# SBMM JP70 Stealth - Tell me about the bridge



## Given To Fly (Jul 22, 2013)

I played a SBMM JP70 Stealth today and was very impressed. One thing i wasn't able to try was the tremolo because the guitar didn't have the bar with it. When I tuned the guitar the bridge didn't move at all! It is floating, correct? The only information I can find is that its a "Modern Tremolo" which isn't really information at all. If you own a JP70 please chime in with your experience regarding the bridge. A full blown review of the guitar would probably be fine too.


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## Dawn of the Shred (Jul 22, 2013)

The Sterling MM JP70 bridges are better then i thought they would be. No where near my EBMM JP's. But the sterling jp70 is good iv had no problems with it at all.


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## MaxOfMetal (Jul 22, 2013)

I'm guessing its just a 7-string version of the 6-string Sterling bridge, which I do have some experience with. A coworker of mine grabbed a JP100 and I've done all the setup and mod work on it. 

It's a fine unit, much nicer than I was expecting in fact. Don't get me wrong, it's MILES apart from the actual JP bridge that my JP7 has, being lighter and just overall much cheaper in feel and construction. It reminds me a lot of the recent lower end Fender two-point units, nice but not amazing. Feel wise, its more like a lower end non-Gotoh Wilkinson, light and smooth, if not very bouncy or accurate. 

As for the guitar as a whole, I replaced:
-Nut: The stock one was rough, and cheap. A GraphTech one improved tuning a lot, especially with the heavy strings I installed. 
-Electronics: Stock pickups are decent, but the wiring was cheap and one of the pots was pretty dicey. Cheap mod that got the guitar feeling a lot nicer. 
-Tuners: I didn't recommend replacing them, as they're nice enough, but my buddy really wanted Planet Waves.


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## AkiraSpectrum (Jul 22, 2013)

If I may tag on a question here:

Is it easy to downtune using this bridge? If you break a string does it throw off all the other strings?


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## Given To Fly (Jul 22, 2013)

That's kinda what I'm wondering too. I mean, for a floating bridge, it was pretty stiff. My JPX7 bridge moves when I tune the other strings just like it should!  But this SBMM JP70 bridge reminded me more of the G&L Legacy bridge: you can pull it back about a half step at the most.


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## lewstherin006 (Jul 22, 2013)

AkiraSpectrum said:


> If I may tag on a question here:
> 
> Is it easy to downtune using this bridge? If you break a string does it throw off all the other strings?



Its easy to downtune. I have mine in drop Ab right now and it works pretty well.


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## Given To Fly (Jul 23, 2013)

lewstherin006 said:


> Its easy to downtune. I have mine in drop Ab right now and it works pretty well.



If this is true, then for the price, its certainly a tempting guitar.


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## lewstherin006 (Jul 23, 2013)

I bring you proof!!

Sterling by Music Man JP 70 - Metal - YouTube


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## Forkface (Jul 23, 2013)

lewstherin006 said:


> I bring you proof!!
> 
> Sterling by Music Man JP 70 - Metal - YouTube



that guy looks pretty bored


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## AkiraSpectrum (Jul 23, 2013)

lewstherin006 said:


> Its easy to downtune. I have mine in drop Ab right now and it works pretty well.



Cool. So you mean it's easy to drop tune on the fly (like go from standard to drop d or whatever like a vintage trem or hardtail)?


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## DarthV (Jul 23, 2013)

It's a floating bridge, so it's not going to handle massive changes in tuning without needing to adjust the bridge back to level. I ordered a green JP70 when they first came out, but there was a weird clunking on full trem dives, so I returned it. As far as I know, I was the only one that had that happen  Other than that the neck was more comfortable than the one on my rg7620, the stock pickups were very decent and the locking tuners were great. Long & Mcquade only had that one in stock and I didn't want to wait for a replacement. Ended up finding a used rg1527 for much less money than the flame green jp70, so picked that up instead 

For the $550 price tag, the stealth is one hell of a good deal.


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## MetalBuddah (Jul 23, 2013)

lewstherin006 said:


> I bring you proof!!
> 
> Sterling by Music Man JP 70 - Metal - YouTube



Oh man...that was bad


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## Santuzzo (Jul 23, 2013)

I have it, and I am very impressed with this guitar. I like the bridge, and yes, it IS a floating bridge but it's much stiffer than a floyd rose.


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## Hendog (Jul 23, 2013)

AkiraSpectrum said:


> If I may tag on a question here:
> 
> Is it easy to downtune using this bridge? If you break a string does it throw off all the other strings?



If you break a string, the whole guitar goes out of tune.

When I drop D I have to retune the entire guitar.


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## Hendog (Jul 23, 2013)

DarthV said:


> It's a floating bridge, so it's not going to handle massive changes in tuning without needing to adjust the bridge back to level. I ordered a green JP70 when they first came out, but there was a weird clunking on full trem dives, so I returned it. As far as I know, I was the only one that had that happen  Other than that the neck was more comfortable than the one on my rg7620, the stock pickups were very decent and the locking tuners were great. Long & Mcquade only had that one in stock and I didn't want to wait for a replacement. Ended up finding a used rg1527 for much less money than the flame green jp70, so picked that up instead
> 
> For the $550 price tag, the stealth is one hell of a good deal.



They all do that weird clunking. I have had 3.


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## Shask (Jul 23, 2013)

These guitars are about the only 7 string I want to try that I CANNOT find one locally to try out!

What would you compare the neck to? Old thinner Ibanez? Newer thicker-but-square Ibanez? Round and full Schecter?


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## MetalBuddah (Jul 23, 2013)

Shask said:


> These guitars are about the only 7 string I want to try that I CANNOT find one locally to try out!
> 
> What would you compare the neck to? Old thinner Ibanez? Newer thicker-but-square Ibanez? Round and full Schecter?



Played a stealth black one yesterday at GC. Had no idea they even got one in until my sales associate buddy told me about it. The neck is VERY THIN. Definitely much thinner than my MII RG7421 but still very comfortable. Also...the arm-cut is so comfy. Really considering getting one of these soon as a second 7


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## Hendog (Jul 23, 2013)

MetalBuddah said:


> Played a stealth black one yesterday at GC. Had no idea they even got one in until my sales associate buddy told me about it. The neck is VERY THIN. Definitely much thinner than my MII RG7421 but still very comfortable. Also...the arm-cut is so comfy. Really considering getting one of these soon as a second 7



What Guitar Center do you go to?


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## MetalBuddah (Jul 23, 2013)

Hendog said:


> What Guitar Center do you go to?



Towson!


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## AkiraSpectrum (Jul 23, 2013)

Hendog said:


> If you break a string, the whole guitar goes out of tune.
> 
> When I drop D I have to retune the entire guitar.



thanks!


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## Hendog (Jul 23, 2013)

MetalBuddah said:


> Towson!



I'm from Towson.

Did you grow up in the area?


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## unclejemima218 (Jul 23, 2013)

got a slightly used JP50 Stealth (6-string version) from GC a few years back and I haven't had any troubles with the bridge at all. As with any locking bridge, if you're going to change tunings a lot, you must be prepared to tweak the trem accordingly.


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## Given To Fly (Jul 23, 2013)

I went back to Guitar Center to play the Stealth again and this time asked for the whammy bar. It's definitely a floating bridge and not quite as stiff as I previously though. The action was...well there wasn't really any action, the strings were pretty much laying on the fretboard which made it easy to play but not in good way.  Overall, with a proper set up, its a great guitar for the price, and maybe the best looking guitar under $600.


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## Santuzzo (Jul 23, 2013)

About the trem: I have never had the clunking sound, but I also never do full dives on that trem. I don't think it was designed for that, a Floyd would be a better trem for extreme dives, but the advantage of this trem IMO is that it's easier to keep unison bends or double stop bends in pitch as they only go off pitch for a little bit compared to a Floyd.


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## Shask (Jul 23, 2013)

MetalBuddah said:


> Played a stealth black one yesterday at GC. Had no idea they even got one in until my sales associate buddy told me about it. The neck is VERY THIN. Definitely much thinner than my MII RG7421 but still very comfortable. Also...the arm-cut is so comfy. Really considering getting one of these soon as a second 7



I am not sure if I would like a super thin neck....


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## Santuzzo (Jul 24, 2013)

Shask said:


> I am not sure if I would like a super thin neck....



I am used to Ibanez necks (mostly RG1527) and the JP70 feels very comfortable to me.
This could be just me but to me it does not feel much thinner than the Ibby necks I have played.
Either way, definitely try one of these, they are great guitars! Especially the Stealth Black is a steal for that price!


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## DarthV (Jul 24, 2013)

Hendog said:


> They all do that weird clunking. I have had 3.



Any idea what's doing it? Almost felt like a knife edge was slipping off the post. When it happened, the tuning stability was shot. I figured it was a defect on that guitar, so returned it the next day.



Santuzzo said:


> About the trem: I have never had the clunking sound, but I also never do full dives on that trem. I don't think it was designed for that, a Floyd would be a better trem for extreme dives, but the advantage of this trem IMO is that it's easier to keep unison bends or double stop bends in pitch as they only go off pitch for a little bit compared to a Floyd.



I have a barn full of MiJ Ibanez, so yeah I have better tools for crazy trem tricks (cannot get my rg1570 to go out of tune, ever!), but I wanted to see how the JP70 handled it. In my case, I was thinking about installing a tremol-no anyways, but figured there was a defect. The day I brought it home, I didn't even take the trem out of the bag. Tuning was very stable and the guitar felt amazing. Looking back, I would have been very happy if I had of installed a tremol-no the first day and been blissfully unaware of the 'glitch'.


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## Shask (Jul 24, 2013)

Santuzzo said:


> I am used to Ibanez necks (mostly RG1527) and the JP70 feels very comfortable to me.
> This could be just me but to me it does not feel much thinner than the Ibby necks I have played.
> Either way, definitely try one of these, they are great guitars! Especially the Stealth Black is a steal for that price!



I was playing an old MIJ RG7420 recently, and I was iffy on if if that neck would give me wrist problems since it was so thin....


I DO want to check out the JP70! I have been trying to find one, but no luck so far! I played a JP50 once that felt pretty good!


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## DarthV (Jul 24, 2013)

Shask said:


> I was playing an old MIJ RG7420 recently, and I was iffy on if if that neck would give me wrist problems since it was so thin....
> 
> 
> I DO want to check out the JP70! I have been trying to find one, but no luck so far! I played a JP50 once that felt pretty good!



The JP70 neck definitely feels thinner than the neck on my rg7620.


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## Ricfutures (Jul 24, 2013)

I had this guitar for about two weeks. The trem is definitely one of the highlights of this guitar.


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## Given To Fly (Jul 25, 2013)

Just to share information, I found out the SBMM JP70 Stealth is only offered through Guitar Center and Musicians Friend. It's also $80 cheaper than the standard JP70's. I suppose a flamed maple veneer could cost $80...


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## donray1527 (Jul 26, 2013)

I played a JP70 stealth today at the lexington GC. Its ALOT better than i thought it was gonna be. I might have to sell some stuf now... lol


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## Santuzzo (Jul 26, 2013)

Yeah, I think for the price (550 $) it's a steal! When I bought mine I even got a 13% summer sale discount.....still have to post a NGD thread.....


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## Shask (Jul 26, 2013)

I don't know why neither of my GC's have any of these


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## Santuzzo (Jul 26, 2013)

Shask said:


> I don't know why neither of my GC's have any of these



Can't they order one for you? Tell them you want to try one of these, they should be fine with ordering one for you, and if you don't like it they keep it.


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## Santuzzo (Jul 26, 2013)

Given To Fly said:


> Just to share information, I found out the SBMM JP70 Stealth is only offered through Guitar Center and Musicians Friend. It's also $80 cheaper than the standard JP70's. I suppose a flamed maple veneer could cost $80...



AFAIK, the JP70s with the transparent green or purple do not have a flamed maple veneer, or any veneer for that matter.


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## Mordacain (Jul 26, 2013)

Santuzzo said:


> Yeah, I think for the price (550 $) it's a steal! When I bought mine I even got a 13% summer sale discount.....still have to post a NGD thread.....



Yea, I succumbed too. I almost bought an Air Norton with it but figured I should give the stock pickups a shot.

I do already have a Blaze sitting around though. Will be like original JP7 territory then, what with the original wood combo & pickups.

/edit won't be here until Monday though


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## Given To Fly (Jul 26, 2013)

Santuzzo said:


> AFAIK, the JP70s with the transparent green or purple do not have a flamed maple veneer, or any veneer for that matter.



You are absolutely right! but now the $80 price difference puts me at three head scratches!


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## Santuzzo (Jul 27, 2013)

Given To Fly said:


> You are absolutely right! but now the $80 price difference puts me at three head scratches!



I think the transparent finish is simply a bit more expensive. Also the wood underneath needs to look kinda nice.
Also (and I did not know this until I bought it): the Stealth Black one does not come with the gig-bag (the transparent green and purple both come with a gig-bag).

When I saw the price difference, instead of scratching my head I pulled the trigger and bought this thing.


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## Given To Fly (Jul 27, 2013)

Santuzzo said:


> I think the transparent finish is simply a bit more expensive. Also the wood underneath needs to look kinda nice.
> Also (and I did not know this until I bought it): the Stealth Black one does not come with the gig-bag (the transparent green and purple both come with a gig-bag).
> 
> When I saw the price difference, instead of scratching my head I pulled the trigger and bought this thing.



No gigbag?  JK

But seriously, no gig bag?!?! It's a gig bag! No one is going bankrupt over a fabric bag! .....Congrats on the guitar though!  I actually think it will increase in value overtime. Guitar Center is really good at doing things wrong but this time they got it right!


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## Santuzzo (Jul 27, 2013)

Given To Fly said:


> No gigbag?  JK
> 
> But seriously, no gig bag?!?! It's a gig bag! No one is going bankrupt over a fabric bag! .....Congrats on the guitar though!  I actually think it will increase in value overtime. Guitar Center is really good at doing things wrong but this time they got it right!



The Sterling gig-bag is ok, but not the greatest gig-bag anyway, it is very simple and only has one strap. So IMO you are better off getting a decent gig-bag anyway, 40$ extra will get you there, I guess you won't go bankrupt over the 40$ extra either 

I still have to take some pics and post a NGD thread. Maybe this weekend


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