Bring back Staytrem adjusto-matic replacement parts...

For help with setups and other technical issues.
User avatar
GAZINGUK
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 241
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2009 4:42 pm

Re: Bring back Staytrem adjusto-matic replacement parts...

Post by GAZINGUK » Mon Feb 15, 2021 12:13 pm

mbene085 wrote:
Mon Feb 15, 2021 12:05 pm
BearBoy wrote:
Mon Feb 15, 2021 12:01 pm
Cheers. I'll see if I can find that thread. It's genuinely not a view I'd come across before and am now worried I've got tin ears :wtf: :D
Found it, but won't post again on that subject in order to avoid further derailing this thread.
Hmm...interesting. Well I suppose everyone's different, we all like what we like, or produce different sounds depending on our equipment and environment. With regards to the video link I posted for different offset bridges earlier in the thread, did any of you think the Halon one sounded really good? I thought it offered a lot of resonance, quite surprised. Not sure the AOM version would ring out like that, since it would just be placed on the AOM studs. In addition, I could still hear some odd harmonics from the high E string on the Mastery, which I found a bit annoying. I think someone on this forum once said something similar. I could be wrong, but the solution was to file off some of the coating on the saddle, which worked apparently. Overall, I still like the Staytrem, so I hope John will make a small batch for AOM users.

User avatar
Embenny
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 10363
Joined: Tue May 24, 2016 5:07 am

Re: Bring back Staytrem adjusto-matic replacement parts...

Post by Embenny » Mon Feb 15, 2021 12:31 pm

GAZINGUK wrote:
Mon Feb 15, 2021 12:13 pm
Hmm...interesting. Well I suppose everyone's different, we all like what we like. With regards to the video link I posted for different offset bridges earlier in the thread, did any of you think the Halon one sounded really good? I thought it offered a lot of resonance, quite surprised. Not sure the AOM version would ring out ike that, since it would just be placed on the AOM studs. In addition, I could still hear the some odd harmonics from the high E string on the Mastery, which I found a bit annoying.
To be honest, I'm the wrong guy to ask - I'm super bridge-agnostic because I find redeeming tonal qualities in all of them. I'm lucky to own multiple offsets, and over the years I've owned every major category of bridge made for them so far. My only pet peeves are when bridges rattle (and I offloaded my Masteries because of that) or do other things they aren't supposed to (like bind the string and knock the guitar out of tune when it has a trem). I've never changed a bridge for the sake of tone before, only for function (like to eliminate sharp edges that made palm muting uncomfortable, or stop buzzing, or improve tuning stability).

Tone-wise, I've been fine with all of them. I had a Mascis CIJ with crazy sharp tone from the TOM bridge, but that made the guitar incredibly fun to play certain types of music on (it was just a mismatch with the super bright stock pickups). My general preference has become Staytrems on vibrato-equipped offsets because I'm good at dialing in offset setups and find the floating bridge functions the best with vibratos, and the Staytrem has been the least-fussy bridge I've used. I've literally never had to touch one after dialing in a setup, because the height and intonation never budge and it never buzzes, so it's my personal "set and forget" choice, and it's cost-effective for its level of quality when available new (I never paid the inflated used prices during the international shipping hiatus).

That Halon looks like a nicely-made bridge, but if the guitar has a vibrato, it suffers from the same basic issue in that the bridge is fixed and the saddles are high friction. The Staytrem model made to drop onto AOM posts was the same, as far as I can recall. Only their AOM conversion bushing option tried to solve the issue, by letting the bridge float (albeit with a reduced travel range compared to a stock thimble).

Mastery claims that their saddles are self-lubricating, and there have been some interesting discussions on OSG that basically concluded that while some metal-on-metal interfaces can be self-lubricating, Mastery saddles are not, though plenty of people seem to be happy with them, so it's entirely possible that someone could be as happy with the Halon as with a Mastery. It's just too expensive a bridge for me to buy personally, since I can't see it solving the main problem I've had with AOMs on offsets (binding at the saddle).
The artist formerly known as mbene085.

User avatar
JVG
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1401
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2015 9:54 pm
Location: Sydney, Straya

Re: Bring back Staytrem adjusto-matic replacement parts...

Post by JVG » Tue Feb 16, 2021 3:54 am

I had some correspondence with John recently, in which he mentioned that since reopening international shipping the bridge orders have been coming in so thick and fast that he has no time to consider offering new (or reintroducing older) designs.

So i wouldn’t be holding my breath for the AOM bridge in the immediate future, but when things slow down a bit perhaps they could make a reappearance. (Note that i didn’t specifically discuss the AOM with him).

User avatar
GAZINGUK
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 241
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2009 4:42 pm

Re: Bring back Staytrem adjusto-matic replacement parts...

Post by GAZINGUK » Fri Feb 19, 2021 7:28 am

JVG wrote:
Tue Feb 16, 2021 3:54 am
I had some correspondence with John recently, in which he mentioned that since reopening international shipping the bridge orders have been coming in so thick and fast that he has no time to consider offering new (or reintroducing older) designs.

So i wouldn’t be holding my breath for the AOM bridge in the immediate future, but when things slow down a bit perhaps they could make a reappearance. (Note that i didn’t specifically discuss the AOM with him).
Ah... well I can't say I'm surprised and thanks for the update. I suppose I'll just have to wait and see. I really don't mind the AOM bridge on these guitars, in fact I actually like them. The main problem I have is the string breakage across the bridge, which would often occur, when I last had the Mascis models (Japanese not squier). At one point the string snapped and chipped the purple finish on the top of the guitar, which I wasn't amused about. I may have found three decent solutions, which I'll update you all with in the next week or so. One is the Halon, which I have talked about. I'm just looking at the other two right now. I'll keep you posted.

User avatar
dandelor
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Dec 03, 2020 3:29 pm

Re: Bring back Staytrem adjusto-matic replacement parts...

Post by dandelor » Tue Feb 23, 2021 12:36 pm

Just adding to this thread in case no one spotted it elsewhere -

There's a guy on another thread who cleverly came up with the idea of inserting some small grub-screws (stainless steel M8 12mm long thread pitch 1.25mm) into the threaded AOM thimbles for a standard trem to sit on - If you can't bear the way the AOM bridge makes your E string heights unplayable with it's mis-matched radius and also makes you tremelo screw with your sound/tuning then hopefully this will help!
I bought a standard Staytrem bridge (He doesn't make the special one for AOMs any more) cos I think they're great but you could probably use any rattly standard jazzmaster bridge if that's your want.
I found some grub screws with a large allen-key socket (4mm) at one end and in the centre of the socket it bowled-out nicely. I used some 6mm springs in the holes underneath these as the threads on the AOM thimbles stop short in the holes, so I needed something to keep the pressure on the grub screws from underneath in case they ran out of thread at the bottom - lose them and you'd have to remove the thimbles completely to recover them.
Once I'd screwed these in, the 2 fulcrum pins on the bridge sat quite happily in their allen-key sockets, perfectly centred but with enough room to rock back and forth as you use the tremelo.
The only issue I had was that the bridge now sat a little too high for the best action, so a 1mm shim was required to change the angle of the neck a tiny bit - I had been intending to do this anyway to increase the string angle from the bridge to the trem as it apparently increases sustain but also helps to stop strings slipping out of the bridge when you play hard. I got the very friendly and accomplished guys at www.jacksinstrumentservices.com to make me a couple of shims and these were just the ticket.
With 1mm of shim inserted in the pocket, the angle of the neck was adjusted perfectly to give me great adjustability on the action, and the guitar now not only plays great, but stays in tune!
Here are some pics of the bits - hopefully they'll make it easier to understand what I'm trying to explain :-

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qdkxt8da24XPSxAF9

User avatar
GAZINGUK
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 241
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2009 4:42 pm

Re: Bring back Staytrem adjusto-matic replacement parts...

Post by GAZINGUK » Wed Mar 24, 2021 6:05 pm

dandelor wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 12:36 pm
Just adding to this thread in case no one spotted it elsewhere -

There's a guy on another thread who cleverly came up with the idea of inserting some small grub-screws (stainless steel M8 12mm long thread pitch 1.25mm) into the threaded AOM thimbles for a standard trem to sit on - If you can't bear the way the AOM bridge makes your E string heights unplayable with it's mis-matched radius and also makes you tremelo screw with your sound/tuning then hopefully this will help!
I bought a standard Staytrem bridge (He doesn't make the special one for AOMs any more) cos I think they're great but you could probably use any rattly standard jazzmaster bridge if that's your want.
I found some grub screws with a large allen-key socket (4mm) at one end and in the centre of the socket it bowled-out nicely. I used some 6mm springs in the holes underneath these as the threads on the AOM thimbles stop short in the holes, so I needed something to keep the pressure on the grub screws from underneath in case they ran out of thread at the bottom - lose them and you'd have to remove the thimbles completely to recover them.
Once I'd screwed these in, the 2 fulcrum pins on the bridge sat quite happily in their allen-key sockets, perfectly centred but with enough room to rock back and forth as you use the tremelo.
The only issue I had was that the bridge now sat a little too high for the best action, so a 1mm shim was required to change the angle of the neck a tiny bit - I had been intending to do this anyway to increase the string angle from the bridge to the trem as it apparently increases sustain but also helps to stop strings slipping out of the bridge when you play hard. I got the very friendly and accomplished guys at www.jacksinstrumentservices.com to make me a couple of shims and these were just the ticket.
With 1mm of shim inserted in the pocket, the angle of the neck was adjusted perfectly to give me great adjustability on the action, and the guitar now not only plays great, but stays in tune!
Here are some pics of the bits - hopefully they'll make it easier to understand what I'm trying to explain :-

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qdkxt8da24XPSxAF9
Wow, thanks for that information, that's really great I may try that in the future. However, my TM Jazzmaster arrived two weeks ago and I have to say the bridge is fantastic. There are zero issues. It seems much better and stronger than the ones on my old J Mascis Jazzmasters (the purple ones from Japan). The radius is well matched to the fretboard too? I don't know if this one has just been well setup, but if it aint broke.... Just so happy with it!
Last edited by GAZINGUK on Mon Mar 29, 2021 12:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
wproffitt
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1263
Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2010 8:48 pm
Location: Ellicott City, MD, USA

Re: Bring back Staytrem adjusto-matic replacement parts...

Post by wproffitt » Sun Mar 28, 2021 6:16 am

I received my Staytrem yesterday and installed it on my CPJM using M8 1.25 hex set screws as bottoms for the bridge to rest on in the AOM thimbles. So far, so good! I have an aluminum pickguard on this one which is thinner than a usual tort guard. Perhaps because of this, I’m able to get the bridge down pretty close to the body for nice low action. I put some blue loctite on the screws before I put them into the thimbles and think that should keep the whole affair from bottoming out. I’ll let you know how this works out in the long term, but the bridge works great so far! I can’t get over how well made and not fussy it is.

User avatar
Peckhammer
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 91
Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2016 12:27 pm
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: Bring back Staytrem adjusto-matic replacement parts...

Post by Peckhammer » Tue Jan 11, 2022 11:09 am

I am not sure that the solutions above are offering an advantage over the way I do these conversions from Adjustomatic to Staytrem bridges. Just pull the stock inserts, drill the opening a bit wider to remove the threads, and drop a set of Fender thimbles in them. Re-insert the inserts into the guitar and you're done. 30 minutes of work and no trip to the hardware store.

ImageJ Mascis Jazzmaster by Peckhammer, on Flickr

User avatar
Lost In Autumn
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 886
Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2020 3:01 am
Location: Philadelphia
Contact:

Re: Bring back Staytrem adjusto-matic replacement parts...

Post by Lost In Autumn » Fri Jan 14, 2022 3:01 am

Peckhammer wrote:
Tue Jan 11, 2022 11:09 am
I am not sure that the solutions above are offering an advantage over the way I do these conversions from Adjustomatic to Staytrem bridges. Just pull the stock inserts, drill the opening a bit wider to remove the threads, and drop a set of Fender thimbles in them. Re-insert the inserts into the guitar and you're done. 30 minutes of work and no trip to the hardware store.

ImageJ Mascis Jazzmaster by Peckhammer, on Flickr
This is kinda brilliant.

Post Reply