How hard is installing a mastery bridge?

[mackerelmint]

You know, a couple of years ago if you'd started up a brigade of "mastery bridges can't intonate" wags, I'd have been the one out front waving the flag, because I'm extremely picky about that sort of thing.

And while it's true that it doesn't intonate as accurately as something with 6 saddles, it's also true that it's so close that my picky ass doesn't care. They're not really my first choice for a couple of reasons, but they're damn good bridges nonetheless, as I found when Larry lent me one of his to try. There's really no big reason to regret buying one, that's for sure.

[PJazzmaster]

Do I think the Mastery is the best bridge on the market? I totally don't. I think it got a rep for that because it was the ONLY thing on the market.

+1 ... xactly, they were the first to come up with a brand new design. So Hat's off. New design combined with very good marketing from the very beginning (remember the 50 years of Jazzmaster anniversary event), so early "famous" endorsements + some additional hype caused by waiting lists (due to high demand and relatively small production batches at the beginning) +the hype created here on OSG (but for good reasons)

Everyone here is 100% right that I am just one anonymous dude on the internet that feels the Mastery is way too much money for the limitations it still comes with. (Plus I just think the Staytrem looks better).

+1 I would not recommend mastery bridges anymore to anyone who is playing live a lot and who isn't used to do regular bridge adjustments on his or her own. Having a random guitar tech fixing a (to him unknown) bridge to a certain radius with loctite or whatever can't be the right solution... or, to be precise: it wouldn't work for me, long term, having different string gauges from time to time etc.
btw: Loctite or transparent nailpolish is a no go for me for fixing them, after seeing fucked up adjustment screws. The screws became unuseable because of too much loctite (causing the screws to wear out when someone actually wanted to adjust them after someone has fixed the radius before ). This was the case with a Mastery bridge that I got used on this forum.

Ok, I own 2 of them, still, I can handle them, and yes, probably a bit more sustain than Staytrem bridges will give you, but my real workhorse guitars are better off with Staytrems... (less trouble)
my 2 cents...

Edit: I don't want to turn anyone off. But whoever gets a Mastery should really learn how to use it and how to adjust it properly. That's a good thing basically.. as a proper understanding will help anyone with adjusting basically all types of guitar bridges And if not, it's resale value is always good

[j mascis]

I have a Gretsch with a bar bridge, and the intonation is perfect. IMO a lot of intonation is due to the quality of the neck and such. This Gretsch is pricey with a pristine neck and it intonates perfectly with just a bar bridge. That's just been my experience. On my cheaper guitars they don't intonate as well even with individual saddles.

Regarding the Mastery, when you speak about setting it up and using it properly, what do you mean? The bridge goes up and down to set break angle/action, and then the saddles move forward or back for intonation -- what else is there? The radius? Yeah I imagine that can be tricky.

What concerns me a little is the string spacing fixed at 52mm. This seems the case on both bridges mentioned. I'm not sure where they came up with that number (distance to get strings off the sides of the fretboard?), or if the strings bending inward makes the intonation more a pain.

Regarding tone, does the Mastery brighten the guitar? That's the last thing I'd want. How does the Staytrem affect tone?

[Johnny Alien]

IMO the strings spacing is much better with the Mastery and Staytrem then the stock bridge or the Mustang bridge. A Mustang bridge brings the strings too close to the edge of the fretboard.

[shoule79]

My Mastery was a breeze to setup. I just dropped it in and tweaked the height and intonation. My radius was even set to 7.25. I found it similar to a traditional tele.

The big advantage to the mastery is stopping bridge movement when using the trem. That was the only issue a mustang bridge and loctite couldn't solve. I'm not afraid to dive bomb and touch my bar to the pick guard now, knowing that it will always come back to the right pitch.

I don't think I'm ever going to not use a mastery at this point.

[j mascis]

My Mastery was a breeze to setup. I just dropped it in and tweaked the height and intonation. My radius was even set to 7.25. I found it similar to a traditional tele.

The big advantage to the mastery is stopping bridge movement when using the trem. That was the only issue a mustang bridge and loctite couldn't solve. I'm not afraid to dive bomb and touch my bar to the pick guard now, knowing that it will always come back to the right pitch.

I don't think I'm ever going to not use a mastery at this point.

Cool.

Are you a heavy tremolo user? I am, and I don't know what is best for wild swings ala Kevin Shields/Me (J Mascis), floating or non-floating bridge. The mastery doesn't float at all, right? So can you get wild on the tremolo? I guess I'm a bit confused what happens if you do on a Mastery that doesn't move...the strings just expand and contract?

I don't really understand any of these bridges so I'm relying on the internet.

[shoule79]

I'm a heavy trem user. I was skeptical of the fixed bridge at first, but I find it more stable after a year of using it.

The strings just move over the saddles instead of with them.

It does feel a bit different, but nothing extreme, it's still a JM.

The mastery is worth it.

[j mascis]

Cools, thanks.

So the strings must expand and contract then. Seems like using the Mastery would result in more frequent string changes?

I asked my luthier about the Mastery today, and he said, "There are much better options on the market now." and I said, "Like what?", and he didn't answer then went on to another subject. It was weird. He doesn't seem to like jazzmasters or the mastery and called it all "flawed hardware" haha.

I canceled my order for the bridge. Looks like I need to research all this more.

[Larry Mal]

Damn, man...

[shoule79]

My luthier shot my JM attitude too. Indifference to them is why I started doing most of the work on mine myself. He eventually did some work on it and ended up posting a write up about how much he loved the tone on his site (he still slammed the stock bridge).

[PJazzmaster]

My luthier shot my JM attitude too. Indifference to them is why I started doing most of the work on mine myself. He eventually did some work on it and ended up posting a write up about how much he loved the tone on his site (he still slammed the stock bridge).

That's why said earlier in this thread:

Having a random guitar tech fixing a (to him unknown) bridge to a certain radius with loctite or whatever can't be the right solution.

whoever gets a Mastery should really learn how to use it and how to adjust it properly. That's a good thing basically.. as a proper understanding will help anyone with adjusting basically all types of guitar bridges

[j mascis]

My luthier shot my JM attitude too. Indifference to them is why I started doing most of the work on mine myself. He eventually did some work on it and ended up posting a write up about how much he loved the tone on his site (he still slammed the stock bridge).

Yeah, smart. I'm trying to get up to speed so I can do everything.

He's a Fender/Gretsch dealer yet had 0 jazzmasters, and I asked what he plays, and he said a Les Paul...

He's a good luthier, and on one level i get why he hates JMs. They're can be finicky to deal with. I wish he told me why he hates the Mastery bridge and what better alternatives there are. He had a Magnificent7 JM with the bigsby on it and was talking about that bridge (I think it's a TOM) on there. Maybe he thinks that's better. Maybe he's caught in the past a bit with bridges. He's a good luthier but might not be up to date.

I'll probably reorder the Mastery after doing some more research. Kind of jumped into it based on their reputation with players i like and didn't know alternatives existed.

[sunburster]

IMO the strings spacing is much better with the Mastery and Staytrem then the stock bridge or the Mustang bridge. A Mustang bridge brings the strings too close to the edge of the fretboard.

I understand your complaint in regard to the Mustang bridge, but string spacing on the stock bridge is completely customizable to whatever you want (one of the best things about the bridge), in comparison to Staytrem and Mastery which have "set" spacing.

[shoule79]

My luthier shot my JM attitude too. Indifference to them is why I started doing most of the work on mine myself. He eventually did some work on it and ended up posting a write up about how much he loved the tone on his site (he still slammed the stock bridge).

Yeah, smart. I'm trying to get up to speed so I can do everything.

He's a Fender/Gretsch dealer yet had 0 jazzmasters, and I asked what he plays, and he said a Les Paul...

He's a good luthier, and on one level i get why he hates JMs. They're can be finicky to deal with. I wish he told me why he hates the Mastery bridge and what better alternatives there are. He had a Magnificent JM with the bigsby on it and was talking about that bridge (I think it's a TOM) on there. Maybe he thinks that's better. Maybe he's caught in the past a bit with bridges. He's a good luthier but might not be up to date.

I'll probably reorder the Mastery after doing some more research. Kind of jumped into it based on their reputation with players i like and didn't know alternatives existed.

FWIW I showed my guy the mastery and he loved it. He's a tele/LP guy.

You could always start out small with an adjustable mustang bridge (fender and warmth make them), see if you like that general design then move up to a Staytrem or mastery. The rocking, or lack thereof is the main reason why I went mastery. But heck, I made the stock bridge work for a decade too.

[Larry Mal]

He had a Magnificent JM with the bigsby on it and was talking about that bridge (I think it's a TOM) on there.

A Bigsby for fucks sake...