The NUMBER ONE cheap fix for your Fender Jaguar or Jazzmaster...costs nothing!
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- čas přidán 1. 09. 2020
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The Jazzmaster was introduced in1958, the Jaguar followed in 1962. Since then, players and Techs alike have been scratching there heads trying to make the bridge work. Sometimes putting other bridges in as a quick fix...
It is 2020 and I still can't believe I am having to preach about how great the original bridge is. Just like any guitar, the Jaguar and Jazzmaster need to follow a few rules for getting the perfect setup. These rules were designed into the Guitars and must be followed. If you do, strings popping out of saddles, bridge rattling, bridges sinking into the guitar and poor tuning do not need to part of your Offset experience!
YOU WILL LEARN TO LOVE YOUR OFFSET!
In this video, I except the challenge nobody has actually given me...after a brief explanation of the basics of Jaguar setup(plus a bit of a rant).
I try my very best to destroy the bridge on my old pal.
Will the bridge fail?
In all seriousness I am no guitar dictator, put whatever bridge you like on...its your guitar! but if I catch you late at night spouting nonsense that my favorite guitars bridge is flawed...I will spend the next day ignoring my family and shooting a video proving you are wrong! Good night!
Audio was:
Fender Jaguar
Behringer Super Fuzz
Zoom ms-70cdr
komplete Audio 1
Guitar rig 5 - Fender Tweed amp sim
Ableton.
like and subscribe. Your support is much appreciated! - Hudba
This is exactly what I've been saying all these years! The issue wasn't necessarily with the hardware, but rather a lack of education. It's all setup, and those setup instructions were even in the manuals during the original run. The fact is, we have countless examples of people using these guitars with the original bridges with zero issues, from Roy Clark shredding "12th Street Rag" on TV in the early '60s, to Joe Pass, to surfers, etc etc etc. Great vid, well done!
Oh shit you have THAT Jaguar, omg
Thanks man! Appreciate that. I stick by the statement 'fender got it right, everyone else got it wrong!" Unfortunately even when presented with a guy literally hitting the guitar and the bridge doing its job...some will still maintain that the bridge is trash...you can't win!
Do you know the jag?
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos Indeed, I've seen that thing around for a while!
@@Puisheen I've had it over 10 years bought from your old pal Aen of Dwarfcraft. If you know of it before then I would super interested!
Thank you for sharing your wisdom! I've always been intrigued by the Jazzmaster but hesitated due to the widespread talk of its "bridge issues" and the like. Following your guidance, I recently acquired a Jazzmaster and it's fantastic-on par with my Tele and Strat. Using a 0.75 shim, applying a bit of blue Loctite on the bridge and saddle screws, and stringing it with round-wound 11's made a huge difference. Taking the neck off was a first for me and, though daunting, it turned out to be straightforward and easy. In under an hour, the job was done. After tweaking, I spent half an hour playing it with vigorous use of the tremolo arm, not sparing any effort in strumming or picking. Impressively, it had no issues-strings remained in place AND it was still in tune when I checked during my lunch break about 16 hours later. The notion that buying a guitar means you shouldn't have to make adjustments like shimming the neck puzzles me, especially since a proper setup is crucial for any Fender guitar, in my opinion. This seems like a natural step. I'm grateful for your insights that debunked the myths I encountered online and led me away from Jazzmasters in the past. Thanks again for the enlightening advice!
The mystery mastery bridge maker has made a living out of guitar players and techs not being able to setup and maintain the Fender design.
The Mastery is well made but fundamently will not stay in tune without the rocking action. No matter what they claim.
Many of the later and knock off trem plates also have the string holes too high , ruining the break angle. This can be corrected if you're clever by reshaping the knife edge.
This is very good information, and it’s true. To those who say : “Why should I have to shim the neck myself, if the bridge is so good - why doesn’t it come that way from the factory?” - the answer is twofold….
1) Original Fender, and CBS Fender did do that, and it worked great. I know because many years ago when I was a dumb Kid who knew absolutely nothing about setting up any kind of guitar, I owned a 1963 Jaguar, and a 1965 Jazzmaster, I got them back when they were dirt cheap because nobody wanted them(so they hadn’t been thru many owners from their original ones)both had the factory setups, and I was using 10’s, never had any string jumping tuning or buzzing issues - and I used the whammy bars a lot!
The problem for those with older offsets that do have those issues most likely comes from many previous owners that tried to set them up like they were Strats, not knowing the proper way they were designed to be.
2) Modern Fender themselves have somewhat forgotten how these guitars should be set up - remember they were discontinued during the CBS era, and new Fender didn’t start reissuing them until they became popular again, having been seen in the hands of upcoming Star Guitarists in the ‘80s, and ‘90s.
They started making them again because the demand was there, but they never seemed to be their top priority like Strats and Tele’s were. So they made the same mistake people in the ‘70s, and early ‘80s did, and set them up like their other models. This alas is still going on, even on the top shelf American models. Basically, the stock set up is wrong for the 9s or 10s they ship them with due to the lighter tension of those gauges.
Bottom line is, the lower gauge string you want to use, the higher the bridge, and the more pitched back the neck needs to be. Setting them up so tight down to the body is always going to make 9s and 10s act like rubber bands, even 12s a s 13s should be raised at least a little bit - it’s how they designed the system originally in 1958, when Fender was trying to appeal to Jazz Players by having a set up similar to the hollow body Guitars they favored, but adapted to the solid bodies Fender was famous for.
It does work beautifully, if you learn the History of the design and how to set the Offsets up properly. And if you fully understand all this but still hate them, then just quit whining about them and play something else! 😆😉
It may have already been said but one thing that I've learned about the Jazzmaster's vintage bridge is that Leo Fender design it for "Jazz" which is a genre that normally calls for softer playing. Not for being played harder like a lot of rock music. So the design is perfect for it's original purpose, you just need to make adjustments to the guitar depending on your style of playing.
Ok, now I know how to get the string buzz out. You just beat the buzz out of it.
lol But I agree with you of course. But the real question is whyyyyyy dont they angle the neck before we get them lmfao. to save on work?
your bang on man, just bought a Squire Jazzmaster from Ebay, sold as excellent condition, did`nt leave bad feedback but the guy must have been blind , full of dings and wear , but 2012 guitar you expect it, had a tuneomatic bridge shall we say almost fitted, no ferrals in place wedged in by 6 pieces of low E string, honestly, so had to drill the body, fitted it properly and wow, recently bought a Fender elite , and s Gibson standard, but the only guitar I`ve played in the last 3 weeks is the Jazzmaster frickin awsome, set them up right and nothing sounds like them, Squire Jaguar 2012 arriving tomorow , can`t wait
These Jaguars and Jazzmasters are absolutely amazing for staying in tune if you set them up properly, they are almost as a locking floyd! thanks to the construction of Leo Fender back in the day with the rocking bridge. but prob not for beginners though, because they are harder to set up with you being forced to shim the neck, it is difficult if you never have set up a guitar before and are lacking the prooper tools for such a job. but ok if you are a intermediate guitar tech. however, anyone can learn how to do this.
Hi I totally agree with what you say but why doesn’t fender router out the neck pocket to the correct angle?
They do on some reissues.
Anyone has a tip for squier VM jaguar set for a almost same action height from 12th fret to 17th fret, something around 2mm
I dig what you are throwin down. In proper English.....I very much appreciate and like the information you have presented in this CZcams video. I am at the tail end of Jaguar guitar build. I just ordered some neck shins. ✌️🎸😎👌🎸.
Nice one! Cheers
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos if you look at the string profile from the side Leo Fender had arch tops in mind. This is why setting the bridge high for proper break angle is important...and neck shims....your vid sent me away to the races on research.
I know this is some years later BUT totally agree with you and Puisheen and thank you both for the insight. I have an older Squire jazzmaster with the threaded barrel bridge saddles (worst of the worst!!) and with a neck shim and decent break angle over the bridge I have NEVER pinged a string off and it stays in tune and it doesn't rattle and it plays superbly well and ... Come on people - it's easy.
May I ask what type and gauge of strings you use, and whether you are able to bend the strings without them slipping?
I'm confident that a Jaguar can be set up so that it will tolerate aggressive strumming, as in this video, but notably didn't perform any whole-tone bends - which should have been trivial on a 24" scale neck strung with 10s.
@@xcx8646 Hey there, using 11 - 49. Heavy but actually nice to play with a nice snap to the strings.
@@bluzmansix Thanks! How are whole-tone string bends? Possible? Difficult? Thanks for your help!
@@xcx8646 Not a problem - though I do have big insensitive fingers lol. Should be even easier to bend on a Jaguar.
Your "69" Jag might be a little older but not much, unless there's a bit of mix and match going on. Block inlay markers came in for the end of the '65 run and '66 release of at least the Jazzmaster stock. I've played a 1966 Jazzmaster for 30 years and have i) always had a pro set-up with some decent communication about what I want and like and ii) never had any of the supposed "problems" arise or affect my playing, performance or recording. Tuning, sustain, saddle popping, whatever, have never ever been a problem so I could not get my head around what the Conventional Wisdom was going on about. That said, I have a '66 Yamaha SG3 which has a brilliant "solution" engineered way back then - floating trem with saddle rollers on the bridge. Utterly brilliant. Great vid - time to explode some of these myths!
Fantastic comment! I will at some point do a deep dive video into my Jaguar. Should prove interesting! Cheers. I had one of those Yamaha's loved it!
Right on, this video is awesome. They should maybe come with some free shims and a copy of “zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance”.
I've recently got a Squier Jazzmaster vm, did the same, raised the bridge (to max height) and put a shim. I also raised the pickups to compensate for the much higher bridge. Here I see the pickups on your Squire are set to pretty low, is it because you like the sound better? I've set my pickup poles 2-3 mm. from the strings when pressed on the last fret, not sure how other jazzmaster or jaguar players do.
what do you mean his are low lol that's nothing, mine are actualy flush to the guitar hahaha. sound and looks cooler. alll my guitars are like that. Scott groovy Grove touth me this lesson. he even puts them in even lower in the guitar if it's possible hahaha
I always liked the look of Jags and Jazzmasters!
They're like the strat's younger brother
Lovely Jag 👌... exactly what I said on my bridge comparison vid!! Think the vintage bridge has slightly deeper grooves than some of the recent Squier Vintage styles ?
Mate your video was brilliant! Everyone should go check it out. Their are differences in vintage bridges to newer ones. However I found the Squier VM one on the white Jag in video totally fine. No complaints.
Destroying Amp Gear Demos - yeah all boils down to that set up, it’s a shame Squier and the lower end Fender models aren’t always set up properly from the outset 👌
When properly set up, can the stock bridge handle bends as well? Clearly it can be strummed hard!
Yeah no problems
Great vid! Subscribed!
Cheers!
Was wondering about the wear on the back of the guitar and at 14:11 all my questions were answered 🤣
my jaguar came stock with a tune-o-matic bridge and it has that god aweful buzz and part of me wants to replace it with with a stock bridge, but i dont know if that would even be a good idea because the break angle is completely different for the tune-o-matic because there is a shorter distance between the bridge and where the strings connect, would you have any advice in that regard?
Teach us how to set up a jag! Really would love it!!
Seems to be some demand for it. In the meen time check out puisheens channel he has some great setup tips!
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos will do! I have a Reissue 1966 MIJ Classic Jaguar in CAR that looks absolutely perfect, but I never felt it being 100% because of the bridge issues. Can't wait to see the video!
I just bought mine this week i was a little aprehensive at first seeing all this fearmongering about the bridge considering i play heavy stuff (doom/gaze post metal stuff) didnt gave me anny problems just had to adjust the low E sadle
I even changed to lower tunnings and nothing, no bridge colapse, no strings poping out of the saddles
Amazing guitar over all
Just recently got myself a Squier classic vibe Jag after nearly 4 decades of being a strat guy, and I LOVE it! I actually enjoy how the vibrato feels, and I don't know why, but I seem to be more creative with the guitar. My only issue is a really creaky spring, which sometimes vibrates horribly when I pick notes. Is that just because it's new? does it need some kind of lubrication? It's hard to describe - it's the guitar equivalent of nails on a chalk board! Usually I can "shake it off" for a while, but then it comes back. Any ideas? Cheers
I would look at the vibrato arm for noise before spring to be honest
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos just wrapped a single round of tape on the shaft (ooh errr) nasty vibrations all gone 😁
@@ROLEPLAYA64 is that the arm or the screw?
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos top of the arm.
Good good, most trem noises look there first in my experience. Glad you got it sorted.
Cool playing.
Haha thanks man. I really just wanted to but the bridge to the test!
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos really nice mbv and flying saucer attack sounds
What degree shim did you use for your Jag neck?
I made my own. But I would imagine its close to the 1° stewmac one
The shorter scaled Jaguar also may often need the oft neglected NECK POCKET SHIMS to achieve the proper neck angle necessary for proper sting break angle as well as having enough SADDLE SCREW TRAVEL and CLEARANCE for obstacle free intonation. If the neck angle is too Flat on 24" scale guitars they may present as somehow "Defective" when all that is needed is a little shimming. The same is true for any improperly set neck actually.
nice vid and nice guitar 🎸
Cheers!
Consider that bridge TESTED!!! No string pop out. I quite liked the music it showed some real passion and deduction to duty. Bet the doubters are eating humble pie :)
Cheers x
The two dislikes are from people who couldn’t get teh Kurtdz
Stick a tune-o-matic on and call it done!
they kept trying to screw in the reverb handle instead of popping it in.
rahbro yeah cause if you screw it in all the mojo arrows fall out
I just bought the Squier Classic Vibe '70s Jaguar but I have a problem. Always when I set the action the bridge sinks down after like an hour of playing making the b and the high e string unplayable. Is there any fix for this? Also I need to go to the store and pick another one because this one came with a broken pickup. But just in case it happens again and you know how to fix this please tell me. Thanks
Usually having a heavier gauge strings and shimming the neck allowing you to set the bridge higher tightens everything up. But a little bit of blue locktite or vaseline on the threads of the bridge posts should make everything super solid. Good luck!
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos Thank you so much! I just have one more question: What is the chance of this happening again after replacing the guitar in the store? Like I mean is this something that happens regularly or is it just my luck?
@@tomasdanko7033 I've not heard of any other broken pickups in the classic vibe series. Quality control can sometimes be a bit iffy with Squier guitars. But generally they are good. As far as the bridge is concerned the offset design just needs setting up right and doesn't really allow for much deviation from the setting up rules. The Squiers are rarely setup right from the factory.
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos OK thank you very much again I will replace the guitar as soon as it's possible and I will find someone to set it up correctly.
@@tomasdanko7033 no worries man. Lots of info online. Pushieen(Mike Adams) has lots of great information on CZcams and online. I will be doing my own how to soon too.
you could watch this video for 20 minutes. OR do what I did. go to the store, buy a pack of .13's and put those on. when they fret out because they are so big, raise the bridge up to accommodate them. Then discover that with the power of teh kurdtz piano string like gauge you are playing, you lucked your way in backwards not knowing what you were doing, not needing a shim because if you do it will just fret out again. FIXED. the hardest part about my jaguar setup is finding a guitar shop manland enough to carry .13s.
I mean you should probably watch the video for 20 minutes anyways tho.
The 10s are working ok for me to be fair
@@liamjonasscale always have used heavy strings. The 10s were an experiment and have proven great!
I did. Did them both actually except not on a Jag
Got 11s on my Jazzy
this guy is criminally underrated
Thanks x
I have a Staytrem on my Jag, and I am happy.
I’m more interested in how you got your Jag to stay in tune so well even though you were going bananas!
The staytrem bridge is a well made bridge! I guess its just down to setup when it comes to tuning. Make sure there is as little friction as possible and that places of contact (nut etc) are lubed with a pencil. My trem is set up so that the lock works although not engaged, this offers a little less travel but great stability. I always thought heavy strings helped but I am using 10s (fender bullets) here. Make sure stretch your strings. And make sure your bridge rocks with the trem. Thanks!
There are people out there who are just never going to like this guitar, no matter what - and it begs the question : why not just get a Telecaster, and be happy? But no, they love to complain about the Jaguar at every opportunity. And what’s really frustrating is, Fender listens to the whiners far more than they do the real Jaguar fans who love it as it was originally designed.
That’s why you can’t buy a proper new Jag with all the right parts in all the right places, unless you get the top line American reissue.
On the more affordable models, they’re always “Simplifying” the circuitry, and/or moving things around or removing parts that are iconic to the Jag…. All in a futile attempt to please people who are never going to be satisfied, and who really should be playing a different guitar that they actually like.
What gauge strings? How do you have the trem bar loose without falling out? Where you getting a mute from? How do you work out what shim you need? Top riffing!
I use 10s on that guitar. I normally use 11s but have used heavier in the past...I used to use zakk Wylde customs many years ago haha! The 10s were just an experiment but they work great! on American Jaguars or vintage jags the bar is a different shape, it kinda snaps past the collar holding it in place but allows it to spin. You can repro mutes places like www.angela.com or you can try and find an old on ebay/reverb. Working out shims is just trial and error. I first set the bridge high enough to work then add shims to get they action I want. A capo on the neck to hold the strings when you are taking neck on and off is a top tip! Cheers!
Totally true. Nothing wrong with a fixed radius Mustang bridge or any other though, but even then, people think just the bridge will fix all the common issues. It won’t.
Offsets do usually need a shim, and whatever type bridge used it’s the break angle that is key.
Can’t expect it to ever play right when set up with 9’s and bridge is set flat to body. They designed for at least 11’s, designed to be shimmed and need that proper break angle, and the bridge being raised is a big part of the proper setup. The stock bridge works fine, when rest of setup is correct.
I have used mustang bridges in the past, they don't necessarily make anything 'better ' or solve any issues. In fact some of the replica ones with the huge gaps are awful! I mentioned in the video my jag is setup with 10s without issue(its actually quite nice). The 10s were an experiment after using heavier gauges all these years. Very pleased(and surprised) with the results! Cheers!
Destroying Amp Gear Demos I tried a mustang bridge in my jag and it was way more rattley. The jag bridge isn’t because the saddles have got wee legs to stand on.
@@gavinh yeah that can happen mate. The string spacing on some of repro mustang bridges are shite!
Yeah. Seen some pretty bad repro bridges. Also see a lot of people using wrong radius Mustang bridges (7.25” bridge on 9.5” radius guitar) which only makes things worse (uneven action, spacing etc). Point is, whichever bridge used it still has to be setup correctly. I think most people who buy into the bridge is crap thing don’t even try to setup the stock bridge correctly and just immediately swap it out.
Good to hear 10’s working for you. Still trying to figure out what Fender/Squier are thinking shipping new ones out w/9’s though.
@@ericb7799 100% agree! I may switch back to 11s which is what I have sat at for a while on all my ShortScales. Have to admit the 10s are super comfy.
I have a lot of love for the original bridge design. That said, its a tricky and sensitive little bastard also. It does need know how and tweaking to work well. But you can adjust everything on it, and thats really cool.
On one of my jags I use the Staytrem. Simplified construction but no need to tweak. Once setup is good, you are done and can just play.
I appreciate there is certainly a learning curve! Cheers
Before you spend 20 minutes on this, be aware that he doesn't show you how to set up the guitars - he just says get it set up.
Well come on then, show me how you do it.
Might do a full how to on setting up a Jaguar, but to be honest there are already so many out there. I am not doing anything special.
I guess EVH didnt need a floyd rose after all!
I had my neck shimmed and the bridge raised . IT DID NOT help ! The strings still pop off !
What bridge saddles you using?, and what string gauge?
Yeah the stock bridge on the jazzmaster/jaguar is just fine. Also I think the mastery bridge is WAY WAY overrated and overhyped.
I own a Jag and a Jazzmaster, i used to think the same thing until i actually bought a mastery bridge + vibrato for my Jazzmaster. Honestly, its night and day how much better the Mastery is. Makes my original bridge and vibrato (on both my Jag and Jazzmaster) feel like a toy lol. Plus the guitar never goes out of tune no matter how crazy i wail on the tremolo arm. It just makes the whole guitar feel a lot more snug, smooth, and its comfortable to rest your hand/palm on. It was totally worth the money. I no longer think they are over hyped, not at all. I'd say the only "downside " was installing it, but it wasnt too difficult after watching a couple youtube videos on how to properly do it
I'm planning to downgrade my VM Squier Jag stock bridge to a 13 dollar timiy bridge. I'll hold on to the stock one just in case I ever want to easily switch back.
Never heard of it, but just looked it up. Looks like a nice enough bridge to be honest. Doing with multiple grooves in the saddles will be a plus for many. Let me know how it works out for you.
Destroying Amp Gear Demos thank you, will do!
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos I just got the timiy in the mail today and got done installing and tweaking it. All in all, no regrets. It met the expectations of a 13 dollar downgrade from the original stock VM bridge. I did have to file the saddle groove for the low E, but that seemed to keep it in place. The saddles in the timiy are pretty crowded and noticed that the high e string doesn't line up perfectly over it's bridge pickup pole piece, though it is over the neck's pup high e pole piece. The other strings are lined up well and I think the high e not lining up over the bridge's pup is a result of the crowded saddles. Not a huge issue, the high e volume seems to still come through fine. The bridge itself rocks nicely when using the wiggle stick. Stays in tune as well as the previous bridge when using the wiggle stick. All in all, I'm happy with the switch...and did seemingly get some string action improvement. Happy I didn't find myself needing to shim, because I don't know how to do that yet lol
@@CupofCloud glad you have had a good experience! Shimming is easy though. If you can take the neck off and cut card you can shim the neck! Thank you for the update
This is sick as fuck. I love offsets.
Thank you so much! Lots of Offset content on my channel. Cheers!
2020 the year of Barbera Walters
Nice one mate, class video. I’ve got a buzzstop gathering dust somewhere from when I was a JS.com noob 😂
Haha ah the buzz stop. The quickest way to let everyone know you haven't a clue!
Kind of feel like an idiot for swapping the stock bridge out for a mustang bridge now 😂
Don't worry we've all done it! And if you are happy with the mustang bridge it's no biggie 😉
I don’t have any issue with the bridge. Lower the action, get heavier strings( which it was designed for 12s )
Also play to the guitar I find the people complaining are the ones approaching the Jazzmaster from a Tele,Strat, or LP feel and get upset when they can’t do epic bends like they do with those guitars.
In my experience, it IS a difference in quality on my japanese and my american bridge. The saddle screws are better fit and less prone to rattle. Just saying.
No agree actually. On cheaper bridges you are going to need locktite on the grub screws! Its the design I am sticking up for. Quality will vary like anything. Cheers!
erm.. the bridge is fine but you need to shim the neck??? that means it’s not fine. 🤪
Point made!!! 😂
Haha you would think so....I have still had one person in all seriousness say I wasn't actually hitting the strings hard enough....you can't win! Cheers
It’s an eyesore but works pretty well for what it does.
But wait - is that a Mustang bridge on that Jag???
That’s what they put on now.
The truth is that the Jazzmaster was designed to be used with heavy gauge strings, which were the only ones available at that time. When you‘re choosing to play with modern light strings, you either have to 1) exchange the bridge or 2) shim the neck or 3) install a buzz stop. You can choose yourself which one of those is the least sacrilegious. Me personally I think shimming the neck is the most horrifying option, as it rapes the whole body/neck connection design.
what kind of strings would you use on a jazz or jag?
I've used all sorts. Really heavy and as light as 10s on a jaguar. Depends on your preference. Heavier make the setup easier and offsets were definitely made with heavier strings in mind. I currently use flatwounds and couldn't be happier 12s on the Jaguar and 11s on the jazzmaster.
Flatwound 14’s on my jags 😊
Fender commonly shimmed the necks of all models of their guitars throughout the 60's
@@aaroncrace1226 it’s still common practice my last 2 jags came shimmed
When I click a 20 minute video with a title like that I expect to be given some information, all I got was "set it up properly, here is me being noisy, look elsewhere for the actual "cheap trick" i mentioned in the title!".
Please subscribe !
If you shim the neck, you're not setting up the guitar as it was designed to be set up.
Are you high ?
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos I hate to break it to you, but if Leo would have wanted to have an angled neck pocket, he would have built an angled neck pocket.
@@tobisteffen I think you are trolling me. So good luck with your day x PLEASE SUBSCRIBE!
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos Thanks, I really enjoyed these hipster farting noises that you played, I guess they require a lot of skill. But I think I‘m good now.
Eh stay trems still better.
no, the bridge sucks.youre saying i have to shim my neck. because the bridge sucks. if it didnt i wouldnt have to shim anything. ive never had to shim a neck. all the complaints are correct because nobody buys a guitar to shim the neck and they experience those issues.
You have no idea what you are talking about. Whether people buy a guitar to shim it or not. That is just how the guitar was designed to be set up.
Save time, go for min 4, until then, all the talking is useless