Is the tail piece grounded?

JeffLeites

Mustang-Pete

I dont know about vintage ones, but I presume they'll be the same as the RI. The electronics are usually grounded to the bridge cup. So no, the tailpiece shouldn't be grounded 😉

nirvana23freak

what pete said. what color is it now(pics?)

JeffLeites

I'll have pictures soon. But, what is a bridge cup?

nirvana23freak

its the metal part that the bridge sits in. there is a wire under that, that is grounding the bridge to strings.

JeffLeites

OK, thanks. Well, if that's grounded, the whole tailpiece is, since it makes contact with that part of it.

Any chance you know the answer to my trem bar being too high question? I wonder if it's related to the bridge height. I had to shim the neck, because without a shim, the strings were too high, even with the bridge as low as it could go. I wonder if I shimmed it too much, and now have the bridge to high causing the trem to be pulled up. If I have to take the neck off one more time, I'm going to lose it ☹

tragictravisty

im more of a jag guy than mustang, but if worst comes to worst, bend the arm. take it out and try using pliers or something.

nirvana23freak

you might need to adjust where the strings are on the posts underneath the plate. you could mess with that. and i think you said you turn the posts but you dont know which way does what... shouldnt clockwise tighten the bar on the posts and counter clockwise loosen it? im not sure which of those would make it straighter, but its a start. try that and the adjustments underneath

JeffLeites

I assume you meant to check the springs, not the strings 😉

I'll try that tomorrow, I've had enough for today, but i just took a picture of how the bridge looks, maybe that will shed some light on it:

Also, here's a shot of the whole guitar. I put a new neck on it. Ebony fingerboard, SS frets, and locking tuners. I still have to put on the string-T, and fix a couple nicks I put in it putting it back together. (I made my own decal):

Purplehaze19x

Those strings look a bit high, has it always been like that? Nice guitar by the way.

JeffLeites

I was thinking the same thing. I think I shimmed the neck too much, so I'm going to look into that again ☹ I think Warmoth made the nut too high too, but that's another issue I'll look into after resolving this one.

I don't remember what "normal" was. I played the Mustang from the mid 60's to early 70's, then didn't play at all until the late 90's when I got a Carvin Bolt (kit) that I really like. This Mustang has basically just been hanging on the wall, so I just don't remember.

Mustang-Pete

Gosh that's a high bridge... Are you sure it won't go any lower!? The tailpiece looks to be at a bit of an angle too... what guage of stings do you have one it?

Nice guitar though. Where did you get the neck from?

JaguarOW

Jeff Leites said: I think Warmoth made the nut too high too, but that's another issue I'll look into after resolving this one.

Mustang-Pete

Jeff Leites said: I think Warmoth made the nut too high too, but that's another issue I'll look into after resolving this one.

Ahh, that'll teach me for being lazy and not reading the posts properly 😆

JeffLeites

Ok, after hours of work shimming the neck again, I think I've got it. I don't have the posts perfectly straight, maybe due to the low gauge strings. I'm afraid if I loosen it anymore, the tail bar will come off. At least it looks like the other pictures I see. I cut strips of aluminum roofing flashing for the shim. I just kept stacking pieces until it allowed me to have the bridge really low, with a little bit of wiggle room for adjustment.

Here's how it looks now, the bridge is low, and the tail is high:

nirvana23freak

looks better! and i did mean springs, not strings!

JeffLeites

Ok, I just got my Mustang back from Dave Neely (http://www.neelyguitars.com/) who fixed the nut that Warmoth apparently didn't finish off. What a difference 😁

He also pointed out a couple of problems:

1. Although my neck is tight, the neck plate isn't. I can't turn the screws anymore, so I'm going to have to drill the holes just a tad deeper.

2. He could tell by the electrical buzzing (that would go away when the touched both the tailpiece and the control plate), that the tailpiece was NOT grounded. I don't think it ever was. I've since verified that with an ohm meter. So my plan is to run a grounded thin piece of wire or metal out under the pickguard to under the tail piece. They are so close together that I don't think it will be noticeable.