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transients wrote:The mastery is still great, but I think there's a better bridge that's slightly cheaper and stays more faithful to the original sound of the jm/jag, the staytrem bridge:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=181071431557

I really dig the one that came with the johnny marr jag. The price seems a little steep but when compared with the mastery, it's not bad.

Whoa, I may have to get ahold of one of these

transients wrote:The mastery is still great, but I think there's a better bridge that's slightly cheaper and stays more faithful to the original sound of the jm/jag, the staytrem bridge:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=181071431557

I really dig the one that came with the johnny marr jag. The price seems a little steep but when compared with the mastery, it's not bad.

What do those vibration eliminators do for your tone?

I'll deal with a falling (not so much anymore!) Mastery...and loc-tite. The tone enhancement it provides is worth it to me.

I have mastery on two of my guitars : a Jazzmaster and a Teardrop. Really rescued two guitars with a lot of issues.
I play hard and use the tremolo a lot, beat strings with my fist etc, and I am really happy with them.
The screw themselves down after a while, but nothing too bad. Maybe Loctite is the way.

They also add a bit of sustain and have a definite sound of their own(in a good way I think)..

Go for it!

I have a jag with a mastery bridge and a johnny marr jag with the staytrem. They sound completely different. Some people want the known sustain-less jaguar sound (better for shoegaze-ish stuff to me), and if you're after that classic jag sound, I'd go with the staytrem bridge. Basically it's a mustang bridge with all the typical problems introduced by switching to a mustang bridge fixed if you get the proper radius staytrem bridge. If you want sustain and resonance, then get the mastery bridge. It clamps into the body and transfers a lot more string vibration. Simple as that.

MBV impersonators - Staytrem bridge

Nels Cline impersonators - Mastery bridge

SEE?

Mastery definitely added resonance and sustain, not to the point of making my JM sound like a Les Paul, to me the perfect amount.

I love the mastery. Had some thimbles made for mine (as I went from TOM to mastery with a stopover at mustang bridge for a while).

Out of those 3 options, mastery is by far my favorite.

I love mastery bridges, I have it on my jazzmasters and when I had a Jag I had it there too.
Before mastery I had tried anything, but mastery was the one that didn't change the character
of my guitars, had better intonation, no string breaks, no buzz...

so wait, a Mastery will or will not drop right into a VM Jag without mods?

I'm bringing this thread back from the dead now that I've had the Mastery on my Mustang for a little while. My verdict is that the hype is well deserved, the Mastery is awesome!

It definitely cut down on some buzzing, and there was a noticeable increase in sustain. The narrower string spacing is also great, as my high e was too close to the edge of the fretboard for my liking before. Even though the stock Mustang bridge was supposedly the same 7.25 radius as the fretboard, the high and low e strings never felt quite the right height compared to the other strings before, but that was easily fixed with the Mastery. The intonation was also 95% there right out of the box, a couple of quick tweaks and it was spot on.

Yeah, it sure isn't cheap, but I'm glad I went for it. I highly recommend the Mastery to anyone with a Mustang/JM/Jag etc. that's considering going for it.

And of course I have to post a photo of it:

I've posted this picture before. The Bigsby had a JM bridge, but I hated it and almost took it off and replaced the stock 6 saddle bridgeplate. I bought a Mastery and it fixed every single problem I had with the Bigsby. Definitely worth the money.

I also have a Warmoth Modified Mustang bridge on a Squier Jag, and I can say that it's just as awesome with a little bit of LocTite. And it's 1/3 the price of the Mastery. If you're not afraid of tinkering, that one is the way to go. If you want to plug and play, get the Mastery.

I have an AVRI JM. Replaced the stock with a mustang bridge. That was better, but I didn't love it. Then I got the mastery. Love it. Love it to pieces. Definitely helps sustain, *especially* up the neck. I also have a Jagumarr, it has more attack and less sustain so I'm pretty much in business.

Stock Mastery will not go in a VM, but Mastery sells thimbles to install it in VM/Japanese offsets.

ooop wrote:I have an AVRI JM. Replaced the stock with a mustang bridge. That was better, but I didn't love it. Then I got the mastery. Love it. Love it to pieces. Definitely helps sustain, *especially* up the neck. I also have a Jagumarr, it has more attack and less sustain so I'm pretty much in business.

Stock Mastery will not go in a VM, but Mastery sells thimbles to install it in VM/Japanese offsets.

i ordered a stock mastery and it fit perfectly into my vintage modified jaguar with no modification

It won't fit in Classic Players without doweling and re drilling... When I get an AVRI that's gonna be the first upgrade...

Any more comparisons between the Mastery and the Staytrem on a Jazzmaster (other than the look)?

I recently replaced the Jag bridge with a Mastery on my Tele w/Bigsby...no more rattling saddles, action and intonation almost spot on out of the box, better playing stability and improved sustain. Getting a Mastery for my new JM seems like a no-brainer, but I'm still curuious about the Staytrem.

likely this comparison has happened over at the offset guitar forum.

i love my mastery. I would not like it without loc-tite!

amorphous wrote:likely this comparison has happened over at the offset guitar forum.

i love my mastery. I would not like it without loc-tite!

Eh, I just bit the bullet and ordered the Mastery since it made such an improvement on the Bigsby Tele. On the Tele, the Mastery bridge is almost flush with the pickup plate so I don't think that I'll have to go with the Loc-Tite. If I have to with the JM, no biggie. I have a Johnny Marr Jag on the way so maybe that will help me evalute the merits of a psuedo-Staytrem bridge vs the Mastery.