I'm a Little Disappointed.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Zaphod B
  • Start date Start date
Even the "Historic Gibson" true Gibson replacement intonated wraparound bridge from the same site as the picture above has fixed intonation, optimized for a wound G.

I'll try the Stew Mac. My big concern with it is the statement that it's made for non-staggered studs (when were those ever used? :confused:)
 
Hey Mr Z., looks like the big brass Schaller bridge is looking better all the time.....................:mad::rolleyes:
 
Zaphod B said:
On the one I ordered, it's not adjustable.
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I went back through the posts to see if you had specified and found you hadn't. The intonation will be more of a problem with skinnier strings and less with fatter ones.

Me, I use .011s with a wound 3rd.
 
lpdeluxe said:
I went back through the posts to see if you had specified and found you hadn't. The intonation will be more of a problem with skinnier strings and less with fatter ones.

Me, I use .011s with a wound 3rd.
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I had my new Melody Maker out last night. It uses a single-piece wraparound bridge, and it is just a solid bar with no intonation whatsoever, like that picture above.

The intonation is not perfect but it is perfecty acceptable. I'd settle for that on the LP, so we'll just see what happens with this StewMac bridge.
 
Zaphod B said:
I had my new Melody Maker out last night. It uses a single-piece wraparound bridge, and it is just a solid bar with no intonation whatsoever, like that picture above.

The intonation is not perfect but it is perfecty acceptable. I'd settle for that on the LP, so we'll just see what happens with this StewMac bridge.
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You can get a replacement wraparound bridge with a raised line on top that will approximate the compensation for intonation that you would make with a tune-o-matic bridge.
 
ggunn said:
You can get a replacement wraparound bridge with a raised line on top that will approximate the compensation for intonation that you would make with a tune-o-matic bridge.
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Right - but the only ones I've found that have the right thread and bushing size are designed for a wound G string, like the picture below. If you could provide a link to one that's intonated for an unwound G, please post it. :)
 

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Zaphod B said:
Right - but the only ones I've found that have the right thread and bushing size are designed for a wound G string, like the picture below. If you could provide a link to one that's intonated for an unwound G, please post it. :)
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my goddess came with a non wound g string. i figure the wraparound bridge used on it must be intonated for that. but i have no idea if it would fit your guitar.
 
Jay is a good guy, but Guitarfetish is generally used as a supply of parts for project guitars, not Gibsons.

Having said that, I agree with you, Zaohod - the part shouldn't have been billed as 'vintage' if it wasn't vintage in measurement.

I wouldn't let the experience turn you off Guitarfetish for life. Whatever else you might say about him, Jay has no problems accepting stuff for return.

Good luck with the project, Zaphod B. Hope it all works out.
 
32-20-Blues said:
Jay is a good guy, but Guitarfetish is generally used as a supply of parts for project guitars, not Gibsons.

Having said that, I agree with you, Zaohod - the part shouldn't have been billed as 'vintage' if it wasn't vintage in measurement.

I wouldn't let the experience turn you off Guitarfetish for life. Whatever else you might say about him, Jay has no problems accepting stuff for return.

Good luck with the project, Zaphod B. Hope it all works out.
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Thanks, 32-30. Now that I understand what market GF is targeting, I won't be going to them for parts for the Gibsons and Fenders. I just don't understand Jay's attitude. Maybe I caught him on a bad day. I still do like the Xaviere guitar line and think its a great value.
 
Nicole_Rose said:
my goddess came with a non wound g string. i figure the wraparound bridge used on it must be intonated for that. but i have no idea if it would fit your guitar.
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I didn't know that the Goddesses had a single-piece bridge!

I learn something every day. :)
 
Zaphod B said:
I didn't know that the Goddesses had a single-piece bridge!

I learn something every day. :)
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ya. they made it that way to lose weight i think. everything about that guitar is about being light weight. though this was back when they only did weight relief and not chambering so mine's still a bit heavier than i expected. 8lbs.
 
Zaphod B said:
Thanks, 32-30. Now that I understand what market GF is targeting, I won't be going to them for parts for the Gibsons and Fenders. I just don't understand Jay's attitude. Maybe I caught him on a bad day. I still do like the Xaviere guitar line and think its a great value.
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I fully understand why you did buy from them - the part looked perfect, and cheap. Maybe people do buy from them for Gibsons and Fenders, but, from hanging round on other forums, most people seem to be buying new bridges or cheap pickups for Squier 51's and homemade specials.

You're right, his e-mail response wasn't exactly helpful, and he should alter the product description ASAP.
 
Nicole_Rose said:
ya. they made it that way to lose weight i think. everything about that guitar is about being light weight. though this was back when they only did weight relief and not chambering so mine's still a bit heavier than i expected. 8lbs.
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They are amazing guitars - the rich man's Daisy Rock, but less 'girly.'
 
32-20-Blues said:
They are amazing guitars - the rich man's Daisy Rock, but less 'girly.'
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well there were a couple of girly colours. rose burst, and pink burst mainly. i still want a violet burst but the goddess has been discontinued. :mad:
 
Sometimes you can find

a ragged out Epiphone LP from the 60's for cheap. Same bridge. Put the vintage bridge on your LP and redrill/refit the Epi. Your vintage is vintage and you get another guitar to mod around in. Just a thought.;)
 
up-fiddler said:
a ragged out Epiphone LP from the 60's for cheap. Same bridge. Put the vintage bridge on your LP and redrill/refit the Epi. Your vintage is vintage and you get another guitar to mod around in. Just a thought.;)
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Right, good call. Hopefully it won't come to that.
 
Following up......

For those of you that are interested, I thought I'd let you know how things worked out.

I did exchange a couple more emails with Jay at GF, and we were cordial. I think Jay, in our first emails, may have missed the fact that I was inquiring about an old-ish Gibson rather than a kit guitar or cheap import. Anyhow, in his last email he explained that GF's target market for its hardware is for inexpensive Asian import guitars, and that if he had a vintage Gibson he would be looking for a Tonepros, or period-correct hardware off Ebay.

Enough said - I'm satisfied with his response and that's the end of it.

Now to the guitar. I did sent back the GF bridge that didn't fit. I received the StewMac bridge on Saturday and installed it.

First I reinstalled the orginal bushing that I had removed (after first verifying that the stud threads were correct), and made sure the other bushing was seated properly. The StewMac bridge wasn't a perfect fit, either - the stud spacing was ever so slightly too narrow. Fortunately I still have the original bridge studs, which are slighly narrower where the bridge fits, and this allowed the StewMac bridge to slip on.

The intonation is not perfect. The adjustment screws are not quite long enough, so the fretted notes at the 12th fret are slightly sharp across the board, but I could at least get them consistent from string to string. Regardless it's pretty close, and on playing it works just fine. I was able to set the string height correctly and so the action is still very good. The neck on this guitar is very fast, so it's lots of fun.

As for the tone - until I started learning stuff on this forum from Muttley and Light and others, I would not have thought that different bridges could have much of an effect on an electic guitar's tone. I felt instinctively (for what that's worth :o) that a big brass bridge like the one I removed would increase sustain but that's about as far as my thinking went. This smaller, lighter bridge has really brightened the tone of the guitar - it has reduced the muddiness of the neck pickup and helped a lot of midrange come through. And I'm not noticing any adverse effect on sustain - the guitar still sings nicely.

notCardio, I'm sure you will approve of it's closer-to-original appearance, bridge humbucker notwithstanding. :p

Anyhow it all worked out in the end so Zaphod is a happy camper. :)
 
Well, if you had a problem with the mudiness of the neck pickup, you know what your problem is, and it ain't the bridge. :D
 
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