Converting a Jaguar Bridge to a Mustang Bridge?

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Thu May 26, 2011 3:45 am

I have a spare Jaguar/JM Bridge sitting around from my AVRI Jaguar and I was wondering if I can convert it to a Mustang Bridge.

Is the only difference the saddles? Is it cost effective to buy just the saddles or better to buy the whole Mustang bridge?

I have two Mustang projects in the works and I would like to save some cash and use what I have.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Thu May 26, 2011 4:18 am

i'm almost positive they're the same spacing, but i could get you dimensions of an allparts mustang bridge for some sort of reference.

if you can find the saddles, you'll probably pay through the nose. i'm not sure how much more cost-effective it would be, since a mustang bridge is like 25 bucks.

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Thu May 26, 2011 4:36 am

I found a Mustang bridge with thimbles for $30. They charge $26.99 just for the Mustang saddles. I might check ebay as well.

http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/gbridge_mustang.htm

Are there any versions or copies of Mustang bridges to stay away from? Is there any difference between US and Japanese Mustang Bridges?

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Thu May 26, 2011 5:03 am

taylornutt wrote:Are there any versions or copies of Mustang bridges to stay away from? Is there any difference between US and Japanese Mustang Bridges?

i say they're all adequate, but others find reason to bitch about the saddle gaps on the allparts bridges. i had one on me brostang and never had issues with it.

the vintage american bridges and japanese RI's are quite similar, except for M@J@.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Thu May 26, 2011 4:22 pm

hotrodperlmutter wrote:the vintage american bridges and japanese 65 RI's are quite similar, except for M@J@.

fxt.

the '69 RI bridge i had (briefly) was pretty crappy, nowhere near as good as vintage.

honeyiscool · Post by **honeyiscool** » Thu May 26, 2011 5:03 pm

The '65 RI bridge is great and the '65 RI I had worked with strings all the way down to 9s. The '69 RI bridge I had wasn't all that and the '69 RI I had never was quite buzz free with 10s. I don't know if that's because I did a better job setting the '65 up or anything, or if it has to do with the bridge. I don't know if newer '69s have the improved bridge (without the gaps) but it's not just that there's gaps, it's that the newer bridges just feel a bit more solid to me. Placebo effect? Who knows? All I know is that with Strats, it always seems like better saddles = less buzz, so I don't see where Mustangs would be any different.

gator789 · Post by **gator789** » Wed Aug 17, 2011 2:58 am

yes that is a common upgrade....the jaguar and jazzmaster bridges are...well i dont understand what they were thinking....if you play semi rough rythm the strings will slip around for sure....check out the mastery bridge......but the price yuck!

beckyjc · Post by **beckyjc** » Wed Aug 17, 2011 8:56 am

The bridges are the exact same, its the saddles.

Consider the graphtech mustang saddles. Only 1 grove but theyre height adjustable aswell. I've had em on my jag for years now, not had an issue with the bridge since they day they were installed.

Pens · Post by **Pens** » Fri Aug 19, 2011 4:05 am

beckyjc wrote:The bridges are the exact same, its the saddles.

Consider the graphtech mustang saddles. Only 1 grove but theyre height adjustable aswell. I've had em on my jag for years now, not had an issue with the bridge since they day they were installed.

I've thought about doing this several times, but doesn't that fuck up the grounding since the strings no longer ground through the bridge cups?

rlm2112 · Post by **rlm2112** » Fri Aug 19, 2011 8:39 am

I put mustang saddles on a jag bridge for the Brostang II. It worked fine. Now that I think about it, i never even connected a ground wire to the bridge or tailpeice, but there's no hum at all.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Fri Aug 19, 2011 8:47 am

@Pens
Yeah I read a post on Offset where they used tusq saddles and that happened. Presumably you ground from the trem plate in stead (I know nowt about this!)

beckyjc · Post by **beckyjc** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 12:38 pm

Pens wrote:
beckyjc wrote:The bridges are the exact same, its the saddles.

Consider the graphtech mustang saddles. Only 1 grove but theyre height adjustable aswell. I've had em on my jag for years now, not had an issue with the bridge since they day they were installed.

I've thought about doing this several times, but doesn't that fuck up the grounding since the strings no longer ground through the bridge cups?

i thought they were all grounded through the trem/tailpeice. Mine is. Theres no hole through to the bridge posts.

astrozombie · Post by **astrozombie** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 8:01 pm

beckyjc wrote:
Pens wrote:
beckyjc wrote:The bridges are the exact same, its the saddles.

Consider the graphtech mustang saddles. Only 1 grove but theyre height adjustable aswell. I've had em on my jag for years now, not had an issue with the bridge since they day they were installed.

I've thought about doing this several times, but doesn't that fuck up the grounding since the strings no longer ground through the bridge cups?
i thought they were all grounded through the trem/tailpeice. Mine is. Theres no hole through to the bridge posts.

I believe they are grounded through the bridge cups.