Fixing the problems associated with the crappy Jazzmaster/Mustang bridge

As some of ye know, I picked up a Bigsby equipped Tele recently, complete with the much maligned Jazzmaster bridge. It's every bit as bad as legend tells, it was a bit of a surprise to see just how badly designed the whole thing was. There's a lovely gentle vibrato to the Bigsby but when the ****er goes wildly out of tune every time you breathe on it, it sucks the fun right out of it.




Anyone who has this bridge knows all about the rattles, the strings popping out and its inability to stay in tune for more than five seconds. It's really ****, I can't put into words just how clearly the design as it is simply cannot stay in tune, as long as the laws of physics apply to planet Earth.




This pic illustrates the problems - the string touches both the intonation screw and the back of the bridge baseplate, before it makes contact with the saddle. The string angle over the saddle is so shallow there is next to no force pushing the string down over the saddle, so the height adjuster nuts come loose easily, the saddles rattle around, the strings pop out of the shallow saddle grooves and there's so much friction when you use the Bigsby it won't ever go back to the pitch it was. Plus, the saddle height adjusters stick up and rip lovely soft palm flesh with ease as you strum.




As if that wasn't bad enough, the entire bridge sits precariously balanced on two of these fine points, happily wobbling back and forth with nothing but the tension of the strings lightly resting on top of it to keep it upright. There's about 1cm of travel back and forth in the ferrules as they are and the whole thing moves with the strings when you operate the Bigsby. When you think of how much friction is affecting the string due to it grinding off the intonation screw and bridge baseplate there is no way the tension can be constant to return the bridge back to its zero point. This also screws up the intonation as the position of the saddles isn't constant in relation to the nut and, of course, general tuning too. The Mustang bridge is essentially the same design but with different saddles with just one big groove in them. Other than that, they share every other flaw and they're just as **** as the Jazzmaster design.




Happily, a quick twist of an allen key retracts these back up the shaft which is shorter than the ferrule it sits in, meaning the arse of the bridge will sit flush on the body of the guitar when fully retracted. I've put some aluminium tape (copper shielding tape would do the same thing) around the top of each shaft, enough to require a bit of force to fit it in the ferrule and this prevents the bridge moving back and forth. Stability at last.




OK, so the bridge will sit low and flat on the body and won't move around anymore. That's half the battle.




Adding a shim to the neck will slightly increase the angle of the neck against the body, meaning the saddles will need to be raised to give sufficient action. A small bit of business card folded over will add about 3mm to the required height of the strings over the bridge. I use Animal Welfare Veterinary Hospital brand business cards, they've got the best tone and make you play faster and rock harder, like scallops. I tired other brand business cards but they just didn't have the warmth I needed in my tone. I hear Steve Vai is bringing out a signature business card shim, we'll wait and see how good that is.




With the neck re-attached you can see you barely notice the angle change in the neck pocket.




But you can see the difference in string height now, they're way too low, so the saddles will need to be raised a fair bit, which will increase the string angle and get them up over the baseplate and intonation screws.




Before you string it up turn the intonation screws anti-clockwise to move the saddles towards the nut. As you raise the saddles to get the action sorted, the angle of the screw head against the baseplate will pull them back towards the Bigsby, screwing up the intonation.

John, this is what I was talking about, the ear plug used to keep the string on the post, it makes stringing the Bigsby so much easier and won't damage the finish.




With the saddles raised so the action is the same as it was before you can see how the strings now clear the intonation screw and the bridge baseplate.




The angle over the saddle is also much greater, meaning there's more force pushing the string down into the saddle grooves. Now the strings won't pop out.




The bridge height adjusters are also recessed into the saddle, so your hand won't get chafed again. Plus, there's plenty of pressure on them now so they won't rattle or come loose.




Compare this to the second pic, you can see how much more clearance there is over the bridge baseplate. You might need to raise the pickup height to compensate, but it's a minor adjustment. You'll get used to the slighlty different feel in a couple of minutes.




That's it. No more rattles, no more strings popping out, no cuts and bruises and, best of all, it stays in tune when you use the Bigsby. Honestly. Rock on!