jazz/jag/stang-o-matic

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jazz/jag/stang-o-matic

Post by mynameisjonas » Thu Feb 18, 2010 3:46 am

i know i've posted this before, but i couldn't find the post, and i suspect some of the newer members might find it interesting... so:

let's say you have a guitar equipped with a tune-o-matic or adjusto-matic bridge, but you want to use a jazz/jag or mustang bridge. here's one way of doing it that doesn't require any mods to the body:

1) remove the legs from your jazz/jag/stang bridge by bending them with a pair of pliers. it must be a reissue bridge. a vintage bridge has the legs welded in place and are therefore much harder to remove, plus it's just stupid to ruin a valuable vintage part. you could still use vintage saddles though.

2) measure the posts of your tune-o-matic bridge and find an appropriately sized drill bit (you might want to go slightly bigger to give the bridge base a little room to wiggle, but try an exact fit first)

3) drill out the holes in the jm/jag/stang bridge base

4) drop the bridge in place. done!

if your guitar has a 12" radius fretboard, you'll want to use jazz/jag saddles or the adjustable modified mustang saddles, since mustang saddles are made for 7.25" radius.
or if you're anything like me, you could do it the hard way, and file down the underside of the mustang saddles to adjust the radius permanently.

important! this applies to tune-o-matic/adjusto-matic bridges with the larger bridge posts (see pics below). if you have a nashville or ABR type bridge, the holes left in the bridge base when you remove the legs will be too large for the posts. it may work on those bridges too, but i haven't tried it. i suspect that the bridge will have too much wiggle room and you may run into tuning and/or buzzing issues.

the result of this mod is a bridge that has the stability and sustain of a tune-o-matic, and the smoother trem action of a jazz/jag/mustang bridge. and it will sound like a 50/50 mix of the two.

here's what it looks like:
Image
Image

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Re: jazz/jag/stang-o-matic

Post by the older brother » Thu Feb 18, 2010 8:48 am

Nice work Jonas!

:)

I have a bridge that came with My Old Ibanez ES335 lawsuit that is almost the same - nashville (thinner posts) T-O-M posts; A loose Jm look-a-like bridgebase with holes for the posts and Schaller rollerbridge look-a-like saddles. It is mounted on my brothers LP at the moment (intonation problems with the original narrow T-O-M) , so I cannot take pics, unfortunately.
Someone knows where I can find the nearest woodchipper to throw my pieces of junk into?

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Re: jazz/jag/stang-o-matic

Post by mynameisjonas » Thu Feb 18, 2010 8:55 am

is it similar to this?
Image

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Re: jazz/jag/stang-o-matic

Post by Slow-Pop » Thu Feb 18, 2010 3:40 pm

I was going to try something like this but was looking at using these stylehttp://www.guitarpartsresource.com/gbri ... gibson.htm...I read somewhere that these fit the thimble pretty well without drilling. Any ideas if they will work?

Nevermind, I read your post more thoroughly and answered my own question. I guess there is no way to do this unless it is already drilled for a TOM.

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Re: jazz/jag/stang-o-matic

Post by fuzzking » Fri Feb 19, 2010 1:06 am

thanks for the thread! i'll give this a try someday. :)
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Re: jazz/jag/stang-o-matic

Post by estranged » Thu Apr 08, 2010 10:52 am

no rocking back/forth issues w/ this setup?

might be a good call for me to dial in that radius exactly...

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Re: jazz/jag/stang-o-matic

Post by estranged » Wed Apr 14, 2010 9:36 am

just scored a bridge from evilbay $19, shipped!

I'm going to try this setup BEFORE i make a trip over the Mastery...

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Re: jazz/jag/stang-o-matic

Post by Secluded » Sun Apr 18, 2010 6:03 am

Will this work on a Mustang bridge plate? I don't have a 'stang bridge in front of me yet to eyeball it, but I am wondering about the height displacement of the adjusters on the posts.

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Re: jazz/jag/stang-o-matic

Post by mynameisjonas » Mon Apr 19, 2010 4:16 pm

i have no idea of what works on mustangs, never owned one, sorry.

can i just stress that this mod is for guitars that already have tune-o-matics, and you want to replace it with a mustang (or jag/jazz) bridge. if your guitar is a stock mustang/jaguar/jazzmaster, a mastery might be the best option. unless you really like drilling in your guitars of course ;)

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Re: jazz/jag/stang-o-matic

Post by estranged » Fri Apr 23, 2010 6:20 pm

observations re: Adjust-o-matic bridge vs. the a repro JM bridge (i'm opting for measure twice cut once)

Bridge post diameters:

AoM 6mm
JM 6.5mm

Center to Center on the bridge posts:

AoM 74mm
JM 73.5mm

and the biggest difference i found was E to E string spacing:
AoM 53mm
JM 56.5mm

So, as soon as my Tusq saddles get in, i'm going to do the mod...don't think i can hang w. the stock threaded barrels...

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Re: jazz/jag/stang-o-matic

Post by manymann » Sat Apr 24, 2010 4:10 pm

All the alternative bridge configs are overwhelming.

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Re: jazz/jag/stang-o-matic

Post by estranged » Sat Apr 24, 2010 4:34 pm

manymann wrote:All the alternative bridge configs are overwhelming.
indeed, but it's good to have choices to see what works for your playing style

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Re: jazz/jag/stang-o-matic

Post by second skin » Thu Apr 29, 2010 2:34 pm

awesome post! I was just thinking about doing something like this on my CP and sure enough there is already a thread on it. :)

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Re: jazz/jag/stang-o-matic

Post by estranged » Tue May 25, 2010 4:39 pm

VIVA LA DIFFERENCE!!!

put on the graphtech black JM saddles and did this mod...

I drilled out the posts vs. bending them off - i didn't want to mess up the "plate" the saddles rest on...

then, i gradually stepped up in drill bit size - each time pushing a little bit to the outside edges to add the .25 mm needed for the center to center spacing...(see previous post re: measurements)

worked PERFECT - sub 6mm bit got me there - fits really snug - less back to forth rocking with trem use than the Adjust-o-matic!

FINALLY my TMJM feels PERFECT and DIALED! the bridge radius being off was really bothering me - this got it *RIGHT*!

Fender needs to take notice on the CPJM, JMJM and the TMJM .... IMO, that Adjust-o-matic bridge just ain't the way to go.

Thanks to Jose from Graphtech for the saddles!!!

-Aaron

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Re: jazz/jag/stang-o-matic

Post by knathan » Wed May 26, 2010 9:41 am

great idea

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