One thing I did not mention before; the guys at Mastery Bridge are incredibly helpful. I own neither of these guitars, only a jagstang and i'm perfectly at ease with the bridge on that guitar. Does anyone actually like or use bright switches/caps? If you are using alternate tunings and a Mastery, please comment below about your experiences. Ive been playing Jazzmasters for 20+ years, why are you set on swapping the bridge? If you have an American made offset guitar made from 2013-now, order the M1-KIT. The 50th Anniversary Jaguar is all USA build. thats what makes them the guitars we know and love. Registry Tell me, how do you intonate the bottom three strings on a mastery when the 1st saddle is supposed to be (to be intonated) back,the 2nd forward and the 3rd back? Please review our specs page for more information about our thimbles. Cant wait to put this thing on my trusted old Jazzmaster, which up to now is fitted with its original bridge, with a mustang saddle at the low-e-string position and had only minor rattling/moving issues in the last 15 years of playing. Just like the fender ones, they are all slightly flawed. Hi again and sorry for the delay, it has been some busy weeks since the first round here. Fran said: I just did my monthly visit of OSG classifieds and noticed a few Mastery Bridges surfacing in there. To me its an over priced bridge with flaws. M1-KIT: M1 Mastery Bridge and set of MT Mastery Thimbles Besides, the stock bridges work fine for me. Then look into fixing the bridge if its an issue. If you need assistance replacing or installing our thimbles, please contact your local luthier. The words Fender, Telecaster, Stratocaster and the associated headstock designs are registered trademarks of the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. It's sometimes a good idea to file a groove in the saddles for where you want the string to stay. My band-mates didnt hear any difference, but they are used to me getting on and off excited about my sound (some nights the amp and guitar sound incredibly good, other nights, with the same setup kind of lame) :-). The bridge really added more sustain to my old Jazzmaster, an yes, it is recognizable even with the guitar played dry, not plugged in. With the support of Deimel Guitarworks, Berlin, Germany* I finally got hold of a Mastery Bridge, which arrived by mail today. Some love the original..others definitely do not! The Warmoth bridge does have a variable radius aspect to it. Fender Pro Reverb Subject, Frondelli Master Volume for Bassman Micro EF80, Blues Junior - extremely high voltage problem (1300 Vdc on EL84 plate). I must admit I didnt expect this, but with the increased pressure and all the vibrations going on, its the way how physics work. If you are not then i think buying a bridge for 160 big ones would go through you having already shelled out half your yearly wage for the guitar in the 1st place. 11s on mine with stock bridge has been perfectly fine. That is to say, played unplugged. Either way, these guys seem to know their stuff concerning these types of guitars. I dont think people are particularly against it, just not for it. Its not very time consuming. My first attempt, to recreate the settings and the position of my stock bridge, was not optimal). . Then I swapped to new strings, the night before the concert. +1 on the Mastery. The montage was really easy, the setup instructions are easy to follow and with a little bit of knowledge of the principles involved and the feel in the fingertips its easy to get the right setting (back) after swapping to the Mastery Bridge (*please see the update below, with the help of John W/Mastery Bridge I was able to get more out of the bridge. The inside diameter on Mexican made thimbles are slightly smaller and require our standard MT thimbles installed for our M1 bridge to work. *) Disclaimer: I paid for the bridge and this documentation/review is not biased by any offerings by the manufacturer or the distributor. This site is best viewed in a modern browser with JavaScript enabled. Surely if you are to purchase a jag/jazzy you would be familiar with the problems of the trem/bridge so you'd pay a visit to a site like this to improve it. But yeah, I will let you guys know. The strings sound very even (dont know how to put it, but I sounds very ballanced, and its fun to play it unplugged). - For more information on how our bridge works, please visit our specs page. The Warmoth would have been custom made for someone, and it's not certain here what they actually decided on. I mostly play in standard tuning, with an occasional dropped d. I think if intonation required that the a or the b string needed to be placed out of line with the neighbouring strings, this would not be possible. If you have an AOM/TOM style bridge please review the AOM/TOM link below. IMO the Mustang bridge has less flaws than the mastery because you can intonate ANY tuning ona mustang bridge, where as mastery's are really only good for standard tunings. "Yeah we should definitely jam some time". Best place for gear snobbery too! TDPRI, short for Telecaster Discussion Page Reissue, is the leading online community and marketplace for Telecaster guitars. I've seen and heard a few very nice Jags with Bigsby's on them. There are plastic washers inside of the thimbles on these guitars. The mastery was primarily designed for jazzmasters and jaguars. I've been leaning towards the Staytrem. I think people shouldn't knock it until they try it however. It takes some mileage to get used to the new feel.see update below. i use the stock bridge on my jaguar.(mij). We make one vintage spec size thimble for our M1 bridge. M1-KIT: M1 Mastery Bridge and set of MT Mastery Thimbles When I get the money I will get one and tell you all how it sounds. They aren't as bad as people usually say, at the same time, I do have Mustang bridges on two of them and a Mastery on the third. It's pricey, but it's just one of those things that's just worth doing right. I'm a big fan of the Jazzmaster and the Jaguar, but like most, I don't like the stock bridges all that much. I'm not sure of the numbers but my neck is a more vintage radius up in the cowboy chord area and flatter as you go up. After the over-critical phase right after installing the bridge and the very sceptical does it sound different, is it different, what does it do to my guitar inspection detailed above I have to admit that theres no looking back. is obviously gonna improve sales. Lots of folks over at offsetguitar.com do the swap to the adjustable Mustang saddles and it seems to solve the inherent problems with little fuss. The J Mascis Jazzmaster with a TOM requires drilling holes in the pickguard to accommodate standard Jazzmaster body thimbles. You are using an out of date browser. Of all the Fender forums OSG.com seems to be the only place that has embraced this bridge, which i think is a reflection of the user age group. Or, looking at it from another angle: For the price of a stompbox (how many youve been through in recent years trying to get more out of your sound?) So I was very keen to play it together with the band and amplified. The screws and springs and moving parts are very well fit and the finish looks also top-notch. JavaScript is disabled. I think the bridge has many advantages like the increased sustain, the tuning-stability, the feel while palm-muting, the not-slipping strings, and some disadvantages (or better: compromises) like the fixed spacing and the not-so-easy intonation setup with 3 strings over one saddle, but to me the sonic improvements win. M1-KIT: M1 Mastery Bridge and set of MT Mastery Thimbles This kit for guitars with an Adjusto-matic or Tune-o-matic bridge includes our M1 Mastery Bridge with standard US mounting posts and a set of two vintage spec MT 303 Stainless Steel thimbles to replace your stock thimbles. This is why I stick with this web-group. I can guarantee you that at least half of SY's guitars aren't intonated properly either, the ones with mastery's I mean. M1-KIT: M1 Mastery Bridge and set of MT Mastery Thimbles I told people it had a design flaw from the first time it hit the web but people didn't believe me, they said you can intonate ANY tuning with it which of course you would know is physically impossible unless the mastery doesn't operate under the laws of physics!!! Please be sure to read the updates below. People jumped on them and took the bait that it was the "best" bridge around, without even thinking about it and handed over $160 for it. youll get the mechanical means to really hear what your guitar is able to deliver for good or for bad. It may not display this or other websites correctly. M1-KIT: M1 Mastery Bridge and set of MT Mastery Thimbles Includes our M1 Mastery Bridge with standard US mounting posts and a set of two vintage spec MT 303 Stainless Steel thimbles to replace your stock thimbles. As said before, the support of John Woody Woodland is amazing. But to be honest, everytime I grab the guitar and play Im amazed how it sounds. One guy wrote he is going back to the Mustang bridge because he prefers the feel of it and it functions just as good. Please Note: The M1 Mastery Bridge requires no modification to USA made guitars originally equipped with Fenders floating-style bridge and vintage spec body thimbles. The cool thing about this is that it fits without any modification, and you can adjust the bridge radius! It sounds like Sonic Youth and Kevin Shields of course . Here are some radius gauges, this will tell you what you have: Yeah, there's a very good chance that they are different! It does have the intonation design flaw though and is pretty expensive, they are my only complaints about it. AOM/TOM style bridges were not originally designed/intended for use on Offset style guitars with vibratos. And the longer I play, the more I like it. B5's I think. Regarding playability and sound the bridge is definitly an improvment to all the solutions I came across so far (Mustang saddles, taped bridge stems, adding a shim, Tune-O-Matic bridge, buzzstop device). Lar-Mar Type II MV for EF80 Bassman Micro? Anyhow, what I'm driving at is that most of your traditional options work very well when adjusted and used as designed. I'm going to actually buy the product then review it. Includes our M1 Mastery Bridge with standard US mounting posts and a set of two vintage spec 303 stainless steel MT thimbles. Mustang bridge, Mastery and Staytrem all have deeper slots for the strings so they will stay put. Is there a secret to easy threading of strings with a top-loading bridge? But I had the same mixed feelings after the refret some years ago. IMO the stock mustang bridge is perfect (well not perfect but close) for the mustang and a TOM is just as good if you like narrower string spacing like me. Personally, I've never had a single problem with a reasonably well set up AVRI unit, and it's not rocket science to make them work. Overall the big issue isn't really the bridge itself but that there is not enough downward pressure between the bridge and trem so lighter strings have a tendency to jump out of their slots if hit hard. I don't really see the point of that, unless you actually have a guitar that calls for it- most don't. NBD - New Bridge Day - Mastery Tele M4 bridge, Installed: Power Pins bridge pin replacements, Recommendations for Modern 6 Saddle Top Loading Bridge. If I had my 'druthers, I'd get a Staytrem (a Mustang bridge done right) or the Warmoth Mustang bridge. Woody (the man behind the bridge, so to say) took his time to respond to the issues mentioned above, offering some tips and suggestions how to further improve my experience with the bridge. Our USA vintage spec size, unplated solid stainless thimbles fit the inside diameter of our M1 bridge perfectly but are not drop in replacements for guitars previously fitted with AOM/TOM bridges as AOM/TOM bridges are a completely different design. The mastery has been classed as "the perfect bridge" by a lot of rich folk but it has at least one design flaw, you. I guess thats the price for having brand new equipment, the threads on the screw and the saddle may be too smooth and will set in after a while of usage. . This bridge is not intended for replacing a plate-style, traditional tele bridge. We've talked about these quite a lot. Ohhhh, yeahhhhh Help me Figure this out???? They run for about 160ish dependin on what one you need (vintage or reissue). That would be pretty stupid!!! Also, in this day and age of endless pickup options, clean boost and sustain pedals you can throw the "it improves sustain" argument right out of the window. I do have evidence, KNOWLEDGE about saddle positions (and knowledge about the mastery and how it works) when my guitars are in tune and the fact that the mastery is a two saddle system and each saddle pivots from the center point back and forth not independently. I still have the 1970 Mustang that was my first guitar. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Sonic Youth use them because they can afford them, they will also have some kind of endorsement deal no doubt- Sonic Youth use this bridge! After opening the box and removing several layers of shredded paper, a not-so-tiny metallic cylinder surfaced, along with a piece of paper with installing instructions and a list of what to expect inside the tube: While I will never get used to the inch-based system of measurement, the small, medium, large Ill understand, thank you very much :-). The Jazzmaster I'm referring to is the one in the middle of the picture. You must log in or register to reply here. The Mastery costs almost as much as my VMJM, and that's ludicrous. The 50th Anniversary Jaguar is all USA build. It is recommended a luthier replace these if you are unfamiliar with the process. Plastic has no longevity when it comes to guitar hardware. - BTW,to install a TOM you don't wreck anything if you use the Gotoh Nashville type, installation requires zero permanent modification to the guitar. Its easy to set them too loose, since the pressure of the strings will hold the saddle in place and there is a mini-distance in which the screw will not pull or push the saddle, but will slightly come loose this will result in buzz. Problems solved. Products must be returned in their original packaging.). Contact Us. And I agree with fran about them. My tuning and intonation are solid though. the high-e-string was really near the fretboards edge, so that it was centered with the neck pickups polepiece. M1: Mastery Bridge for your American-made guitar Here's a link to the item: The 50th anniversary model would need to be drilled in order to fit that bridge wouldn't it? Looking at the pictures I made and seeing how I set the bridge, he suggested that I lower the base as far as possible and then get the action needed by raising the saddles. If you have an AOM/TOM style bridge please review the AOM/TOM link below. On my guitar, the neck is a compound radius. Palm muting looks like it'd take a bit of getting used to. M1-KIT: M1 Mastery Bridge and set of MT Mastery Thimbles And finally, inside the sack: the holy grail of Jaguar/Jazzmaster-style bridges, or at least supposedly according to the hype around it. I would suggest the same. The Fender Custom Shop has a new offset bridge, if they work as well as the Mastery then I'll get that. I rocked the stock bridge on an old MIJ for over a decade, with no real issues. The M2 is intended for Japanese made guitars with standard non-threaded Jazzmaster style body thimbles. Try thicker strings before jumping right into replacing the bridge. Ill try this and will update this text accordingly. I had a slight rattle somewhere that I couldnt locate, but it was gone after some trem-usage. If you have some issues, theyll respond with a thorough reply and assistance. Includes our M1 Mastery Bridge with standard US mounting posts and a set of two vintage spec 303 stainless steel MT thimbles. It seems either you are for or against it. For more information on our thimbles visit our specs page. Regarding the livegig: The bridge seems to hold the tuning better than the original one. I'm not against it at all. It is very well presented, I must admit. Bridge covers and mutes are not compatible with the Mastery Bridge. I don't know if anyone on here has one, or have even heard about it but I figured it would be an interesting thing to share. Try it on your guitar for a month, and if for any reason youre not completely satisfied, simply return it for a full refund. The outside diameter of Mexican made thimbles are sometimes slightly smaller and if needed, we suggest opening the body wood holes up by drilling in REVERSE with a 3/8 bit to accommodate our USA vintage spec size thimbles. At the very least I am going to run up to the manufacture some time this week and see one installed on one of their in house guitars. Maybe the price is worth it after all :). The thimbles found on this model are fairly easy to replace. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Alternately, if you're heavy handed (or cheap, like meself) I really like Mustang bridges, and while I find the MIJ stuff more than adequate, the StayTrem looks like a really high quality piece of kit as well. As you can tell from the pictures, theres nothing wrong with the new spacing, in fact it may be closer to what it was meant to be in the first place, but it is different to my old spacing. It breathes craftsmanship. From my research, the Mastery bridge seems to be the most well thought out option if you want to keep the JM style bridge with the thimbles. To use the stock bridge you must use 12's and over, and even then it's not ideal. The mastery, or a tune o matic style bridge are what resolves this. Strings running directly over your pickup poles is a non-issue; influence on sound is negligible, and more than likely, it'll have your strings at the very edge of the fretboard. AOM/TOM style bridges were not originally designed/intended for use on Offset style guitars with vibratos. Years of using the wrong spacing are taking their toll :). Due to the fixed string-spacing, the guitar feels a bit foreign to me (see update below*). Something went wrong while trying to load the full version of this site. Well, as said before, the Mastery Bridge really adds sustain, and the treble strings sound beefier. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, '97 California Series Strat / '12 AVRI '62 Jazzmaster. I'm done arguing and am not going to respond to this thread again unless it's a review. The trick in both circumstances was to shim the neck and have it setup properly. Theres also the TOM option which would save you about $120. The guys from Sonic Youth swear by them, considering they are slightly heavier players than the guitar was originally geared towards I imagine this would hold up pretty well. Again, not bad or wrong, just slightly different to the way the strings did run on my bridge. You could try shimming the neck and raising the bridge up higher to stop them jumping out of the saddles. Try hard-refreshing this page to fix the error. Our USA spec size, unplated solid stainless thimbles fit the inside diameter of our M1 bridge perfectly but are not drop in replacements for guitars previously fitted with AOM/TOM bridges as AOM/TOM bridges are a completely different design. Copyright Mastery Bridge 2022 | All Rights Reserved. Its really subtle, but it has a different voice. The best place to start if you're new is right below in our "Rules" section. If you need assistance replacing them, please contact your local luthier. JavaScript is disabled. The gooved barrels of the original bridge allow for a very individual, even wrong, spacing. I think its a little out of my league price wise especially considering gotoh and replacement fender bridges are only $20-$40. M1-KIT: M1 Mastery Bridge and set of MT Mastery Thimbles. Well, the stock-bridge never had issues with screws come loose, but it has some 30yrs to wear in and all that rust may have helped a bit in that regard. Maybe due to the different distance to the treble-pole-piece, maybe due to the increased sustain, maybe due to the combination of both, the guitar sounds different, especially on the neck pick-up. Purists may be put off because the bridge cover will not fit and I think a Jaguar with the mute-device in place may be a bit problematic (anyone tried this? I used to have a rather spread-out spacing with the original bridge, esp. It's not a dumb question. Korean specs and tolerances are constantly changing and we do not follow Korean made hardware. You can get the stock bridge working fine, it just takes a bit of work. REPEAT: We only make one vintage USA spec size thimble, if you currently have a threaded post bridge design on your guitar you will need to convert it to accept our USA spec thimbles. I eventually jumped to a Mastery 5 or 6 years ago because it resolves the headache I had with all offset bridges (Staytrem included), which is the bridge rocking when the trem is used. Yep, after the initial hype dies down you'll see a lot more for sale too. Then I moved onto a Mustang bridge when I got my AVRI, which was even better. Includes our M1 Mastery Bridge with standard US mounting posts and a set of two vintage spec 303 stainless steel MT thimbles.This is for B5-KITS that have post-style Jazzmaster bridges. I have not taken off the neck yet, maybe theres still a little shim or some paint/wood chip left that is causing an angle, so thats why my bridge is set a bit higher than normally needed. You must log in or register to reply here. These guitars are what they are, its part of their charm. Its honestly a well minded advice to change your string gauge but not a particularly realistic one for a lot of players. If you have guitar related questions, use the "Search" field FIRST, Then ask the community. Welcome to r/guitar, a community devoted to the exchange of guitar related information. I had the same bridge on a Jazzmaster and wanted to replace it, so I got one that gets used on the CP Jazzmaster/Jaguar model, which had the same radius 9.5 and the problem was solved. If this thread was about a jazzmaster or jaguar it would make some sense but a mastery on a mustang makes no sense whatsoever. If I recall, the 50th Anniversary Jags are MIJ, and while I've never had a problem making the MIJ/CIJ Jag bridge work, I've found they are distinctly lesser in quality when compared to the AVRI piece. This is a forum where guitarists, from novice to experienced, can explore the world of guitar through a variety of media and discussion. Post spacing, post size, bushing size and tolerances vary greatly on these mostly Korean made bridges and we do not make threaded style mounting posts as they do not function as well as standard USA style thimbles with our original post design. The changes to the sound are subtle, but noteable. Well, Ive had several rehearsals with the bridge and a gig. One guy wrote he is going back to the Mustang bridge because he prefers the feel of it and it functions just as good. With the cost of a Staytrem these days, the Mastery is a better deal, unless you are in England. The bridge feels very solid, heavy, no-bullshit-like. I really don't see the point in installing a Mastery on a Mustang/Jag-Stang style guitar, sure it fits, but what problems does it cure? Even so I can hear the difference. M1-KIT: M1 Mastery Bridge and set of MT Mastery Thimbles The strings are perfectly aligned with the polepieces of both pickups, a result of the thorough research and prototyping with lots of different original bridges. If you need assistance replacing them, please contact your local luthier. With the support of Deimel Guitarworks (Berlin, Germany) I finally got hold of a Mastery bridge, which arrived by mail today. M2: Mastery Bridge for your Japanese made guitar The M1 Mastery Bridge and its mounting posts fit vintage Fender guitars. Guitars fitted with AOM/TOM bridges have threaded body thimbles that must be replaced with standard ones in order for our bridge to work. Includes our M1 Mastery Bridge with standard US mounting posts and a set of two vintage spec 303 stainless steel MT thimbles. I've been using my Jag-Stang's Dynamic Vibrato for 10 years of that guitar's 13-14ish years of it's life, and the only problems I have are related to dirt in the saddles and mechanical bits wearing out due to being used super-hard a ####-ton. Ok, lets open the tube. To add to this, Sonic Youth probably get them for free or at least dirt cheap and just because SY use something doesn't make it perfect for everything.