Mastery Issues
- jmoss5347
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Mastery Issues
So I have had the mastery bridge on my AVRI Jazzmaster for a couple months now and I love it to death.. when its setup properly.
For some reason the intonation and the action keeps getting messed up after playing it for a little while. Its gotten to the point where I have to adjust something on the bridge at least once a week. I know its being setup right initially, I even brought it to a tech to make sure that it was setup correctly. So is this normal? How can I go about avoiding the constant bridge tweaking?
Thanks,
Jake
For some reason the intonation and the action keeps getting messed up after playing it for a little while. Its gotten to the point where I have to adjust something on the bridge at least once a week. I know its being setup right initially, I even brought it to a tech to make sure that it was setup correctly. So is this normal? How can I go about avoiding the constant bridge tweaking?
Thanks,
Jake
- PJazzmaster
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Re: Mastery Issues
I always had problems with my Mastery even if I fixed it with nailpolish or whatever. Especially after playing a lot or - even worse - during gigs . Ok, hard stuff like superglue does help but I saw ruined adjustment screws (on one Mastery which I bought 2nd hand) - because of glue - they were simply not adjustable anymore and I had to replace them.
I don't get the point that you need to fix a 170 dollar bridge with glue or nailpolish I don't worry too much about intonation ....but the action can be a real PITA.
Some people may have better suggestions but I'd recommend getting a Staytrem bridge
I don't get the point that you need to fix a 170 dollar bridge with glue or nailpolish I don't worry too much about intonation ....but the action can be a real PITA.
Some people may have better suggestions but I'd recommend getting a Staytrem bridge
- nacho_grande
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Re: Mastery Issues
Excuse my lack of knowledge. Is it possible to use Schaller Roller Bridge on a Jag or JM?
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- Puisheen
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Re: Mastery Issues
Hey, Jake!jmoss5347 wrote:So I have had the mastery bridge on my AVRI Jazzmaster for a couple months now and I love it to death.. when its setup properly.
For some reason the intonation and the action keeps getting messed up after playing it for a little while. Its gotten to the point where I have to adjust something on the bridge at least once a week. I know its being setup right initially, I even brought it to a tech to make sure that it was setup correctly. So is this normal? How can I go about avoiding the constant bridge tweaking?
Thanks,
Jake
Screws will rattle loose with play, which is totally normal for most anything that goes on a guitar. I've had that problem on some Mastery Bridges (I install about 3 per week at my shop) and I've even had that same problem on some Gibsons I own with TOM bridges. The solution? Just grab yourself a bottle of Loc-Tite blue. ONLY BLUE! Red is permanent.
Loc-Tite is like glue for metal, but the cool thing about the blue variety is that the seal it makes is breakable, so it isn't permanent. It essentially just gunks up the screws like 40 years of sweat might do, and helps the screws stay in place.
On Mastery Bridges, apply a little bit of that stuff to all of the saddle height adjustment screws, the post height adjustment screws, and even the intonation screws as I've had a few of those work loose recently. While it's still wet, adjust your height and intonation to taste, and let it dry. And don't worry about the blue color – it dries clear.
I use that stuff on EVERY guitar bridge I have, even Telecasters with newer brass saddles, and my settings don't change unless I want them to.
And just because a bridge costs $170 doesn't mean it's never going to work loose. I mean, many of us have spent $1700 on guitars that needed setups, adjustments of some kind...
- Guitarmunk
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Re: Mastery Issues
Maybe this info is useful ?
It may hold the screws where they belong :
http://www.webrocker.de/jaguar/cms/2012 ... /#more-518
It may hold the screws where they belong :
http://www.webrocker.de/jaguar/cms/2012 ... /#more-518
Fender Johnny Marr Jaguar + Fender Jazzmaster jpn + Fender Strat US + Pete Cornish P2 +TRex Møller + Pete Cornish SS2 + Boss volumepedal + Boss TR-2 + Boss FL-2 + EHX Small Clone + Boss DD-20+Boss RE-20+Strymon Bluesky+1966 Blackface Fender Bassman
- parry
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Re: Mastery Issues
Sorry, but yeah...
THIS.
If you don't mind tinkering with your Mastery every few days, loc-tite will work to stop it from self-adjusting - but it won't stop the rattle.
If you want to stop the rattle, you could always shrink-wrap the springs... but holy hell. Really?
THIS.
I've been playing the ever-loving piss out of my Staytrem(s - on both guitars) and it hasn't come loose, and it doesn't rattle.PJazzmaster wrote:I always had problems with my Mastery even if I fixed it with nailpolish or whatever. Especially after playing a lot or - even worse - during gigs . Ok, hard stuff like superglue does help but I saw ruined adjustment screws (on one Mastery which I bought 2nd hand) - because of glue - they were simply not adjustable anymore and I had to replace them.
I don't get the point that you need to fix a 170 dollar bridge with glue or nailpolish I don't worry too much about intonation ....but the action can be a real PITA.
Some people may have better suggestions but I'd recommend getting a Staytrem bridge
If you don't mind tinkering with your Mastery every few days, loc-tite will work to stop it from self-adjusting - but it won't stop the rattle.
If you want to stop the rattle, you could always shrink-wrap the springs... but holy hell. Really?
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- empyrean
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Re: Mastery Issues
Are you trying to tell me you'd rather spend $100 on a bridge that works perfectly, vs a $200 bridge that you need to shrink-wrap and loctite?parry wrote:
If you don't mind tinkering with your Mastery every few days, loc-tite will work to stop it from self-adjusting - but it won't stop the rattle.
If you want to stop the rattle, you could always shrink-wrap the springs... but holy hell. Really?
- nacho_grande
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Re: Mastery Issues
Staytrem website seems shut down:
Due to unforseen cicumstances we are unable to process any orders at the moment.
Thank you for your patience, any questions please email john@staytrem.com.
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- parry
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Re: Mastery Issues
In a perfect world, there would be a Staytrem v.2.0 that was a fixed bridge.
That was the ONE thing I liked about my Mastery, was that I didn't have to tape the bridge posts to lock it in to position.
Which reminds me... I was going to look in to getting some sort of shims made for that... hmmmmmmmmmm...
From what I gather, John is a one-man operation. He makes (or has made) the bridges and sells them. Once the bridges are sold, he shuts down the orders until the new bridges are in.
He does the same with his eBay acct.
It'll be back up in a week or so. That said, I bet he's going to be pretty darn swamped with orders for 1" Bass VI bridges in the near future
That was the ONE thing I liked about my Mastery, was that I didn't have to tape the bridge posts to lock it in to position.
Which reminds me... I was going to look in to getting some sort of shims made for that... hmmmmmmmmmm...
From what I gather, John is a one-man operation. He makes (or has made) the bridges and sells them. Once the bridges are sold, he shuts down the orders until the new bridges are in.
He does the same with his eBay acct.
It'll be back up in a week or so. That said, I bet he's going to be pretty darn swamped with orders for 1" Bass VI bridges in the near future
Fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity.
- starmaster
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Re: Mastery Issues
This was a pretty giant problem for me. I was touring and my main guitar has a mastery on it. After about 15-20 minutes things would start to slip. It was the bridge on a Bilt Zaftig.
Not knowing much about Mastery I reached out to the Bilt guys to see if anyone had that issue, and he told me it was kind of hit or miss, but the reasoning was that the screws were the only parts that were outsourced, and that led to inconsistencies... this was about 2 months ago.
I was told they were aware of the issue, and because of that were going to start machining their own screws.
Luckily I sweat an unreasonable amount, and after a few weeks everything started to... hold a little better.
I do think they are amazing bridges, but I can agree with the sentiment that a specialized, and fairly simple, piece of hardware shouldn't fail at its fundamental function. The feel, intonation, etc... all change on a dime when the screws that hold things in place give up - and I actually kept the hex key on my amp so I could make quick adjustments in the middle of the set.
Not knowing much about Mastery I reached out to the Bilt guys to see if anyone had that issue, and he told me it was kind of hit or miss, but the reasoning was that the screws were the only parts that were outsourced, and that led to inconsistencies... this was about 2 months ago.
I was told they were aware of the issue, and because of that were going to start machining their own screws.
Luckily I sweat an unreasonable amount, and after a few weeks everything started to... hold a little better.
I do think they are amazing bridges, but I can agree with the sentiment that a specialized, and fairly simple, piece of hardware shouldn't fail at its fundamental function. The feel, intonation, etc... all change on a dime when the screws that hold things in place give up - and I actually kept the hex key on my amp so I could make quick adjustments in the middle of the set.
- jacobyjd
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Re: Mastery Issues
Blue Loctite did it for me. I think it would be a good move for them to apply it before shipping new bridges. It would be a cheap improvement that would make a lot of customers happy.
- percnon
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Re: Mastery Issues
Loctite on the screws, vaseline in the thimbles to stop the posts rattling against them. After that it's all good.
- Guitarmunk
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Re: Mastery Issues
I have Straytrem, I think it's the best solution.
No screws are moving and i'm playing on my Jazzmaster every day.
No screws are moving and i'm playing on my Jazzmaster every day.
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- Jaguar018
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Re: Mastery Issues
How could one set up their Mastery to the desired heights if they came pre-glued?jacobyjd wrote:I think it would be a good move for them to apply it before shipping new bridges. It would be a cheap improvement that would make a lot of customers happy.
- andy_tchp
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Re: Mastery Issues
The blue stuff is only medium strength, and still allows for adjustment of the fasteners even after it has cured.Jaguar018 wrote:How could one set up their Mastery to the desired heights if they came pre-glued?jacobyjd wrote:I think it would be a good move for them to apply it before shipping new bridges. It would be a cheap improvement that would make a lot of customers happy.
EDIT: Interesting to read above that they'll be machining their own fasteners to get around this issue(!) Gotta say I love their approach to maintaining (or improving) standards/quality of their products.
Last edited by andy_tchp on Fri Jul 05, 2013 5:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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