Best Current J Mascis JM Bridge Options

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baseggio
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Best Current J Mascis JM Bridge Options

Post by baseggio » Tue Oct 16, 2018 2:51 pm

I just recently picked up a Squier J Mascis Jassmaster, and I like it, but the radius mismatch is really bugging me. I've looked all over, and it's really hard to figure out what's going to actually work on this thing! So what are the best drop-in options that are generally available in the US? That means no StayTrem, unless you've got one to sell me. It seems like a lot of people like the Wilkinson, but that's not a 9.5 radius, which is really what I'm looking for. I'd really like to avoid drilling and shimming and all of that. So what's worked for you?

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Re: Best Current J Mascis JM Bridge Options

Post by andy_tchp » Tue Oct 16, 2018 2:59 pm

FWIW the radius can be adjusted to match the fretboard in 5-10 minutes with suitable files, the same as how it's done when you buy a brand new tune-o-matic bridge.
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Re: Best Current J Mascis JM Bridge Options

Post by timtam » Tue Oct 16, 2018 4:21 pm

Consider the Gotoh 510BN, a tunomatic with height-adjustable saddles and 52mm E-E spacing and 73.8mm post-post spacing ...
https://www.allparts.com/GB-2585-010-Go ... _1645.html
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baseggio
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Re: Best Current J Mascis JM Bridge Options

Post by baseggio » Tue Oct 16, 2018 4:43 pm

timtam wrote:
Tue Oct 16, 2018 4:21 pm
Consider the Gotoh 510BN, a tunomatic with height-adjustable saddles and 52mm E-E spacing and 73.8mm post-post spacing ...
https://www.allparts.com/GB-2585-010-Go ... _1645.html
Image
That's the last one I tried. I couldn't make it fit. The post holes are too small and the replacement pegs are too small to screw into the guitar as-is.

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timtam
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Re: Best Current J Mascis JM Bridge Options

Post by timtam » Tue Oct 16, 2018 5:37 pm

baseggio wrote:
Tue Oct 16, 2018 4:43 pm
timtam wrote:
Tue Oct 16, 2018 4:21 pm
Consider the Gotoh 510BN, a tunomatic with height-adjustable saddles and 52mm E-E spacing and 73.8mm post-post spacing ...
https://www.allparts.com/GB-2585-010-Go ... _1645.html
Image
That's the last one I tried. I couldn't make it fit. The post holes are too small and the replacement pegs are too small to screw into the guitar as-is.
Good to know. Tunomatic conversions can be fraught. Looks like the 510BN has the smaller ABR-style screws (rather than later bigger Nashville size) ...
https://www.realparts.com.au/bridges-ta ... hrome.html
But Adjustomatic also looks to have ABR-size screws .. ???
https://reverb.com/au/item/4908751-fend ... sh-br-4374

But does the Squier JMJM have an Adjustmatic or a more conventional TOM, with maybe Asian metric screws ? In any case the mismatch you describe is confusing.
Last edited by timtam on Tue Oct 16, 2018 6:57 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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Re: Best Current J Mascis JM Bridge Options

Post by mackerelmint » Tue Oct 16, 2018 6:16 pm

FWIW, the radius mismatch with the wilkinson roller bridge is really a non-issue for most people, myself included. That being said, one can very easily shim those saddles with little pieces of aluminum can from your favorite beverage. 2 shims under the D and G, 1 shim under the A and B. I know you want to avoid it, but it's almost no work, honestly. Less than filing saddles down, I think, and if you're going to use the trem, having the rollers is a big plus.

YMMV and all that, but it's one option for you. Best of luck!
This is an excellent rectangle

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baseggio
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Re: Best Current J Mascis JM Bridge Options

Post by baseggio » Wed Oct 17, 2018 5:12 am

That Wilkinson is awfully popular. Maybe I should just give it a go, though I'm not traditionally a huge trem user. My main guitars have been hardtails (Teles, SGs, etc.), though it was something I wanted to work in a bit more.

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Re: Best Current J Mascis JM Bridge Options

Post by wproffitt » Wed Oct 17, 2018 7:13 pm

You rang? I’ll offer my standard advice of a Compton bridge. I have two JMs with them now and love them!

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Re: Best Current J Mascis JM Bridge Options

Post by Danley » Wed Oct 17, 2018 10:10 pm

^It looks like there are no grub screws or any way to facilitate intonation. My guess is that would either work perfectly for your guitar or be totally off, depending on your choice of string height/gauge etc. Or am I missing something?
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Re: Best Current J Mascis JM Bridge Options

Post by CROSS_guitars » Wed Oct 17, 2018 10:14 pm

I think the stock bridge is great.
And I also think the radius IS the same as the neck.

Only issue I have is that the saddles are a bit sharp if I bump my palm on them.

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Re: Best Current J Mascis JM Bridge Options

Post by Danley » Wed Oct 17, 2018 10:21 pm

Really the bridge radius should never precisely match the neck anyway; you want a flatter radius in order to be concentric to the neck... And really that's only for a hypothetical neck with nut and bridge spacing that are the same. If you splay the nut and bridge spacing to diff. values then lower action is achievable on the strings closer to the middle of the neck than the outside, so you need an even flatter radius bridge than just being concentric to the neck. At that point it's not even really a radius as much as it is a section of an ellipse.

Minute details, but that's why overall I like adjustable saddles. I don't think about any of that; I just go as low as I can without buzzing (and that usually winds up with a measurable radius of greater than the radius of the neck.) Or I just say eff it and do 2mm above the 12th fret for all strings because that's what I'm used to. That's also the reason a compound (or true conical radius) fretboard will always play with lower action.

That's not even getting into the fact that moving the saddles forward or backward for intonation have an effect on the ideal radius, or diff. string gauges etc. Bottom line-a fixed radius bridge is pretty much never ideal.
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Re: Best Current J Mascis JM Bridge Options

Post by baseggio » Thu Oct 18, 2018 4:30 am

wproffitt wrote:
Wed Oct 17, 2018 7:13 pm
You rang? I’ll offer my standard advice of a Compton bridge. I have two JMs with them now and love them!
Ya know, in my desperation to find something that would actually work, I went to check them out too, and it seems like they've gone the way of Staytrem. Actually worse, since they seem not to even be producing any product. It's a pretty bad time to be in the market for guitar bridges!

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Re: Best Current J Mascis JM Bridge Options

Post by baseggio » Thu Oct 18, 2018 4:35 am

Danley wrote:
Wed Oct 17, 2018 10:21 pm
Really the bridge radius should never precisely match the neck anyway; you want a flatter radius in order to be concentric to the neck... And really that's only for a hypothetical neck with nut and bridge spacing that are the same. If you splay the nut and bridge spacing to diff. values then lower action is achievable on the strings closer to the middle of the neck than the outside, so you need an even flatter radius bridge than just being concentric to the neck. At that point it's not even really a radius as much as it is a section of an ellipse.

Minute details, but that's why overall I like adjustable saddles. I don't think about any of that; I just go as low as I can without buzzing (and that usually winds up with a measurable radius of greater than the radius of the neck.) Or I just say eff it and do 2mm above the 12th fret for all strings because that's what I'm used to. That's also the reason a compound (or true conical radius) fretboard will always play with lower action.

That's not even getting into the fact that moving the saddles forward or backward for intonation have an effect on the ideal radius, or diff. string gauges etc. Bottom line-a fixed radius bridge is pretty much never ideal.
Lots to think about here. I've gotta admit, before this guitar I never thought about radius at all. But I do notice the E strings being a little higher than the rest and I'd like to resolve that. Ultimately, I'm probably gonna take it to a tech and have him file the grooves a bit. Bide my time and hope to find a Staytrem pop up on eBay.

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Re: Best Current J Mascis JM Bridge Options

Post by Danley » Thu Oct 18, 2018 5:31 am

If the Mascis bridge and necks are in fact 9.5" radius, then having the low & high e strings be higher than the rest is an unexpected result.

That implies you have a *larger* radius than bridge than the neck radius- which as I described, should be actually desirable, if you're trying to lower each ind. string to its ideal low action point. But also if you want each string to have identical action without regard to how low they can go, I suspect with a 9.5" bridge and 9.5" radius you would still need to raise rather than lower the e strings.

Imagine it as trying to stack two sections of the same pipe; what you get is a half-moon shape between them, because a same-radius piece cannot "nest" comfortably within itself. You'd really want a bridge radius measuring something like: Bridge radius = your neck radius plus your desired action. But again; you'd have to be careful with what your desired action is, because the lowest possible action achievable on the g and d strings is lower than the high and low e.

In any case I wonder what the radius of your bridge actually are if you measure them. I'd suspect you need to file the g & d down, not the e strings, if you had a bridge and neck of the same radius and wanted equal action under each string.

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Re: Best Current J Mascis JM Bridge Options

Post by wproffitt » Thu Oct 18, 2018 2:41 pm

baseggio wrote:
Thu Oct 18, 2018 4:30 am
wproffitt wrote:
Wed Oct 17, 2018 7:13 pm
You rang? I’ll offer my standard advice of a Compton bridge. I have two JMs with them now and love them!
Ya know, in my desperation to find something that would actually work, I went to check them out too, and it seems like they've gone the way of Staytrem. Actually worse, since they seem not to even be producing any product. It's a pretty bad time to be in the market for guitar bridges!
Oh no! I guess it’s good that I probably won’t be building or modding any electrics for a while (4 seems like a lot!). Hopefully, his website will be back up soon. Gretsch players love them, too.

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