Got through another satisfying (lengthy) Mustang setup... Reminds me I actually really like Mustang Dynamic Vibrato. Why?
Flutter: It’ll do this as well as a Floyd, if you hit the strings hard enough or hit the bar, you get auto-vibrato
Range: The range is amazing; greater than a two point modern USA Strat trem. if you set it for down-bend only, you can slack strings. And they stay in tune very well despite this!
Feel: Very direct and smooth, like butter, and very sensitive
...
But they have a bad reputation, so let me pick on the vibrato’s genuine drawbacks that we must accept, some being not so obvious:
-No true tension adjustment; you can't add springs, or tighten springs beyond using the alternae post notches, and doing so will cause either your range of float or tailpiece height to be altered. Even this has minimal affect on feel.
-As mentioned, you can't fine tune the range of the trem without adjusting the tailpiece height. Said different: you can't adjust the tailpiece height without then messing with the float range. (Takeaway: it takes a lot of small adjustments to get both tailpiece height and trem range where you want them, if you're picky. You're off the hook if you only want downward motion... But where's the fun in that?)
-You have a small window in which the string break over bridge can be adjusted; too much and you contact the back of the bridge (bad for tuning,) too little and you're above the whole assembly. Not intuitive: a lot of people replace Jazzmaster bridge with Mustang units, but I find a Jazzmaster bridge is better on a Mustang; you can raise the saddles for more clearance above the bridgeplate
-It's like a Floyd: don't turn adjustment screws with tension on the strings, or you risk ruining the pivots
-Be careful with Japanese or Squier bridges and vibratos; some have no machined pivot on the plate which ruins the motion and makes them unstable, and the cheaper bridges can have incorrectly spaced saddles (with air between them,) weak intonation springs and loose grub screws, etc.... Just buy US.
Oh yeah: the tailpiece “cigar" might get in the way of your picking hand. Or it might not. For me it's ****ing uncomfortable but you get used to it.
...
So how do you get one of these to work? I'm not going to go into much stuff you can just google, like where the post height screws are etc. I'm going to try to get more into the detail about how to make it operate properly once you've figured that out. But here we go...
1- Take the vibrato unit off the guitar. Disassemble it totally to check the pivots. If they're worn/divoted on the plate, either get a new plate or very carefully try to file them sharp again. If you have a Japanese or Squier unit with no sharpened pivots on the plate, throw it away and get a new trem.
2- The springs attach in one of two slots on the vibrato posts (or three, if you have a Japanese unit.) In general, use the closer slots to the plate if you want to float the vibrato, use the slots farther from if you want downward-only.
Edit- I'm reversing this position. The springs should be on the slots closest to the end of the post, for the greatest amount of tension. Some guitars require this additional tension to float properly, depending on the strength of the springs. It is still possible, even with 9s, to float the tailpiece vertical by adjusting post height, but with the springs on the farthest slot you have the benefit of aditional stability through added tension
3- Re-assemble the trem, you can eyeball the post-height for now. String up the guitar with your desired gauge (I suggest 10s for the best stability without it being a workout.)
4- Where's your action? I recommend this: get the bridge height fairly close (like, a millimeter or two) above the body; not so low that the bridge won’t rock though, as the rocking is a big part of what keeps the guitar in tune considering the giant range of the trem. The bridge is most stable as low to the body as possible; set it too high and it always wants to topple like a tree to one side or the other. Action too low now? Remove any shim under the neck before you decide to raise the bridge. Action too high? Add a shim.
5- Look at the height of the strings off the back of the bridge. If they don't contact the plate (only the saddles,) good! If they do touch, this can mess with tuning; you'll need to raise the vibrato post height. Keep in mind that adding height to the posts also = more up-bend. But DO NOT make any vibrato post adjustments with the strings under tension! In general, get the strings right above the bridge baseplate edge for maximum angle without touching.
Update 06/06/18 - Another note on the posts: On some guitars, they can be quite loose to screw into the cigar. This can result in a bit of 'give' when you use the vibrato. One solution is to lightly coat the threads of the post threads with superglue, that way they screw more solidly into the cigar. More direct connection when you move the bar, and improvement in stability.)
6- But now... Where’s the vibrato arm? Do you want more up-bend, less? In general, use trial and error, repeat adjusting, loosening and re-tuning the guitar as many times as it takes till the action of the trem is adequate for your use without messing up the break angle (too great contacts the bridge, too little and you may have to raise the action.) This is the tightrope act... For any bigger change than the post height adjustments allow, take the unit off and reposition the springs in one of the other slots.
7- Almost there! Center your bridge in the cups... Ideally it should be pretty firm in place with the guitar tuned to pitch, and not flop one way or the other. The bridge should move forward and backward with the vibrato motion to allow the strings to not bind; the bridge shouldn't get pushed forward or back and stay there, if it does the bridge is perhaps too high, or you need to move up in string guage, and check your break angle
8- Oh yeah, the arm. A lot of people have trouble with these staying in place, but here’s my solution: screw it in, hard. Then rotate it until there’s a nice groove in the arm, and tighten further so it stays put. IMPORTANT: If you put the arm ALL the way in, it will impact the plate and the guitar will never stay in tune. Only put the arm in as far as it needs to go, then screw it tight.
9- Up-bend, down-bend... Try it out. It should stay in tune as well as the best non-locking trems, which is to say pretty damn well so long as the rest of your guitar setup checks out.
...
A few other points about Mustangs while we're at it:
-They like hotter pickups
-They have really comfortable high fret access thanks to the slim body
-If you like the pickups higher, ditch the covers
-For all that trouble, the Mustang sounds about like a Strat, with a bit of bright jangly "stickiness," near-Gibson scale, and an awesome trem
Flutter: It’ll do this as well as a Floyd, if you hit the strings hard enough or hit the bar, you get auto-vibrato
Range: The range is amazing; greater than a two point modern USA Strat trem. if you set it for down-bend only, you can slack strings. And they stay in tune very well despite this!
Feel: Very direct and smooth, like butter, and very sensitive
...
But they have a bad reputation, so let me pick on the vibrato’s genuine drawbacks that we must accept, some being not so obvious:
-No true tension adjustment; you can't add springs, or tighten springs beyond using the alternae post notches, and doing so will cause either your range of float or tailpiece height to be altered. Even this has minimal affect on feel.
-As mentioned, you can't fine tune the range of the trem without adjusting the tailpiece height. Said different: you can't adjust the tailpiece height without then messing with the float range. (Takeaway: it takes a lot of small adjustments to get both tailpiece height and trem range where you want them, if you're picky. You're off the hook if you only want downward motion... But where's the fun in that?)
-You have a small window in which the string break over bridge can be adjusted; too much and you contact the back of the bridge (bad for tuning,) too little and you're above the whole assembly. Not intuitive: a lot of people replace Jazzmaster bridge with Mustang units, but I find a Jazzmaster bridge is better on a Mustang; you can raise the saddles for more clearance above the bridgeplate
-It's like a Floyd: don't turn adjustment screws with tension on the strings, or you risk ruining the pivots
-Be careful with Japanese or Squier bridges and vibratos; some have no machined pivot on the plate which ruins the motion and makes them unstable, and the cheaper bridges can have incorrectly spaced saddles (with air between them,) weak intonation springs and loose grub screws, etc.... Just buy US.
Oh yeah: the tailpiece “cigar" might get in the way of your picking hand. Or it might not. For me it's ****ing uncomfortable but you get used to it.
...
So how do you get one of these to work? I'm not going to go into much stuff you can just google, like where the post height screws are etc. I'm going to try to get more into the detail about how to make it operate properly once you've figured that out. But here we go...
1- Take the vibrato unit off the guitar. Disassemble it totally to check the pivots. If they're worn/divoted on the plate, either get a new plate or very carefully try to file them sharp again. If you have a Japanese or Squier unit with no sharpened pivots on the plate, throw it away and get a new trem.
2- The springs attach in one of two slots on the vibrato posts (or three, if you have a Japanese unit.) In general, use the closer slots to the plate if you want to float the vibrato, use the slots farther from if you want downward-only.
Edit- I'm reversing this position. The springs should be on the slots closest to the end of the post, for the greatest amount of tension. Some guitars require this additional tension to float properly, depending on the strength of the springs. It is still possible, even with 9s, to float the tailpiece vertical by adjusting post height, but with the springs on the farthest slot you have the benefit of aditional stability through added tension
3- Re-assemble the trem, you can eyeball the post-height for now. String up the guitar with your desired gauge (I suggest 10s for the best stability without it being a workout.)
4- Where's your action? I recommend this: get the bridge height fairly close (like, a millimeter or two) above the body; not so low that the bridge won’t rock though, as the rocking is a big part of what keeps the guitar in tune considering the giant range of the trem. The bridge is most stable as low to the body as possible; set it too high and it always wants to topple like a tree to one side or the other. Action too low now? Remove any shim under the neck before you decide to raise the bridge. Action too high? Add a shim.
5- Look at the height of the strings off the back of the bridge. If they don't contact the plate (only the saddles,) good! If they do touch, this can mess with tuning; you'll need to raise the vibrato post height. Keep in mind that adding height to the posts also = more up-bend. But DO NOT make any vibrato post adjustments with the strings under tension! In general, get the strings right above the bridge baseplate edge for maximum angle without touching.
Update 06/06/18 - Another note on the posts: On some guitars, they can be quite loose to screw into the cigar. This can result in a bit of 'give' when you use the vibrato. One solution is to lightly coat the threads of the post threads with superglue, that way they screw more solidly into the cigar. More direct connection when you move the bar, and improvement in stability.)
6- But now... Where’s the vibrato arm? Do you want more up-bend, less? In general, use trial and error, repeat adjusting, loosening and re-tuning the guitar as many times as it takes till the action of the trem is adequate for your use without messing up the break angle (too great contacts the bridge, too little and you may have to raise the action.) This is the tightrope act... For any bigger change than the post height adjustments allow, take the unit off and reposition the springs in one of the other slots.
7- Almost there! Center your bridge in the cups... Ideally it should be pretty firm in place with the guitar tuned to pitch, and not flop one way or the other. The bridge should move forward and backward with the vibrato motion to allow the strings to not bind; the bridge shouldn't get pushed forward or back and stay there, if it does the bridge is perhaps too high, or you need to move up in string guage, and check your break angle
8- Oh yeah, the arm. A lot of people have trouble with these staying in place, but here’s my solution: screw it in, hard. Then rotate it until there’s a nice groove in the arm, and tighten further so it stays put. IMPORTANT: If you put the arm ALL the way in, it will impact the plate and the guitar will never stay in tune. Only put the arm in as far as it needs to go, then screw it tight.
9- Up-bend, down-bend... Try it out. It should stay in tune as well as the best non-locking trems, which is to say pretty damn well so long as the rest of your guitar setup checks out.
...
A few other points about Mustangs while we're at it:
-They like hotter pickups
-They have really comfortable high fret access thanks to the slim body
-If you like the pickups higher, ditch the covers
-For all that trouble, the Mustang sounds about like a Strat, with a bit of bright jangly "stickiness," near-Gibson scale, and an awesome trem
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