I have a JM66-88 that I have just purchased from Ishibashi and I think I am going explode from excitement before it arrives. I played a heap of telecasters and strats in my local Australian music store and picked up the Jazzmaster because it looked so unique and instantly knew that this was the way I was going to go. It suited my playing style, and the tone is versatile enough to cover what I want. (I will upgrade the pickups after a bit more research to get the warmer tone). I will also either use the loc-tite blue or beeswax on the saddle screws for the inevitable buzz that will occur after it is played for a while.
My question is that after looking at some of the YouTube clips and listening to the Jazzmaster/Mustang music, I wonder if the strings are slipping more because of people doing deeper bends than these tremelo rigs are set up to do. It is almost like they are more of a a vibrato unit if you take my meaning. How far are people having to dive before the strings slip from the saddle? If I am using .11 gauge strings and not diving like Satriani or Vai, am I likely to have the problem of a slipping string without a Buzz Stop?