Trying a Staytrem in lieu of a Mastery

[series-parallel]

So, just to add to the billions of pages on the subject...

I ordered a Staytrem bridge for my Thinskin JM after experiencing some of the dreaded Mastery (which has been on the guitar almost since the day I got it) "sink" following a rehearsal. So, it showed up yesterday and I popped it in. Only problem I encountered was that I did not have the usual set of strings I put on the JM, so I had to sub for a slightly heavier set. I've got more of my usual set on the way, and will throw those on when they show up and see if my initial impression changes. But in the meantime, I think I'm getting a pretty good read on the differences between the Staytrem and the Mastery.

1) In general, the Staytrem is a bit fatter and rounder, whereas the Mastery is a bit leaner and "stringier", for lack of a better term. Unplugged, the guitar also sounds a pinch louder with the Staytrem. Plugged in, the high-end seems to be dialed back a touch with the Staytrem and it sounds a touch drier to my ears, though this may be the slightly fatter strings. In terms of sustain, I was really impressed with what the Mastery added to the guitar and I'm not quite getting the same smooth, "float-y" decay with the Staytrem.

2) The pre-set radius on the Staytrem is spot on and solves what had been a big headache for me, and while I haven't done a true set-up the intonation was basically dialed in right from the start. BUT...I can't seem to get the action right where I like with the Staytrem; I'm still messing around with it. Again, this may be due to the slightly different gauge I'm temporarily using, so I'll revisit this.

3) The Staytrem floats, whereas the Mastery's thicker studs don't offer a whole lot of corresponding movement (mine still moves back and forth a tiny bit). I really like the way the Staytrem moves with the bar; it makes vibrato work sounds much cushier, vice the stiffer feel (at least in my setup) of the Mastery.

So, once I get my normal gauge on there I'll give it another runthrough. At first, I wasn't terribly impressed with the Staytrem tonally, but after giving everything a couple of hours to settle I'm starting to dig what I hear. It's definitely a great-looking, solid piece of gear and I really dig how dialed-in and un-finicky it was from the get-go.

[Laservampire]

Got a Staytrem coming in the mail for my AVRI thin skin Jag very soon. I really don't dig the styling of the Mastery, it looks like modern low profile rims on a classic 60s car.

[Grigori]

3) The Staytrem floats, whereas the Mastery's thicker studs don't offer a whole lot of corresponding movement (mine still moves back and forth a tiny bit). I really like the way the Staytrem moves with the bar; it makes vibrato work sounds much cushier, vice the stiffer feel (at least in my setup) of the Mastery.

That, right there, is why I went for a Staytrem as well (based on reports here, that is; haven't fully assembled my Partsmaster yet). Descriptions of the Mastery make it sound to me more like a Strat-style vibrato; if I want that, I'll play my Strat. The punchy, less-sustainy quality of the offset vibrato is, for me, the whole reason to play one in the first place.

[adamrobertt]

I've tried both and the Staytrem is hands down the winner for me. I was satisfied with a Mustang bridge for awhile but the Staytrem makes a noticeable improvement in playability and feel as well as reducing buzz.

[series-parallel]

3) The Staytrem floats, whereas the Mastery's thicker studs don't offer a whole lot of corresponding movement (mine still moves back and forth a tiny bit). I really like the way the Staytrem moves with the bar; it makes vibrato work sounds much cushier, vice the stiffer feel (at least in my setup) of the Mastery.

That, right there, is why I went for a Staytrem as well (based on reports here, that is; haven't fully assembled my Partsmaster yet). Descriptions of the Mastery make it sound to me more like a Strat-style vibrato; if I want that, I'll play my Strat. The punchy, less-sustainy quality of the offset vibrato is, for me, the whole reason to play one in the first place.

The floating bridge was something I definitely didn't appreciate at first, but bringing that behavior back to my JM has really changed the way I use the bar now.

Still find myself digging the Staytrem. I'm definitely looking forward to getting my actual string set on there. I don't want to go in and start making adjustments to the truss rod or intonation (though as I said before it's pretty close already) until I get those on there, but judging from how things are going so far it's looking good for the Staytrem.

[patrickviolence]

staytrem bridge + mastery vibrato ftw

[Laservampire]

Just put my Staytrem bridge on the Jag, it's solid as a rock. The bigger threaded posts really make a difference on vibrational transfer to the body, it's louder acoustically with a little bit more natural sustain too.

Can't wait to get the trem arm/collet installed too.

[cbrown]

...unless it works for you and you like it...

[Larry Mal]

The StayTrem is a great bridge, if I had known how great it is I might not have gone with the Mastery. But the Mastery is great, and it really does add a lot to the sound. I won't be able to compare the two since my Jaguar will have the StayTrem, and my Jazzmasters will have the Masterys.

I agree about the setup. There's just no real need for a bridge to be anything but set to the radius of the guitar for me. I know there are some others who will want to be able to set their radius at the bridge to something different than the neck. But I don't... so it's just more pointless moving pieces for me.

You can get collars for the StayTrems now that will keep the bridge fixed in place just like with a Mastery. You say you don't want that, you like it floating, but I thought I would mention it regardless.

[therizzla]

I have no experience with either bridge but if I bought one today I would start with the Staytrem for sure, I like the design much more. Personally, I'll stick with Fender Japan Mustang bridges with a couple light mods.

[Laservampire]

Okay, got the Staytrem arm on last night, holy crap this thing totally changes the feel of the trem, in a good way. All the sloppiness is gone, it's as smooth as a bigsby now.

Also, that original AVRI collet was damn near impossible to unscrew!

[PJazzmaster]

Also, that original AVRI collet was damn near impossible to unscrew!

that's the hardest part, indeed! Especially on AVRI trems!

[Laservampire]

Also, that original AVRI collet was damn near impossible to unscrew!

that's the hardest part, indeed! Especially on AVRI trems!

Let's just say the process involved a spanner, a hammer and language unsuitable for children.

[michaeltullo]

got a staytrem for my mustang early this week, excited to put it thru its paces tonite at practice!

[series-parallel]

So, I got my preferred string set on, tweaked the action and alittle bit, and have gone to town. I wasn't terribly impressed at first, but as I get some more playing time with it I find I'm really, really liking the Staytrem. I haven't yet tweaked the intonation, it's just a hair off on some strings, but it's quite close enough that I haven't been bothered to really dig in on it. I'll get around to that. I've got the playability where I like it, which has as much to do with the strings as it does the action for me, and really prefer that it floats over the Mastery being locked down (though my Mastery would wobble a slight bit).

I still like the bit of tonal je nais se quoi the Mastery seemed to give my JM, and wouldn't hesitate to put the Mastery on another offset. I don't think they're miles apart tonally, but the difference is distinct enough to my ears that you could experiment with a Staytrem and a Mastery on a pair of similarly-configured offsets and give each additional some tonal distinction from the other. But if/when I use the Mastery again, I'm definitely throwing some Loctite on that trick.