so, I'm putting together a guitar that will be using a jag tremolo system on it. I went with the 10"-16" radius neck, and now that I'm looking around for bridges, I see my options are limited. I think it's coming down to the Mastery vs Warmoth's MM bridge. would you guys have any information that would make this decision any easier for me?
Mastery bridge vs. Warmoth Modified Mustang bridge?
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alterbridgefan
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Both do a fine job. The mastery is a sexy piece of work , but it comes down to what you want to pay.
Cagey
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I built a Jag for another member here that used the Mastery bridge. Fine piece of work. No issues with it at all. As jaguar/Jazzmaster bridges go, you can't do better. But, it's an expensive little rascal. However, the argument could be made that it's worth it since
A. It's finely machined out of good materials
B. It's adjustable to deal with any neck radius/string spacing
C. It fits very close, so you don't have the wobbly issues normal J/J bridges do
D. Everything else sucks
You'll still have the vibrato tailpiece to deal with, but there's no good solution there. You'll just have to live with it. However, I would recommend you buy the part Warmoth sells. The original Fender part is pure junk and doesn't fit well, if it fits at all. At least with the Warmoth part you can remove the spring and tighten the adjuster bolt to lock it so it's just there for appearance.
A. It's finely machined out of good materials
B. It's adjustable to deal with any neck radius/string spacing
C. It fits very close, so you don't have the wobbly issues normal J/J bridges do
D. Everything else sucks
You'll still have the vibrato tailpiece to deal with, but there's no good solution there. You'll just have to live with it. However, I would recommend you buy the part Warmoth sells. The original Fender part is pure junk and doesn't fit well, if it fits at all. At least with the Warmoth part you can remove the spring and tighten the adjuster bolt to lock it so it's just there for appearance.
alterbridgefan
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My favorite discussion! :cool01:
I think the jag/jm systems are commonly misunderstood. They aren't perfect, no argument there, but I would argue that they improved heavily upon the previous six point trems, or at least offered a very different feel.
Thing is, most of them suck because of a poor setup. Guys who get these guitars just assume the system is crap, so they don't even bother to set it up. Some of the unspeakable things that have been done to old offsets, simply because of a bad setup...
Damned doohickey's seen it's last...
Did I mention poor setups? :laughing7:
Thing is, Fender doesn't bother with a good setup on a low end instrument, and sometimes the higher end models as well. They sell the guitar to a shop that can make the thing sing or a big box store where it will be sold at a discount to some kid, to be played for a month before it's forgotten or broken or lost. Even in the 60's, Fender didn't know how to make these things playable. The Jags and Jazzy's were made with some weird, outside of the box attributes that make them a completely different beast from a strat or a tele.
A) First off, these things were made to be shimmed. People complain that they don't get enough sustain, or that the strings pop out of the saddles. BOTH of these problems can be fixed, simply SHIM THE NECK. It increases the tension put on the bridge, so that the bridge resonates with the body, and the strings stay firmly in place, whether you are using the stock bridge, the mustang bridge, or the mastery.
B) The trems. I will say up front, don't even bother if you want a huge range or floyd style dive bombs. The FENDER Jag trem has a lot going for it, though. It's high mass, unlike the allparts trem Cagey mentioned. The lock is very useful, and again misunderstood. It's meant for drop tuning without all the strings going out of tune. On most non locking trems, you have to adjust the tuning over and over just to adjust one string. The trem lock fixes that, so that you can effectively change tunings without having to adjust sympathetically. The trem lock can also effectively hardtail the instrument, as can removing the spring. It doesn't go out of tune nearly as poorly as an old strat, the complaints there are mostly uneducated BS.
C) The rocking bridge posts. They suck. Wrap them in tape. Nuff said.
These things are very polarizing instruments... You like them or you don't. But if you get a chance, try a couple of these fixes, and see if you still hate it.
:blob7:
I think the jag/jm systems are commonly misunderstood. They aren't perfect, no argument there, but I would argue that they improved heavily upon the previous six point trems, or at least offered a very different feel.
Thing is, most of them suck because of a poor setup. Guys who get these guitars just assume the system is crap, so they don't even bother to set it up. Some of the unspeakable things that have been done to old offsets, simply because of a bad setup...
Damned doohickey's seen it's last...
Did I mention poor setups? :laughing7:
Thing is, Fender doesn't bother with a good setup on a low end instrument, and sometimes the higher end models as well. They sell the guitar to a shop that can make the thing sing or a big box store where it will be sold at a discount to some kid, to be played for a month before it's forgotten or broken or lost. Even in the 60's, Fender didn't know how to make these things playable. The Jags and Jazzy's were made with some weird, outside of the box attributes that make them a completely different beast from a strat or a tele.
A) First off, these things were made to be shimmed. People complain that they don't get enough sustain, or that the strings pop out of the saddles. BOTH of these problems can be fixed, simply SHIM THE NECK. It increases the tension put on the bridge, so that the bridge resonates with the body, and the strings stay firmly in place, whether you are using the stock bridge, the mustang bridge, or the mastery.
B) The trems. I will say up front, don't even bother if you want a huge range or floyd style dive bombs. The FENDER Jag trem has a lot going for it, though. It's high mass, unlike the allparts trem Cagey mentioned. The lock is very useful, and again misunderstood. It's meant for drop tuning without all the strings going out of tune. On most non locking trems, you have to adjust the tuning over and over just to adjust one string. The trem lock fixes that, so that you can effectively change tunings without having to adjust sympathetically. The trem lock can also effectively hardtail the instrument, as can removing the spring. It doesn't go out of tune nearly as poorly as an old strat, the complaints there are mostly uneducated BS.
C) The rocking bridge posts. They suck. Wrap them in tape. Nuff said.
These things are very polarizing instruments... You like them or you don't. But if you get a chance, try a couple of these fixes, and see if you still hate it.
:blob7:
personally, I like the jaguar trem system. it's a very subtle thing, but it's "just enough", you know. if I wanted a Floyd type trem, I'd get a Floyd. I'm just looking at what my options are for the bridge, however. anyone have any experience with the Warmoth modified mustang bridge? I'd like to go with that one cause it's going to be about $140 cheaper in the long run...if spring rattle and saddles slipping isn't an issue, I could just wrap the posts with tape to keep the bridge from moving.
thanks for the tip about shimming the neck, however. I didn't know that.
ugh, I should have checked on this before ordering my body...would have went with a TOM bridge...or could I just use a TOM bridge?...
thanks for the tip about shimming the neck, however. I didn't know that.
ugh, I should have checked on this before ordering my body...would have went with a TOM bridge...or could I just use a TOM bridge?...
Pelagaard
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I've got the Modified bridge on my W bass vi, and the posing on the high E definitely gave me some buzzing at first. Thankfully, I was able to adjust it just enough without screwing up the intonation. I did however, remove the spring from the trem, essentially turning it into a TOM-ish setup.
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