Upgrading AVRI JM bridge

[crazyzeke]

If yours is moving with vibrato use you may find you have a pairing of US-spec ("M1") bridge posts being used in a guitar with Fender Japan thimbles which have a slightly larger ID* - this is why the "M2" version with the extra pair of larger bridge posts is available as an option:

Yeah I know all that, and I did order the extra thimbles but they didn't fit the Jag, which is a CIJ, so I went ahead and fitted it as it came and it works great the way it is. Not looking to spread misinformation here so I'm not lying. It isn't deliberate; it's just literally been so long since I've thought about it it slipped my mind. I'll go back and correct the original post, though.

The Jag almost never breaks strings at the bridge end or breaks strings at all unless I do something like play with a sixpence (the Brian May trick to change the attack and tone) for hours on end, so I suppose whether or not it's the "correct" way doesn't apply in my case as it works fine. For a lot of players the "correct" way is soldier on with the stock bridge, but I spent a fair amount of time doing that so I'm glad I don't have to any more.

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EDIT: Little GIF that took a surprisingly long time to make...

[timtam]

That's not really how the fixed Mastery is supposed to work - see my earlier post. Probably largely due to the presence of the buzzstop ... which counters the lower-downforce/lower-friction design philosophy of the Mastery. The strings should slide easily over the saddles without gripping them to any extent, and so the bridge should not move.

[crazyzeke]

That's not really how the fixed Mastery is supposed to work - see my earlier post. Probably largely due to the presence of the buzzstop ... which counters the lower-downforce/lower-friction design philosophy of the Mastery. The strings should slide easily over the saddles without gripping them to any extent, and so the bridge should not move.

I agree, I read that, but it works well in my particular setup. Sounds good, plays well, the bridge is so well-made it doesn't break strings as a result so although non-standard, if it ain't broke...

[Deed_Poll]

That's not really how the fixed Mastery is supposed to work - see my earlier post. Probably largely due to the presence of the buzzstop ... which counters the lower-downforce/lower-friction design philosophy of the Mastery. The strings should slide easily over the saddles without gripping them to any extent, and so the bridge should not move.

See how it yearns to be free!

IMHO this is the perfect exhibit for why Offset bridges should rock... Not singling out the Mastery here in particular, but all fixed-post approaches.

Yes, the buzz stop is increasing the break angle a lot and that will be increasing the friction, but the intonation screw threads (in the saddles) are also held in by the forward constituent of the break angle's resultant. In other words, as you scale back the break angle, the forward force becomes exponentially weaker and the only other thing holding your saddle to your bridge assembly is the flimsy spring.

As you roll off the break angle, you stop having vibrato tuning problems, but you start having sustain / fizzing and rattling / decay artifact problems.

If you're lucky and the stars align, there's a sweet spot in between where there's a manageable small amount of both. But they're every bit as fussy as rocking bridges to set up (IMO moreso). If you still can't find a solution, you have to raise your string gauge and action and you might as well be using an original bridge!

This is what I mean when I say the Fixed-Post/Low-Friction approach isn't optimisable in the (very unique) context of an Offset guitar.

The thing wants to rock, it's BORN to rock. If you can just keep the whole bridge from the posts to the string slots rigid and have the slots grip the strings effectively, no amount of vibrato use can put the guitar out of tune!

[andy_tchp]

That's a really surprising amount of movement - probably just as much as my AVRI bridges.

Scratching my head as to how that's even possible with the fixed post/mounting post locking screw design, buzzstop or no buzzstop.

Installing the Mastery on my CIJ Jazzmaster required significant downwards pressure to get both bridge posts fully seated in the thimbles before tightening the mounting post screws and commencing the setup. There's no way it was moving (in any direction) after that.