
Zaphod B
Raccoons-Be-Gone, Inc.
Years ago I fitted my 1976 LP Special reissue with a big brass Schaller bridge - intonatable, with fine tuners - to replace the ragged-out Badass one-piece bridge that was on it when I bought it. I never did have the original one-piece wraparound.
I've grown tired of looking at that big ugly thing, and want to get the guitar closer to its original appearance.
So last week I ordered an intonated wraparound bridge from Guitar Fetish. It was labelled as a "Les Paul Junior / Special Wraparound Bridge" and the product description says, "A perfect recreation of the 1960's Les Paul Junior wrapround bridge, same exact construction as vintage..."
Here's a link to the product: http://store.guitarfetish.com/lespajuwrinb.html
I received the item on Friday, so when I got home from work I got straight to it. Should have been a 15-minute job. It came supplied with the bridge, and new studs and bushings.
First problem: The bridge studs are metric, not standard. (That's not "vintage" to me.) So I can't use the original stud bushings, no problem. I carefully extract one of the bushings, fit in the replacement bushing, and, second problem: find that the new bushing wallows in the hole. Measuring the two, I find that the original bushing is 13mm diameter, and the replacement is 11mm. (That also isn't "vintage," if it won't retrofit a vintage guitar!)
Damn it.
So I emailed Jay at GF. I have found that he is very responsive to customer support inquiries, and so I explained the situation in detail. His response: No, we don't have anything like that weird Gotoh bushing that Gibson uses. He recommended doweling the hole and redrilling.
That ain't gonna happen, not for a $15 replacement bridge.
StewMac has a similar bridge with 13mm standard-threaded bushings, which I have just ordered. I have hopes for a happy ending. At worst I'll just put that butt-ugly Schaller bridge back on, or order a part directly from Gibson.
The moral of the story is: Don't take anything for granted, and just because something is marketed as a form/fit/function replacement doesn't make it true.
I've grown tired of looking at that big ugly thing, and want to get the guitar closer to its original appearance.
So last week I ordered an intonated wraparound bridge from Guitar Fetish. It was labelled as a "Les Paul Junior / Special Wraparound Bridge" and the product description says, "A perfect recreation of the 1960's Les Paul Junior wrapround bridge, same exact construction as vintage..."
Here's a link to the product: http://store.guitarfetish.com/lespajuwrinb.html
I received the item on Friday, so when I got home from work I got straight to it. Should have been a 15-minute job. It came supplied with the bridge, and new studs and bushings.
First problem: The bridge studs are metric, not standard. (That's not "vintage" to me.) So I can't use the original stud bushings, no problem. I carefully extract one of the bushings, fit in the replacement bushing, and, second problem: find that the new bushing wallows in the hole. Measuring the two, I find that the original bushing is 13mm diameter, and the replacement is 11mm. (That also isn't "vintage," if it won't retrofit a vintage guitar!)
Damn it.
So I emailed Jay at GF. I have found that he is very responsive to customer support inquiries, and so I explained the situation in detail. His response: No, we don't have anything like that weird Gotoh bushing that Gibson uses. He recommended doweling the hole and redrilling.

That ain't gonna happen, not for a $15 replacement bridge.
StewMac has a similar bridge with 13mm standard-threaded bushings, which I have just ordered. I have hopes for a happy ending. At worst I'll just put that butt-ugly Schaller bridge back on, or order a part directly from Gibson.
The moral of the story is: Don't take anything for granted, and just because something is marketed as a form/fit/function replacement doesn't make it true.