Epiphone Greeny ABR upgrade

[Pierce103]

Apologies if this has been covered before but im new to the current IBG Epi lineups, just got in a Greeny this past week.
My question is regarding the Epiphone ABR on the current IBG line and upgrading it.
Are the insert bushings the same as the standard epiphone bridges just with an ABR style TOM?

If anyone here has upgraded the bridge on a new Greeny, what'd ya end up getting?
If i wanted to upgrade to a metric Gotoh or Faber would that in theory be a drop in replacement?
thanks for any info!

 

[3bolt79]

I'd be interested to see what others have done regarding this, even though I have no intention of changing mine. My Greeny is my best Les Paul. In fact, I sold my Gibson Tribute, as it just didn't compare.

It's not that I won't get another Gibson LP again, but when I do it will be a nice Standard.

I do feel that the bridges on the new IBG Epiphones are the week link in the chain, but I would only replace mine in the event of a collapse.

The bridge on my Greeny seems to be the same as on my 59, and my Custom. I usually put a little thread locker on the saddle adjustment screws, and they seem to be pretty solid.

 

[spupilup]

I’ve got Faber tail pieces and ABR-M’s on both my ‘59’s. I’m very happy with the results on both. I’ll probably do the same to my new DG-335 once it arrives. Start first with the tailpiece and if you like the results, give the bridge a try. Definitely use the Faber bushings as they are superior to the originals in these Epi’s.

 

[spupilup]

I should have answered your key question about the ABR-M. It will not simply “drop in.” You’ll need to replace the studs. A Nashville might drop in but not the ABR. You can buy the studs for the ABR and you’ll be all set but I strongly recommend you also buy the bushings to get the best out of the Faber hardware.

 

[Equalphone]

I'd be interested to see what others have done regarding this, even though I have no intention of changing mine. My Greeny is my best Les Paul. In fact, I sold my Gibson Tribute, as it just didn't compare.

It's not that I won't get another Gibson LP again, but when I do it will be a nice Standard.

I do feel that the bridges on the new IBG Epiphones are the week link in the chain, but I would only replace mine in the event of a collapse.

The bridge on my Greeny seems to be the same as on my 59, and my Custom. I usually put a little thread locker on the saddle adjustment screws, and they seem to be pretty solid.

Does the Greeny have "Nashville conversion posts" in typical Epi bushings or did they go hard core to the old school wood screw type?

 

[Darkness]

Do the bridge posts on the Greeny go directly into the wood? I thought they did but I'm seeing pics of bushings when I check. I thought they did it the old Gibby way on this model.

 

[BlueSquirrel]

If I may venture with a piece if advice : perhaps you could all post pics of the bushings and posts from the guitars that you have or want? It would probably make things a bit easier to understand.

 

[WoundUp]

I’ve got Faber tail pieces and ABR-M’s on both my ‘59’s. I’m very happy with the results on both. I’ll probably do the same to my new DG-335 once it arrives. Start first with the tailpiece and if you like the results, give the bridge a try. Definitely use the Faber bushings as they are superior to the originals in these Epi’s.

If you're replacing bushings and posts, I'd go for the In-serts they sell. That's what I did recently. The IN-serts are essentially the bushing and post built into a single piece. So there's no slop between them from the threads. You get a solid mounting point for your bridge.

I went from a bridge like this to using their M8x1.25 to threaded M4 conversion posts at first. My guitars come with steel bushings so I didn't need to replace those. It was only after I looked into the IN-serts that I pulled the bushings and Faber conversion post in order to replace them with IN-serts.

I went from a bridge like this to a standard ABR1 using their NSWKIT conversion posts. Those are in the 2nd Pic.





Then I pulled the conversion studs & bushings with a $2 bushing removal tool I made and replaced those with IN-serts made of German bell brass. Seen below. I prefer these for the lack of slop between the bushing & post. You can see the tool below. Made from info on the internet and from Believer7713( aka S7 Custom Guitars) at Strat-Talk. It's just a PVC end cap, a washer and a bolt. Forget paying $90 for a clear one from Stewmac lol



Now the posts are rock solid, like standard ABR1 posts, and don't wriggle at all. The only movement is the little bit from the bridge on the posts themselves.

 

[WoundUp]

I'd be interested to see what others have done regarding this, even though I have no intention of changing mine. My Greeny is my best Les Paul. In fact, I sold my Gibson Tribute, as it just didn't compare.

It's not that I won't get another Gibson LP again, but when I do it will be a nice Standard.

I do feel that the bridges on the new IBG Epiphones are the week link in the chain, but I would only replace mine in the event of a collapse.

The bridge on my Greeny seems to be the same as on my 59, and my Custom. I usually put a little thread locker on the saddle adjustment screws, and they seem to be pretty solid.

With it having a standard radius on the fretboard, I'd go for a Faber bridge. You just have to make sure and get the correct one. They have 3 with different stud spacing and post hole size: the ABRM, ABRN, and the ABRH, IIRC.

ABRM - 73.6mm post spacing and 4.2mm post holes(4mm stud)

ABRN - 74.4mm/4.2mm post hole size(4mm stud)

ABRH - 73.6mm & 3.65mm post hole size(6-32 stud)

The only reason why I don't have any on my guitars is because they all have a specified radius of 350mm or almost 14 inches(13.78"). That's what they're supposed to be anyway. Measuring them, they're more like 400+ mm/around 15.74 inches and more.

For example, I checked up to 20 inch radius and there was still light under the gauge. That would imply that they're flatter then even 20 inches in places. Or the gauges are crappy and inaccurate but I'm not sure how to check them.

It did occur to me recently that I could just increase the depth of the notches in the saddles and flatten the radius out. Or I could even order Faber saddles with no notches and do them all myself, which is the most recent plan.

I talked to Larry about it during the President's Day Sale and was going to buy one that day but I forgot that I was going to buy one and money was burning a hole in my pocket lol. So I bought a Seymour Duncan Strat pickup instead lol and only remembered that I was going to order that bridge a few hours later

 

[soulman969]

I'll chime in here and say I've also used Faber E-Serts and Bridge on my '56 Gold Top and I would recommend that as the way to go. I don't deny they are costly but from time to time they're offered at a 20% discount and IME worth the cost. It improved mine noticeably.

 

[Keefoman]

Go with Faber E-sert , ABRM bridge and a lightweight tailpiece. Nice upgrade.

 

[BGood]

Why not just epoxy those in your actual inserts ?

 

[spupilup]

I have an extra ABRm-ABR59 with titanium saddles kicking around along with the correct e-serts for an Epi LP. I'm not sure if the ABRM is the right match for the DG-335 but I plan on restringing the guitar today and I'll check to see if it fits.

 

[Pierce103]

Appreciate all the responses!
Im very much used to upgrading my CS stuff so the epi side of this is kind of a new territory for me.
I'll definitely be getting the Faber set up, been wanting to try one out for awhile now so this is the perfect excuse. For Science of course

 

[WoundUp]

Appreciate all the responses!
Im very much used to upgrading my CS stuff so the epi side of this is kind of a new territory for me.
I'll definitely be getting the Faber set up, been wanting to try one out for awhile now so this is the perfect excuse. For Science of course

The first guitar I put the Faber aluminum tailpiece, M8 to M4 studs, and Gotoh bridge on sounded remarkably better afterwards. It seemed to make the sound more focused, for lack of a better description.

That guitar always sounded extremely "wooly", from excessive overtones or something? Not sure how to describe it. The hardware upgrade seemed to take a lot of those unwanted overtones causing the wooliness away. Or that's how it sounded to me. Maybe it was psychosomatic. Who knows. Lol

After that, I put the same hardware combo on my other 3 guitars, also. Another 2 LP-style guitars and a 335-style. Most got gloss nickel except the iced tea burst guitar and it got reliced nickel parts that look GREAT on it.

I actually have those In-serts(E-serts?) in 2 guitars now that I see the pics again. I completely forgot about that. I thought they were only in 1 lol. You can see the relic nickel hardware in the first Pic. The 4th Pic would be the stock steel bushing and the first conversion post I bought from Faber. They're next to the nickel-plated brass inserts that Faber also sells. They have another kind that replace the smaller bushings, also.

On a side note, I was able to confirm that my guitars do in fact have thick maple caps and not just veneers, just like Monoprice said they did.

 

[spupilup]

I forget to post back but the ABRM from Faber looks like it will fit my DG-335 as long as I use the E-serts that I pictured. I’ll probably drop this bridge in after I get another tailpiece so I can do all of it at one time.

 

[Pierce103]

I forget to post back but the ABRM from Faber looks like it will fit my DG-335 as long as I use the E-serts that I pictured. I’ll probably drip this bridge in after I get another tailpiece so I can do all of it at one time.

Stoked to see it!