Old video but something that will help make it look better that using old Pot nuts .. Fender Washers, you can get in a Chrome finish if you want and can get ones with a wide base for more support .. Or just spend 20 bucks for the flat plate to replace the Tremolo .. Good video!!
This is really helpful! Awesome stuff, I'm in the process of wanting to put the dynamic vibrato and adjust-matic onto my Squier bullet mustang which I also want to mod. Love the Cobain guitar and definitely want a similar style but my own pickups etc.
Yeah the Cobain stang is sick, but yes definitely has plenty of room to add your own twists. Mine has coil splitting for the bridge, improved electronic components, TonePros bridge, locking tuners, and the neck has had a lot of work. It has a 12" radius to match the bridge and jumbo frets
@@alexrcowan That's so awesome! I don't know much about mods but lately i want to mod my bullet mustang and I've changed the bridge pickup to a Dimarzio tone zone and i want to have a single coil in the neck, but if i want a bridge like Cobain with the dynamic vibrato locked down this is where my knowledge is non existent, how would i match the string width of the bridge to my guitar neck?
I find it largely a myth that Mustang trems are unstable. As you put in the beginning of the video, a good setup goes a long way. Beyond that, people don't realize you have to tune the guitar while balancing the spring. Tune-wiggle-tune-wiggle-tune-wiggle. Keep going until the guitar is in tune AFTEr you wiggle the trem. If you do this, it'll be very stable, unless you bend too much or pull it sharp. That's the same with any non-locking tremolo, though. You fix that by wiggling the bar. It goes right back. Check out Jeff Beck play and you'll see him intermittently wiggle.
YourFavouriteColor yep absolutely. These things do work! As long as you understand how to set it up they are good to go. People also commonly forget to check that the nut is cut properly and that strings aren’t touching anything on the bridge besides the saddle. Just got a CAR stang around Xmas and I absolutely go to town on the trem! Just had to clean up the pivots a bit on the plate because the previous owner had messed them up.
This was a very informative and helpful video. I’m so glad I found this. My original plan was method 1, it now looks like I’m going to follow through with the 2nd option. I have a couple questions about the hardware. What type of TonePros TOM bridge did you put on (Standard?). What is the size of the washers you used to lock down the cigar bar piece (metric or standard?) Also do you think a 1963 3/4 scale MusicMaster neck put on a Mustang majorly affect the playability other than just being 1 fret shorter? Apologies for the novel but I wanted to clear up some questions in order to get the right parts for this project. Thank you for your time and patience.
Hey John, thanks for the feedback! Glad the video could be of use. Method 1 is still a viable option, you'll just have to shim the neck more and raise the bridge. If you have to shim your neck too much though you'll run into problems so method 2 is more foolproof and consistent in my experience. As for the bridge, I used a TonePros AVR2 Tune-O-Matic Bridge ABR1 model. Keep in mind that the neck on my mustang has actually been modified to a 12" radius so no saddle modification was needed. if you need the bridge to match a 7.25" (or 9.5" for that matter) you will need to file the e saddles lower. Otherwise Gotoh makes a TOM with adjustable saddles. The washers I used weren't really washers, but the 7mm potentiometer hex nut haha! But theres a size to try out anyway. You can always take the posts from the cigar tubes to your hardware store to try and find an appropriate sized washer. Now for the musicmaster neck. Don't quote me on this but from my research and understanding a 22.5" scale musicmaster neck was interchangeable with 24" scale necks for vintage mustangs, musicmasters and duo-sonics If your mustang body is a reissue I couldn't really say. The main thing putting a 22.5" scale neck on a mustang will affect, if they for some reason are not meant to be compatible, are your tuning stability and your intonation. I'd say to be safe just go for a standard 24" neck, but if you're set on a 22.5" neck, then buy it and try it out. Worst that can happen is it won't work, in which case you can sell it. Hope that all helps haha!
Cheers from Mexico!, got a KC stang a few years back and I want to try this but I have no idea which size I should use for the washers, great video as always man love your collection!
Very interesting, I don't own a mustang, bit I'd really like to get a cheap Squier VM Mustang, like the one you are modifying in that mini tutorial series, It looks really cool, but just a cheap one, got any idea where to get one? (In Victoria, Australia)
Thanks mate, I'm in Vic too, they are super hard to find! I got mine from reverb. It was the last one some shop in Perth had and they were trying to get rid of it so I got it relatively cheap. Over the last few weeks I've seen a few come up on gumtree, but I don't think there are any there now. Just keep looking on gumtree every week for used ones. Otherwise you can still get them at full price from some places like eastgate music I believe
Thanks for this video! I’ve been lucky with my mustang since it doesn’t seem to have tuning issues. But I’m definitely saving this video just in case I do want to lock the trem some time later.
No problem, and yeah if you have no issues with tuning then don't bother with this, I only lock the trem on one of my 3 mustangs and my jagstang is floating too!
A lot of issues with break angle are from the neck more than the tailpiece or bridge. Shim the neck and raise the bridge is common with these guitars. I had my bridge bottomed out and had high string action, added the shim and gave myself a little adjustment room for the TOM with better break angle also.
I think any mention of break angle here is to do with bridges and strings not having enough angle to provide adequate down pressure for the strings on the way to the cigar tube, which can still happen with a neck shim if you have the cigar tube set too high, or don’t get enough angle with a flipped and locked tailpiece. So, more to do with the volume and sustain of the notes rather than the string action if that makes sense. Too little break angle and the strings will lose sustain and volume, and can cause string buzz and rattle. You’re absolutely spot on with shimming the neck to improve high string action though! I have a shim on most of my stangs.
Cool video/ tutorial on the tremolo 👍 You think it's possible to install one on a cyclone I know it has a strat bridge and all but it will look sweet just like your mustangs keep rocking man 😎🎸👍
Thanks! I've had a lot of experience with mustangs from owning them for the past 2 or so years. I also get my experience off friends who are guitar techs and luthiers, I've also been doing paid work as a guitar tech where I have picked up a few things
Well I'm a tech as my main job, I also like to do projects such as buying busted or unwanted guitars, repairing/modding them to player spec and then selling them. A lot of the guitars I have in these videos come and go as I chase gear. I also make money buying and selling pedals. Basically I try to make cash wherever I can, sometimes I even get money from youtube haha
So I've tried this and keep hitting the same issue, the posts when straight are to long and make the trem stick out of the body, I dont understand how yours fits
Ok so I have a fender trem and a squire bridge and it’s to low or it just doesn’t fit and thing you can tell me to help? I was really hoping to play it because I got it for Christmas
I have a squier cyclone with the 3 slanted pups. I really want to swap out the strat bridge for a mustang bridge. It would be a nightmare but I need something to fill the space under the bridge. It looks weird with a strat trem
This is great! I’m going to be purchasing a ‘90s MIJ Mustang this week and was wondering how to do this. When you restrung yours with 11s did you have to recut the nut slots? Do you have any advice or tutorials on how to do that? Thanks so much for this video!
Hi Shawn, I have special nut slotting files. They are great and make easy work of enlarging the nut slots to accommodate larger string gauges. i'd recommend checking out the stewmac range of files, they're expensive but quality. Otherwise Hosco make some good ones too!
Great video, I'm going to be doing this mod on my VM mustang. I haven't changed anything on my guitar and I was wondering if there is anything different I will need to do.
Hi! My Mustang isn't with the original knobs, and I'm gonna buy it, but the axis from the pots aren't original too. They're splitted and has stretch marks. How can I fix the original knobs, if they has a screw on the side?
Hey man, I have a question for ya. I noticed that you've got a normal uncovered strat style neck pickup in this guitar now. Have you had any noises or anything going with a non-covered neck pickup? I've read that they recommend covering the pickups because it causes noise or something. But I don't seem to have any problems with the JB in the bridge of my Squier VM Mustang, and that's obviously not covered. Also, what neck pickup do you recommend to match the high output of the JB? I'd like to change my neck pickup but there are so many options, I don't know where to begin. What advice have you got for me?
Hey mate, No I haven't had any noises compared to a normal mustang pickup with no holes in the cover. As far as I know, the reason mustang single coil pickup covers don't have any holes in them for the pole pieces to come through is because the pole pieces are all flat, and don't have pole pieces sticking out at different heights like a strat pickup. Hmm its tricky to match the output of a JB with vintage spec single coils in the neck. I'm currently using a custom wound pickup closely resembling the tone and output of a texas special. There is still a noticeable difference in output, but in my case i use it to match the JB while it is coil split which it does well. If you're looking for a single coil to better match the output you could try something like a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound or SSL-3 hot strat. Otherwise, if you want to go for a single coil sized humbucker, I've heard good things about the hot rails in the neck position. There is also a JB Jr made for the neck position to match the JB in the bridge. I'm not familiar with them but Dimarzio also have a wide range of strat pickups you could use in the nec of your mustang. Hope this can at least give you a starting point haha
alexrcowan, Yeah I'm most likely going to have to use a single coil sized humbucker, which I'm ok with but I want it to have the normal sound of a neck pickup, if you know what I mean. Just with equal-ish power. I've read that the lil 59 matches good with the JB but I have no personal experience. I've thought about the JB jr, the hot rails, the cool rails, & the lil 59 as candidates, but again, I don't want to end up with 2 bridge pickups that pretty much sound the same. If u had to pick from those 4, what would u choose? Thanks for your advice man, I really appreciate it.
Robert Horning personally I would choose the lil 59, I have that in the neck of my tele and it matches great with the JB Jr in the bridge, and it keeps the warm tonal characteristics you would expect from a pickup in the neck position. Keep in mind that the height of the pickup will make a massive difference to the sound. Originally mine was set a little bit too low and it just sounded muddy and awful. I have the pickup set about 0.060” away from the strings on both the treble and bass sides now (when the string is fretted at the last fret) and it sounds amazing. The tele has 250k pots like a mustang so that could be a good starting point to set the lil 59 if you decide to get that, from there you can tweak the pole pieces to your liking, but be sure to give the strings enough room to move without being pulled by the magnetic field of the pickup. Sorry for the essay length reply, but I hope that helps. Honestly I don’t think you would be disappointed with any of those pickup choices though
alexrcowan, Cool, thanks man. I appreciate your input. I'll probably end up going with the 59. My stock neck pickup actually doesn't sound too bad now, but I can't stand the fact that 1 pickup says "Seymour Duncan", & the other 1 says "Duncan Design". Lol, I know it's a stupid reason to change a pickup, but it's driving me crazy. I wish they didn't glue the covers on. I would just change the cover. Anyway, thanks for everything. Keep up the good work.
no problem man, and I believe there is absolutely no need for you to justify your choices, after all it's your guitar haha! And yes it also annoys me that the covers aren't so removable. But yes just remember to play around with the pickup height of the 59, cos they can easily sound very muddy with 250k pots if they aren't set at the correct height. Hope it works out! And thanks for the support!
Hi, did you changed the original adjusto matic to the gotoh ABR-1 bridge? Will the gotoh bridge match well with your fingerboard radius and compared with your original adjusto matic bridge? thanks for your answer.
Anderson Cheung hi! Yes, I’ve changed the bridge to a tonepros bridge. My fingerboard radius has actually been sanded to a 12” radius so it matches perfectly
Nicolas Checa Hi Nicolas. There’s a couple of things to look at. Firstly make sure the overall setup is good. Make sure that the points of the bridge posts are sitting exactly in the indents in the bridge thimbles mounted to the body, this is important. Also make sure the nut is cut properly and is ideally made of a good material such as bone rather than plastic to ensure a good amount of vibration transference from the strings to the nut, to the neck and ultimately down to the body (making sure the neck is correctly seated in the neck pocket with contact to all the walls. If the neck is shimmer use a stewmac full pocket shim to ensure maximum neck to body contact through the pocket). The other simple thing you can do to encourage sustain is use a higher string gauge. If there’s still not enough sustain for you I would consider changing the bridge saddles to brass saddles, or even swapping to a tuneomatic bridge if you aren’t a big trem user, as in my experience with mustangs they sustain better through better contact with the body allowing better vibration transfer.
eddie harman might be slightly different to stock. I use CTS pots which aren’t standard on Japanese fenders. But i also use American knobs, so they shouldn’t be too elevated. If I used the standard Japanese knobs they can sometimes sit really high on CTS pots
This is completely off topic, but I have a Squier Vintage Modified Mustang and I can't seem to get the volume and tone knobs off. Is there some trick to it?
Don Draper they can be tough sometimes. Try and leverage something underneath the knobs like a flathead screwdriver (there are special tools designed for doing this but I get by without them) and be careful! You don’t want to crack the knob or scratch the plate or slip and damage the guitar. Some people even use spoons instead. Also might be good idea to cover the surface of the guitar/control plate to make sure you don’t damage anything, and remember to try and use as little pressure as possible, and jimmy the knob from different angles
Isaac Dagan while it is locked it cannot be used. But if you want to use the tremolo this procedure is easily reversed so that the trem is unlocked again
Hi, I enjoy your videos and I was wondering if you could review a mustang bridge that converts basically a mustang to have the same scale length as a strat, it is being sold on guitar factions but there is no video on the product. I’d love to see what it does, love your channel and keep up with the great work!!
Mustangs aren't made to be that scale that's why they're that scale. Nobody does it because it's not really possible without making a whole other guitar
Alesko17 Gaming I actually use hex nuts as washers. You can use whatever washers fit the cigar tube legs so long as they can fit the trem routs or don’t touch the e strings depending which locking method you use
Alesko17 Gaming really anything that fits over the posts. I’d use nuts since they’re smaller than washers which might not fit inside the body so use nuts instead I’d say. The nuts have threads but dont forget, you’re using them as washers not to screw onto something. Just do what he did if you’re not sure, take it to the hardware store and ask someone for help on picking the right one but make sure you tell them you’re just looking to use them as washers. Heck they may even be able to find small washers that fit over the posts and under the body too you never know!
Do you need to use washers? I removed the strings dno how to get back on. I don’t have washers. So now am gonna have to wait to buy some am new to this so.
Landen Kamer its a GoToh tune-o-matic bridge. People refer to it as a “TOM” bridge which stands for tune-o-matic. This bridge comes with the Kurt Cobain signature Mustang and Jaguar NOS. You can install it on a Jagstang but you need to do some work on it to make the holes bigger. Gotoh Tune-o-matic Bridge with Studs/Bushings, Chrome www.amazon.com/dp/B0751SQJKN/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_96fNCbE46N4GJ
**Cobain Liked that**
1 of my mustangs has the cigar tube flipped & I just bought a new Vintera mustang & noticed it. Thanks for shedding some light on why it was done!
Old video but something that will help make it look better that using old Pot nuts .. Fender Washers, you can get in a Chrome finish if you want and can get ones with a wide base for more support .. Or just spend 20 bucks for the flat plate to replace the Tremolo .. Good video!!
Awesome! These are really fun to watch
Thanks Oliver, really appreciate it mate!
This is really helpful! Awesome stuff, I'm in the process of wanting to put the dynamic vibrato and adjust-matic onto my Squier bullet mustang which I also want to mod. Love the Cobain guitar and definitely want a similar style but my own pickups etc.
Yeah the Cobain stang is sick, but yes definitely has plenty of room to add your own twists. Mine has coil splitting for the bridge, improved electronic components, TonePros bridge, locking tuners, and the neck has had a lot of work. It has a 12" radius to match the bridge and jumbo frets
@@alexrcowan That's so awesome! I don't know much about mods but lately i want to mod my bullet mustang and I've changed the bridge pickup to a Dimarzio tone zone and i want to have a single coil in the neck, but if i want a bridge like Cobain with the dynamic vibrato locked down this is where my knowledge is non existent, how would i match the string width of the bridge to my guitar neck?
@@reagangundersen3490 did you figured that out?
So essentially you raised the height of the cigar tube to get a gap under it, so your strings can wrap around the cigar tube?
I find it largely a myth that Mustang trems are unstable. As you put in the beginning of the video, a good setup goes a long way. Beyond that, people don't realize you have to tune the guitar while balancing the spring. Tune-wiggle-tune-wiggle-tune-wiggle. Keep going until the guitar is in tune AFTEr you wiggle the trem. If you do this, it'll be very stable, unless you bend too much or pull it sharp. That's the same with any non-locking tremolo, though. You fix that by wiggling the bar. It goes right back. Check out Jeff Beck play and you'll see him intermittently wiggle.
YourFavouriteColor yep absolutely. These things do work! As long as you understand how to set it up they are good to go. People also commonly forget to check that the nut is cut properly and that strings aren’t touching anything on the bridge besides the saddle. Just got a CAR stang around Xmas and I absolutely go to town on the trem! Just had to clean up the pivots a bit on the plate because the previous owner had messed them up.
This was a very informative and helpful video. I’m so glad I found this. My original plan was method 1, it now looks like I’m going to follow through with the 2nd option. I have a couple questions about the hardware. What type of TonePros TOM bridge did you put on (Standard?). What is the size of the washers you used to lock down the cigar bar piece (metric or standard?) Also do you think a 1963 3/4 scale MusicMaster neck put on a Mustang majorly affect the playability other than just being 1 fret shorter? Apologies for the novel but I wanted to clear up some questions in order to get the right parts for this project. Thank you for your time and patience.
Hey John, thanks for the feedback! Glad the video could be of use. Method 1 is still a viable option, you'll just have to shim the neck more and raise the bridge. If you have to shim your neck too much though you'll run into problems so method 2 is more foolproof and consistent in my experience. As for the bridge, I used a TonePros AVR2 Tune-O-Matic Bridge ABR1 model. Keep in mind that the neck on my mustang has actually been modified to a 12" radius so no saddle modification was needed. if you need the bridge to match a 7.25" (or 9.5" for that matter) you will need to file the e saddles lower. Otherwise Gotoh makes a TOM with adjustable saddles. The washers I used weren't really washers, but the 7mm potentiometer hex nut haha! But theres a size to try out anyway. You can always take the posts from the cigar tubes to your hardware store to try and find an appropriate sized washer. Now for the musicmaster neck. Don't quote me on this but from my research and understanding a 22.5" scale musicmaster neck was interchangeable with 24" scale necks for vintage mustangs, musicmasters and duo-sonics If your mustang body is a reissue I couldn't really say. The main thing putting a 22.5" scale neck on a mustang will affect, if they for some reason are not meant to be compatible, are your tuning stability and your intonation. I'd say to be safe just go for a standard 24" neck, but if you're set on a 22.5" neck, then buy it and try it out. Worst that can happen is it won't work, in which case you can sell it. Hope that all helps haha!
Cheers from Mexico!, got a KC stang a few years back and I want to try this but I have no idea which size I should use for the washers, great video as always man love your collection!
Very interesting, I don't own a mustang, bit I'd really like to get a cheap Squier VM Mustang, like the one you are modifying in that mini tutorial series, It looks really cool, but just a cheap one, got any idea where to get one? (In Victoria, Australia)
Thanks mate, I'm in Vic too, they are super hard to find! I got mine from reverb. It was the last one some shop in Perth had and they were trying to get rid of it so I got it relatively cheap. Over the last few weeks I've seen a few come up on gumtree, but I don't think there are any there now. Just keep looking on gumtree every week for used ones. Otherwise you can still get them at full price from some places like eastgate music I believe
Thanks, good to know
Wow now I know why I had tuning issues 18 years ago lol
I hate to modify my jagstang cuz I want it original as possible but I may have to do this...
Well the good news is it's completely reversible so you can always change it back
alexrcowan true, I always keep all the old parts but I definitely need to hard tail mine. Thanks for the video!!!
This video helped me so much, thanks man!
Bill Nye brotha
I might have to try this out with my Jagstang. Edit: just did it, it’s awesome
Tuning stability is always nice!
Thanks for this video! I’ve been lucky with my mustang since it doesn’t seem to have tuning issues. But I’m definitely saving this video just in case I do want to lock the trem some time later.
No problem, and yeah if you have no issues with tuning then don't bother with this, I only lock the trem on one of my 3 mustangs and my jagstang is floating too!
great video but isn't the song at the end from "On Cinema At The Cinema" when Gregg Turkington has his location segments?
A lot of issues with break angle are from the neck more than the tailpiece or bridge. Shim the neck and raise the bridge is common with these guitars. I had my bridge bottomed out and had high string action, added the shim and gave myself a little adjustment room for the TOM with better break angle also.
I think any mention of break angle here is to do with bridges and strings not having enough angle to provide adequate down pressure for the strings on the way to the cigar tube, which can still happen with a neck shim if you have the cigar tube set too high, or don’t get enough angle with a flipped and locked tailpiece. So, more to do with the volume and sustain of the notes rather than the string action if that makes sense. Too little break angle and the strings will lose sustain and volume, and can cause string buzz and rattle. You’re absolutely spot on with shimming the neck to improve high string action though! I have a shim on most of my stangs.
@alexrcowan do the E strings hit the washers you placed? or does it not effect the string if it touches the washer.
Cool video/ tutorial on the tremolo 👍 You think it's possible to install one on a cyclone I know it has a strat bridge and all but it will look sweet just like your mustangs keep rocking man 😎🎸👍
Thanks man! Hope this will one day come in handy :-P
Still no luck in finding a lefty? Geez it's tough
Nearly got one last week on ebay.... then at the last second, some guy bidded 1300 pounds... and i was like wow thanks dick lol
Oh geeze, thats so damn expensive though! You can't catch a break haha
you're awesome, where did u get that experience? plz can u make a video how to set up a jag?
Thanks! I've had a lot of experience with mustangs from owning them for the past 2 or so years. I also get my experience off friends who are guitar techs and luthiers, I've also been doing paid work as a guitar tech where I have picked up a few things
In method 1, what’s the purpose of flipping the cigar tube? Wouldn’t it still work if you route the strings underneath?
What Job do you have to afford all these guitars? You have so many, I want a collection like that one day!
Well I'm a tech as my main job, I also like to do projects such as buying busted or unwanted guitars, repairing/modding them to player spec and then selling them. A lot of the guitars I have in these videos come and go as I chase gear. I also make money buying and selling pedals. Basically I try to make cash wherever I can, sometimes I even get money from youtube haha
Nice, sounds pretty good
How did you mount the Tune-O-Matic bridge?
I just drilled two holes and installed two screws that hold the tremolo 😂 I’m not going for perfection I’m going for grunge😂
Right on kurt
I haven’t got a washer. Do I need to add that? I can’t put back the tremolo springs so I don’t know what to do
So I've tried this and keep hitting the same issue, the posts when straight are to long and make the trem stick out of the body, I dont understand how yours fits
Ok so I have a fender trem and a squire bridge and it’s to low or it just doesn’t fit and thing you can tell me to help? I was really hoping to play it because I got it for Christmas
What size are the washers?
Please call them nuts not washers, good video
I got the new fender mustang red fiesta. Do you know how to change the single coil pickup cover?
I approve this
Do either of these methods work with a Fender Jaguar? I can't find a video on hardtailing a Jaguar with washers, but I've heard it can be done.
I have a squier cyclone with the 3 slanted pups. I really want to swap out the strat bridge for a mustang bridge. It would be a nightmare but I need something to fill the space under the bridge. It looks weird with a strat trem
Is it make a difference sound? and how is the difference
This is great! I’m going to be purchasing a ‘90s MIJ Mustang this week and was wondering how to do this. When you restrung yours with 11s did you have to recut the nut slots? Do you have any advice or tutorials on how to do that? Thanks so much for this video!
Hi Shawn, I have special nut slotting files. They are great and make easy work of enlarging the nut slots to accommodate larger string gauges. i'd recommend checking out the stewmac range of files, they're expensive but quality. Otherwise Hosco make some good ones too!
Do you happen to know the size of the washers you used? I’m having a hard time finding the same ones in the US. Thanks!
A washer that is shaped like a nut, and threaded like one. Where can i find sich a washer?
Yes it’s a nut used as a washer
Cool
Great video, I'm going to be doing this mod on my VM mustang. I haven't changed anything on my guitar and I was wondering if there is anything different I will need to do.
Liam Beyer thanks Liam! Nope the process is exactly the same for a VM, so nothing to worry about there!
@@alexrcowan thanks, I'm doing this today ^^
what guitar is ths
Hi! My Mustang isn't with the original knobs, and I'm gonna buy it, but the axis from the pots aren't original too. They're splitted and has
stretch marks. How can I fix the original knobs, if they has a screw on the side?
Hi eric, I would get a brass sleeve converter from all parts or somewhere similar to fit over the pot spline and fit the original knob over that
Hey man, I have a question for ya. I noticed that you've got a normal uncovered strat style neck pickup in this guitar now. Have you had any noises or anything going with a non-covered neck pickup? I've read that they recommend covering the pickups because it causes noise or something. But I don't seem to have any problems with the JB in the bridge of my Squier VM Mustang, and that's obviously not covered. Also, what neck pickup do you recommend to match the high output of the JB? I'd like to change my neck pickup but there are so many options, I don't know where to begin. What advice have you got for me?
Hey mate, No I haven't had any noises compared to a normal mustang pickup with no holes in the cover. As far as I know, the reason mustang single coil pickup covers don't have any holes in them for the pole pieces to come through is because the pole pieces are all flat, and don't have pole pieces sticking out at different heights like a strat pickup. Hmm its tricky to match the output of a JB with vintage spec single coils in the neck. I'm currently using a custom wound pickup closely resembling the tone and output of a texas special. There is still a noticeable difference in output, but in my case i use it to match the JB while it is coil split which it does well. If you're looking for a single coil to better match the output you could try something like a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound or SSL-3 hot strat. Otherwise, if you want to go for a single coil sized humbucker, I've heard good things about the hot rails in the neck position. There is also a JB Jr made for the neck position to match the JB in the bridge. I'm not familiar with them but Dimarzio also have a wide range of strat pickups you could use in the nec of your mustang. Hope this can at least give you a starting point haha
alexrcowan, Yeah I'm most likely going to have to use a single coil sized humbucker, which I'm ok with but I want it to have the normal sound of a neck pickup, if you know what I mean. Just with equal-ish power. I've read that the lil 59 matches good with the JB but I have no personal experience. I've thought about the JB jr, the hot rails, the cool rails, & the lil 59 as candidates, but again, I don't want to end up with 2 bridge pickups that pretty much sound the same. If u had to pick from those 4, what would u choose? Thanks for your advice man, I really appreciate it.
Robert Horning personally I would choose the lil 59, I have that in the neck of my tele and it matches great with the JB Jr in the bridge, and it keeps the warm tonal characteristics you would expect from a pickup in the neck position. Keep in mind that the height of the pickup will make a massive difference to the sound. Originally mine was set a little bit too low and it just sounded muddy and awful. I have the pickup set about 0.060” away from the strings on both the treble and bass sides now (when the string is fretted at the last fret) and it sounds amazing. The tele has 250k pots like a mustang so that could be a good starting point to set the lil 59 if you decide to get that, from there you can tweak the pole pieces to your liking, but be sure to give the strings enough room to move without being pulled by the magnetic field of the pickup. Sorry for the essay length reply, but I hope that helps. Honestly I don’t think you would be disappointed with any of those pickup choices though
alexrcowan, Cool, thanks man. I appreciate your input. I'll probably end up going with the 59. My stock neck pickup actually doesn't sound too bad now, but I can't stand the fact that 1 pickup says "Seymour Duncan", & the other 1 says "Duncan Design". Lol, I know it's a stupid reason to change a pickup, but it's driving me crazy. I wish they didn't glue the covers on. I would just change the cover. Anyway, thanks for everything. Keep up the good work.
no problem man, and I believe there is absolutely no need for you to justify your choices, after all it's your guitar haha! And yes it also annoys me that the covers aren't so removable. But yes just remember to play around with the pickup height of the 59, cos they can easily sound very muddy with 250k pots if they aren't set at the correct height. Hope it works out! And thanks for the support!
Hi, did you changed the original adjusto matic to the gotoh ABR-1 bridge? Will the gotoh bridge match well with your fingerboard radius and compared with your original adjusto matic bridge? thanks for your answer.
Anderson Cheung hi! Yes, I’ve changed the bridge to a tonepros bridge. My fingerboard radius has actually been sanded to a 12” radius so it matches perfectly
That's cool, its a warmoth neck with 12” radius?
No its actually a '95 Jagstang neck. It needed a refret so while I was at it I got the fingerboard re-radiused to 12" haha
Interesting to see this particular model isn’t built utilizing bushings for the bridge.
Nice video mate! I have a cuestión. How can I increase the sustain on a mustang? I'm having some issues with that, in comparison with my strat.
Nicolas Checa Hi Nicolas. There’s a couple of things to look at. Firstly make sure the overall setup is good. Make sure that the points of the bridge posts are sitting exactly in the indents in the bridge thimbles mounted to the body, this is important. Also make sure the nut is cut properly and is ideally made of a good material such as bone rather than plastic to ensure a good amount of vibration transference from the strings to the nut, to the neck and ultimately down to the body (making sure the neck is correctly seated in the neck pocket with contact to all the walls. If the neck is shimmer use a stewmac full pocket shim to ensure maximum neck to body contact through the pocket). The other simple thing you can do to encourage sustain is use a higher string gauge. If there’s still not enough sustain for you I would consider changing the bridge saddles to brass saddles, or even swapping to a tuneomatic bridge if you aren’t a big trem user, as in my experience with mustangs they sustain better through better contact with the body allowing better vibration transfer.
Do you have your tone and volume knobs elevated higher than they come stock? They looked as if they are on this video.
eddie harman might be slightly different to stock. I use CTS pots which aren’t standard on Japanese fenders. But i also use American knobs, so they shouldn’t be too elevated. If I used the standard Japanese knobs they can sometimes sit really high on CTS pots
This is completely off topic, but I have a Squier Vintage Modified Mustang and I can't seem to get the volume and tone knobs off. Is there some trick to it?
Don Draper they can be tough sometimes. Try and leverage something underneath the knobs like a flathead screwdriver (there are special tools designed for doing this but I get by without them) and be careful! You don’t want to crack the knob or scratch the plate or slip and damage the guitar. Some people even use spoons instead. Also might be good idea to cover the surface of the guitar/control plate to make sure you don’t damage anything, and remember to try and use as little pressure as possible, and jimmy the knob from different angles
alexrcowan
Thank you, brother!
How did you remove the springs?
Did you ever figure it out? Im having trouble too
@@kawhiatus830 You need some needle nose plyers to unbend the prongs on the cigartube arms. They're a pain in the ass to deal with.
are those switches shorter than normal? where did you get them?
They aren't, I just used small hex nuts as spacers between the pickguard and the switch to lower them
so considering that the tremolo is locked, does that mean the tremolo system cannot be used anymore?
Isaac Dagan while it is locked it cannot be used. But if you want to use the tremolo this procedure is easily reversed so that the trem is unlocked again
What size washers were the ones that you used?
I believe I used 7mm hex nuts
Question, how big do the washers have to be?
Any washer should work, just make sure it's not big enough to block the way of the first and sixth strings as they pass under the cigar tube.
I’ve just purchased the squire 60’s modified mustang but I’m guessing you can’t do it on the bridge they come with? ??gd vid btw
you should be able to do it, the tailpiece design is the same
Hey man what exact type is that Gotoh Tune-o-matic?
Specs for string spacing etc
Reagan Gundersen it’s a TonePros T3BP tune-o-matic. String spacing 52mm, 12” radius, 74.5mm post spacing
alexrcowan Alex, does Kurt have used the same model on his mustang?
Mines locked normal method but with one on each side instead of the 2 on top of each side
Hi, I enjoy your videos and I was wondering if you could review a mustang bridge that converts basically a mustang to have the same scale length as a strat, it is being sold on guitar factions but there is no video on the product. I’d love to see what it does, love your channel and keep up with the great work!!
Mustangs aren't made to be that scale that's why they're that scale. Nobody does it because it's not really possible without making a whole other guitar
Or you can just get a Mustang hardtail bridge. They make those now
🔥🔥🔥
What kind of washers are those are they like like screw washers
Alesko17 Gaming I actually use hex nuts as washers. You can use whatever washers fit the cigar tube legs so long as they can fit the trem routs or don’t touch the e strings depending which locking method you use
alexrcowan what kind of hex nuts like lock hex nuts or any number
Alesko17 Gaming really anything that fits over the posts. I’d use nuts since they’re smaller than washers which might not fit inside the body so use nuts instead I’d say. The nuts have threads but dont forget, you’re using them as washers not to screw onto something. Just do what he did if you’re not sure, take it to the hardware store and ask someone for help on picking the right one but make sure you tell them you’re just looking to use them as washers. Heck they may even be able to find small washers that fit over the posts and under the body too you never know!
Do you need to use washers? I removed the strings dno how to get back on. I don’t have washers. So now am gonna have to wait to buy some am new to this so.
What bridge is that and where did you get it?
Landen Kamer its a GoToh tune-o-matic bridge. People refer to it as a “TOM” bridge which stands for tune-o-matic. This bridge comes with the Kurt Cobain signature Mustang and Jaguar NOS. You can install it on a Jagstang but you need to do some work on it to make the holes bigger.
Gotoh Tune-o-matic Bridge with Studs/Bushings, Chrome www.amazon.com/dp/B0751SQJKN/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_96fNCbE46N4GJ
Stoned Immaculate thanks man like for real. Really appreciate it
Whats the song at 1:30
Lightrow can’t remember what it’s called, it’s just a little soubdclip included in iMovie I add into my video editing
It's a cool song, thought you made it
Are you gonna do an Alice In Chains tone video?
In my 38 years on this planet, I'll tell you something I've never done. I've never screwed a washer on. Ever.
Yep, clearly meant to say nut when I made the vid half a decade ago
Can't you just tighten the cigar tube down without removing anything
1:53 yes…. Great tutorial mate….. how the fuck do you remove the springs!?!
You mean a nut. A washer is unthreaded.
Yep I meant a nut. You can use washers though if you find them in the right size
Good video, but those are nuts, not washers. Washers hav e no threads and generally have no corners
Isn't that a Jagstang?
Some of the things you are doing are not on camera. You need to make sure people can see what you are doing.
01:55 Cool. Don’t show us, that’s fine.
You need to see him unscrew something from something else to which it is screwed? Lol