1970 Competition Mustang. Original bridge VS Gotoh Tune-O-Matic bridge for Nirvana Tone 

dude your content is super high quality, you deserve way more subs

If you are putting a shim under your neck use a full pocket shim. The small shim you put in could deform the neck over time, causing the high frets to be pushed higher

The original to me sounds the best... The Gotoh lacks brightness. Can't wait for Scentless Apprentice! It's my favourite Nirvana song! And your recreation sounds great! Cheers

I think how the bridge is mounted effects the tone. I think Kurt’s mustang had the old metal bushings removed and filled with wood, and redrilled for the tune o matic posts. That could make the raddle noise go away. Just a theory

This is the third time i’ve watched this video, its just that good.

I absolutely LOVE how you let us hear the sounds instead of covering it up with music. So awesome!! I also will leave my strings on forever. I also liked the original bridge sound.

Loved the playing at the start, sounded so good :))

The sound of those strings sliding through the “cigar”!! Ahahah a sound I know all too well!!!

I hope this helps, I have 3 mustangs and I turned the “cigar” on the bridge backward so the strings are pulled straight through. Then I put a lock washer on the posts and screwed the posts all the way down so the “cigar” is flush on the tremolo plate. Why? Because that’s what Kurt did. It does effect the tone (for better or worse that’s your opinion) but it does replicate his tone a great deal at least to my ears. Also when I put new strings on a guitar I tune it to pitch, stretch the string two strings over, and repeat until it stays in tune even after stretching the string. This will help with the new string sound that I also hate. You remind me a lot of myself when it comes to what you’re doing with replicating Kurt’s sound. I’ve been doing it for 22 years. Again, I hope this helps.

Dude…. I love your videos so much!!! I’m a complete vintage mustang nerd / addict as well…. The videography and edits are always top notch.. A+++ man….. keep it up!! 🤟🏼

that fretboard clean-up was amazing ASMR

"I'm the type of guy that leaves the strings on for 5yrs" but have only been playing for not even 2yrs 🤦‍♂️. Great vids tho dude & you must have an awesome plug for gear or just heaps of cash lol. 🤘

my fave was a 67 fender bronco,got it n 1994..i was home invaded back in 2000 i still have not recovered...same case as that blu stang though..i miss stuff.had to watch thugs walk out with so much stuff..just wish they left my beat up bronco..it really meant the world to me.

really surprised to hear you dislike the TuneOMatic! once you did the switch, my ears perked up... I like it undeniably more

The Tune-O-Matic has more sustain which is what your hearing. On strings, I have strings on my HH Jag from 2007 and strings on my 90 Strat from 1997! lol

Man, those ASMR sounds are so soothing...

Love your videos, I check every day for a new one 👍

The comp. Paint job is so beautiful! I’m about to get my replica, keep up the good content!

Your video quality and production is always so consistent, you seem to prefer quality over quantity, Overall TOM does sound more darker and it doesn’t let the notes ring out as much than the stock bridge. After hearing the comparison I must say I was pretty dumbfounded that the stock bridge did sound a bit like Kurt’s real mustang but also the TOM also did have some of that aspects of Kurt’s tone here and there. In conclusion: Stock sounds better and TOM has better tuning stability and Intonation.

Agree on new strings - I changed my strings today and I was almost in tears after. Felt like a system restore to a time before I'd done all the work. But even so I preferred that bridge to the stock one!

Original + old strings sounded better to me. More mellow, soft, smooth

Watching you clean that guitar and listening to all the sounds made me seriously happy.

wow the atmosphere of this video is so perfect

I've got a 1969 Mustang - LOVE it. Replaced neck pickup with a SD Hot Rails. Kicks butt !

The riff in the beginning was so damn fucking cool dude

I actually liked the gotoh tone!

I appreciate the ASMR elements of this video

I saw a video with Tomo Fujita and his '65 Mustang that you can buy graduated wood shims from Stewmac to increase the neck contact with the body to help with resonance. Better than shoving cardboard in there. Might be helpful in future.

Man this channel is great. Just bought a Mustang 90 and was mooching around, and found this channel. It's really fun.

Never seen your channel. Wonderful content, instantly subscribed. Remember IF you’re going to use a shim for a long time you should buy a stew Mac shim. The shim just in the bottom of the pocket will eventually pull your butt of the neck up.

Agreed. The tune-o-matic takes all the low end thump out of the guitar and gives it this nasally midrange. Another problem is that it introduces a radius mismatch with the 7.25” fingerboard. The tune-o-matic bridges are made for Gibson style guitars and thus have a 12 inch radius. I’ve had a few guitars with this pairing and find them uncomfortable to play. Great video! PS: you made me wince when you started filing the saddles without taping off the pickups! Those metal filings can wreak havoc if they get on the pickup magnet.

I totally agree with you, The tunomatic really eats up the sound. Didn´t expect it to hear it that clearly.

Your picture quality is quite impressive ! and the video itself too super fun to watch

There’s a company called mastery that makes really good mustang bridges. They are true to the original sound but have an updated design that is more comfy and way more stable.

Dude your videography is astounding. Thanks so much! ⚡️

Definitely dug the factory bridge more, noticed more kurt tones in your playing with it too. Just my opinion. I could be bias cuz i have a sweet ‘66 mustang. Completely agree with your whole synopsis: the beautiful vintage case smell, the feeling of connection/bonding of when you find THAT one guitar. No other guitar has spoken to me like my stang, besides one particular beat up mojo machine ‘65 strat I got to play once. Cherish that thing man 🤘

I'd definitely say the original bridge sounds better. It sounds fatter and more dynamic to me. Also I love the riff at the beginning of this video. I'd love to hear more of that.

It’s so odd that you only have 2k subs but have better content than like any other guitar v-loger

I’m suprised how much darker the original bridge sounded

this turned out to be a really relaxing video i like it

Gorgeous Russian Blue... I miss My Verbal. He was the goodest boy

incredible! As always! Your jams actually sound killer!

And the Academy Award for best sound design goes to.......

How did you get the posts to the TOM bridge to fit in the mustang thimbles? Also Milk It sounds fantastic dude. Can’t wait for that! That’s my favorite In Utero track I’d say

Oh the original one sounds soooo much dynamic and less "zingy", incredible how the sustain is sweeter too. Thanks for these videos, those are really top notch quality and relevant, not just for Nirvana tones but in matter of global guitar settings and appreciation. Long may you run.

WOW, I don't know if I'm watching a movie or a review, great job bro, it looks amazing!!

Such a passionate person and I think that's all the counts ❤️ ✌️ the cinematography is astounding brother

this is so cool. i loved the intro. amazing videos bro

The higher profile makes a greater break angle for the string, which effects the tone and tension. Hence why alot of players like to "top wrap" les pauls.

Thank you so much for the great videos 👍. I'm with you on the mustang bridge sounding better.

Subscribed. Phenomenal content and editing!!! You deserve way more subscribers… you just gained one here! Keep bringing us awesome vids thanks so much…

this is basically asmr

what did you use to oil the neck? i have never seen someone use a spray bottle

yup. subscribing now. thanks for this video, that was very enjoyable!

I don't know about the mustang or the gotoh bridge but I like the tune-o-matic bridge on the j mascis jazzmaster. It adds sustain and has a more balanced tone which you can bend to more directions as you need. The original bridge suits better for rhythm and the tune-o-matic or other aftermarket replacements better for solo playing.

Very high quality!

Great video! I was very surprised with how much the tone changes. I definitively prefer the original. The Gotoh one I feel loses warmth and sustain. I think it's just a matter of which bridge transfers the more vibrations to the body's wood. Also, unrelated, how do you get those shots?!?! like from 3:35 and onward. Suuuper sweet shots. I hope you keep including things like that in future videos. Greetings from Argentina. -F

I put a TOM bridge on my 1st Jag-Stang and switched back shortly after as I hated that it didn’t match the radius of the fretboard

That's why i like tune o matic bridge

Nice video, as always. Just to react to some comments i read. I had 3 made in japan mustangs (and played a lot of my friends’ stangs too). These were among the most tuning stable guitars i’ve had (a lot more than my SGs and LesPauls with tuneomatics and stop tails which couldnt keep a G string in tune for 5 minutes). Putting 12’ tuneomatics on those 7.25’ radius guitars and reversing the cigar is 100% downgrade. It brings nothing but problems; makes playing difficult because of the inconsistent action (and yes you can file the TOM saddles, but you have to remove so much material it causes other issues in most cases), it makes the guitar hard to intonate properly (outer strings too high in the higher frets), makes a super cool vibrato unusable, makes you having to shim the neck for no valuable reason (mustang bridges also have individual saddles ajustment, they stay put if you don’t use the trem, and you can put some sleeves around the posts if you absolutely want them non-rocking). And now, thanks to that video, you can see that it doesnt sound better either (not that KC was doing it for tone purposes anyway). Just keep in mind that it was a different time (no internet ressource, no straytrems / masteries / halons and what not). Now people just know better on offset guitars, and imo there’s no point paying extras to modify a perfectly fine guitar to only make it worse. And it’s ok to love Kurt without cosplaying everything he did, even some odd choices he made when he was 25 (i bet he’d prefer that too anyway).

Good stuff! I agree in your demo the original bridge sounds way better. I don't have a T.O.M on any of my short scale guitars yet and after seeing this I probably won't. 😆

Putting a tune o matic on this is just setting it up improperly, the strings are meant to follow the radius of the neck but if you like it and it’s more comfortable more power to you.

im no professional... and i play a strat and les paul jr... but maybe if you leave the bridge on for longer, the less metallic it'll sound? idk just an idea. i love your content btw❤

What type of Gotoh Tom are you using Aaron? As I see others doing this mod by taking out the bushings from the body, plugging the holes and redrilling for the Tom bridge, where as you just did a straight drop into the body mounted bushings, see I’d like to try this way so i could revert back to the original mustang bridge 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 Cheers bro

the whole differnce in tone is probably due to different distance between the strings and the pickups

By not using a full pocket neck shim there’s potentially a loss of resonance transfer between the neck and body of the guitar.

Beautiful video man

Heart shaped box is perfect with the original one

Your content is awesome bro

can you make a tutorial for the melody you play please read my message

Очень круто! Спасибо за вдохновение!

You can try nylon saddles on the tune o matic it will mellow it out a ton. try them. also he reversed the tail piece which actually changes the string tension a bit. try that too! I had a 69 just like yours (and kurts) I did all the same mods - then sold it. Still regret it. I now have the sig. Mustang in sonic blue -it hits the spot.

you're really ...neat.

the gotoh on its own sounds really dull but if you block the trem and flip the cigar so the strings run straight through (like kurt did) the tone is a lot better

Seems like the note definition is better with the Gotoh. Might sound better in a mix.

id love the to have this guitar! So cool

Bro your riffs are fire...what are the tabs for your intro ????? I need this

The original clearly sounds better. Have you set the pickup height in relation to the the strings equally in both bridges? If you are having problems with the stock, maybe you should try the Mastery, I like to think it is what Kurt would be using nowadays. Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo use them. Regarding IU tone, I made a video trying to recreate Very Ape lead guitar tone, got a close result using a P90 equipped guitar (simulating the Veleno) and a op amp fuzz, perhaps that's the song Kurt used a Big Muff (Albini mentioned one being used).

The muskiness is actually coming from the case itself. A lot of cases smell like absolute cat piss lol

whatis the song in the beginning

I can’t believe he got rid of it

Goldeneye elevator music very interesting choice.

I've been enjoying your tone series recently. Have you thought about doing nevermind? Would love drain you.

Yes please share !

I noticed the nut slots were too deep and the Gotoh saddle contact points were filed way too wide and round. I know you wanted lower action since tuneomatics in fenders sit way too high, but that really affects tone and intonation. The string contact points have to be filed to a thin and sharp point. Im putting a fresh Gotoh in my mustang, and I’m going to slightly shim the neck like you did but with a full shim . I made a new bone nut from a blank with proper slots and string height and I’m also going to grind down the underside of the Gotoh where it sits on the thumb wheels, to avoid filing the saddles.

The gotoh sounds more accurate but I like the original better.

if you don't like the sound of new strings, put some chapstick on the strings and leave it for half an hour before wiping it off. works like a charm.

What song are you playing on 4:50?

I do like it better with the stock bridge, the funny thing is that he used the Competition Mustang in it's original state to record Nevermind, he added the tune o matic bridge later in '92. so the most relevant use that guitar ever had was while it was original. In regards to the tone, I think any guitar changes a little bit (or a lot) if you replace important parts in it, like electronics or hardware that actually touches and transfers the vibration on the strings.

Don’t be so quick to lose the Tune-O-Matic. There’s a couple things you can do to improve it. You can switch the saddles to either roller saddles or nylon saddles that most Gibsons used in the late 50’s and 60’s. I think either of the two will outperform the stock metal saddle that Gotoh uses.

The Tupac shirt I thought was a nice touch. I have a shirt with Chris Farlley, Tupac, and Kurt Cobain on it. Lol.

It's nice to share with us , your journey searching the sound of Kurt Cobain's guitar tone. But I have a question for you.... What about your Tone? What about your experience with sound? What about your voice? Cheers and thanks for great stuff you upload.

I would say the stock bridge is more the studio sound and with the Tune O Matic is more like Live performances like Live and Loud

Is the playing at the beginning your original? Or is it another song? It sounds amazing! If it's yours, you should totally make a full song!

Agreed

The stock bridge seems to have more 'punch'. It has a lot of middles and more brightness. But it's more 'muddy' overall. The Gotoh bridge seems to fit into a metal soloist genre: it's more precise and clean, but it lacks fundamentally middle frequencies. Personally, i prefer the stock bridge.

On rape me, the Gotoh bridge gives you the 1994 European in utero live tone kurt had on his jagstang!

i think it is just the strings, when i first got my mustang it sounded like that, but after a while it started changing

I jealous of your gear... gimme that quad reverb lol

Hey what's up Aaron! Nice vids as always. I was wondering, what are the screw post you bought for the TOM bridge? Obviously it isn't the standard "narrow" one. Thanks and keep up the good work.