Rigging a Mustang bridge to fit on AOM posts?

[Vacumatic]

<t>Somewhere I read about using a Mustang bridge in which the legs had been pried off and the resulting holes were enlarged to fit the AOM posts on a JMJM. Anyone here do this bit of surgery? How did it work out? Is this something you could recommend?</t>

[Axolotl]

Would like to know more about this as well. Subscribed.

[andy_tchp]

jazz/jag/stang-o-matic

[adamrobertt]

I wonder why no one has developed an offset baseplate with a curved bottom for AOM posts? That way you could have locked in place posts, but a bridge that rocks with the strings, sort of like an old Gretsch bridge. Best of both worlds. You could even just have it so the curved part is only over the studs...

[Debaser]

I wonder why no one has developed an offset baseplate with a curved bottom for AOM posts? That way you could have locked in place posts, but a bridge that rocks with the strings, sort of like an old Gretsch bridge. Best of both worlds. You could even just have it so the curved part is only over the studs...

My guess is because there’s a limited market for such a specific product. Second, the Gretsch rocking bar bridge doesn’t really work as intended. Same as the Bigsby ‘rounded pivot’ bar bridge. Many people just flatten out the curve since returning to “top dead center” requires either lots of machining and mounting precision, and/or consistency in trem usage. Add in guitar guys who think the instrument can or should be “precisely” intonated.

From my own experience DIY’ing, most of these bridges and bridge mods work because of slop. Slop in the machining, slop in the posts, and in the post setting in the body/bridge wood itself. I’m not saying this is a bad thing.

If I’m dealing with a TOM/AOM, the best remedy (apart from the radius issue), is to use a high quality roller bridge. Mods about using anything else are usually about aesthetics.

[adamrobertt]

I wonder why no one has developed an offset baseplate with a curved bottom for AOM posts? That way you could have locked in place posts, but a bridge that rocks with the strings, sort of like an old Gretsch bridge. Best of both worlds. You could even just have it so the curved part is only over the studs...

My guess is because there’s a limited market for such a specific product. Second, the Gretsch rocking bar bridge doesn’t really work as intended. Same as the Bigsby ‘rounded pivot’ bar bridge. Many people just flatten out the curve since returning to “top dead center” requires either lots of machining and mounting precision, and/or consistency in trem usage. Add in guitar guys who think the instrument can or should be “precisely” intonated.

From my own experience DIY’ing, most of these bridges and bridge mods work because of slop. Slop in the machining, slop in the posts, and in the post setting in the body/bridge wood itself. I’m not saying this is a bad thing.

If I’m dealing with a TOM/AOM, the best remedy (apart from the radius issue), is to use a high quality roller bridge. Mods about using anything else are usually about aesthetics.

Some good points. But I do have a TruArc rocking bar bridge on a guitar of mine and it works very well. It's mounted on Tune-o-Matic studs. I don't see why something of that nature couldn't work on an offset. Whether or not someone will take the time and energy to make one of decent enough quality is another matter of course. If I was a machinist I'd take a crack at it!

[nashmaster]

<t>Somewhere I read about using a Mustang bridge in which the legs had been pried off and the resulting holes were enlarged to fit the AOM posts on a JMJM. Anyone here do this bit of surgery? How did it work out? Is this something you could recommend?</t>

I just solved this problem, and I very well might get creamed in the comments by the more experienced but I showed it to my tech and he gave me the thumbs up. It works great.

I bought two M8 12mm Set Socket (sometimes called grub) screws at Home Depot and screwed them all the way in to the AOM bushings. I plan to add loctite as well. That's it. I then put a mustang bridge in, adjusted it a bit, strung the guitar, and adjusted bridge height as needed. That's it. It works, it's stable, and no holes were drilled or filled.

Some recommend removing the AOM bushings, and installing the grub screws upside-down through the bottom of the bushings. I said "hell no" and simply screwed them in.

I don't claim it'll work for everyone but it worked JUST FINE for me and the guitar sounds great. It's a mod that cost me a couple of bucks and took 10 minutes to complete.

[Axolotl]

I bought two M8 12mm Set Socket (sometimes called grub) screws at Home Depot and screwed them all the way in to the AOM bushings. I plan to add loctite as well. That's it. I then put a mustang bridge in, adjusted it a bit, strung the guitar, and adjusted bridge height as needed. That's it. It works, it's stable, and no holes were drilled or filled.

This sounds like a swell fix! What's the length of the grubs you bought? And what will be using the loctite for?

[nashmaster]

I bought two M8 12mm Set Socket (sometimes called grub) screws at Home Depot and screwed them all the way in to the AOM bushings. I plan to add loctite as well. That's it. I then put a mustang bridge in, adjusted it a bit, strung the guitar, and adjusted bridge height as needed. That's it. It works, it's stable, and no holes were drilled or filled.

This sounds like a swell fix! What's the length of the grubs you bought? And what will be using the loctite for?

12mm is the length! And others have recommended loctite to ensure no movement from those grub screws, though I believe it's just an extra precaution.