Mustang Build.

[Cagey]

On a down note the whammy sucks.  It never returns to a "home" position unless you give it a slight tug up.

I'm not surprised. Those vibrato tailpieces are a cruel joke. Ol' Leo must've been snot-slingin' drunk when he designed that thing. Hardtail is definitely the way to go, unless you wanna do some serious woodworking.

 

[Logrinn]

Right now this Mustang rocks and the short scale is very cool to play. 

:headbang:

 

[dmraco]

I love this series wiring option.  Kind of gives a Brian May type growl!

 

[Day-mun]

Sorry about the sucky trem, man. When I got KG's link for Faction Guitars and their hardtail conversion plate, I had already ordered that body's replacement routed for the tornado bridge.

I was really hoping someone more patient and skilled than I could and would figure out how to set up and tune (or tame) that trem tail-piece.

The good news is that the conversion is only fifty bucks; the bad news is it is fifty more bucks on top of what anyone wanted to spend (or has already spent in either of our cases).  :-\

 

[Cagey]

the bad news is it is fifty more bucks on top of what anyone wanted to spend (or has already spent in either of our cases).  :-\

Doesn't matter. It's a project now. Money is no object  :laughing7:

 

[dmraco]

Sorry about the sucky trem, man. When I got KG's link for Faction Guitars and their hardtail conversion plate, I had already ordered that body's replacement routed for the tornado bridge.

I was really hoping someone more patient and skilled than I could and would figure out how to set up and tune (or tame) that trem tail-piece.

The good news is that the conversion is only fifty bucks; the bad news is it is fifty more bucks on top of what anyone wanted to spend (or has already spent in either of our cases).  :-\

Dude....not your fault.    It is the fender design.  Think of it as Fender's Bigsby!  I love the look of it.  I am going to mess with it a bit to see if I can add some stability.  The main problem is it does not return of same position all the time.  You have to tug up on the bar for it to do so.  there must be 100+ videos on this bridge.  there is even this one that does not require extra parts.

[youtube]ZdnQCBmDMV4[/youtube]

I have to check the spring tension and also wrap the poles on the bridge. 

One a positive the bridge is awesome.  I love the micro adjustments for the strings on the saddles.  Suck a simple and effective design.

 

[Cagey]

there must be 100+ videos on this bridge. 

Proof that hope springs eternal. But, reality bites. It's a bum design. If you want a reliable neutral that'll maintain tune with that tailpiece you're gonna have to get out the mig welder.

 

[Day-mun]

Tighter & stronger springs seem like they would help the situation(?)...  wonder if anyone is peddling sets of those. :icon_scratch:

 

[Cagey]

The spring has to balance against the strings, so there's a range of tension/compression the spring has to fall in. Then, there's only one of them, which is part of the problem. But, what's really wrong is the way the string anchor pivots. Too much friction and too irregular a surface for lubricants to be of any help. The amount of machine work and metal treatment needed to fix it would be prohibitively expensive, and you'd still have the spring problem.

 

[dmraco]

I messed with the bridge for a few hours today.  I must have had the bridge on and off 10 times.  I messed with the spring tension, height of the bar, you name it.  It would never return to "home base."

So hard tail it is.  I will leave the whammy work to my Floyds and Khalers! 

It cost be whopping 88 cents.  I even used lock washers as you know how I like to go 110%.  I reversed the bar and it now strings like a tom stop system, from the back.  I like this set up because it retains 99% of the look of the mustang.  I also wrapped the pole pieces on the bridge to stop the wobble.  I figure electrical tap would work fine.  I tried copper shielding tape but you had to wrap too many time and it was really hard to work with.  the bridge is very solid now with no more back and fourth than a normal ton-stop set up.

I saved the springs and stock bolts so it can go back to a trem very easily for the new owner.

Time to string her up!

 

[BigSteve22]

Very nice job, and a great work around. Can't wait to see it installed and strung up. Hard tail is definitely the way go!  :icon_thumright:

 

[Day-mun]

I second Big Steve's comments.

And I don't care whatcha say, I still feel a bit bad about pawnin' off that tail-piece on you guys. Glad you found a way to make it work! It was cheap and is going to look legit, too; a great solution!

 

[dmraco]

I still feel a bit bad about pawnin' off that tail-piece on you guys.

No worries.  It was A FENDER piece of poor design....kinda like the Corvair...unsafe and any speed! :laughing3: :laughing11: :laughing7:

I am sure it was BETTER than anything else on the market of similar design...and it looks DAMN cool! :rock-on: