School me on aftermarket Tune-o-matic bridges!

[LtKojak]

Re: School me on aftermarket Tune-o-matic bridges!

Again. A tonepros is a Gotoh with holes (at least for the metric one) and the quality on either semi-stinks, IMHO.

I have to disagree with you here. Either are as good as they can be.

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges...c_bridges/Gotoh_510_Bridge_and_Tailpiece.html

I've installed 'bout thirty of these ones (mostly metric) and I can vouch for their quality and sturdiness.

HTH,

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: School me on aftermarket Tune-o-matic bridges!

Thanks all, I am still reading and learning, so keep it coming!

 

[lex666]

Re: School me on aftermarket Tune-o-matic bridges!

IMO, I like the TonePros lock bridge with Graphtech saddles. If I was gonna replace the bridge that's what I'd do.

For the tail, I'd get an aluminum tailpiece with locking studs. I believe the locking studs would do more for sustain and tone than the locking tail alone.

Have note tried the Resomax system.

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: School me on aftermarket Tune-o-matic bridges!

I have never broken a string on this guitar, I am just wanting a bridge that is sturdy, has good materials and tolerances, and a wide range for intonation (this guitar has a G intonation issue, even with the stock saddle flipped and alllll the way back)

Thanks everyone, keep it comin'!

 

[Karmadog777]

Re: School me on aftermarket Tune-o-matic bridges!

karmadog, do you find they rattle at all? i was interested in one of those bridges and went on a quest for knowledge about roller bridges in general, i checked out the gretsch forum and to a lesser extent the tele forum and generally those guys are loving the bar bridge and don't trust rollers.
but i figured being wilkinson it wouldn't be total crap, and is a pretty good design with locking posts etc...

so you like it? it doesn't rattle? how's it sound compared to your TOM bridge?

uhm yeh man, I love it, like I said its solid(no rattle) and its very comfortable also not sharp like the TOM to rest ur hand on, or palm muting...as far as sound...Im not really sure I ever "heard " a bridge b4, I play mostly high gain metal LOL so I will say same as the TOM...no loss in sustain or tone as far as I can tell

 

[dr. ad]

Re: School me on aftermarket Tune-o-matic bridges!

uhm yeh man, I love it, like I said its solid(no rattle) and its very comfortable also not sharp like the TOM to rest ur hand on, or palm muting...as far as sound...Im not really sure I ever "heard " a bridge b4, I play mostly high gain metal LOL so I will say same as the TOM...no loss in sustain or tone as far as I can tell

ok cool. thanks for that KD

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: School me on aftermarket Tune-o-matic bridges!

I just ordered the Wilkinson brass roller bridge. I also ordered a Graphtech nut for the guitar, so between the brass bridge and Graphtech nut, I am expecting a noticeable change in the guitar. I want to upgrade the tailpiece to aluminum, but I have already blown my guitar-modding budget for the month on a set of Gibson Burstbucker Pros and this new bridge.

When the guitar is done it'll have a new nut, bridge, neck pickup, bridge pickup, and eventually a tailpiece. Should sound and feel good!

-Hunter



Guitar with the new pickups, awaiting arrival of new bridge and nut

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: School me on aftermarket Tune-o-matic bridges!

I also prefer the newer style TOM Gibson uses versus the old Nashville style TOM that uses a saddle retaining wire. The newer style just feels better since it seems more solid. I have swapped out some Nashville style TOMs for the "modern" ones...

The style with the retaining wire is an ABR-1. That's the "original" Tune-O-Matic. (actually the "original" didn't have a retaining wire, that was a later addition, after people lost the screws and saddles when they just fell out during string changes or when a string broke) The Nashville has either little C clips or a bent staple looking thingy that hold the saddle traverse screws in (depending on manufacturer). The Nashville will have a longer string traverse than an ABR-1.

 

[dr. ad]

Re: School me on aftermarket Tune-o-matic bridges!

I just ordered the Wilkinson brass roller bridge. I also ordered a Graphtech nut for the guitar, so between the brass bridge and Graphtech nut, I am expecting a noticeable change in the guitar. I want to upgrade the tailpiece to aluminum, but I have already blown my guitar-modding budget for the month on a set of Gibson Burstbucker Pros and this new bridge.

When the guitar is done it'll have a new nut, bridge, neck pickup, bridge pickup, and eventually a tailpiece. Should sound and feel good!

seeing as how you've already got a graphtech nut and roller bridge happening, have you considered a vibramate or EZmount bigsby set-up..?

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: School me on aftermarket Tune-o-matic bridges!

seeing as how you've already got a graphtech nut and roller bridge happening, have you considered a vibramate or EZmount bigsby set-up..?

I haven't really --- I don't really use trems and I prefer hardtails.

The reason I went with the Wilkinson roller bridge was simply that it looked sturdy, it was made of brass, it will fit my Epiphone (I hope), and the price was right.

I decided to get a Graphtech nut because I was ordering some hardware from Stew-Mac and I figured if I was going to pay for $5 worth of shipping for $0.40 worth of screws, I might as well add something else to the box! I fit a TUSQ nut to another one of my guitars with very positive results, so I figure I can do it again with similar results --- I play a lot of open chords with my bluegrass gig, so a good nut is imperative, and the nut on my Epiphone is plastic and finicky.

I may consider a trem one day, but probably not; I really don't use them.

-Hunter

 

[penguinmessiah]

Re: School me on aftermarket Tune-o-matic bridges!

The nut on my Epi Les Paul Standard of similar quality.

Like, horrendously bad.

Graphtech shall be my saviour.

Look forward to hearing how you feel about your new installs. I have a month or two until I commit to my purchases so every bit of info helps.

Penguin.

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: School me on aftermarket Tune-o-matic bridges!

The nut on my Epi Les Paul Standard of similar quality.

Like, horrendously bad.

Graphtech shall be my saviour.

Look forward to hearing how you feel about your new installs. I have a month or two until I commit to my purchases so every bit of info helps.

Penguin.

Glad I can help. You can see my previous nut replacement in my Squier '51 Build Thread (in signature), I didn't do a pro job, but it plays awesome and is always in tune --- HUGE improvement, I can't say enough about it. If it ain't broke don't fix it --- I'm leaving it just like it is.

The good news is that if the new Graphtech install doesn't go well, I can always just put the old nut back in there, no harm, no foul.

I am really curious about how this oddball Wilkinson roller bridge will feel / intonate, etc. I want it (and the nut and the pickup screws) to hurry up and get here so I can put this guitar back together and rock it!

Guitar modding is truly an addiction!

Nothing feels better than making a run of the mill guitar a badass, reliable PLAYER.

When somebody says to me something like "Epiphone? Squier? I thought you were a guitar guru, but you're just playing cheap stuff," I just have to smile.

There's a saying in the Jeep world --- "Real Jeeps are Built, not Bought."

-Hunter

 

[marozie]

Re: School me on aftermarket Tune-o-matic bridges!

Everything but the wood job, nice, I did the same thing. Gibson '57 humbuckers, Gotoh tuners, a bone nut (that I carved myself!), Gotoh TOM bridge and a Gotoh aluminum tail stop. I even replaced the pearloid dot markers with abalone ones.

Anyway, about the Gotoh TOM... I couldn't be more pleased with it. The hardware that came with the guitar was total junk (as you know) and I was concerned that since Gotoh bridges are used on Gibson guitars from the factory that I'd just be buying what I already have, but they clearly aren't used on Epiphones; it's very high quality, and precisely machined. If you're just looking for a replacement TOM I definitely recommend it. As (I think) others mentioned you have to make sure you buy the right one (either metric or imperial) or it won't fit the studs (although I replaced those as well with the ones that came with the bridge).

I'm not sure what uOpt is referring to, but the difference in quality between what came with the guitar and the Gotoh TOM is night and day. Just my two cents.

EDIT: Sorry, didn't read the last couple of posts, I see that you already made your bridge selection. Still, to set the record straight on the Gotoh...