Mustang Bridge and Vibrato adjustment question

DrTonyBalls

Hi all,

Forgive me if this is common knowledge or previously been discussed. Im new here and my search attempts have been kinda fruitless.

So a 73 Mustang recently came into my position and i'm a tech guy/amateur luthier and wanting to toy with a bridge and tailpiece but I have no idea how to go about it on this guy. All the parts are original, if that makes a difference.

BRIDGE - how does one adjust the bridge height? I assume that there's some sort of key inside the post holes, but what is it? I tried a battery of allen keys but couldnt get any of them to bite.

TAILPIECE - can one adjust the height of the tailpiece? The tailpiece on this guy likes to rest all the way down on the mounting plate, making re-stringing a bear because without lifting it a little and putting a shim underneath it, I cant get strings to pass under the bar. Does anyone know if this is a common problem that happens to old mustangs, or is this one just out of adjustment?

I tried searching for a schematic of the bridge/vibrato mechanism but couldnt find anything. Can anyone help me find one or answer my questions or at least poitn me in the right direction for the answers?

THANKS.

Mustang-Pete

Hey, I'll try answer some of your questions...

Bridge - To adjust the height there are two little holes on the treble and the bass side (where the legs are) as you correctly guessed these are for adjusting the height. It should just be an ordinary allen key (albeit a rather small one)

Tailpiece - Yes it can be ajusted. In the same kind of position as those on the bridge, there should be two small holes on the tailpice. An allen key should do the trick here too. That should raise the tailpice (obviously remember to put an equal number of turns on each leg in each instance, and doing, say a hlaf turn or a turn at a time on each leg.)

Hope I helped a little. 😀

jacksonjackass

Bridge:

It is possible that a screw or two may have come off

Tailpiece:

Make sure you move the spring down the post (take the vibrato off to see what I mean)

This gives you more tension so the bridge won't float