100% agree - Mastery is a total solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. I so often read people buying brand new Jags not having any problems at all but immediately upgrading - just so they can say theirs has a mastery? Nonsensical!
I have two Descendant bridge and vibratos on my jags. They’re great but I recently shimmed my other jaguar neck and wrapped electric tape around the bridge posts to eliminate the bridge from rocking and it works and sounds great with amazing tuning stability so yeah I agree they aren’t necessary
@@reneebear3641 no. Shimming just adds downward pressure/tension so the strings don’t slip off the saddles when you strum. The bridge rocking will still cause tuning issues because even with a shim the bridge never returns back to place. It’s a dumb design.
To my ear they all sound good. The stock bridge is a bit thinner, the Mastery beefs up the mids a lot, and the DIY is kind of between the two. I shimmed the neck of my JM with a construction shim, which is a little more angle than it needs, but I'm cheap. The suboptimal bit is that with that much angle, there's a very narrow balance between height adjustment of the bridge body and saddles to keep the strings from contacting either the bridge's edge or the saddle intonation screw's end. The DIY configuration makes both a non-issue. I've actually envisioned doing this myself, but have too many other things going on to tackle it for now. Kudos.
I agree, I play with a standard vintage jazzmaster bridge and bash the shit out of my strings in drop C sharp with 10' and 11s and hard too, sometimes I gotta retune after a take but they have only ever popped out of the bridge when I've been tremolo picking very hardly behind the bridge.
i did a similar, even simpler thing! i cut round grooves in the 'wall' opposite of where the saddle screws are on my cheap chinese mustang bridge so that the strings aren't touching it and it works like a charm.
I tried shimming and raising action with the stock bridge, strings were still resting on the bridge base or intonation screws. I tried 3 different shim sizes. The American pro bridge was better, but I don't prefer a perfectly matched radius, and the Pro bridge is fixed radius. Also the bridge was so high that the string tension was too much and made bending very difficult.
I have had this exact idea for some time. At the point in the video where you showed the completed bridge. The other addition I wanna make is sleeving the posts so it sits solid in the thimbals… cheers well done
I have a squier jaguar that came second hand with single tele saddles from a vintage style tele bridge. The strings are a tiny bit misaligned towards the low E side, but it doesn't bother me at all and the bridge works a charm.
What a great idea, simple yet ingenious! To my ears it gives the best sound both clean and distorted. Definitely got some good snap to it! I didn't quite fall into the Mastery trap but I've got a Staytrem which I like a lot. Saying that, I didn't upgrade from a original bridge but from a cheapo mustang
I use a Mustang bridge (on my Jaguar), and my neck isn't shimmed, and I use "10's". I have no rattle or buzz, no intonation problems, and the strings don't skip their notches, despite my rather strong bare-finger plucking.
First off: i really love your bridge. The look/ the sound 10/10. The whole „solution to a problem that doesn’t exist“ thing tho. Let‘s say you tune down to C standard. You would have to shim your neck and raise the bridge laughably high for everything to work. I‘d say for any offset guy who tunes down- masterys are the only way to go. Also i would love to see a tuning stability comparison video! Great video my man!
Hey man, the guitar in the video is tuned to D standard and normally has the low E dropped to C. I've always used other wacky alt tunings in the past without issue. Shimming is a must but I wouldn't say ridiculously so. Cheers
I tune as low as C on my JM and with a pretty standard shim (stewmac 0.5°), 11-49s and upgraded string saver saddles, everything works as it should. you're kinda overstating the problem.
My favorite things about the Mastery are the hard chrome plated saddles and that it doesn't rock. I know it was designed to rock 60yrs ago but I found it annoying, even when set up properly, having to push the bridge back into place when it didn't go back on it's own. The hard chrome plated saddles make it incredibly smooth without needed lubrication and don't wear. This is a cool idea though. I may try making something similar on my next offset to compare it to my Jag w/Mastery. So far though, I don't see myself owning another offset without one.
Hey man, glad it's working for you. I never have the bridge not rock back into place. But will admit I have pushed it Forward with my heavy hand resting on it before. I would like to see how a taped standard bridge that is well lubricated compares for you.
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos honestly it was probably more from me being heavy handed than anything haha. Definitely going to try making something similar for this Jazzmaster build I'm working on. Thanks for sharing such cool ideas.
Great vid dude. With intonated ( adjustable) brass saddles (good enough for any Tele), saddle height adj, rocking and string clearance on the arse. I will have one before the week is thru. Thanks. P.S does it matter about the thimble / screw shape/relationship? I notice the major brand uses rounded tip on screw. cheers.
Your string grooves look pretty neat and uniform in terms of depth, size, and shape - any advice? Did you use a triangle file? And did you sand the grooves after filling? Cheers! 😊
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos nice one. I'm in the middle of a load of similar bridge experiments. One of my bridges is starting to produce some buzzing, which I suspect is from the grooves I've cut 🤔 Gonna try and neaten them up a bit and hope to eliminate the problem!
very interesting. i like the way your bridge sounds but are you using flatwounds? the clean tones sound kind of muffled or something (which is why I hate flatwounds) but the rest sounds great. great playing too. i bought a mastery bridge and loved it although rather expensive and it BROKE and they wont send me a new one. its the freakin high E height adjustment screw its stuck in the tallest position but I wont think its stripped I think it started to come out and now I cant get the allen key in there. anyways I prefer the squier classic vibe modified mustang bridge myself its closer to a staytrem. Im thinking of making one like yours as I have an old original jazzmaster bridge and a dremel
I'm not sure why it's fashionable to hate on Mastery all of a sudden. What's pertinent to remember is, before JMs & Jags became super-popular recently, Mastery were the only ones to spend the vast amount of time, dedication and money into the R&D to develop a better bridge for us forgotten offset-enthusiasts. We'd battled with the shite OG bridge, scavenged Mustang bridges or butchering our guitars with Tune-o-matics for decades when they came along and solved all the problems in one swoop. All the other companies that have come along since have just been riding on the coattails of their hard work and success and, we as offset users, owe them a massive debt of gratitude for improving our experience. If not gratitude, we definitely owe them some respect. All just my opinion though, as a Jazzmaster player for about 24 years.
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos They've made a lot of peoples lives easier, and their experience of playing their guitar better. Apart from the price (which isn't actually a lot if you're putting it up against other gear prices these days) any other argument seems to be down to taste really. But, you do you of course. All I know is the Mastery I bought in 2010 hasn't needed adjusting once, works perfectly and still looks brand new (bar some dust and hand junk). Worth every penny.
Dont see What you need The mastery bridge for. As he Said, shim The neck, raise The bridge. Spend too much time on making The shim. But it solved all of my issues.
Truly the MacGyver of offset guitars, turned out really well! I've found the Mastery looks super block-y and doesn't really fit with the curviness of Jazzmasters/Jaguars.
Oooh prepare for the venom of a thousand bun haired hipsters who wasted $200 😂... thought your DIY bridge sounded a little brighter which is what most people look for. Think you need to go into business bud 👌
From the limited ability of comparing audio over a hyper compressed TH-cam video, the DIY bridge was much closer in tone to the original bridge where the mastery seemed a bit darker and lifeless. The bodge bridge just looks massively better too.
mastery sounds kinda muffled ,right ? ,i think the bad rap on original bridges applies for the cheap import ones ,the one on my Squier JM collapsed and sink on the first gig ... tha one on my AVRI is solid and stable ,havent touched the setup in years ,still works flawlessly ...
Mastery bridges aren't super comfortable to me. The front edges of the saddles aren't machined smooth at all so they kinda dig into your palm. In almost every other aspect I can totally get behind them but they still aren't the be all end all solution for jazzmaster ailments.
OG Bridge sounds dullish, Mastery gives it a bit more clarity and the DIY is really nice and spanky on the clean. With distortion the DIY is great, then the OG and last is Mastery for me
If this dude talks or moves any slower, he would be moving backwards. I tried watching, but 5 minutes in I feel like the sun is setting. It’s 10am. I tried!
I mean STRICTLY speaking you can make a piece of wire nailed to a log work. I don’t see the point of shitting on a company that’s been a big positive to the offset community.
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos and not even like they’ve sold it for a reasonable price, that would help the community out.... I mean they sell Mastery string trees for £25 ... Crazy what’s next the Mastery plectrum
Get on with it. You present ideas good ideas at a snails pace. Also slurping up nasal discharge is gross. I wanted to watch the entire episode but didn’t for the aforementioned reasons. Do recognize your knowledge and your willingness to share though
100% agree - Mastery is a total solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. I so often read people buying brand new Jags not having any problems at all but immediately upgrading - just so they can say theirs has a mastery? Nonsensical!
Preach brother preach! X
I like the sound of the Mastery bridge.
Did something similar with a 1 piece.
Great tip👍😊
I have two Descendant bridge and vibratos on my jags. They’re great but I recently shimmed my other jaguar neck and wrapped electric tape around the bridge posts to eliminate the bridge from rocking and it works and sounds great with amazing tuning stability so yeah I agree they aren’t necessary
Wait why shim the neck & lock the bridge rocking? Isn’t shimming the neck supposed to make the rocking the bridge work correctly?
@@reneebear3641 no. Shimming just adds downward pressure/tension so the strings don’t slip off the saddles when you strum. The bridge rocking will still cause tuning issues because even with a shim the bridge never returns back to place. It’s a dumb design.
Thank you for sharing this video!
To my ear they all sound good. The stock bridge is a bit thinner, the Mastery beefs up the mids a lot, and the DIY is kind of between the two. I shimmed the neck of my JM with a construction shim, which is a little more angle than it needs, but I'm cheap. The suboptimal bit is that with that much angle, there's a very narrow balance between height adjustment of the bridge body and saddles to keep the strings from contacting either the bridge's edge or the saddle intonation screw's end. The DIY configuration makes both a non-issue. I've actually envisioned doing this myself, but have too many other things going on to tackle it for now. Kudos.
I'd be so pissed if I was a mastery owner rn lol this dude is a fucking legend
Haha cheers!
I agree, I play with a standard vintage jazzmaster bridge and bash the shit out of my strings in drop C sharp with 10' and 11s and hard too, sometimes I gotta retune after a take but they have only ever popped out of the bridge when I've been tremolo picking very hardly behind the bridge.
i did a similar, even simpler thing!
i cut round grooves in the 'wall' opposite of where the saddle screws are on my cheap chinese mustang bridge so that the strings aren't touching it and it works like a charm.
Good idea!
Do you have a video on it?
I tried shimming and raising action with the stock bridge, strings were still resting on the bridge base or intonation screws. I tried 3 different shim sizes. The American pro bridge was better, but I don't prefer a perfectly matched radius, and the Pro bridge is fixed radius. Also the bridge was so high that the string tension was too much and made bending very difficult.
I have had this exact idea for some time. At the point in the video where you showed the completed bridge. The other addition I wanna make is sleeving the posts so it sits solid in the thimbals… cheers well done
You just mentioned something similar I like the bridge not rocking.
I have a squier jaguar that came second hand with single tele saddles from a vintage style tele bridge. The strings are a tiny bit misaligned towards the low E side, but it doesn't bother me at all and the bridge works a charm.
I'm now going to have to experiment to see if this works even better with the Gotoh compensated Tele saddles.
What a great idea, simple yet ingenious! To my ears it gives the best sound both clean and distorted. Definitely got some good snap to it! I didn't quite fall into the Mastery trap but I've got a Staytrem which I like a lot. Saying that, I didn't upgrade from a original bridge but from a cheapo mustang
Awesome man cheers!! Not too late to make some money on the staytrem lol
I use a Mustang bridge (on my Jaguar), and my neck isn't shimmed, and I use "10's". I have no rattle or buzz, no intonation problems, and the strings don't skip their notches, despite my rather strong bare-finger plucking.
First off: i really love your bridge. The look/ the sound 10/10.
The whole „solution to a problem that doesn’t exist“ thing tho.
Let‘s say you tune down to C standard. You would have to shim your neck and raise the bridge laughably high for everything to work.
I‘d say for any offset guy who tunes down- masterys are the only way to go.
Also i would love to see a tuning stability comparison video!
Great video my man!
Hey man, the guitar in the video is tuned to D standard and normally has the low E dropped to C. I've always used other wacky alt tunings in the past without issue. Shimming is a must but I wouldn't say ridiculously so.
Cheers
I tune as low as C on my JM and with a pretty standard shim (stewmac 0.5°), 11-49s and upgraded string saver saddles, everything works as it should. you're kinda overstating the problem.
Fixes the stringspacing and correct radius though🙂
I personally love the way it Looks.
Anyways, great video!
The original bridge does all that buddy
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos not on fender ultra Jazzmasters.
Dont know why they used a bridge With the incorrect string spacing on that one 😂
I would just stick an original bridge on the ultra. Any string spacing or radius available. Forgot to mention thanks for watching and comments
Great job, you should make and sell these bridges.
My favorite things about the Mastery are the hard chrome plated saddles and that it doesn't rock. I know it was designed to rock 60yrs ago but I found it annoying, even when set up properly, having to push the bridge back into place when it didn't go back on it's own. The hard chrome plated saddles make it incredibly smooth without needed lubrication and don't wear.
This is a cool idea though. I may try making something similar on my next offset to compare it to my Jag w/Mastery. So far though, I don't see myself owning another offset without one.
Hey man, glad it's working for you. I never have the bridge not rock back into place. But will admit I have pushed it Forward with my heavy hand resting on it before. I would like to see how a taped standard bridge that is well lubricated compares for you.
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos honestly it was probably more from me being heavy handed than anything haha. Definitely going to try making something similar for this Jazzmaster build I'm working on. Thanks for sharing such cool ideas.
Great vid dude. With intonated ( adjustable) brass saddles (good enough for any Tele), saddle height adj, rocking and string clearance on the arse. I will have one before the week is thru. Thanks. P.S does it matter about the thimble / screw shape/relationship? I notice the major brand uses rounded tip on screw. cheers.
Hey mate, not sure what you mean on your last bit?
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos the grub screws that adjust bridge height.
there are rounded points on the better makes screws ?
and maybe a thimble with an indent?
@@tartan4turnups I am not sure I've ever noticed any difference to be honest.
There are some steel versions of the Tele saddles with different offsets and grooves. Check those out.
yeah will do. Cheers
What might the material affect? Sound? Glide?
Your string grooves look pretty neat and uniform in terms of depth, size, and shape - any advice? Did you use a triangle file? And did you sand the grooves after filling? Cheers! 😊
Just a triangle file. Cheers!
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos nice one. I'm in the middle of a load of similar bridge experiments. One of my bridges is starting to produce some buzzing, which I suspect is from the grooves I've cut 🤔 Gonna try and neaten them up a bit and hope to eliminate the problem!
@@MarkB.Guitar If you mess them up, just turn them round and start new
I love your demo riffs especially when you’re mistaken
Haha cheers brother x
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos some youtubers aren't humans i think. Robots? Aliens? you knows
@@teensupertiger yeah I get you. Thanks again man.
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos by the way, your bridge looks and sound very good. You should try to sell it for 300$. ahaha
@@teensupertiger haha It's open source now.
I just want to make one of these for fun. Looks and sounds awesome. Haha
Thanks man!
very interesting. i like the way your bridge sounds but are you using flatwounds? the clean tones sound kind of muffled or something (which is why I hate flatwounds) but the rest sounds great. great playing too. i bought a mastery bridge and loved it although rather expensive and it BROKE and they wont send me a new one. its the freakin high E height adjustment screw its stuck in the tallest position but I wont think its stripped I think it started to come out and now I cant get the allen key in there. anyways I prefer the squier classic vibe modified mustang bridge myself its closer to a staytrem. Im thinking of making one like yours as I have an old original jazzmaster bridge and a dremel
Yeah I use flatwounds. Glad you liked the video. Cheers
I'm not sure why it's fashionable to hate on Mastery all of a sudden. What's pertinent to remember is, before JMs & Jags became super-popular recently, Mastery were the only ones to spend the vast amount of time, dedication and money into the R&D to develop a better bridge for us forgotten offset-enthusiasts. We'd battled with the shite OG bridge, scavenged Mustang bridges or butchering our guitars with Tune-o-matics for decades when they came along and solved all the problems in one swoop.
All the other companies that have come along since have just been riding on the coattails of their hard work and success and, we as offset users, owe them a massive debt of gratitude for improving our experience. If not gratitude, we definitely owe them some respect.
All just my opinion though, as a Jazzmaster player for about 24 years.
I dunno man, I've hated on them since the start.
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos They've made a lot of peoples lives easier, and their experience of playing their guitar better. Apart from the price (which isn't actually a lot if you're putting it up against other gear prices these days) any other argument seems to be down to taste really.
But, you do you of course. All I know is the Mastery I bought in 2010 hasn't needed adjusting once, works perfectly and still looks brand new (bar some dust and hand junk). Worth every penny.
Like I said in the video. If you want to buy one by all means do. You just don't have to. Glad its worked for you though.
Dont see What you need The mastery bridge for. As he Said, shim The neck, raise The bridge. Spend too much time on making The shim. But it solved all of my issues.
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos FUCKING LEGENDDDD
Truly the MacGyver of offset guitars, turned out really well! I've found the Mastery looks super block-y and doesn't really fit with the curviness of Jazzmasters/Jaguars.
Haha cheers man. I agree original just looks right.
The mastery aesthetically rates poorly in my book. I can't see it fitting the part in any traditional guitar.
Oooh prepare for the venom of a thousand bun haired hipsters who wasted $200 😂... thought your DIY bridge sounded a little brighter which is what most people look for. Think you need to go into business bud 👌
All prepared haha! I think halon got there before me :) cheers
*hair-bunned hipsters*
Sonic Youth SLAMMED
@@averyetvspecial1487 yeah except Sonic youth don’t have man buns.
From the limited ability of comparing audio over a hyper compressed TH-cam video, the DIY bridge was much closer in tone to the original bridge where the mastery seemed a bit darker and lifeless. The bodge bridge just looks massively better too.
You too can have a dark liveless tone for just £200!!!! Cheers mate
Not sure about the sound but it looks much better.
mastery sounds kinda muffled ,right ? ,i think the bad rap on original bridges applies for the cheap import ones ,the one on my Squier JM collapsed and sink on the first gig ... tha one on my AVRI is solid and stable ,havent touched the setup in years ,still works flawlessly ...
Totally agree with this ☝️
Bit of locktite sorted my Squier bridge for me.
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos that and a shim is all what it takes ...
Mastery bridges aren't super comfortable to me. The front edges of the saddles aren't machined smooth at all so they kinda dig into your palm. In almost every other aspect I can totally get behind them but they still aren't the be all end all solution for jazzmaster ailments.
OG Bridge sounds dullish, Mastery gives it a bit more clarity and the DIY is really nice and spanky on the clean. With distortion the DIY is great, then the OG and last is Mastery for me
You must have really good ears mate. Glad you like the diy bridge. I am classing it as open source....build away! Cheers
just seems like fashion choice for 150 tbh just go staytem if you wanna spend loads on a bridge
If this dude talks or moves any slower, he would be moving backwards. I tried watching, but 5 minutes in I feel like the sun is setting. It’s 10am. I tried!
Don't forget to subscribe!! X
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos I tried, but it’s to slow for me. I didn’t give a thumbs down, not for me!
@@jlo2987 try 2x speed and pretend I am smiling ?
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos that got a 👍! Funny
I mean STRICTLY speaking you can make a piece of wire nailed to a log work. I don’t see the point of shitting on a company that’s been a big positive to the offset community.
What have they done for the community? Other than sell stuff?
@@DestroyingAmpsGearDemos and not even like they’ve sold it for a reasonable price, that would help the community out.... I mean they sell Mastery string trees for £25 ... Crazy what’s next the Mastery plectrum
Get on with it. You present ideas good ideas at a snails pace. Also slurping up nasal discharge is gross. I wanted to watch the entire episode but didn’t for the aforementioned reasons. Do recognize your knowledge and your willingness to share though
Hi Jim, thanks for the suggestions. I will take your comments on board. All the best.