Advice on this bridge

Golden_Sonic · Post by **Golden_Sonic** » Tue May 12, 2015 6:08 am

I still want to swap my Squier-Stang bridge so I've checked Staytrem bridge: WOW! What a dumbass I would be! So I should buy a bridge that costs half the price I paid for my used guitar, isn't it? (65Â£=90â‚¬, I paid 190â‚¬ my Mustang). So I checked Ebay and (WHAT A SURPRISE!) I've found THIS at half the price of the Staytrem.
I sent a mail to the seller and asked if it is a real 9,5" radius bridge for Mustang (the same radius of the Squier-Stang bridge). He replied me with this:

"This bridge is generic distributed par Japanese firm HOSCO. Many people (it is one of my leading product) use it to convert the Threaded saddle of their original Fender jaguar-jazzmaster into this ones
http://www.jag-stang.com/guitars/jaguar ... ridge-mod/
The 9.5" radius has been measured on saddles by myself"

So I've done a research for this japanese HOSCO brand and I have found only THIS. So that bridge is supposed to be a part of the whole Mustang bridge kit. Can you give me any advice about what should I do? Paying 90â‚¬ for a staytrem bridge is a PITA but I want to be sure with this one. There are some measures on the Ebay page of the bridge and I can't control for myself now if they are the same of the Squier-Stang bridge.

MattK · Post by **MattK** » Tue May 12, 2015 11:42 am

What's wrong with the Squier bridge?

Golden_Sonic · Post by **Golden_Sonic** » Tue May 12, 2015 2:26 pm

The strings rattle and buzz on the stock bridge; I've tried to flip it (as suggested by Fakir) but the intonation is completely out after the 13th fret now

Fakir Mustache · Post by **Fakir Mustache** » Wed May 13, 2015 7:19 am

The problem is I've never heard of a Japanese bridge with anything other than 7,5" radius.

Golden_Sonic · Post by **Golden_Sonic** » Wed May 13, 2015 10:51 am

Fakir Mustache wrote:The problem is I've never heard of a Japanese bridge with anything other than 7,5" radius.

That's right. Me too, I've always read about Japanese Mustang bridge with 7,5" radius but the seller has assured me that he measured it and it is 9,5" (he said that it is one of his best-selling items o.0 ). I would buy it if the other measures reported on the ebay page are the same of the Squier Stang bridge.

Fakir Mustache · Post by **Fakir Mustache** » Wed May 13, 2015 11:18 am

You can look on Fender Japan and every guitar they make has a 7 1/2" radius. I think the way he wrote it he could say it's the diameter of the cup ridge in mm. Or the bridge rim (not the saddles).

What I did though, I took the A saddle from another Japanese bridge and put it on the low E, works better on the Squier.

The standard bridge seems to buzz on the low E even on my USA, so it's probably not the best design even with the correct radius, and I have it slightly higher on the bass side as well.

Noirie. · Post by **Noirie.** » Wed May 13, 2015 2:52 pm

With a Mustang bridge, If you place one small washer underneath both E string saddles. It should balance it out a bit better.

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Wed May 13, 2015 8:13 pm

Fakir Mustache wrote:The problem is I've never heard of a Japanese bridge with anything other than 7,5" radius.

Just because Fender only make a 7.25 raduis Mustang bridge doesn't mean some other company doesn't do a 9.5 one.

MattK · Post by **MattK** » Thu May 14, 2015 12:42 pm

As a start, I would try taking the bridge off the guitar, warming it for a while using a hair dryer, dripping some melted wax into the saddle screws, then using the hair dryer to melt the wax away so it's nearly all gone. The thin layer between the screws and the saddles should silence any rattling. Make sure the tops of the saddles are clean so you don't get wax touching the strings.

singlepup · Post by **singlepup** » Fri May 15, 2015 12:57 pm

Noirie. wrote:With a Mustang bridge, If you place one small washer underneath both E string saddles. It should balance it out a bit better.

I like this solution best. Get a 7.25" Mustang bridge. You can solve the radius issue very easily.

Golden_Sonic · Post by **Golden_Sonic** » Fri May 15, 2015 2:40 pm

singlepup wrote:
Noirie. wrote:With a Mustang bridge, If you place one small washer underneath both E string saddles. It should balance it out a bit better.
I like this solution best. Get a 7.25" Mustang bridge. You can solve the radius issue very easily.

Please, explain me better: what is a washer? A sort of piece of something to make thickness under the saddles? How should I do it? What material and How should I put it under the saddles correctly? And how can I be sure to have a 9,5" radius then?

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Fri May 15, 2015 4:14 pm

Use as a shim.

BearBoy · Post by **BearBoy** » Fri May 15, 2015 4:20 pm

Going back to your original post, I don't think spending Â£65 on a Staytrem bridge would make you a "dumbass". Sure, they're not super cheap, but they are excellent bridges and better than any other Jag/Jazzmaster/Mustang bridges I've tried (I haven't tried a Mastery but suspect you wouldn't want to spend that much).

You'll get the right radius and a bridge that, from my experience at least, is solid as fuck without needing any dicking about with wax, loctite, washers etc.

MattK · Post by **MattK** » Sat May 16, 2015 9:02 am

Half the cost of the guitar on a bridge? Personally I would give 50 cents worth of wax a try, but maybe I'm crazy.

singlepup · Post by **singlepup** » Sat May 16, 2015 11:28 am

Golden_Sonic wrote:
singlepup wrote:
Noirie. wrote:With a Mustang bridge, If you place one small washer underneath both E string saddles. It should balance it out a bit better.
I like this solution best. Get a 7.25" Mustang bridge. You can solve the radius issue very easily.
Please, explain me better: what is a washer? A sort of piece of something to make thickness under the saddles? How should I do it? What material and How should I put it under the saddles correctly? And how can I be sure to have a 9,5" radius then?

Radius doesn't need to be exact. The washers (see photo) will give your low E and high E saddles a little boost. Should be close enough.

Players like Cobain and J. Mascis had 12" radius tune-o-matic bridges matched with vintage 7.25" radius necks. There are no rules. Just make sure your guitar is comfortable for you.