Mastery Bridge

[admin]

I see the Mastery Bridge seems to be "SOLD OUT" at the moment.

[8mileshigher]

Here's a close-up photo (courtesy of DoctorWho) of Paulie's Big Red with the Mastery Bridge, taken at the Memorial Day Weekend Waffles and Mini Jam get-together in Southern Calif ....

[electrofaro]

And, what was the verdict? Does it hold up to the promise?

[aceonbass]

And, what was the verdict? Does it hold up to the promise?

What's the promise? I suspect it's to increase sustain or the resonancy of a guitar, which it may very well do, but of greater concern to me was whether or not the radius could be adjusted with all 6 strings on the same curve and the intonation set for all 6 strings. Rick guitars already sound great, but if the Mastery part can't match the stock part when it comes to string radius and intonation adjustment, then I would wait for something that does. To date, no one had commented on these two points other than Mark Arnquist (who agreed that the Mastery was not fully adjustable in these two areas) but his opinion was not appreciated by individuals possessing much less knowledge of Ricks and guitars in general.

[admin]

Perhaps Paul will be able to comment on this bridge as it has played out for him in the practical sense.

[Grey]

Rick guitars already sound great

When the bridge isn't slipping or the strings arn't popping out of the saddles. The Mastery makes the greatness stable.

[electrofaro]

if the Mastery part can't match the stock part when it comes to string radius and intonation adjustment, then I would wait for something that does. To date, no one had commented on these two points

Very true, it has been silent on that matter, and I hope someone who has the bridge speaks out about it!

other than Mark Arnquist (who agreed that the Mastery was not fully adjustable in these two areas) but his opinion was not appreciated by individuals possessing much less knowledge of Ricks and guitars in general.[/i][/b]

That dead horse is already gammon, no need to beat it any more

[whojamfan]

I currently have my 330 at one of the most capable and respectable Rickenbacker luthiers having it double bound and a few other things done to it cosmetically. This is not a quick process, so I have no exact date when the work will be completed. I have my Mastery bridge on it already(which I really enjoyed the couple of days I got to check it out before sending my guitar off), so when the guitar is done, there will be a chance to have a practical assessment done by someone who's credentials can't be disputed should HE decide to get involved in this discussion.

I'm a player, been doing it both professionally and fun for over 30 years. I've seen about every technological solution and option that's come down the pike, and some of it was good, and others, not. I've seen all the hype and tried well over 90 percent of the aftermarket items made for various guitars and basses to "improve" them from how they came from the factory. I try to have an open mind in evaluating gear, because for many years I was on the sales and repair side of the counter, and needed to be objective in trying to meet my customers needs.

For my own playing needs, I want the best options for instruments to deliver what I believe to be their maximum potential for what I want them to do. If something is more conducive to my aggressive playing style, I'm more apt give it a shot, and weigh the whole experience. Both Pete Townshend and Paul Weller had/have a more aggressive playing style than your average Rickenbacker player, and both opted for different bridge options on their guitars to maximize their playability in a "live" context. So for me, having a similarly aggressive playing style, I want an instrument I am using "live" to be as conducive to that as possible.

Paul Azpeitia is a similarly aggressive player who has been at it for even longer than I. His strongarm vibrato and heavy picking attack demand an instrument that can take it. I know he tried the bridges both Weller and Townshend did before trying the Mastery. It was upon his real world live playing evaluation of the Mastery bridge that made me shell out the bucks to try one, and I'm glad I did. He's still digging his, I've played his guitar many times with the Mastery installed, and my own for a few days. We both use a lot of open string droning and pedal note type stuff in our playing, all over the neck, and haven't found any intonation problems with it that we.ve heard, both without the guitars being "strobed" or professionally set up. For me, it looks like it was the right choice.

Having a choice is a good thing, we all have different needs, and this bridge meets the needs of the more aggressive player. Mastery has made a business manufacturing aftermarket bridges addressing aggressive playability issues folks were having with their stock hardware. I seriously don't see why a company who only makes a few bridges would waste their time and expense with such a finicky and detailed oriented community such as ours if the product didn't deliver. I've not seen, nor heard, any REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE slamming the bridge for having intonation, radius, or other mechanical shortcomings. Also, your stock chrome(or black) bridge cover attaches to the Mastery the same way so if the stainless look bothers you, the stock cover will hide most of it.

The bridge is simply an option for people to have available to them. To be so opinionated about something you have only seen a picture of and have no practical or real world experience with is both counterproductive and frankly, rather boring. It's the ego those "possessing less knowledge" don't appreciate, not the exchange of information and experience

[DriftSpace]

It's the ego those "possessing less knowledge" don't appreciate, not the exchange of information and experience

This was beautifully put, thank you. I hope you don't mind if I quote this in the future; some of my encounters with "exchange of information and experience" here have been overstuffed with egoism, and for what?

[whojamfan]

It's the ego those "possessing less knowledge" don't appreciate, not the exchange of information and experience

This was beautifully put, thank you. I hope you don't mind if I quote this in the future; some of my encounters with "exchange of information and experience" here have been overstuffed with egoism, and for what?

Thanks, feel free, but If you have t-shirts made, I want one

[kiramdear]

I see the Mastery Bridge seems to be "SOLD OUT" at the moment.

Obviously this Bumblebee flies just fine.

[paologregorio]

Thanks for the high praise, Mike; you're too generous. Personally, I think Snowman's the more aggressive virtuoso; at jams, my reaction to his playing is often, "What?!. . . oh, you go.."

I recently had Big Red and my Blue Boy given a complete setup/fret levelling. A local tech recommended by Danotron did the work. Once of the first things the tech said when holding the guitar was to comment favorably on the Mastery Bridge; he was able to intonate the bridge without issue when doing the setup, has a Mastery on his Jazzmaster, and was considering a Mastery for one of his Ricks.

Over the last 3-4 years of playing, I wore a few dead spots into the frets on both guitars, which the builder took care of. Both guitars play like a dream. If I had the $$, and they were available, I would probably equip every one of my six string wRicks with the Mastery Bridge; the other Ricks don't have the added volume and sustain the Mastery provides. As it is, I will likely equip at least 2 more Ricks with the Mastery Bridge, unless a friend develops a six saddle bridge with similar heft, that has the adjustability of Strat-style bridge saddles.

[aceonbass]

Having played with Paul A. a few times at the SoCal Rickenjams of years past, I too see at least some of the advantages of the Mastery part in his case in particular. If the thing stands up to his heavy right hand technique and sustains better than the stock part, I have no reason not to believe him. And as I said before, I never doubted claims that the piece did either of those things. If the guitar actually does intonate on all six strings, I think it would have to be dumb luck. Once you've set the intonation of the first and last string in each trio it's not possible to adjust the second string. It's not often that the first and second trio of strings on a guitar have their saddles adjusted in a straight line, but it does happen. Now while this may not matter to some (and that's fine) but it does matter to me, and it matters to other techs I've talked to about the part. That some players are apparently unable to understand how this can be determined by only seeing the part closeup in hi photos is a limitation on their knowledge of guitar mechanics and not mine, and that's fine too, but calling out people like myself and Mark Arnquist on our egos is getting personal. I have yet to actually call anyone here stupid for not understanding what we're talking about when we critique the part, so please don't imply that my ego is what makes me so sure of what I'm talking about. Paul Boyer didn't feature six of my Ricks in his new book because I don't know what I'm doing where Ricks are concerned.

[Grey]

If the guitar actually does intonate on all six strings, I think it would have to be dumb luck. Once you've set the intonation of the first and last string in each trio it's not possible to adjust the second string. It's not often that the first and second trio of strings on a guitar have their saddles adjusted in a straight line, but it does happen. Now while this may not matter to some (and that's fine) but it does matter to me, and it matters to other techs I've talked to about the part. That some players are apparently unable to understand how this can be determined by only seeing the part closeup in hi photos is a limitation on their knowledge of guitar mechanics and not mine

Paul Boyer didn't feature six of my Ricks in his new book because I don't know what I'm doing where Ricks are concerned.

Nope, no ego at all.

[jps]

If the guitar actually does intonate on all six strings, I think it would have to be dumb luck. Once you've set the intonation of the first and last string in each trio it's not possible to adjust the second string. It's not often that the first and second trio of strings on a guitar have their saddles adjusted in a straight line, but it does happen. Now while this may not matter to some (and that's fine) but it does matter to me, and it matters to other techs I've talked to about the part. That some players are apparently unable to understand how this can be determined by only seeing the part closeup in hi photos is a limitation on their knowledge of guitar mechanics and not mine

Paul Boyer didn't feature six of my Ricks in his new book because I don't know what I'm doing where Ricks are concerned.

Nope, no ego at all.

Dane may not be modest but he certainly does know what he is doing.