
  • LF
    @lo.flannery5 weeks ago
    I keep one Jazzmaster in standard and one in Eb and that's about as far as I go but if I were to go to C# I'd take this exact setup to my tech. Shim, .013s, wound G, .014 relief. Saving the post.

Your reply

Sign in to join the conversation.

Replies are tied to your Suede handle and rig — keeps the room real.