Who here uses a Mastery bridge?

[wholetone]

I've got a BT Jazzmaster that I'm going to slap one on... figured that I might as well try what seems (from what I've read so far) to be a superior bridge replacement product for the Jagmasterstang bridge issues. Figured that rather than pay for a good setup job on a fairly new guitar, and since the bridge has already dropped the saddles a couple of times, that it made more sense to wait order the bridge, and then have the tech set it up right...

Those of you that are using the Mastery, what do you think?

[tiktok]

I have one on my JM, I love it. I've had zero problems with mine, and I can use the bar with abandon and it stays in tune (I also use flat .011's and locking tuners). Before that I'd used a Buzz Stop and a Mustang bridge, but I prefer the Mastery for retaining the JM shimmer and shorter sustain.

[Marty DiBergi]

I am in the minority, knowing per previous experience, but I tried one for about a month before i removed it.

Saddles still lower without nail polish/blue loctite/etc. And, I personally had more sympathetic vibrations on the B and high E strings. Finally, I broke more strings. I think the rocking feature of the bridge as originally designed is a good thing for string life.

I think the stock bridge is fine in all respects except for sting jumping. The mastery does take that out of the equation for sure. But right now, I am extremely happy with the Warmoth Modified Mustang bridge on my JM. It takes care of string jumping, preserves inherent JM bridge tonal characteristics, and mechanically rocks with the trem.

But > 90% of folks with Masterys are extremely satisfied. I am a black sheep and disident here...

[atomicmassunit]

I love them. Better tone, sustain, and overall solid feel. I have them on 2 of my Jazzmasters, and one stock, my '59. If you use 11's or higher guages, you shouldn't have trouble either way, but there's a big improvement overall with the mastery.

[Eagle1]

Excellent bridge but no wound G.

[schoolio]

I prefer the stock AVRI Jazzmaster bridge. The Mastery made my guitar sound very plinky above the 12th fret, and string bends took more effort.

[c_mac]

Originally Posted by schoolio

I prefer the stock AVRI Jazzmaster bridge. The Mastery made my guitar sound very plinky above the 12th fret, and string bends took more effort.

How does it affect string bends?

[Marty DiBergi]

The stock bridge or a mustang bridge will rock in the bridge posts during vibrato use and cosnequently has a bit of "give" during string bends. The Mastery pretty much "locks" the bridge in the posts so that it doesn't move. I agree that the feel is a bit stiffer as a result. There's a lot of string behind that bridge to the tailpiece that's not that far off from an angular perspective from the effective length of the string, similar to a trapeze tailpiece.

IDK, I've always found trapeze style tailpieces to result in a stiffer feeling guitar - scale length, string gauge, etc. being otherwise equal.

[LowWatt]

Huge fan of the Mastery Bridge here. I've had it on since winthin months of them being available. With the old bridge, even with a flawless setup and heavy strings, my over the top technique would have me knocking saddles over or knocking the strings over in the saddles (creating tuning issues), or breaking strings too often, etc...

They all went away with the Mastery. The secret to getting the most out of it though is keeping a good break angle on your neck. On most guitars, the Mastery lets you take out the shims and go with a much lower break angle, but it works poorly like this. If you're break angle is off you will get a plinky tone high on the neck, sympathetic vibrations from your strings rubbing against the screws on the tailpiece, and other weirdness.

all that and my tone took on just that tiny bit of Tele snap that brought it up a level for me.

[c_mac]

Originally Posted by Marty DiBergi

The stock bridge or a mustang bridge will rock in the bridge posts during vibrato use and cosnequently has a bit of "give" during string bends. The Mastery pretty much "locks" the bridge in the posts so that it doesn't move. I agree that the feel is a bit stiffer as a result. There's a lot of string behind that bridge to the tailpiece that's not that far off from an angular perspective from the effective length of the string, similar to a trapeze tailpiece.

IDK, I've always found trapeze style tailpieces to result in a stiffer feeling guitar - scale length, string gauge, etc. being otherwise equal.

Except that the bridge doesn't rock when you bend a string.

[GreenKnight18]

I like my mastery bridges. On my original Jazzy bridge the Low E would fall out, so that wasn't working. Mustang bridges were okay, but I think the mastery is better.

[Marty DiBergi]

Originally Posted by c_mac

Except that the bridge doesn't rock when you bend a string.

Certainly not as much as when using the vibrato arm.

However, it's not as though it remains completely stationary during a string bend. This contributes to the feel of the guitar. The mastery changes the mechanics of the bridge/tremolo from what was originally designed.

A strat with a floating trem is a more pronounced example. Bend a string, the trem pulls up, adjacent strings go flat, etc.

The only thing in either guitar balancing string tension is a spring (or springs) force. When the string tension changes, so will the corresponding spring force and movement results.

[lamenlovinit]

Originally Posted by Marty DiBergi

IDK, I've always found trapeze style tailpieces to result in a stiffer feeling guitar - scale length, string gauge, etc. being otherwise equal.

Trapezes always feel much slinkier to me. Yes you have to bend the string farther to get the same pitch change as say strat or tele style, but they tend to feel much less stiff.

I found the mastery on my jag to be a great addition. It was still fundamentally a jag, unlike say using a buzzstop, but it had a little more sustain. No additional string breakage, but then again I ran 12s on it. Maybe it was just my guitars, but I never felt the need to run one on my jazzies, so I never tried it on them.

Never had a saddle lowering problem. Never had one on my stock Fender bridges either. It seems to be a playing style thing. I have a friend who's a fabulous player, much better than me, and you wouldn't say "wow! He hits hard!" about him. When he played my jazzy, he made the saddles go down, even though they never dropped on me, and I did nothing to secure them. Up until that day I rolled my eyes at the guys who complained about saddles lowering. Now I just accept it. Might be the individual bridge. Might be the player's style. And it doesn't seem to have much to do with how hard they hit. If you have this problem, get a mustang bridge.

[Jahn]

had one on a freaking Bass VI. it kept that thing in tune and sounding good and on the saddles with no rattle, what more can you ask for, right?

[Marty DiBergi]

Originally Posted by lamenlovinit

Trapezes always feel much slinkier to me. Yes you have to bend the string farther to get the same pitch change as say strat or tele style, but they tend to feel much less stiff.

Interesting. As is almost always the case, perceived differences in guitars between players are highly individual assessments. I think that extra effort required for bending strings is what I perceive and describe as "stiffness." I definitely think trapezes can emit a very "lively" vibe to their credit. But now I'm on the verge of just going off topic if I haven't already. DiBergi out.