Question regarding "bridge replacement"...

[guitar_199]

As I am somewhat "new" to the Epiphone fold, I am doing a lot of looking around, seeing what others are talking about and doing...... one subject I see is the replacement of the bridge.

Mine is a 2013 LP Standard goldtop. A question I'd like to ask is.... does it really NEED replacing?? I "get it" that when you see ads for bridges AND interviews with people who HAVE replaced them... they claim that the original is "garbage" and needs to be replaced. Bit.... IS IT REALLY? How do opinions run on this? To my untrained eye it LOOKS like a TOM, acts like a TOM.... but is there some underlying weakness that says "I should go out and get a new bridge and replace it?

IN addition I am still fascinated/stymied by the whole "imperial" vs "import/metric" spec thing. So... I am guessing that a genuine Gibson LP bridge won't fit as the "hole centers" would be different....EVEN if you got adapters for the supports. I am imagining that there is a whole marketplace of metric versions of the TOM made by quality manufacturers with adapters that thread into the original stud holes and have a narrow pin on top to fit the bridge. But here, too, I would like to hear from those knowledgeable about various units used.

I guess the LAST THING is..... if I change my bridge.......what am I going to NOTICE???? What is going to jump up and say....."THIS IS BETTER"????

Thanks a bunch for any info provided.

Bob

 

[BlueSquirrel]

In my opinion, Epiphone's bridges for Les Paul - and solid guitars in general - work really well. I really like their locktone system which prevents the bridge and tailpiece from falling on the guitar's finish during strings changes.

However, Epiphone's bridges tend to rattle on full hollowbody guitars (Casino...).

 

[BGood]

I'm in the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" group. Many ... many, will tell you the angels will sing if you replace your perfectly adequate bridge. I say the amp's EQ and your guitar's knobs will do way more to summon those angels.

Yes there is a plethora of good (better?) metric bridges on the market.

BTW, we NEED to see that Goldtop ASAP.

 

[Rusty Chops]

The stock ones on my 2001 LP, and my 2022 335 type Epi’s seem fine to me.
I don’t care on Gibsons whether they’re ABR-1 with threaded into the wood style, or Nashville on pocket inserts. I hear no difference.
A wooden bridge on a hollow body: that I can hear!
The rest: snake oil (usually).

 

[Equalphone]

Another vote for spending your money elsewhere.

 

[Terrasolo]

I haven't replaced all of mine, but the ones I did were due to a rattle that I could not fix. The replacement bridge fixed the issue for me.

 

[Kostas Kritsilas]

I have replaced my Epiphone LP's (2001 Korean made) bridge and tailpiece. It was bought used for $CAN200. It has some dings, and couple of chips that go into the wood, so that probably knocked the price down some. The bridge was replaced because of a real issue, not in some hope that there was going to be a massive tonal improvement. I settled on a Tone Pros bridge and tailpiece, for Metric LPs. The problem with the original bridge was not tone, it was that the bridge was starting to bend in the middle. Being a used guitar, I don't really know what caused that. I did play the guitar for a while, both through a small amplifier (Peavey Bravo 112) and through headphones ton an Irig HD through an iPad prior to changing the bridge over. The guitar also had some issues intonating properly. The Tone Pros bridge is a Nashville type (the wider than an ABR-1), and eliminated not only the bridge collapse issue, but the intonation issue as well with the wider slots. I had bought the Tone Pros as a set, and while my luthier was replacing the bridge, I also had him replace the tailpiece.

The tonal difference is there, even aside from the guitar being properly intonated. It is clearer, for want of a better word. It is NOT a massive change, but the clarity is improved, and it is audible. The Epiphone bridge, had it not started to bend in the middle, would not have been worth changing out for the tonal improvement alone. The improved intonation, and the bridge & tail piece not being loose when changing strings are just added benefits, nice to haves, but are not necessarily by themselves a reason to change the bridge/tailpiece. All benefits together, it probably makes it worthwhile. Note that the Tone Pros setup is cheaper than many of the other third party bridges, but it works well, sounds fine, and is very well built out of quality materials. I cannot say anything about the other third party bridges as I have no experience with them, nor can I provide a comparison to the current Epiphone bridges, because this is the only Epiphone that I have at this time.

 

[soulman969]

While there are after market bridges that profess to be better than the stock bridge I question whether enough is gained vs the money spent. I have a Faber Steel Bridge and Eserts on my '56 Gold Top.

What I experienced was it made the guitar a bit brighter sounding. But Jean points out could I have gotten the same from simply adding more high end to the EQ? I'm not unhappy that I tried it though.

My ES339 has the stock bridge but an after market aluminum tail piece and again it seemed to brighten it up but by how much? Like the Faber Bridge someone suggested it so for about $25 I thought I'd try it.

What my experience has taught me is that while there may have been some gain I seriously doubt most would be unhappy with the stock bridge and tail piece. How well they anchor is more important to me.

The Faber Bridge uses steel insert to mount the bridge whereas the stock inserts are a simple pot metal. The bridge locks onto those inserts and that may be what creates a difference because it's there.

 

[BlueSquirrel]

I agree that a better-anchored bridge and a solid assembly is key. Whenever a bridge assembly feels wobbly (whatever its brand), I add PTFE / Teflon tape to it to get rid of the slack. Additional bonus : a bit more sustain.

 

[3bolt79]

I haven't replaced all of mine, but the ones I did were due to a rattle that I could not fix. The replacement bridge fixed the issue for me.

Drop of blue Loctite on the threads that go through the saddles. It will never rattle again. Gretsch's tunomatics are even worse. Loctite fixes it.

 

[Mike Hickey]

First of all, Epiphone isn't going to put a garbage bridge on arguably one of their bread and butter guitars. The cost difference isn't enough to risk ruining their reputation for having a good alternative to a Gibson. Secondly I watched a video of a guy replacing a bridge on a epi 335 and the difference was negligible, especially in a band situation. He claimed it was brighter. I didn't hear anything except that it didn't do anything to make the bass strings any punchier, which would be my only motivation for considering a bridge swap. I don't keep guitars I don't really like cause I know they'll never get played and I gotta say my Les Paul modern has exceeded my expectations and I don't feel the need to do anything with it, including the pickups. I did a side by side comparison with a Gibson standard and I actually liked the pro buckers better. Long story short, don't sweat your bridge.

 

[BGood]

PTFE / Teflon tape to it to get rid of the slack. Additional bonus : a bit more sustain.

Tone Teflon ? Awright !

Are you saying that isolating posts from bushings with a dampening product, will produce more sustain ?

 

[Terrasolo]

Drop of blue Loctite on the threads that go through the saddles. It will never rattle again. Gretsch's tunomatics are even worse. Loctite fixes it.

If I'm following you correctly here, wouldn't that ruin the ability to adjust the intonation? Given that you're glueing the threads into the saddle.

 

[BGood]

If I'm following you correctly here, wouldn't that ruin the ability to adjust the intonation? Given that you're glueing the threads into the saddle.

There is a Loctite that isn't permanent.
https://www.loctiteproducts.com/pro...ctite-threadlocker-blue/SAP_0201OHL029W4.html
Personally I'd be afraid to mess the threads when you try to "unloctite" them.

 

[BlueSquirrel]

Tone Teflon ? Awright !

Are you saying that isolating posts from bushings with a dampening product, will produce more sustain ?

Only if said posts are wobbly in their bushings - in other words, when there is so much play in the assembly that the bushings are probably too big, which is the case with my Casino Coupe. In that case, the tape has to be crammed so it doesn't isolate, it actually connects the parts together.
Since I've done that, sustain is better and the whole thing feels solid.

 

[BGood]

Only if said posts are wobbly in their bushings - in other words, when there is so much play in the assembly that the bushings are probably too big, which is the case with my Casino Coupe. In that case, the tape has to be crammed so it doesn't isolate, it actually connects the parts together.
Since I've done that, sustain is better and the whole thing feels solid.

Posts are wobbly in their bushings with string tension on ?

 

[BlueSquirrel]

Absolutely ! They were leaning. The bridge Epiphone provided with that guitar was not good, or not well-fitted to that type of guitar.

Its measurements seem to be between metrics and imperial measurements, it's really annoying. At the moment, it has its stock Epiphone posts in their "beautiful" PTFE coating to fit the slightly too large Epiphone's bushings + a Graph Tech Resomax bridge for Gibson (!) whose Tusq saddles don't rattle.

However, the full bridge assemby provided on my Les Paul Standard and the wraparound bridge on my two bO Special are great quality and their measurements fit these guitars perfectly.

 

[Darkness]

I can't say it is worth doing, provided your bridge is in good shape and can reach intonation.

I have an Epi LP that was just a husk, no parts. I installed a nice, lightweight, Gotoh bridge and tail. Can I tell any difference in sound, sustain, or playability over my other Epi Lps? Nope. Did it fit better at least? Nope. If I had replaced am existing bridge and tail would I be happy? Nope.

I have, however, replaced a very buzzy Epi bridge on my Casino. Oddly, with the new bridge I got buzzes elsewhere. Eventually while changing strings I took the old bridge and bent the wire a bit to add tension, reinstalled, never buzzed again.

 

[soulman969]

It appears the consensus is that there is little to gain tonally from replacing the new Epi Tone-Lock Bridge. It's a quality bridge. If someone has an older model like my '56 Gold Top which is a 2007-08 it's possible that a better bridge with steel inserts may prove to be an improvement but I would still look at it on a case by case basis.

Hope this helps to provide you with some guidance based on our personal experience Bob.

 

[3bolt79]

If I'm following you correctly here, wouldn't that ruin the ability to adjust the intonation? Given that you're glueing the threads into the saddle.

The blue loctite won’t permanently freeze the saddle. If you put a drop in front of, and behind, the saddle you can still adjust it after it dries. It just makes the threads a bit more snug.