Help: 2018 Cutlass RS HSS bridge rattles

Greetings! I thought I’d save a few hundred $$s and bought a Turquoise Cutlass RS HSS in “Excellent” condition off of Reverb for $1800 inc. shipping. I’ve had a Morse since ’99 and also a 2011 AL BFR but wanted a more Strat tone and the thicker neck the Cutlass has.

The Cutlass arrived with a gorgeous and flawless appearance but when I played it the setup was horrible. The first luthier I took it to made it playable but there was still some rattle on the the G and B strings in the 13-16 fret range and some noise that seemed to be coming from the bridge. I took it to another local luthier who spent a few hours on it – by now my setup $$ is adding up to where I’m beginning to kick myself for not buying new….

Where I’m at now: There was a little dip in the neck around the 11-15 fret range that I wouldn’t have noticed. The luthier set the action just a tad higher than factory so there’s no fret buzz. There remains a rattle from the bridge that has us stumped. He thought it might be from the saddle screws and suggested applying some weak threadlock to them but I haven’t tried that yet. I called MM support and they’ve had no encounters with this issue. Has anyone one noticed this and if so, what did you do to correct it?

Otherwise, the look and feel of the Cutlass is great although I’m still distracted by the beautiful flamed maple neck. Still getting used to the sounds – it’s not as strat-like as I’d hoped but the humbucker produces some nice tones and I really like the neck single too. I’ve got them set at the factory heights. The bridge p/u through a Zendrive into my Bluguitar Amp1 is exquisite and come real close to that Robben Ford Dumble tone.

Thanks for any help or insight!