Got my first offset guitar a couple weeks ago. Squier Classic Vibe Jazzmaster in Olympic White. Very impressed so far with the quality. Everything on it is nearly perfect except for the output jack (easy fix) and the tremolo, which put it out of tune with even the mildest use. Following standard procedures I shimmed the neck, raised the bridge, installed some 11s and filed the nut slots accordingly. Played and sounded great after that, but the tremolo was still completely unusable. I took it apart and found the problem to be the square end of the fulcrum plate (is that what we call it?) wasn't able to sit properly in the groove so it couldn't return to it's original position. I took the plate out and filed it down to a near knife edge and polished the edge a bit, and then put it back together with a little bit of grease on the end. Worked perfectly after that, stayed almost perfectly in tune even if I dive-bombed the trem. With that fix its a pretty awesome guitar. 
3 Comments
Ben Rosow
9/7/2023 09:48:06 am
What a sloppy design. Your fix should have been implemented at the factory. Duh. Well done! Yep. But for a Squier it's understandable. One of the ways they keep the price low is through loose tolerances, which means less hands on inspection and quicker production. With things like poor fret finish, or nut slots the guitar is still perfectly usable, but with a tremolo system it either works or it doesn't.
David Currie
7/19/2025 01:31:09 pm
Squire CV models are excellent guitars, I just don't like the thin necks and can't get past that, so I have a Japanese late-60s reissue instead, with a chunky U neck which fills my hand the way I like it, but it cost 3x more $. The cure for the poly gloss stickiness is in a big yellow can called "The Original Bees Wax", an inexpensive product I use around the house on all surfaces. It's non-toxic, leaving no residue and a wonderful lemon scent. After cleaning the neck with TOBW it's as slippery as a...never felt a babies butt - a woman's boob? Very smooth and sexy feeling! I would think with your talent a partscaster would make more sense? My other JM is a partscaster, nitro finish, and TOBW works great on nitro necks too. The Vintera II Jazzmaster looks interesting, not sure about its neck, the regular Vintera was my first JM, but its neck was too thin so it got traded. I really want a Vintage II, or maybe a Japanese Heritage - similar design but better craftsmanship in Japan usually? Leave a Reply. |
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