Mastery Bridge Saddles Moving AO Jazzmaster

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valnut
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Mastery Bridge Saddles Moving AO Jazzmaster

Post by valnut » Tue May 12, 2020 5:48 am

Hey guys,
I’ve been browsing through the forums the last day and didn’t really find a thread addressing this issue on a Jazzmaster.
So yesterday I got the Mastery Bridge and Vibrato in the Mail and put it on my American Original Jazzmaster. I changed the thimbles too, to get a snug fit for the bridge.
After various hours of fiddling I just can’t get the bridge to work properly. The saddles move back and forth with Tremolo use, producing a cracking noise and my strings are a bit sharp every time after using the trem. I tried high saddles with a lower bridge plate as suggested by Woody but it didn’t solve my problem, made it a little bit better though. I’m just wondering if anyone is experiencing the same issue, and in general if your mastery bridge or the saddles on it are moving with trem use, as I thought it’s designed in a way that the strings move over the bridge rather than the bridge itself moving.
I removed the shim in my neck pocket before putting the mastery on, but i know that the AO Jazzmaster has an angled neck pocket, might that be the problem, because it’s causing too much downforce on the bridge? Or is it just a setup issue that i couldn’t get my head around?
I hope everyone is doing well during these strange times,
Peace and Love, Val

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Jaguar018
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Re: Mastery Bridge Saddles Moving AO Jazzmaster

Post by Jaguar018 » Tue May 12, 2020 5:15 pm

The more pictures you take and post the easier it will be to diagnose.

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valnut
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Re: Mastery Bridge Saddles Moving AO Jazzmaster

Post by valnut » Tue May 12, 2020 5:49 pm

Will do in the morning, thanks buddy :)

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Re: Mastery Bridge Saddles Moving AO Jazzmaster

Post by timtam » Tue May 12, 2020 8:13 pm

valnut wrote:
Tue May 12, 2020 5:48 am
I removed the shim in my neck pocket before putting the mastery on, but i know that the AO Jazzmaster has an angled neck pocket, might that be the problem, because it’s causing too much downforce on the bridge?
If bridge and/or saddles on a fixed bridge like Mastery are moving with trem use and causing problems then string-saddle friction is too high - the strings need to slide on the saddles (opposite of a rocking bridge). If it wasn't causing problems, people probably live with a little motion and maybe never even notice it. The things that reduce friction are those that reduce string-saddle downforce, plus lubrication. So ... lower string gauge (less string tension), smaller neck angle (=>lower bridge height/string break angle), lower action (lower bridge height/string break angle), no buzzstop (if you had one .. lower string break angle), down-tuning (less string tension).

The higher saddles suggestion you tried is an attempt to increase the saddle force on the bridge plate, so they are less likely to move on the fixed bridge plate; but then the bridge plate has to be lowered to get the same action, so the overall effect is essentially negated.
"I just knew I wanted to make a sound that was the complete opposite of a Les Paul, and that’s pretty much a Jaguar." Rowland S. Howard.

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Re: Mastery Bridge Saddles Moving AO Jazzmaster

Post by valnut » Wed May 13, 2020 4:39 am

First of all, thanks for the detailed reply man. :)
I chatted with some folks having the same problem and figure that the angled neck pocket in my guitar creates too much downforce, like you said, on the bridge causing it to move rather than the strings sliding over it. I took the mastery out and put my stock one back in, tuning is stable, no creaking noise. I’ll be on the lookout for a Staytrem in the future but until then will use the stock bridge and return the mastery, it’s just not working with my guitar. The mastery Vibrato by the way though is really nice and to me feels like a big improvement over the avri trem, it feels stiffer and lets me grab the handle while playing without accidentally moving it. Also finally I have enough clearance over the pivot screws without extra shimming the neck and raising the bridge to an absurd amount. Not missing the trem lock..yet ;)
I don’t want to talk down the mastery bridge, I’m sure if it works in a setup it will be a great improvement, I definitely noticed the increase in loudness acoustically but after refitting my floating bridge, it just feels way better and more natural? again. Can’t say anything about the plugged in sound of mastery as I was so frustrated with setting it up for the last to days and not reaching a working setup so i didn’t plug it in.
By the way the customer service at mastery is great, Woody emailed back and forth with me trying to help me but in the end too said he thinks it’s best if I return the bridge.
Hope this experience can maybe help anyone in the future having the same problem. I guess reverse shimming would be a solution but I really didn’t want to go down that road, so I’ll wrangle with the original bridge a little longer until I find a Staytrem.

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