Update!!! Staytrem now ship globally again 👍🏻.... please like and subscribe if you got anything useful from the video, thanks 🙏🏻

Fuzzman definitely earns the title “Lord” because this is the ULTIMATE guide to bridges. Thanks for the cons section of each because I never see these anywhere! Long live the Fuzzman! 🤟🏽

Vintage style has the characteristic chime that others don't have, so happy shimming for me

Wow that custom shop bridge is noticeably better than the rest.

I can't hear any big difference in tone and certainly none of the reputed improved sustain from the Mastery. Great video - informative and well put together.

I thought the custom shop bridge sounded best. Good work fella

In my opinion, the tone of the vintage style bridge is the best. It's definitely bright and clear. I think my second favorite is the Staytrem though. Seems like a good value and fixes the problems with the vintage style. Unfortunately, I think the tone is a bit darker on the Staytrem though. I really wanted to like the mastery, but I just can't seem to get behind the tone of it.

The halon and custom shop are sooo damn good

Metz and the Cure in the same sentence? YESSSSS

That custom shop bridge is the winner for me, it seems to have a fuller sound, sustains nicely and looks the business. The weakest was the vintage. Whether any of this would be noticeable in a band mix is debatable. If I could get the custom shop one as an after market upgrade (and it wasn't too expensive) I'd be all over it. However, on balance and as a UK resident, the Staytrem would be my go to. Great video, nicely paced and with all the information you'd ever need, IMO.

The vintage style is a winner for me. The aggressiveness and instability on the strings provides a sound no other one can offer. If set up properly, which is rarely the case.

Excellent video. The only one i felt was significantly different was the vintage style, which sounded a bit thinner. The others all sounded very similar, and i suspect than any differences would be overwhelmed by playing dynamics.

Staytrem is fantastic, paired with a shim on my Avri 65 Jag it has perfect intonation, comfortable string spacing and requires no maintenance. Combined with the shim I'd say it enhances the classic Jag sound without drastically changing it.. exactly what I was looking for. Staytrem is also durable used mine regularly over the past few years with no issues. Staytrem collet and trem arm are also really good.

I think the Halon bridge was the best compromise for quality, esthetic and sound except for the price

Been playing jaguars since they were cheap. I paid 184 bucks for my bascket case 64 and like 900 for my clean 63. Anyways i used a stock bridge for years i later picked up a no wire abr1 when gibson custom shop started making them. I made aluminum slugs that dont rock threaded for the abr1 post threads. I also play giant fat necks by warmoth on both my vintage jags and they are 12 inch radius which matches my bridge radius. I play jags for the 24 inch scale not so much the tone . So my 64 has burst buckers and my 63 has the stock single coils but wired more regular style just on off switch for each. This was a great video. I love talking jags. Really digging the halo. Although im not planning on switching my bridges. I pound the shit outa my guitars and they are solid.

Just 10 years we offset lovers were waiting for a Jag/JM bridges shootout video... All hail the Lord!!!

I own a Classic Player Jazzmaster (Mexico) and, based on this video, I just purchased a Halon bridge. The original Fender bridge was like a toy compared to the substantial metal on this beast. OMG. So easy to set the height and intonation and the tone is huge and rings forever. Haris at Halon was very helpful and extremely fast with email replies. BUT the posts on the Halon were slightly larger in diameter than the thimbles on my MIM JM. Lucky for me I own a drill press. I screwed the posts off the bridge and inserted them in my drill press chuck (one at a time) and turned set the drill press to 1700rpms (my drill has an rpm readout). i took a file to the side of the posts while they were turning and filed them down to the correct diameter so they just fit the thimbles. It took about 20mins per post due to my constant testing and quality of the steel posts. Perfect fit. I considered drilling out the thimbles but i didn't think there was enough sidewall on them and didn't want to mess with enlarging the thimble holes on the guitar. I considered the mastery bridge but they looked a little weird for my taste.

Custom shop bridge does it for me, both visually and soundwise! Nice comparison!!!

Great information supplied here. To my ears the Halon and Fender RSD sound superior to the other options. Thanks for the work you have done here! You earned a new subscriber

I live in Greece so the Halon was a no brainer for me. Haris knows his stuff! Amazing build quality, feels like it should be going into space.

Solid video my man... I’m sure I can speak for others that we all truly appreciate your attention to detail and dedication

I had a cheap tunomatic style bridge with roller saddles on it, which happened to drop right into the existing holes of my Fender Japanese Traditional Jaguar. The radius is "wrong" but it doesn't pose any problems for me at all. I actually think it has improved the tone a bit too. Not bad for free (seeing as I already had it lying about).

Excellent video.

This was super helpful in my decision on which bridge I want. I really like the custom shop bridge, but because of lack of availability I might need to check out the halon because that seems like the next best option. Thank you for this awesome comparison video!

Now that was a well put together video. Thank you Lord Fuzzman!

This is a lot of effort. Thanks you for the review.

Your thoughts about the Mastery bridge are spot on. Swope trem and bridge also deserve your attention.

I needed a .1 shim to get the set up I needed with the Fender Pro bridge. I did indeed get the perfect action with no issues, except the break angle was so extreme it made the string tension impossible for whole step bends. The Mastery bridge solved that, and turns out to be perfect for me. And I love the way it sounds with my rig.

Cool piece of myth-busting, M'Lord!

Intonation is everything to me so Staytrem and Halon win for me.

Best video out here providing information. Mustang bridge on my Squire Jaguar is dropping on high e side and choking out strings. Unplayable. I didn’t know there was a shit ton of bridge issues on these guitars. They didn’t tell me this at the music store. Guess I’ll be investing in a Staytrem

This is by far THE BEST comparison video I've seen in a long time, thank you!

I recently realized that the jazzmaster was what I've needed for 25 years but never wanted one of the damn things because of all their complicated quirks. Upon buying a cheap squire classic vibe I am absolutely head over heals for this thing. Now I realize that the "problems" with the jazzmaster are also what makes so full of character and just plain badass! Being someone who has been playing forever but totally new to the jazzmaster mess, I am truly grateful for how well put together and informative this video is. Thank you dude! You killed it again!

Staytrem is the best in my book

Mad props for playing Leatherface's "Dead Industrial Atmosphere" Was lucky enough to play shows with them and get to see them several times here in the states. Top band! Nice video.

This is such a great video idea. I haven't watched it yet, but I know I'm gonna love it.

That Halon sounds remarkably "flat", or full spectrum. It reminds me of studio monitors: they aren't exciting, but that's because nothing is missing- no notches or surprises. I know which I'd splash out on for a new build for sure. That said, my current offset crop (3) use variations of the "proper" Mustang bridge and the American Professional with and without nylon bushings (rocking and non-rocking). They're relatively inexpensive, relatively high quality, and once properly shimmed at the neck and set up (1x Descendant, 2x AVRI trems) absolutely flawless with regular 'ol 10s.

Thanks for making this man! I've been going back and forth on getting a Mastery for like 15 years now and kick myself for not buying one at $75 back when I had the chance. This side by side comparison made it clear to me the Mastery is actually the worst option for what I want out of it. And aside from its drawbacks, the Mastery was the only one that drastically changed the tone in a negative way (to my ear at least). Really well done video 👍

amazingly informative video - thank you! I must admit, I've used a staytrem on my old jaguar and now on my Jazzmaster and couldn't be happier. Lots of great bridge options but that one definitely works for me and hasn't given me a problem in 10 years of combined use. That said if one day the dream custom shop jazzmaster happens and has the RSD bridge I won't complain ;)!!

Damn, what an amazing comparison. I really like the Halon one for the build quality and customizability

This was the exact offset bridge review I was looking for. Perfect! Thanks, mate! 😃

Just enjoying the rundown of bridges and then you hit me with the Leatherface riffs? Well done, man.

I got today a Mastery bridge for my MIJ Jazzmaster, and so far I am super impressed by the improvement in tuning stability and sonical resonance/sustain of the guitar! I didn't consider other options also because of covid/shipping issues. So I had to get what I was able to find between my nation boarders. Also the setup was really quick and easy, and was able to tune and set the intonation properly.

Thanks for this and the work you put in for this. I have ordered a Staytrem for my Squier Classic Vibe Bass VI and this just reassured my decision. I'm in the US and am so grateful that John ships to us now....

Bought my MIJ lefty JM about 5+ years ago. Out of the box whenever I leaned over to check pedals etc the bar would fall out of it's hole. Plus it went out of tune after divebomb. So I got a mastery set. Absolutely solid as a rock now.

Hats of to this man! This was a lot of work changing all those bridges. To quote Evil Roy Slade, “He has a stick with it quality you can’t help but admire “ 👍☮️

Massively helpful, thought I was going crazy with my bridge constantly wiggling itself free, have ordered a staytrem!

Custom shop bridge for the win!!!

My preference goes to Halon & the mustang bridge. They both have a clarity to them that is absolutely nice to hear (the Halon overdriven is slightly darker than the mustang but still clear). I do like the Staytrem in the video, & have been thinking of getting it for my own jazzmaster guitar build, but i think i'm leaning towards Halon options instead of the Staytrem mainly for clarity sake, & Halon offers that fine tuning in allows used so each bridge is unique really to each player.

Building a Jazzmaster and wanted to get a Staytrem but being in the US, it just wasn't a great option unfortunately. So I went with Mastery...not gonna complain in the slightest about that though. Never had heard of Halon until now, definitely something to look into for the next build ;)

Awesome video. I think I’ll stick with the stock mustang bridge that came with my CV Squier Jazz. It works great. Great info

GREAT video. On my 2018 FCS Jazzmaster, the RSD bridge rocks.

Original vintage win ever

Staytrem are now offering to mail direct to countries outside the UK. Check their website for full details.

The custom shop bridge sounds louder than the rest. None of them are bad, and there's not that much difference to worry about, but if it was me, I'd go for the Halon.

Update for anyone seeing this video now: Staytrem do ship overseas now. I’m receiving mine tomorrow in the US! Very excited. Thanks for this video as it made my decision easy. The best imo was the custom shop, but I distinctly heard overtones from both it and the Staytrem that were very pleasing to the ear.

16:19 Nice rendition of Dead Industrial Atmosphere!

Incredible video. I vote staytrem. I love them. And to me they retain the true Jazzmaster tone you get from the vintage bridge.

That Staytrem bridge looks like the best mod imo

Just got a tip for rattling or saddle adjustment screws vibrating loose. Silicon gasket maker works great, and won't screw up threads.

Halon and < Staytrem. 🙌😌🎶👂

The mastery is a ridiculously good bridge All the people who say it rattles must if not installed it correctly Mine doesn’t rattle it doesn’t make any weird noises and it holds intonation for months or even longer like a few years I micro adjust from time to time but it doesn’t need it The palm muting is really nice too Nice tone The original bridge made the guitar punchier with less sustain The mastery is less punch with more sustain and upper end harmonics

Vintage style worked great on my AV65, think the neck pocket is angled but never gave me an issue. Swapped to a Mastery and it’s much more difficult to set up and dial in intonation but unplugged definitely sounds louder to my ears. Helps for getting overtones behind the bridge which is why I love it

Hands down best video on this topic!!! Yes, definitely can hear the difference. Staytrem and Mastery sound nearly identical. Vintage is most twang and brightest, Mustang 2nd brightest, both the Custom Shop and Halon have a sweet buttery tone. Tough decisions!!! But for me, I think I need the right pickups 1st. Certainly correct break angle over the bridge is key to no buzzing and best tone. I had to shim my custom build to get the correct height / angle. My instrument is a bit too changy, not exactly twangy. So, I may need a brass solution. I may go for building my own.... 😱😱😱

OMG, night and day with the Custom Shop Bridge. I think the Mustang is the runner up for me. Just like PRS will use brass tuning pegs and saddles to get more chime, this made it clear to me that brass saddles really make a difference. More bell like, for sure. Clear as day. I think it would be the difference between cutting through a mix (especially live when you have less control over your mix) and disappearing. *Granted, if you're in a shoegaze band, single notes cutting through vs having a homogenous wall of sound might make you want to stick with a stock bridge.

Mastery seems to have the most stable, solid sound. It has a solidity to the ringing of the notes, like there's no artificial vibrations or ringing of the strings against the saddles. Glad I went with the mastery on mine!

I got a Staytrem bridge shortly before they stopping shipping outside the UK. It’s a fantastic bridge and I’m happy to say that I’ve never had a problem with it. 10/10 recommend if you can find one.

The vintage is fine! Just use heavier strings and the right setup no need to change it - I did like the resonance the halon had but it had less upper high end detail - the mustang and staytrem seemed to choke the sustain a little and made it more ploddy- the mastery did have a nice open ish sound to it - and I love the idea and look of the CS in all honesty I have no issues with my vintage style one I think I’ll keep it as is :)

Wow man! That´s by far the best and clearest comparison I´ve found... I just decided to save up for a Halon. Thanks so much for your work in favor of us, offset fetichists!!!!

Could just be me but I thought the Custom bridge sounded best in terms of perceived volume and roundness compared with the others... That could though just be due to it being brass. The rest of the differences are subtle and mainly perceived volume based... Fender really need to sell that bridge!

I think it should be mentioned that Halon offers rocking bridge studs, besides keeping with Leo's original design, if you have a mute on on your Jag, and you want to use a Mastery, you'll have to drill out the holes in you mute to make it work, the Halon rocking studs work fine with a mute, they fit fine into the mute holes.

I had the vintage, Mastery, and Staytrem and went back to the Mastery. looks, sounds, and feels better for me.

thanks for the putting this clip together, very informative and helpful. I am looking to shim my neck and see how that works out

Well, I clicked on this video from a topic search and subscribed to the channel for a Leatherface riff! My kinda channel!

Mustang bridge sounds good !

Amazing comparison accurate much information. I want my Halon now.. very defined and sweet at the same time.. I liked the vintage too... lofi and sweet

Was going back and forth on mastery or staytrem. Read the forums and all pros and cons, but this video solidified my staytrem purchase. Just ordered. Now a mastery tremolo unit and a staytrem bridge that rocks may be something awesome though.

Actually I had 4 of these bridges : Original Mastery Staytrem Mustang By faaar my favorite was the Mastery due a more direct feel and resonance I liked it a lot. I also liked the original, never had a problem (have a shim tho) but not as good as Mastery. The staytrem was dull sounding like it killed some high end frequencies, same with the Mustang... Call me crazy but to me it’s all about the metal quality, and its contact to the body, a good bridge and a good nut change dramaticaly how a guitar sounds and feel

Great comparisons! I'm new to Jazzmasters, so this is incredibly helpful. Thank you!!

Really nice video. I definitely hear a difference, with the custom shop and mastery sounding much better than the others. Oddly, there’s something about the mustang that time travels backwards. I believe it is a certain blend of distorted frequencies that signify a “classic sound”. Does anyone else hear or feel that? Or, is this one of those generation gaps? (Understanding that the term “generation gap” is equally vintage and distorted). In other words, I can hear a familiarity with the mustang that emulates ‘60’s or ‘70’s guitar. I find this to be unexpected, and interesting. This leaves three choices: 1) Keep it vintage 2) buy a custom shop or 3) mastery, in no certain order. I think a newer guitar might benefit most from a mastery upgrade.

Excellent video! Thanks for posting this! I could hear a slight difference with the Mastery and Vintage bridge. They seemed a tad brighter on the clean tones but everyone’s ears will be different.

Wow. The Mastery has a wide, open, airy and sparkly tone which I love. It's clear and has the right blend of the Vintage with a little more clarity and sustain. The Fender custom has a similar tone but I hear a little less of the beautiful high overtones. The Staytrem is a little more "concentrated" idk how else to describe it, it's kinda condensed and sharper and very direct. The Vintage is clear and plucky but has less sustain. The Halon has amazing sustain, maybe too much for my liking on a Jazzmaster and has less clear high end than the Mastery. And then there's the Mustang which just sounds thin, flat and plain awful to my ear. And unfortunately, that's the one that I have on my guitar so I'm also speaking from experience😂 I'd say the tones I prefer are the Mastery and then the Vintage in that order. Next probably the Custom, Halon, Staytrem. The Mustang doesn't get a place on the list lol. I hate this video now for making me realize how much I want a Mastery... but great job mate ;)

Excellent review! Just a shame it didn't include wangy bar use! They were all an improvement on the vintage bridge. The staytrem wins for me for value for money tho I prefer the wider string spacing. 👍

fantastic video, very helpful!

Informative, to the point and with all the audio examples. Thanks a bunch Lord Fuzzman, great job. Subbed with joy.

Staytrem all the way.

now that i have the comparisson.i knew theres something not sounding right with my jazzmaster and mustang bridge,especially in the neck.i dont even start about the sustain :D. thanks for showing all these alternatives :)

We must be the only people I. The world with sensitive hands! I’ve been talking about this for six months and no one else ever responds or has mentioned the sharp edges hurting their palms during muting. It’s a HUGE deal to me, since it makes playing a lot more difficult when your have to wrap your hand in bandages. For this reason I replaced my tune-o-magic bridge with a roller bridge (yeah, that’s a great solution on LP style guitars. After researching which offset guitar to get for months, the KZfaq algorithm finally brought me here... :-)

Really useful, proper information that helps.

Huge help! Thanks for taking the time and trouble to do this. I'm thinking about a Custom Shop Mustang, so I can get the RSD bridge which is very appealing but this video shows (at least to my ears) that a regular Mustang bridge could actually be preferable because it offers individual string adjustment which I really need with heavy strings and wound third. Thanks again.

Thanks for making this comparison. I hope it will set things right for all those who are preferring one of these bridges without knowing the effect on sound, playability and their money spent. I subscribed, BTW. 😀

I just received my staytrem bridge. What a difference it was compare to mastery. Great tuning stability and smoother feel when using tremolo. I think it darken a tone a little bit which i think is good especially with 1 meg pot.

Had the first ever set of phosphor bronze saddles from Halon, incredible bridge!

Personally, I see aftermarket bridges as a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. If the guitar is set up correctly - and lets be honest, very few people know how to do it - then there’s no problems at all as the string tension is enough to keep everything tight and rattle free. Many years ago (14-ish) I believed the bridge was a poor design but I also didn’t know how to set them up correctly, even though I was convinced I did know. I put a TOM on my Jaguar and it still had string rattle...why? Not enough tension. Once the neck was angled correctly the rattle was gone. I use 13-56 strings with a wound third and have for years now. It’s not just my preference- these guitars work best with such gauges. However, that isn’t with full tension tuned in E standard as I play in C# standard so the tension is quite a bit less than E standard with this gauge. What this means, essentially, is you will be able to use smaller gauges - use a string tension calculator- and achieve the same required tension in E standard. The Jag and JM originally shipped with 13-54 strings and this was a part of the design...to be used with heavy strings (medium really, but considered heavy today). Some general info: If saddle screws are digging into your hand then the saddles are far too low and the bridge plate far too high. Saddles must be high at near maximum and then adjust the bridge plate for action. The neck must be shimmed in any pre AV65/AO60s JM/Jag as well, this too is a part of the original design. These later models have a tilted neck pocket which makes shims unnecessary. When set up correctly the strings pass over the back of the bridge plate, into the saddles, and over the intonation screws without ever touching them. The tremolo (vibrato) is blamed for problems as well - such as breaking strings - and just like the bridge, there are no problems once set correctly. Of the tested bridges; the Halon sounded the fullest to me, not the best as that is personal, just the fullest. The mastery is a faulty design - and I said this way back in their prototype days - as you can’t intonate a wound third set on it, nor many other tunings. The mustang bridge is fine, if set up correctly. They all sound different, not bad, just different. When there’s quite a large market for a product due to a problem that doesn’t actually exist it shows our ignorance more than anything else. TL;DR...don’t learn anything. Edited to add: I’m not a vintage purist by any stretch of the imagination; I just learnt how to set these guitars up by trial and error and ever since I’ve never had a problem. The setup is a very precise bit of work with many subtleties, but it isn’t hard and once you know, you know.

This is a superb video, answered all my queries, thank you Lord Fuzzman

I'll opt for brass saddles from halon for my original bridge.

Wow, this was both informative and entertaining.

Maybe I would have decided differently after this video. As for the clean sound I love the Halon and Staytrem here. But I got the Mastery in 2008 and I'm still so in love with it that I put them on my other three guitars also. I'm glad I never experience any screws coming loose. The 2008 Jazzmaster bridge is still where I put it in that year. So even if its expensive - it seems to last for my lifetime. I once tried to order a Staytrem, but they wouldnt ship in the next 10 months, so I got the Mastery again. There is also a new bridge on the market: Tuffset Bridge. They seem to be good too.

Great video! I play a bigsby Tele, so all this is kind of relevant to us too. I use the vintage style JM bridge, but I think the bigsby adds a bit more break angle. I use some nylon/plastic strips cut to size which I insert into the post holes which reduce the amount the bridge can rock, without locking it completely.

Great review. I have tried the stock, the mustang, the Staytrem and the RSD. Out of those I prefer the RSD, with the Staytrem a close second. But the RSD most certainly is a rocking bridge, however its rocking range is a bit less than the other rocking bridges.