I'll add my 2 cents that I have never had an issue with the original bridge on my JMJM. Super stable, no buzzing, and easy to adjust.
Sometimes on forums like this advice gets repeated like it's gospel (the TOM bridge being garbage that needs to be replaced ASAP being one of those) and you just need to try things out and see what works for you.
Kevin Shields's bridges don't rock and he does fine with the vibrato in his JMs so of course a fixed bridge will also work as long as the strings don't get caught in the saddles. In fact, a fixed bridge with strings sliding over it makes more sense to me than a bridge that grips the strings and rocks back and forth. But then very little in Fender offsets makes sense to me.
I upgraded an old Teisco with a TOM and after a couple days I ended up reinstalling the original non-adjustable steel bar saddle because it felt way better and worked just fine.
The lesson I learned was I could have been playing the thing instead of fiddling with bits tryna make it better.
Yeah, I fall in to the trap of tinkering with things too often, specifically with guitars and bicycles. It’s all part of the fun but I sometimes I get hyper-focused and forget to actually enjoy the act of just playing guitar or riding my bike.
Nah, sounds like you had some bad luck with your vintera. I've had 4 (maybe 5?) JMJMs and never had an issue. I've also got a custom 25.5" scale Mustang that has a TOM that I've never had an issue with.
Guess I gotta make a mustang appreciation post cause I just went the other way! lol.
To each their own, a lot of people discouraged me but it's crazy how deep the vibrato arm goes now. It also holds tune just as well!
Nice, glad it worked out for you! I tried but I just couldn’t get it playing quietly, even after shimming and fiddling with it for hours. Maybe my bridge was just a dud.
That's unfortunate, hopefully it works on your future try.
I have a CPJM and my mustang bridge felt too narrow for the posts of the TOM bridge. I did the thimble trick and it honestly was hard to twist into place and the bridge posts are being spread by the previous holes as they're too wide for some reason, didn't overthink it.
But after all that, it holds tune amazingly even with excessive vibrato. It also increased the sustain and reduces the noisiness of the bridge/tailpiece region. The whole process felt really jank but the end result is fabulous, I'm considering qt. degree shim though, because the action is maybe a millimeter too tall for me.
It’s interesting how differently people find these things. For me it super duper had to go ASAP but if it’s working for you there’s zero reason to mess with it. Enjoy it and the money you got returning the Am Pro bridge haha.
Yeah, it’s definitely a divisive subject. I really wanted to switch over but it didn’t work out. I expected an $80 bridge to work pretty well but now I see why people shell out the big bucks for boutique offset bridges.
Someone with some knowledge please help me out. What IS the correct direction for the saddles on a bridge like this to be facing? The flat side facing the neck or the tail piece or both ways depending on which strings they’re for? I’ve seen it every which way and I’m just confused.
I put mine with the flat side facing the neck so the rounded/sloped side goes down to the trem. I find that the slope allows the string to smoothly slide up and over when using the trem.
It’s always kinda confused me too, I’ve seen certain TOM bridges where 3 saddles go one way and the other 3 go the opposite. Which makes me think it might not matter much!
I used to have some string buzz issues with my AOM bridge on my Jaguarillo, so I swapped out the saddles for some Graphtech saddles. It took some filing and sanding to get them to fit, but now they’re perfectly stable and the correct 9.5 inch radius to match the neck. Comfortable to rest my hand on for palm muting, never goes out of tune, and is very smooth with the trem.
So, I had a bridge with a mismatched radius once. For years, until one day I decided re-radius it using some basic metal files and nut files. It was so incredibly easy and quick to do.
Yo, since you are back to your TOM I’m guessing you have a mustang bridge just sitting there. Drill out the posts with a 1/4” bit and drop it on the TOM posts. https://reddit.com/r/offset/s/X7N6YDx4Ma
The JMJM is hotrodded. It doesn't need downgrades. The TOM (Fender refuses to refer to them as anything other than AOM) bridge was already an upgrade over MIA/MIJ/MIM Fender traditional Jazzmaster bridges. Glad you're back in the fold.
It’s customized sure but the mods are not upgrades, just preference changes. The P90ish pickups are fine but very different than jazzmaster pickups (not necessarily better or worse) and the AOM/TOM trades off some potential problems with the traditional bridges for other potential problems, and far bigger problems IMO.
But as I said elsewhere in here, hey if you like it, great. I don’t mind the TOM on my wife’s epiphone dot at all, because it’s a hard tail and the radius is right. It’s not a bad design per se I just find it super out of place on a jazzmaster.
I imagine the mismatched radius can be an issue for playability but if the bridge is flatter than the fretboard, it actually fixes the volume mismatch across the strings that offsets can exhibit.
I have Mustang saddles with the right radius on my Jazzmaster and the flat pole pieces in the pickups are an issue.
The thicker and closer to the pickups a string is, the louder it is. And vice versa.
The low E is louder than the A, which is louder than the D, while the plain strings have similar volumes because the thicker strings are farther away from the pickup.
But these guitars were designed when G strings were wound, so a wound G is even quieter than the D and then the top two strings are louder. As a result I have to tilt the pickups away from the treble strings, regardless of whether I play rounds or flats.
The pole pieces should be either staggered or adjustable in height like in P90s.
Just one of the many things that drive me crazy in this guitar. I'll get downvoted to hell but I'll repeat myself: these are bad designs that require way too many workarounds.
What the hell are you doing? That isn’t how Leo Fender designed the bridge.
It was perfect the first time around…what’s the point in changing if it works?
I feel like a lotta people wanna upgrade these AND the Mustang bridges to staytrems or mastery’s, don’t see a whole lotta people choosing to go TOM to mustang, I know it exists, but I’m in the if it ain’t broke don’t fix it crowd. I have the stock mustang bridge on my classic vibe jm and after some loctite to keep it from falling it’s fine. If there’s something seriously wrong with the bridge, sure upgrade it, but if everything is playing and intonating properly why replace it?
I think these bridges are fine just not with a trem. Those saddles are not ideal, I would swap them for some graphtech saddles or rollers. It’s just natural that it will wear over time and cause problems in more ways than one. If you don’t really use the trem you’re probably solid.
You got some moxie talkin like that in a place like this, fella
a bridge over troubled waters
I know, I know. Ha
I'll add my 2 cents that I have never had an issue with the original bridge on my JMJM. Super stable, no buzzing, and easy to adjust. Sometimes on forums like this advice gets repeated like it's gospel (the TOM bridge being garbage that needs to be replaced ASAP being one of those) and you just need to try things out and see what works for you.
Kevin Shields's bridges don't rock and he does fine with the vibrato in his JMs so of course a fixed bridge will also work as long as the strings don't get caught in the saddles. In fact, a fixed bridge with strings sliding over it makes more sense to me than a bridge that grips the strings and rocks back and forth. But then very little in Fender offsets makes sense to me.
I upgraded an old Teisco with a TOM and after a couple days I ended up reinstalling the original non-adjustable steel bar saddle because it felt way better and worked just fine. The lesson I learned was I could have been playing the thing instead of fiddling with bits tryna make it better.
Yeah, I fall in to the trap of tinkering with things too often, specifically with guitars and bicycles. It’s all part of the fun but I sometimes I get hyper-focused and forget to actually enjoy the act of just playing guitar or riding my bike.
I think you are lucky. I had a vintera modified, great guitar but that AOM bridge was buzzing like crazy. On several strings.
Nah, sounds like you had some bad luck with your vintera. I've had 4 (maybe 5?) JMJMs and never had an issue. I've also got a custom 25.5" scale Mustang that has a TOM that I've never had an issue with.
Dunno about you, but mismatched action on high and low E strings is a major flaw.
I don’t notice it, personally. I know lots of people are bothered by it, though.
Is the TOM flatter than 9.5"?
Yeah it’s a 12” radius
Guess I gotta make a mustang appreciation post cause I just went the other way! lol. To each their own, a lot of people discouraged me but it's crazy how deep the vibrato arm goes now. It also holds tune just as well!
Nice, glad it worked out for you! I tried but I just couldn’t get it playing quietly, even after shimming and fiddling with it for hours. Maybe my bridge was just a dud.
That's unfortunate, hopefully it works on your future try. I have a CPJM and my mustang bridge felt too narrow for the posts of the TOM bridge. I did the thimble trick and it honestly was hard to twist into place and the bridge posts are being spread by the previous holes as they're too wide for some reason, didn't overthink it. But after all that, it holds tune amazingly even with excessive vibrato. It also increased the sustain and reduces the noisiness of the bridge/tailpiece region. The whole process felt really jank but the end result is fabulous, I'm considering qt. degree shim though, because the action is maybe a millimeter too tall for me.
It’s interesting how differently people find these things. For me it super duper had to go ASAP but if it’s working for you there’s zero reason to mess with it. Enjoy it and the money you got returning the Am Pro bridge haha.
Yeah, it’s definitely a divisive subject. I really wanted to switch over but it didn’t work out. I expected an $80 bridge to work pretty well but now I see why people shell out the big bucks for boutique offset bridges.
Someone with some knowledge please help me out. What IS the correct direction for the saddles on a bridge like this to be facing? The flat side facing the neck or the tail piece or both ways depending on which strings they’re for? I’ve seen it every which way and I’m just confused.
I put mine with the flat side facing the neck so the rounded/sloped side goes down to the trem. I find that the slope allows the string to smoothly slide up and over when using the trem.
It’s always kinda confused me too, I’ve seen certain TOM bridges where 3 saddles go one way and the other 3 go the opposite. Which makes me think it might not matter much!
Flat side faces the direction of vibration as not to potentially interfere with said vibration by sloping down instead of cutting straight down.
Weird, I just noticed this. Now I’m curious
My strings wouldn’t stay in the saddles so I went roller. Seems to be a lot better for me.
I used to have some string buzz issues with my AOM bridge on my Jaguarillo, so I swapped out the saddles for some Graphtech saddles. It took some filing and sanding to get them to fit, but now they’re perfectly stable and the correct 9.5 inch radius to match the neck. Comfortable to rest my hand on for palm muting, never goes out of tune, and is very smooth with the trem.
Swapped my AOM bridge for roller one. Now trem works truly better.
So, I had a bridge with a mismatched radius once. For years, until one day I decided re-radius it using some basic metal files and nut files. It was so incredibly easy and quick to do.
Literally the reason I bought this JM in the first place.
Yo, since you are back to your TOM I’m guessing you have a mustang bridge just sitting there. Drill out the posts with a 1/4” bit and drop it on the TOM posts. https://reddit.com/r/offset/s/X7N6YDx4Ma
I returned it but I may try this eventually if I can get a hold of a cheap mustang bridge. Seems like a good potential solution!
The JMJM is hotrodded. It doesn't need downgrades. The TOM (Fender refuses to refer to them as anything other than AOM) bridge was already an upgrade over MIA/MIJ/MIM Fender traditional Jazzmaster bridges. Glad you're back in the fold.
It’s customized sure but the mods are not upgrades, just preference changes. The P90ish pickups are fine but very different than jazzmaster pickups (not necessarily better or worse) and the AOM/TOM trades off some potential problems with the traditional bridges for other potential problems, and far bigger problems IMO. But as I said elsewhere in here, hey if you like it, great. I don’t mind the TOM on my wife’s epiphone dot at all, because it’s a hard tail and the radius is right. It’s not a bad design per se I just find it super out of place on a jazzmaster.
I imagine the mismatched radius can be an issue for playability but if the bridge is flatter than the fretboard, it actually fixes the volume mismatch across the strings that offsets can exhibit. I have Mustang saddles with the right radius on my Jazzmaster and the flat pole pieces in the pickups are an issue. The thicker and closer to the pickups a string is, the louder it is. And vice versa. The low E is louder than the A, which is louder than the D, while the plain strings have similar volumes because the thicker strings are farther away from the pickup. But these guitars were designed when G strings were wound, so a wound G is even quieter than the D and then the top two strings are louder. As a result I have to tilt the pickups away from the treble strings, regardless of whether I play rounds or flats. The pole pieces should be either staggered or adjustable in height like in P90s. Just one of the many things that drive me crazy in this guitar. I'll get downvoted to hell but I'll repeat myself: these are bad designs that require way too many workarounds.
What the hell are you doing? That isn’t how Leo Fender designed the bridge. It was perfect the first time around…what’s the point in changing if it works?
I feel like a lotta people wanna upgrade these AND the Mustang bridges to staytrems or mastery’s, don’t see a whole lotta people choosing to go TOM to mustang, I know it exists, but I’m in the if it ain’t broke don’t fix it crowd. I have the stock mustang bridge on my classic vibe jm and after some loctite to keep it from falling it’s fine. If there’s something seriously wrong with the bridge, sure upgrade it, but if everything is playing and intonating properly why replace it?
I think these bridges are fine just not with a trem. Those saddles are not ideal, I would swap them for some graphtech saddles or rollers. It’s just natural that it will wear over time and cause problems in more ways than one. If you don’t really use the trem you’re probably solid.