How To Fix Fender Mustang Loose Vibrato Arm For Good

This is a quick and simple way to have the vibrato arm of a Fender or Squier Mustang stay in place, while still being able to move it if you want to.
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[@yura.aristov]

A lot of useful information. This is a slap in the face for the mustang haters who say that the mustang dont keep tune. Greetings from Russia

[@lonerjuan]

Thanks! I just wish people tested and set them up properly before throwing a tantrum at a stupid piece of metal.

[@enriquepastor3626]

Love my Mustang man

[@rafaelcabralwilliams]

It certainly is more complicated to setup than a hardtail or stoptail guitar.

[@realdavidii]

*I love this guy's mood*

[@lonerjuan]

Thanks!

[@realdavidii]

@@lonerjuan :D

[@manonbassguitar]

A little bit of the blue Lok-Tite will help keep the screw from backing itself out too, I love the stuff. Go team Juan!

[@lonerjuan]

Go team! (Gotta get some of that stuff at some point)

[@janzelf]

Loctite 243 is the holy grail.

[@teratogen614]

Sorry I’m dumb-what exactly are you doing with the loctite?

[@BryanClark-gk6ie]

Take a small round file' file a grove in the tremolo arm' fit in a small ballbearing' install spring. Lube the ballbearing and trem arm first before installing.

[@lonerjuan]

I'm kinda confused about where the ballbearing goes, or what I would be achieving. Is there anywhere I can see that? Sounds interesting.

[@BryanClark-gk6ie]

@@lonerjuan Insert the ballbearing into the end of the lipstick bridge followed by the spring then the Alan screw. Will hold the arm in and less wear/smooth movement no matter how much tension adjustment.

[@lonerjuan]

@@BryanClark-gk6ie Oh, you mean just the ball! I thought you had an idea with the entire ball bearing assembly. I see now. I don't know how much room there is on this one, but I've seen that on some other guitars and it is a great idea.

[@matthewrodriguez9925]

I just got my mustang and i have the same problem. Thanks and keep the trashtalking i love it

[@lonerjuan]

Will do! I hope this fix helps.

[@armstrem]

In addition to the spring, my plan is to put blue loc-tite on that grub screw so it doesn't loosen so easily. Just got my first Mustang - Vintera 60s, lake placid blue. :)

[@lonerjuan]

Nice score! And yes, I suppose some Loctite couldn't hurt.

[@noamaster3898]

I'll have to try this method. I've always put a chunk of quality nylon washer between the set screw and arm. The nylon compresses, keeping tension on the arm.

[@lonerjuan]

That should work just as fine I guess. Seems like quite the elegant solution to me.

[@PageandPlant4Life]

so making the grooves in the bar by tightening the allen wrench and twisting it around first is necessary? (i didn't get enough hugs as a child btw)

[@lonerjuan]

It's not strictly necessary, but it does help and can probably be done in a more elegant fashion I'm sure. In my case, I discovered that part by accident, by repeatedly tightening it and eventually damaging the surface, but after doing some tests I found out it tends to hold on better that way compared to a part without grooves. (I'm sorry to hear that, but at least you have good material for lyrics, so that's good, kinda?)

[@RMNZNT]

Good Shit, Imma do this when i get my classic vibe thanks man!

[@lonerjuan]

Awesome! I hope you find it useful.

[@boblabahh4893]

Did you buy proper tools yet? (A long hex key set for example)

[@lonerjuan]

Absolutely! A wide range set of both metric and imperial hex wrenches is one of the best investments I've ever made.

[@littleshrimp6905]

ok but this guy treats this guitar horribly :/

[@lonerjuan]

It's not as rough as it looks like. We do have a safe word.

[@FlameFlickers]

Love this video. You're naturally funny as fuck and that's actually a great solution to solve the vibrato bar falling off my Mustang. Thanks!

[@lonerjuan]

Thanks! I'm actually surprised it's been 2 years and I've never had to adjust it or anything.

[@01157ify]

Now I know how to fix this pos vibrato. Thank you.

[@lonerjuan]

You're welcome!

[@111ptrb]

Brilliant!!

[@lonerjuan]

Thanks! I was a bit surprised it worked but it's been over a year and it has never failed me.

[@PackKanashijo]

How do you keep your string in tune when you use the tremolo? My mustang go out of tune every time i use the tremolo (squier classic vibe mustang)

[@lonerjuan]

There's a few things to a good setup on these ones. Other than the regular things you do on every other guitar, including properly filed and lubed nut and stretching the strings, the bridge setup is key. Contrary to what many people think, it has to be able to rock back and forth freely so that there's no friction over the saddles. This is something Leo Fender himself emphasized on the patent document for the first offset bridge. Also, the posts have to be sitting perpendicular to the body, and so does the tailpiece. In order to do that, you have to find the sweet spot between spring tension (mine need to be on the furthest notches underneath the plate) and tailpiece height (mine sits a bit tall, creating enough break angle over the bridge but not Les Paul-like break). That said, the most crucial aspect is build quality, and that's where a Squier one like this one will eventually start to fail. Don't get me wrong, I love this guitar, to the point I had a Fender for a while and sold it instead of the Squier, but the "knife edges" the tailpiece posts pivot over have worn quite a bit and it has started to cause some issues. I don't even make height adjustments while it's under tension to avoid deformation, it just happened with normal use. I might replace the baseplate at some point because of this. The design is fine, but the material Squier uses it simply not strong enough.

[@johans.31718]

1:10 this sounds kinda sus

[@lonerjuan]

I too think sticking the thing into the thing and praying for the best is a questionable method of contraception.

[@ralfcaetano]

The Gilbert Gottfried of guitars 😂😂

[@lonerjuan]

I don't think I'll ever be up to such a standard, but what the hell, I'll take it!

[@ralfcaetano]

@@lonerjuan sorry man it's not the voice it's the way you talk. But I promise it's not in a bad way. By the way. You figure I could just pull the mustang tailpiece with my hand to divebomb?

[@lonerjuan]

@@ralfcaetano Oh I didn't take it in a bad way. The late great Gilbert is some level of awesome most of us can only dream about. About the divebomb, I guess you could, although I wouldn't call the range of a Mustang divebomb worthy. That said, if you have crazy arm strength you might extract the whole range out of the vibrato from the tailpiece alone. I've done some normal vibrato that way and it's quite hard but works if the bar is missing. The way it's set up and how the springs are placed on the inside will affect the behavior too, but it's possible

[@ralfcaetano]

@@lonerjuan I don't normally go too low with the whammy bar I figure I should be fine using my hand. I just need an alternative to my current gigging guitar and it just seems that a mustang might fit the bill. I'm pushing it too far if I go lower than two steps down.

[@lonerjuan]

@@ralfcaetano Two steps might not be that bad. As long as the setup is good and the knife edge/fulcrum is in good shape... I'd still get a bar if you don't have one though.

[@elsecretodenadie5081]

The witcher

[@lonerjuan]

_Vatt'ghern_ indeed.

[@josepllop7321]

they way he treat the guitar give me anxiety.

[@lonerjuan]

Me too, dude's got issues!

[@josepllop7321]

@@lonerjuan glad i'm not the only one, i just go a american performer mustang and didn't even remove the pickguard sticker.

[@lonerjuan]

@@josepllop7321 But did you try the spring trick?

[@josepllop7321]

@@lonerjuan not really the new models comes with a plastic inside the hole so when pressed it kinda keep it snug. without even scratching the bar. But let's see if it keeps up with time.

[@lonerjuan]

@@josepllop7321 I didn't know that. Any way I can see a picture? Maybe we can help this poor kid somehow.

[@Uninterested69420]

Is this a vintage modified mustang?

[@lonerjuan]

Indeed it is, tremendously fun guitar.

[@MrDeepwatermarine]

I own a 1965 mustang. Could you list the mods or direct me to a video? I’ve lived with no whammy bar for several decades.

[@lonerjuan]

@@MrDeepwatermarine The only mod to the whammy system is what I show on the video, sticking a spring in there. Other than hat, a properly set up bridge and you're good to go.

[@monoswinger]

@@lonerjuan hi, thanks for the video, do you have any recommendations for the setup? I thought I find a video for this easily, but only find with mods.

[@jeffmurdock8321]

Save you a nickel, use a Bic pen spring.

[@lonerjuan]

I tried that once on a Strat and the thread bit on the spring making quite a mess. I'm not sure how well that would go here but I guess it might work.

[@jeffmurdock8321]

@@lonerjuan One works in mine, but I also filed a small notch in the bar's shaft the same width as the hole's diameter to help keep it in. Bulletproof now. The spring actually goes in that notch (about 1MM deep) and the bar can't fall out.

[@lonerjuan]

@@jeffmurdock8321 Cool! It's worth a try. Thanks for the tip!