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So I finally bought a Squier Vintage Modified Mustang, a secondhand one but in mint conditions! The guitar has come without gigbag (no problem, I have the hard case of my Squier Duo Sonic and another gigbag) and tremolo arm, so I've paid it 190 € and not 210 € as the owner said. Here some pics, I'll upload some good as soon as I can:


The Squier Mustang is heavier than the Duo Sonic and it has a slab body against the Duo's contour body; as some of you said me in another post, the neck is a bit chunky (but it is comfortable anyway) and the single coils are "hotter" than those of the Duo. Good finishes and suond after all.
My main concern is about the bridge: I'd like to use the vibrato arm without making the guitar go out of tuning; besides, I want a low action for the strings.
So my question is: How have I to set up properly the dynamic floating vibrato in order:
1) to have a low action;
2) to use the vibrato arm;
3) in spite of the use of the vibrato arm, to stay tuned the Mustang?

This is how I have it set up, with .046-.010:

Things to watch out for:
1) Mainly use the screws on the sides of the bridge to raise and lower the bridge itself.
2) Make sure the saddles are high enough that the strings are not so low that the sides of the bridge touch the strings (and the front of the bridge becomes the bridge).
3) You don't want to raise the saddles too high, because then the screws will get too high and touch the strings.
4) If you use higher gauge strings than me, you may need to face the bridge the other way (I have the bridge backwards in the photo, that's how it's best for .046-.010
5) Try the vibrato, and if you hear buzzing, you may need to raise some saddles or the whole bridge
6) How I have it is not good for the low E string, because the spring is too short, a longer spring would help for how I have it in the picture. You can use a spring from a pen I guess.
7) Lubricate the nut with a pencil or GHS Grafitall or whatever other lubricant.

Thank you for your reply! In this moment some strings are touching the sides of the bridge and the saddle of the low E is too low; as regards the strings measure, I use .010-.046 or .011-.046. I'll try as you said.
Another question: it is not necessary to disassemble the dynamic vibrato to change the stretch of the two big springs that are under the bridge, isn't it?

You don't have to completely disassemble it.

Remove it from the body, then take a pair of pliers, don't know the name but the nose looks like a dolphin nose or from one of those aquatic dinosaurs, and with that remove the hook of the spring from the plate. Then you can move the spring to another level (it's too hard to do under tension).

The level close to the end of that metal stick thing is the strongest tension.

The following pictures show the weakest tension:

The greater is the tension, the harder is to use the vibrato arm, isn't it? At what level should I place the springs in order to use well the vibrato arm without making the guitar go out of tuning? From the photo, it seems there are 3 levels...

Probably the hardest tension, it's not that hard to move because the arm has a big angle.

I had the lightest before and it was going out of tune a lot.

Cool stuff.
Yet to play one of these but I'd buy a fiesta red model if I saw one going for a good price.

Hats off to Fakir ITT, some good info and pics there dude

Fakir Mustache wrote:Probably the hardest tension, it's not that hard to move because the arm has a big angle.

I had the lightest before and it was going out of tune a lot.

[youtube][/youtube]
I've found this video on the Tube and his way of setting up the Dynamic Vibrato is quite different from your: the springs' tension is lighter than your. I'm making a bit of confusion: can you tell me again what should I do in the setting, point to point, for each part of the bridge? Sorry but I'm a noob... I want to get the result of this guy, and a low action for the strings/bridge:
[youtube][/youtube]

Second video has heaviest tension, neither video has the same type of bridge.

Just read my posts again.

Fran wrote:Cool stuff.
Hats off to Fakir ITT,got some good info and pics there dude

^+1
Welcome to the club Golden_Sonic..well done on your stang purchase!
I shall be using Fakir's info and tweaking mine fo sure...

I'm going to set mine up too on the kc mustang. It has a TOM though, so i wonder if that is going to be too much of a problem for getting good return to pitch. Hopefully not though, as the j mascis jm is pretty much fine, and it has the TOM.

Great info though for sure, thanks Fakir.

Fakir Mustache wrote:Second video has heaviest tension, neither video has the same type of bridge.

Just read my posts again.

Ok, I'll try with the hardest tension, the third level. Thank you Fakir

Or do as my, just skip the trem-bar. Do the guitar go easy out of tune without the trem arm?

I forget to ask for it: I don't have the vibrato arm. What is the right replacement for the Squier mustang vibrato arm? Should I buy the Fender american mustang trem arm or the japanese one?

Golden_Sonic wrote:I forget to ask for it: I don't have the vibrato arm. What is the right replacement for the Squier mustang vibrato arm? Should I buy the Fender american mustang trem arm or the japanese one?

Just a ordenary one. They sell them on thomann.

My Japanese reissue trem arms fit in the VM and vice versa so I know you'll be fine with a Japanese spec.

Well, tried setting up the KC term tonight. Put it on the stiffest setting. I play 10s, so wondering it it's maybe too stiff? Plays fine, but I'm wondering if it effects the balance.

It's definitely WAY better, but nowhere near as good as a JM/Jag trem. The TOM probably doesn't help, but it's no t such a big deal on the JM Jazzmaster, so I don't see why it should be on the mustang. There's a load more play in the bridge on the posts with the mustang than there is on the JM.

I found I had to wiggle the shit out of it for a few minutes to get it to settle down. I can now do nice wobbles, and it pretty much goes back to correct pitch.

Better, but not as great as I'd hoped.

^ did you put some kind of lubricant on the nut? You need to do that.

Fakir Mustache wrote:^ did you put some kind of lubricant on the nut? You need to do that.

Yeah, i used a lot of lead from a propelling pencil on the nut slots, and also the bridge slots.

I will screw the cigar tube down a bit more though. There's still a few mm before the strings make contact with bridge behind the bridge.

It's definitely a ton better, but it's nowhere near as stable as my jag or jm.

I haven't had a problem getting the trem to be stable. I basically tune and intonate the guitar. Dive bomb the tremolo back and forth. (More then I do when I am actually playing.) I retune it and dive bomb back and forth again. I keep doing this until it stays in tune in spite of the dive bombs and I am good to go. It is the same way I set up all my tremolo guitars. I think it helps stretch the strings and get them settled and stable.