Installation guide.
All the info you need to fit your Tuffset Original - from lifting out the old bridge to locking in your final setup. Find a soft, even work surface and go step by step.
This guide covers the Tuffset Original. Fixie owners: the full web manual is coming soon — download the current PDF manual.
Download Fixie manual (PDF)Prefer to watch? 2-minute install video.
What's in the Box?
- Table of contents -
- Anatomy of the Tuffset Original 01
- Remove old bridge 02
- Install Tuffset and set post height 03
- Set Action 04
- Adjust intonation 05
- Finishing up 06
center center;
Anatomy of the Tuffset Original
- Tuffset Original Rocking Chassis ×1
- Post x2
- Locking Follower ×4 (2 spare)
- Bearing ×4 (2 spare)
- Dust Cover ×2
- Outer Saddle ×2
- Inner Saddle [height adjustable] x4
- Wedge x4
- Saddle Locking Screw ×6
- Locking Retainer ×6
- Saddle Height Screw x4
Remove the old bridge.
Slacken your strings fully and lift the old bridge out — it will come loose as string tension drops.
Place the guitar face-up on a flat, clean and ideally soft surface. This protects the finish and gives you a stable base for everything that follows.
Install Tuffset & set post height.
Rough-match, then place in the thimbles.
If your guitar was already well set up, roughly match the post heights of your Tuffset Original to the old bridge before installing — use the outer E and e string slots and the post tips as your reference.
Place the Tuffset in the thimbles. It won't balance without string tension, so it's completely normal for it to lean one way or the other at this point.
Find your neutral axis.
Try to locate the post tips at the centre of each thimble. Position the bridge so the posts sit vertical, or maybe very slightly angled toward the vibrato — this resting angle is called the neutral axis, a term that comes up again later.
Install the Low E and High e strings only, and tune both to pitch. As tension builds, the bridge will start holding its position on its own.
Set the post heights.
Insert the Large Allen Key into the post hole. Turn clockwise to raise that side, anticlockwise to lower it.
Adjusting one side slightly affects the height on the opposite side too — check the action on both sides before moving on.
Install the remaining strings.
Install and tune the remaining four strings to pitch, making sure each one is seated properly within its string slot.
How to raise a saddle.
Before you continue, double-check the bridge's neutral axis is still correct. All saddle adjustments are made with the small silver Allen key.
Loosen Locking Screw
Turn the Locking Screw counter-clockwise to loosen it — this introduces slack, and the more you turn it, the more slack you have.
Tighten Height Adjustment Screw
Turn the Height Adjustment Screw clockwise to raise the saddle. If the screw goes tight before you reach the height you want, you may need more slack.
Tighten Locking Screw
Once the height is correct, turn the Locking Screw clockwise until snug — this takes up the remaining slack and locks the saddle.
How to lower a saddle.
When adjusting, apply downward pressure to the saddle with your other hand.
Loosen Height Adjustment Screw
Turning the Height Adjustment Screw counter-clockwise lowers the saddle — but it also unlocks the bridge and creates slack at the same time. It isn't a separate unlock step.
Tighten Locking Screw
When the height is set correctly, turn the Locking Screw clockwise until snug to lock the saddle in place.
If you lower the action too far before locking, you can turn the screw clockwise to raise it back up — but not above the height it started from.
Adjust intonation.
Intonation ensures fretted notes sound as in-tune as open notes, by controlling the precise speaking length of each string.
Tune the open string, then sound the 12th fret.
Sharp at the 12th — move the saddle away from the neck.
Flat at the 12th — move the saddle toward the neck.
In tune at the 12th — the string is correctly intonated.
Loosen
Using the Small Allen Key, turn the Locking Screw counter-clockwise to loosen — one turn is usually enough. This process is the same for all six saddles.
Slide
Hold the bridge chassis steady at its neutral axis with one hand, and slide the saddle with the thumb and forefinger of the other to make the adjustment.
Lock.
When the intonation is correct, turn the Locking Screw clockwise until snug — this locks both the saddle's height and intonation in place.
If too much force during intonation knocks the bridge off its neutral axis, lift the string plane from underneath with one hand and firmly guide the bridge chassis back to neutral with the other. It can help to lift some of the string's weight off the saddle to ease adjustment.
Finishing up.
POST (SETS HEIGHT), THEN BEARING, THEN FOLLOWER. LOCKED
Bearing Lock
Once the posts are set correctly, drop one of the 3mm bearings (from your ziplock bag) down the hole before installing the Locking Follower.
This ball bearing prevents the Locking Follower from rotating the post. The post should lock up almost instantly when the Locking Follower contacts the bearing.
Tuffset's Bearing Lock system allows you to lock the post tighter, for a solid connection that won't sink over time.
Before putting the bearings in, take a moment to sit and play the guitar to make sure the action is appropriate for your real playing velocity.
Install the Locking Followers.
Once your guitar is playing well and every adjustment is set to your liking, it's time to lock the post heights.
Place your guitar on an even surface before dropping one bearing down each post.
With the Large Allen Key, screw a Locking Follower down after it until tight. The post is now locked.
Keep the spares safe.
Remember: Locking Followers must be removed and ball bearings extracted before any future post-height adjustment.
Keep the spares in the ziplock bag and put them in your guitar case - small screws and parts like these are easy to lose, which is why we give you a couple extra. Everything locks down so this isn't usually a recurring problem!
If you do lose anything, get in touch and we'll let you know where to find standard components or send replacements if needed.
Optional: the Dust Covers.
If you like how they look and feel, insert the Dust Cover Screws over the Locking Followers. You should be able to get these snug using the Tuffset Pick.
Dust Covers are completely optional on the Tuffset Original - the posts are already locked before you install them.
center center;
All done!
The questions we get asked most
Will it actually fit my guitar?
If your guitar has standard offset bridge thimbles — Jazzmaster, Jaguar, Mustang, Bass VI, or a close derivative — yes.
Do I need to modify anything?
No routing, no drilling, no filing. It fits into the hardware your bridge already sits in. You don't even have to remove your thimbles.
Original or Fixie — what if I pick wrong?
Send it back within 14 days, or ask to swap for the other. Most "wrong choice" problems are solved by swapping, not returning.
Brass or stainless saddles?
Both are a great option! Check the FAQ page for more information.
Thank you.
It has been a labour of many years for us - but the Tuffset story won't have begun until it's in your guitar, helping to delight and inspire you as a musician.
We wish you many years of playing enjoyment, wherever the music takes you. It is our great privilege that you chose to take us along on your journey.
Sincerely, Dan and the whole Tuffset team.
