Mastery bridge-- worth it?

[Larry Mal]

Well, no, the saddles are angled. Think of a bridge on an acoustic.

[mackerelmint]

Well, no, the saddles are angled. Think of a bridge on an acoustic.

Yeah, they're angled, but that doesn't put things in the right place, necessarily. I'm anal about intonation. I hate the bridges on acoustic guitars. When I think of them, I frown. Then I think about the mustache kind and I'm kind of happy again for a minute, but then I think about them pulling up off the soundboard and I'm sad again.

[saxjag]

Yeah, they're angled, but that doesn't put things in the right place, necessarily. I'm anal about intonation.

Not saying you're wrong, mackerel, but in my experience the Mastery saddles' two axes of adjustment (forward/back and up/down) provide sufficient range of control to intonate correctly.

You'll only know for sure if you try it on your own guitar. If after all the Mastery bridge really doesn't work out for you, any number of eager buyers will offer to take it off your hands at full cost, simply to avoid the wait.

[Larry Mal]

Yeah, I don't know. Like I say, my intonation was good right off the bat. I didn't need to adjust anything.

I don't get too weird about it, though. If the open note and the 12th fret agree, and a few notes that I play around the neck are in tune on my little guitar tuner, then I consider the intonation to be done. It's a guitar, it's never perfectly in tune no matter what you do. Plus we all use tempered tunings so things are a little out of tune due to that as well.

In short, there's no "perfect tuning", and no one listening to any music cares about an instrument being perfectly in tune, so why do I?

The Mastery bridge is more than adequate to good intonation with the notable exception of the possibility of a wound G string (which still might be OK, I don't know). And the sonic benefits of it are so worth it that I've really got nothing but good things to say about it.

[Salome]

I didn't. Just as one must bear in mind scale length when wanting to put a jag neck on a jazzmaster, I recalled my geometry lessons and decided it was a lost cause. What do you mean by "staggered"? Like zigzagged? Or just a very steep angle? There's nothing about the construction of any bridge with two saddles for six strings that I can imagine compensating for it. It's simply points on a line, and if one point doesn't fall on that line, then it simply doesn't fall on that line...

By staggered I meant that I had to use the saddle screws on the back of the bridge to lower the position of the A string saddle so the if you drew a line connecting the E A and D string saddles it would look like a V, but with the Mastery bridge the tuning and intonation was great. I am not a perfectionist when it comes to intonation though. I want the tuning to be as consistent as possible across the frets and I don't want buzzing from the frets or the bridge. With the Mastery I get all that as well as more sustain and harmonic overtones. IMHO it's worth it.

[mackerelmint]

By staggered I meant that I had to use the saddle screws on the back of the bridge to lower the position of the A string saddle so the if you drew a line connecting the E A and D string saddles it would look like a V, but with the Mastery bridge the tuning and intonation was great. I am not a perfectionist when it comes to intonation though. I want the tuning to be as consistent as possible across the frets and I don't want buzzing from the frets or the bridge. With the Mastery I get all that as well as more sustain and harmonic overtones. IMHO it's worth it.

Ah, ok. Sounds odd, but I don't disbelieve you. I suppose it's a matter of how far off the line the A string is and how anal one is about intonation. In my case, it's "pretty dang far" and "quite". I've gone back and forth several times about the mastery; I have one JM with a fixed bridge and I love the effect it has on sustain and the overtones produced behind the bridge. The sound of it is extremely focused and lively. I'm not a heavy handed player, so the saddle depth isn't a selling point for me, and I haven't had tuning issues with the rocking bridge either. So for me it's a tradeoff between being in tune and the added resonance. fortunately for me, though, staytrem caved to the demand for a fixed bridge and started making post bushings you can just stick on there to lock it in place. People report a huge boost in resonance, and it's only a few dollars if I decide to order them... so a mastery is just not in the works for me personally because that compromise isn't necessary anymore. Really, I just wanted to chime in that as good a bridge as it is, it's not gonna do the job for everyone and that may or may not include the OP.

[Larry Mal]

I would go for the Staytrem bridge and might if I knew that those thimbles were available and working. It's the only thing that stops me from ordering one.

That being said, though, I still hold that having three strings per saddle is a good thing, it's going to increase resonance and eliminate the need for a shim completely. I think it's a good design, I like having barrel saddles on my Telecasters too for that reason.

So I'd still give the edge to Mastery, but at $80 more? Maybe I'll put a StayTrem on my Japanese Jazzmaster and that'll be good on there.

[mackerelmint]

^^^The price is another thing. Machining those saddles takes some doing and isn't cheap.

So one pays more for what may end up striking the buyer as a drawback. But it's very true that you can flip it in no time and not take a bath on it, so at least it's not risky!

[Larry Mal]

I have, right now, two Firebirds, an ES330, two Jazzmasters, a Les Paul Studio, a Les Paul Jr. (you might have heard) and a Melody Maker, two Telecasters and a Jaguar, all of which have replacement bridges. All of those bridges cost at least $60, most cost more. I simply can't tolerate shitty bridges.

The only ones I don't feel a need to replace are the ones on my basses, two of which are G&L and one MusicMan Stingray. Both of those companies have wonderful bridges, I can't think of any way to make them any better at any price. I also have a G&L Legacy, which is my only electric guitar with the stock bridge. Again, G&L takes bridges very seriously.

I only mention this because, while it's a shame that Fender and Gibson use such bad bridges, the situation is what it is. In for a penny, in for a pound and all that... but the fact is, if you want to realize the fullest extent of what your Fender is, especially an offset, you'll have to replace that bridge.

[mackerelmint]

I have, right now, two Firebirds, an ES330, two Jazzmasters, a Les Paul Studio, a Les Paul Jr. (you might have heard) and a Melody Maker, two Telecasters and a Jaguar, all of which have replacement bridges. All of those bridges cost at least $60, most cost more. I simply can't tolerate shitty bridges.

The only ones I don't feel a need to replace are the ones on my basses, two of which are G&L and one MusicMan Stingray. Both of those companies have wonderful bridges, I can't think of any way to make them any better at any price. I also have a G&L Legacy, which is my only electric guitar with the stock bridge. Again, G&L takes bridges very seriously.

I only mention this because, while it's a shame that Fender and Gibson use such bad bridges, the situation is what it is. In for a penny, in for a pound and all that... but the fact is, if you want to realize the fullest extent of what your Fender is, especially an offset, you'll have to replace that bridge.

Yeah. I don't think the importance of a good bridge can be overstated. My next offset is probably going to be a jag, and I'm probably going to use that one to try the "staytrem with metal bushings" on. I *could* use the stock bridge I have sitting around for the build, but why on earth would I want to? I know some people scratch their heads when someone puts an expensive piece of hardware on a cheap instrument, but man! The difference can be well worth it. I have a cheap SX bass, and I don't really play it enough to justify expensive mods, but that babicz bass bridge looks awfully nice, and people have good things to say...

[Funny Vibe]

I'm modding a Squier VM Jazzmaster right now and everyone keeps telling me I should put a
Mastery bridge on it. I have a Fender American Vintage Jazzmaster as well which I outfitted with mustang saddles and a buzzstop, which work just fine. I was going to do the same to the Squier, unless there is a solid argument in favor of dropping $250 on a Mastery bridge. What will this bridge do that the new saddles and buzzstop won't, and is it really worth the hefty price tag?

Not worth it. Mustang saddles and buzzstop, as you mentioned, works just fine. And I think it sounds better to.
There is mustang bridges with hight adjustment on the saddles. They are great!

[adamrobertt]

The Buzzstop is unnecessary and really ruins the character of the guitar. It's not too hard to get a JM or Jag set up well with just a Mustang bridge. Shim the neck and raise the bridge up a little bit and put some .11s on there. You'll be good.

[Larry Mal]

The Buzzstop is a piece of shit. I don't know why anyone would use it.

I also have no idea why anyone would use saddles with height adjustment screws if they don't need it... and since StayTrem makes bridges that are fixed for what is pretty much both of Fender's radii on the offsets, there's just no reason to add that complication.

[Funny Vibe]

The Buzzstop is a piece of shit. I don't know why anyone would use it.

I also have no idea why anyone would use saddles with height adjustment screws if they don't need it... and since StayTrem makes bridges that are fixed for what is pretty much both of Fender's radii on the offsets, there's just no reason to add that complication.

You don't have to know. The peaople who uses it knows. The buzzstop i great if youre any kind of lead player. And not all like the fender radii.

[adamrobertt]

I don't see how the buzzstop has anything to do with lead playing. If anything, the buzzstop would most noticeably improve rhythm playing, but it's a pretty big compromise as it ruins the action of the tremolo and negates the behind the bridge resonances. Also, the bridge radius should match the neck radius. If you don't like the Fender radius, then get a custom guitar with a flatter neck or just buy a Gibson and be done with it...