J Mascis JM Staytrem woes

[thehta]

Last year I bought a J Masics JM. It came with an ABM bridge which was put on as a mod.

I eventually got my Staytrem bridge in the post recently. I got a conversion kit from eBay to make it work with the JMJM.

When I installed the bridge it is sticking up way too much and no matter what I do I can’t get it to sit low to the strings.

I think when the original owner put the ABM bridge on, he changed the bridge thimbles to accommodate it.

Which leads me to the problem of what to do now.

Should I just stick to the ABM bridge?

Or is there a way I can persevere and get the staytrem to work?

Thanks!

[tqi]

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[MayTheFuzzBeWithYou]

There has been a thread about it (started s long time ago)
But still going…
Jazz/jag/stang-o-matic

And there has been this Video maybe give this a try?

For your concrete situation: pictures might help (us) to see where your problem might be.

What does the kit include? And what is/was on there?

You seem to be new here, so: welcome thetha!
I‘ve learned a lot here and hope you will too!

*For inserting pics you need a photo-storing account (imgur/imgbb etc) - upload your pic and copy the bbc code in herr (it will then ask if you want to drop a link or an image(!) - do this akd it should work. It is a hassle I know. But you‘ll get used to it.

[eternal learner]

I did the same mod to my Mascis recently after seeing the YouTube clip linked above. I didnt use a genuine Staytrem, I have those in two mij Jazzmasters, but for the Mascis found a pretty good copy of a Staytrem, 9.5" radius and 52mm E to E. So fitting it I tried the springs as suggested but gave up on those and went with ladies nail polish on the threads of the "grub screws", that prevents them falling into the body. In setting the heights it was a case of trial and error adjusting the grub screws and the bridge height adjustors, only when I achieved a happy balance I took it out and then applied the nail polish to the threads, it doesn't lock the screws in as such but keeps them from going either way unless you turn them with an Allen key. Pretty easy job and the result is that it looks more like a Jazzmaster, I couldn't categorically say one bridge sounds better than the other, I had previously tried a cheapo roller bridge but that sounded noticeably less than good, so went back to the tune o matic which I reckon gives a good sound, but for using the whammy arm maybe not so good, hence the replica Staytrem.

[B.T.]

Shim the neck!

And also, pics or it didnt happen. More seriously, it's difficult to understand the scale of the problem without seeing it.

Yep shim the neck or if the depth of the thimbles are too short get standard size and… shim the neck!

[B.T.]

the replica Staytrem.

Where does one get such bridges? And do they have a fixed bushings as feature? I have a Staytrem on my JM but it didn’t some with them and I asked John at ST and he said he might make them again in the future but not anytime soon.

[andy_tchp]

the replica Staytrem.

Where does one get such bridges?

No such thing

They meant "Mustang bridge".

[B.T.]

the replica Staytrem.

Where does one get such bridges?

No such thing

They meant "Mustang bridge".

Ahh yes. I was thinking there must be something new out there. Thanks!

[Abandoneur]

I don't understand the need for the springs or nail polish ... if you purchase the recommended set/grub screws, they simply thread in and the stock JMJM thimbles are threaded all the way to the bottom, which means they can't "fall to the bottom." What am I missing?

[eternal learner]

the replica Staytrem.

Where does one get such bridges? And do they have a fixed bushings as feature? I have a Staytrem on my JM but it didn’t some with them and I asked John at ST and he said he might make them again in the future but not anytime soon.

The bridge I put in my Mascis was from eyGuitar, it is a Mustang style bridge 9.5" radius and importantly 52mm e to e. By memory less than half the price of the UK made Staytrem. It is not set with fixed bushings but rather as a floating bridge think that's what it's called. I have wrapped some alum tape to reduce the rocking motion and will likely wrap it some more, but happy for now. If you go to the video that someone else has kindly linked the video gives a fairly clear idea of how to go about it, he uses M8 (by memory) grub screws with a hex head, these screw straight into the threaded insert in the Mascis where the t.o.m. posts normally screw into. Again the bloke in the video gave a length that he used, I went with that, but as another poster here makes a point and that is if you worked out the best specific length and bottomed it the you wouldn't have to mess with springs or sponge or my method of nail polish to hold the grub screw in a chosen position that works for you when adjusting the small height adjustor screws within the bridge. If this sounds a little confusing and you cant visualise it, watch through the video a couple times and it starts to make sense. I did fit a 1deg. tapered shim to this guitar but it wasn't necessary.

[eternal learner]

I don't understand the need for the springs or nail polish ... if you purchase the recommended set/grub screws, they simply thread in and the stock JMJM thimbles are threaded all the way to the bottom, which means they can't "fall to the bottom." What am I missing?

Yeah, as I explained in my post above, the bloke in the vid stated a particular length of grub screw that he went with, but as he said you can experiment with longer or shorter. The Mascis threaded posts do not go to the bottom of the hole they sit in, there is a significant gap so that if you used too short a grub screw you would lose the grub screw into a hole of wider diameter than that of the "permanently" threaded standard post, if this happened you'd have some fun getting it out. So my solution on the day was the cheap nail polish that allows the grub screw to be adjusted with an Allen key but won't move of it's own accord or vibration. One day when im in the mood I'll take it out do some measurements and order longer grub screws that can be wound down to the timber and I won't have to explain my fetish with nail polish again!

[tqi]

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[GilmourD]

Last year I bought a J Masics JM. It came with an ABM bridge which was put on as a mod.

I eventually got my Staytrem bridge in the post recently. I got a conversion kit from eBay to make it work with the JMJM.

When I installed the bridge it is sticking up way too much and no matter what I do I can’t get it to sit low to the strings.

I think when the original owner put the ABM bridge on, he changed the bridge thimbles to accommodate it.

Which leads me to the problem of what to do now.

Should I just stick to the ABM bridge?

Or is there a way I can persevere and get the staytrem to work?

Thanks!

So, I just want to make sure there's some clarity on this so we know what we're working with.

When you say "ABM" bridge do you mean a Tune-O-Matic (or, as Fender calls it, Adjust-O-Matic)?

If that is the case, you're probably looking at the bridge that the Mascis left the factory with. Here's the image of the guitar off Fender's site.



If you mean something else... Could you please post some pictures? May also help us figure out what the current state of the guitar is with the Staytrem bridge height issues (which probably requires some shimming to change the neck angle).

If you have trouble posting pics, I often recommend imgur.com as it's easy to literally copy and paste images into your account from a web browser or uploading via the mobile app. Then you could use the BBCode share link and paste that in your post.

[Abandoneur]

I don't understand the need for the springs or nail polish ... if you purchase the recommended set/grub screws, they simply thread in and the stock JMJM thimbles are threaded all the way to the bottom, which means they can't "fall to the bottom." What am I missing?

Yeah, as I explained in my post above, the bloke in the vid stated a particular length of grub screw that he went with, but as he said you can experiment with longer or shorter. The Mascis threaded posts do not go to the bottom of the hole they sit in, there is a significant gap so that if you used too short a grub screw you would lose the grub screw into a hole of wider diameter than that of the "permanently" threaded standard post, if this happened you'd have some fun getting it out. So my solution on the day was the cheap nail polish that allows the grub screw to be adjusted with an Allen key but won't move of it's own accord or vibration. One day when im in the mood I'll take it out do some measurements and order longer grub screws that can be wound down to the timber and I won't have to explain my fetish with nail polish again!

hmm, well, my stock JMJM has thimbles which are threaded all the way to the bottom and I did this exact mod (via the video you linked) using the recommended thread size grub screws and -- on account of my thimbles being threaded the bottom -- had no need for springs, nail polish, etc.

This makes me wonder if the various releases of the JMJM might have had a thimble change.

[B.T.]

the replica Staytrem.

Where does one get such bridges? And do they have a fixed bushings as feature? I have a Staytrem on my JM but it didn’t some with them and I asked John at ST and he said he might make them again in the future but not anytime soon.

The bridge I put in my Mascis was from eyGuitar, it is a Mustang style bridge 9.5" radius and importantly 52mm e to e. By memory less than half the price of the UK made Staytrem.

I see. Is it part # JM-37027 on their site? I see they also have 7.25" radius available also which is cool.