Fender Mustang Vibrato: Setup Guide

Re: Fender Mustang Vibrato: Setup Guide

I have had some on order for about a month! Asked Jaime to create some similar to the SD Antiquities, still awaiting an invoice. Think he is very busy atm. Let me know how they sound!
 
Re: Fender Mustang Vibrato: Setup Guide

Well, now this project is delayed. The new pickups are taller than the old ones so I'm either going to have to shim the neck up or rout the pickup cavities for clearance. Also once I had the strings of I noticed the frets in the "cowboy chord" range are starting to get divots in them from the strings. So the guitar will be going to a luthier friend to get these issues fixed and a proper setup.
 
Re: Fender Mustang Vibrato: Setup Guide

I'm alarmed if there's a single coil that can't be set low enough in a Mustang. Pics?
 
Re: Fender Mustang Vibrato: Setup Guide

Stock pickup-slightly less than 11/16"
20180708_190233.jpg
Sonic 60- 3/4"
20180708_190250.jpg
So not a huge difference, but just enough. I also had to trim the screws down some, the were longer than the originals, but a different diameter and thread pitch. The screw is also hitting on the solder on the shielding plates
20180708_191016.jpg
Idk if these issues will occur on MIJ models, this is an American 1976 model YMMV
 
Re: Fender Mustang Vibrato: Setup Guide

I recommend not going with a non-rocking or non-roller bridge on a Mustang, because trem range is huge.

I'm currently wrestling with the trem & tuning on my 2003 CIJ Mustang, so this thread has been hugely enlightening!

My original bridge rattled like crazy, and given that you can't order Staytrem from the US anymore, I bought a Mastery bridge for my Mustang. But seeing your comments about non-rocking bridges, I'm wondering if that was the wrong move? What specific issues would you expect to see with a non-rocking bridge on a Mustang.

I'm wondering now if I should try a Johnny Marr Jaguar bridge, which people seem to say is similar to the Staytrem.

Any thoughts?
 
Re: Fender Mustang Vibrato: Setup Guide

I'm currently wrestling with the trem & tuning on my 2003 CIJ Mustang, so this thread has been hugely enlightening!

My original bridge rattled like crazy, and given that you can't order Staytrem from the US anymore, I bought a Mastery bridge for my Mustang. But seeing your comments about non-rocking bridges, I'm wondering if that was the wrong move? What specific issues would you expect to see with a non-rocking bridge on a Mustang.

I'm wondering now if I should try a Johnny Marr Jaguar bridge, which people seem to say is similar to the Staytrem.

Any thoughts?

There's a thread on Offsetguitars.com in the last month detailing tuning issues due to strings binding on a Mastery, along with saddle movement and other problems - and that was on a Jazzmaster, where there's a lot less movement going on than a Mustang. Actually if you search that forum, you'll find a lot of threads about people's issues with the Mastery; they are not fool-proof.

(In fact: In my opinion people often try to use Mastery bridges to mask other setup problems and 'treat the symptoms' of a bad setup - in other words, by the time they get the Mastery running they could have used the stock bridge just fine. I sort of side-eye that bridge for that reason - they can work fine on a Jaguar/Jazzmaster if you put the effort in, but relatively few people use them on Mustangs and I *suspect* there'd be too much friction on a Mustang vs. a Jaguar/Jazzmaster for a Mastery to work as-designed. Try it if you have it though; it may work.)

For yours, first I'd try stretching the intonation springs out on your existing MIJ bridge so the saddles are firm/can't move on the bridge baseplate. That's really the only place the Mustang bridge can 'rattle' and it's a sore spot for the MIJs in general. The Marr bridge will probably work fine, be aware the radius is different; this may or may not be noticeable on your setup. I'm pretty sure (but have not verified) that bridge is also used on the new American Performer Mustangs. You also might be able to find a deal on a vintage Mustang bridge, that's what I have done.
 
Re: Fender Mustang Vibrato: Setup Guide

There's a thread on Offsetguitars.com in the last month detailing tuning issues due to strings binding on a Mastery, along with saddle movement and other problems - and that was on a Jazzmaster, where there's a lot less movement going on than a Mustang. Actually if you search that forum, you'll find a lot of threads about people's issues with the Mastery; they are not fool-proof.

(In fact: In my opinion people often try to use Mastery bridges to mask other setup problems and 'treat the symptoms' of a bad setup - in other words, by the time they get the Mastery running they could have used the stock bridge just fine. I sort of side-eye that bridge for that reason - they can work fine on a Jaguar/Jazzmaster if you put the effort in, but relatively few people use them on Mustangs and I *suspect* there'd be too much friction on a Mustang vs. a Jaguar/Jazzmaster for a Mastery to work as-designed. Try it if you have it though; it may work.)

For yours, first I'd try stretching the intonation springs out on your existing MIJ bridge so the saddles are firm/can't move on the bridge baseplate. That's really the only place the Mustang bridge can 'rattle' and it's a sore spot for the MIJs in general. The Marr bridge will probably work fine, be aware the radius is different; this may or may not be noticeable on your setup. I'm pretty sure (but have not verified) that bridge is also used on the new American Performer Mustangs. You also might be able to find a deal on a vintage Mustang bridge, that's what I have done.

Thank you! I will find that thread on Offsetguitars.com and check it out.

One of the things that drove me away from my original bridge was the fact that the saddles *seemed* to have too much left/right play between them -- I always wondered if they were rattling against each other at times. But I'll check out the springs and see how that affects things.

I believe the Marr bridge would be the right radius for my MG73-CO Mustang anyway -- they're both 7.25" -- but I will definitely experiment further with the two bridges I've got before buying another.

Thank you again for your thoughts! If I discover anything useful, I'll report back.
 
Re: Fender Mustang Vibrato: Setup Guide

The MIJ bridges in particular seem really susceptible to that 'slop' that allows the saddles to move side to side; even if they don't rattle audibly, you lose string energy when the high E in particular moves; the other strings typically stay in place better. That said, MIJ Jaguars/Jazzmasters are affected worse by that affliction than the US-made bridges (which at least for the example I posted on page 1 , is a ROCK solid bridge.)

As-mentioned, the basic reasons the original/'60s US bridges are more solid are the much thicker intonation springs, and the much tighter tolerance of the screws in the baseplate. Even Squier does this better than the MIJ bridges nowadays, BTW (on average.) Staytrem uses nylon bushings to keep each intonation screw solid in the baseplate so they can't move, but really you just need stiffer/longer springs to avoid this problem.
 
Re: Fender Mustang Vibrato: Setup Guide

The MIJ bridges in particular seem really susceptible to that 'slop' that allows the saddles to move side to side; even if they don't rattle audibly, you lose string energy when the high E in particular moves; the other strings typically stay in place better. That said, MIJ Jaguars/Jazzmasters are affected worse by that affliction than the US-made bridges (which at least for the example I posted on page 1 , is a ROCK solid bridge.)

As-mentioned, the basic reasons the original/'60s US bridges are more solid are the much thicker intonation springs, and the much tighter tolerance of the screws in the baseplate. Even Squier does this better than the MIJ bridges nowadays, BTW (on average.) Staytrem uses nylon bushings to keep each intonation screw solid in the baseplate so they can't move, but really you just need stiffer/longer springs to avoid this problem.

You're giving me hope that, with some patience, I can sort this thing out! I'd been getting pretty discouraged about it.

The last time I took the Mustang to my tech, I asked him about the nut, which I haven't modified at all in the nine months I've owned the guitar, but he didn't think it was an issue.

I've got 11s on it (Power Slinkys), and I've wondered if -- in addition to other stuff -- they are sticking at the nut, but I don't know how to assess this visually. It certainly looks tighter to me than some of my other guitars, and I'm planning to try some Lubrikit on it this weekend. But I'll also post a couple photos of its current state here (if I can figure out how) in case you see any red flags?

IMG_5885.jpg

IMG_5886.jpg
 
Re: Fender Mustang Vibrato: Setup Guide

My best advice there is - try pressing the string behind the nut to see if it stays in tune or gets put out - of course you need to consider that by pressing on the string you may be moving the trem somewhat as well. It’s a hard thing for me to eyeball, maybe someone else can; I use 9s on my Mustang though so my nut slots are prob. roomier than they should be ideally.

Stick with it, but at risk of repeating myself- the knife edges really are the weak point, and it’s worse on import vibratos and MIJ. Make sure they stay sharp, and make sure the counter-sink is there. I’m actually intrigued by the more robust pivot points on the new American Professional Mustangs, seems like it could save headaches (but requires routing.)
 
Re: Fender Mustang Vibrato: Setup Guide

I’m actually intrigued by the more robust pivot points on the new American Professional Mustangs, seems like it could save headaches (but requires routing.)

I actually called Fender Customer Service yesterday to ask about that bridge — see if there was a part number or something — but I was told they don’t sell them yet, and probably wouldn’t for a few years. Which I thought was odd, but...I guess that’s how the roll.
 
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