Help! Majesty Setup: Bridge Stud Screws vs. Saddles for Lowering Action

[Hyperplanet]

Hey folks!

I’ve got two beautiful Majesties a 6-string Wisteria Blossom and a 7-string Limited Run Red Nebula BFR. Both are incredibly easy to play, but I’ve noticed that they’re also very sensitive to even minor setup adjustments.

So, I have a question for experienced Majesty owners:

When you want to lower the action, do you mainly adjust the individual saddles and neck relief via the truss rod, or do you also lower the bridge itself using the two bridge stud/pivot screws? What would you consider the correct approach for lowering the action on a Majesty while maintaining proper bridge geometry, tuning stability, and overall playability? Should the bridge studs generally be left at their factory-set height, with action adjustments made primarily through the saddles after setting the proper neck relief? or is adjusting the bridge stud height also considered a normal part of a Majesty setup?

I’d especially like to know if there’s anything I should avoid doing with the bridge studs, I’m mainly asking because I’d like to improve my knowledge of EBMM guitars. I came from the Ibanez Prestige world, with locking tremolo systems, locking nuts, etc., so the Majesty setup and bridge design are a little different from what I’m used to.


Would really appreciate hearing how other Majesty owners and techs approach this!

 

[beej]

Once it's properly set up, all you'll really need to do is adjust the truss rod. Once the neck returns to the same amount of relief it had previously, everything should stay the same. How often you need to tweak it will depend on the guitar and humidity conditions.

For initial setup ... you'll need to look at everything. You shouldn't need to touch the bridge posts unless you're making changes though, so basically neck relief via truss rod and saddle height (and potentially spring / claw adjustments).

 

[Hyperplanet]

Once it's properly set up, all you'll really need to do is adjust the truss rod. Once the neck returns to the same amount of relief it had previously, everything should stay the same. How often you need to tweak it will depend on the guitar and humidity conditions.

For initial setup ... you'll need to look at everything. You shouldn't need to touch the bridge posts unless you're making changes though, so basically neck relief via truss rod and saddle height (and potentially spring / claw adjustments).

I usually need to make a very tiny truss rod adjustment every 3–4 months just to bring the neck relief back to where it was, probably due to seasonal or humidity changes. Nothing major at all.

The factory bridge setup was quite high—to the point where I could easily see a noticeable gap under the upper bridge plate where the saddles are mounted. I lowered the bridge slightly, just enough so that the upper bridge plate now sits only a little above the guitar body. That feels much more normal to me compared with the previous setup, whether it was done at the factory or by the Sweetwater techs.

 

[tbonesullivan]

I'm not sure how it is for the floating bridges, but with the decked tremolo bridges that music man uses, the main way to adjust the action is supposed to be the saddles and neck shims. The bridge posts do not have bushings, and as far as I know are not really meant to be moved back and forth in the hole.