ABR-1 bridge with nylon saddles

gball said:
I'm tellin' ya boys, Boomers are the shizz. I buy 'em by the case and use them on all my guitars. Big, round sound and great string-to-string balance and feel.
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I have never tried Boomers. I have used Ernie Ball Slinkys almost exclusively since 1988, and I have never had a problem. The key is fastening the string properly to the post. "Locking" wrap and two turns around the post, no more. When ai started paying proper attention to how I put on new strings, I have never really had any problems with tuning stability (providing the nut is properly cut) on any or my guitar.

In fact, the only strings I have had any problems with were a few sets of Throbak strings that I got together with a set of pickups that I ordered. The high E went flat all the time because it was slipping at the ball end. I guess there was a problem with the windings around the string ball.
 
syscokid said:
A lot easier that way... :yesway:


Everything... except the price. Feel, sound, tuning stability, and seems to have the edge on construction, for what I know... :hmmm:
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Buying just the saddles would be a bit cheaper, but I prefer being able to switch quickly if need be. And the price of the whole bridge isn't that bad anyway.
 
Getting back to nylon saddles, Angus Young prefers to use them. Robert, regarding the EB G string slipping at the ball end, I have long use EB 10~46 regular slinky's on everything. I have once encountered exact the same problem. I didn't send it back though, obviously should have. Cheers
 
ivan H said:
Getting back to nylon saddles, Angus Young prefers to use them. Robert, regarding the EB G string slipping at the ball end, I have long use EB 10~46 regular slinky's on everything. I have once encountered exact the same problem. I didn't send it back though, obviously should have. Cheers
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DUDE!!!! Once and only once has that happened to me!!! So, I saved the string and mailed it to them with a little note saying something like "Wow, Man...Never Had This Happen To Me Before.." Not jamming them up, ya know, just expressing my surprise. Couple days later, my wife asks me what I ordered from Ernie ball and they responded with a note apologizing for the manufacturing defect...something about the security wrap wasn't tight enough.

I had no idea they would respond in that fashion!!!!
 
I had those bridges on two '69 SG Standards.

The one that was on the guitar that was converted to a stop tail piece, and had no Vibrola was ok.

The one that was on the SG I still have, was removed about twenty years ago. It seemed to make the strings move over the saddles better when using the Vibrola, but was still tough to stay in tune. When I made my custom tail piece for that guitar, I also made some special adjusters to convert the guitar to a stainless steel Nashville bridge. Standard adjusters are too short to use on a guitar like an SG, so I made some longer ones. The 6-32 threaded rod used for the ABR-1 bridges always lean, and you can never keep intonation without bending them back. Also, the bridge had been flattened a bit because the cheap cast pot-metal they make those things out of is complete garbage. My stainless steel Nashville bridge has at least four times the mass as the ABR-1. It also stays in tune better.

The cork rarely gets sniffed in my house. I prefer function.
 
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SG John said:
The 6-32 threaded rod used for the ABR-1 bridges always lean, and you can never keep intonation without bending them back. Also, the bridge had been flattened a bit because the cheap cast pot-metal they make those things out of is complete garbage.
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With a shallow string angle behind the bridge?

SG John said:
May stainless steel Nashville bridge
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Pleze tell more about this... :fingersx:
 
syscokid said:
With a shallow string angle behind the bridge?
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It was steep. I don't own the guitar anymore, so I can't look. I don't think it was steep enough to top wrap, but it was steep enough to accommodate a Lyre Vibrola when it was new. Not that I'm anywhere near home right now. It was also an old guitar, with quite a bit of playing time on it.


syscokid said:
Pleze tell more about this... :fingersx:
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I think it's a Schaller, I forget. It works nice.
 
SG John said:
My stainless steel Nashville bridge has at least four times the mass as the ABR-1.
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In a slightly hijacked related story.... My '70/71 SG Standard that I've own since '78(?) IMO was a very wooly sounding guitar, acoustically and electrically. And it seemed to lack a little sustain and chime compared to some other SGs of the time. The Fralin unpotted and unbalanced hummers that was installed on the old SG about 9 years ago helped out a lot in making this guitar more exciting to play. But about 5 or 6 years ago, I installed a steel stoptail from Philadelphia Luthier Tool & Supply. Weighs almost 3x more than the lightweight aluminum that I've been trying in the past. This extra-mass stoptail really changed the guitar, for the better, in how the it sustained and resonated. The CNC-machined steel stoptail weighs about 3.2oz. Light Alum is about 1.2oz. Helps with neck dive... :hide:
 
syscokid said:
In a slightly hijacked related story.... My '70/71 SG Standard that I've own since '78(?) IMO was a very wooly sounding guitar, acoustically and electrically. And it seemed to lack a little sustain and chime compared to some other SGs of the time. The Fralin unpotted and unbalanced hummers that was installed on the old SG about 9 years ago helped out a lot in making this guitar more exciting to play. But about 5 or 6 years ago, I installed a steel stoptail from Philadelphia Luthier Tool & Supply. Weighs almost 3x more than the lightweight aluminum that I've been trying in the past. This extra-mass stoptail really changed the guitar, for the better, in how the it sustained and resonated. The CNC-machined steel stoptail weighs about 3.2oz. Light Alum is about 1.2oz. Helps with neck dive... :hide:
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I have the Faber TP-59 locking aluminum tailpiece on my 2016 Gibson Les Paul 50's Tribute. It was a gift. Not sure if I noticed any differences???
 
Here's the scoop on the nylon saddles with the ES-3xx models. Gibson used nylon saddles on their reissues along with their MHS pups. This did cause "some" concern that the the sound was more muted/dull and other rather inaccurate descriptions. The problem is that the criticism was misplaced because the sound for the most part was being compared to Burst Buckers and titanium saddles which were indeed brighter. What the critics didn't compare them to were the vintage models that they being reissued from. Ones that came with nylon saddles. Any real comparison to the vintage models reveals that the reissues complete with MHS pups and nylon saddles pretty much nails the vintage sound. Which is exactly what it was supposed to do. I'm a believer with the ES models that I have.
 
I went ahead and did it. Got a Kluson bridge with nylon saddles. I can't say there is a difference in tone or sustain. If there is, it is inaudible by my humble ears. What I did notice though, is that it was easier to hit intonation dead on with this bridge, and that I got rid of a slightly jangly sound I sometimes had on the B string when playing unplugged. The first thing was mostly due to the fact that the screws were easier to turn on the nylon bridge, and the second issue just because I guess I had a slight problem with the slotting in the B string saddle on the old bridge. The saddles feel a bit sharper on the nylon one, but I guess this is because it is brand new, and the old saddles were slightly worn by a lot of playing for five years.

So, was it worth it? Well, to me, I guess so. Was it needed? No, not really. Is the new one better? Yes, but only for the reasons mentioned above, not because nylon saddles are inherently better. Does the guitar look cool? Hell, yeah! I'll post pics later.
 
Gahr said:
I went ahead and did it. Got a Kluson bridge with nylon saddles. I can't say there is a difference in tone or sustain. If there is, it is inaudible by my humble ears. What I did notice though, is that it was easier to hit intonation dead on with this bridge, and that I got rid of a slightly jangly sound I sometimes had on the B string when playing unplugged. The first thing was mostly due to the fact that the screws were easier to turn on the nylon bridge, and the second issue just because I guess I had a slight problem with the slotting in the B string saddle on the old bridge. The saddles feel a bit sharper on the nylon one, but I guess this is because it is brand new, and the old saddles were slightly worn by a lot of playing for five years.

So, was it worth it? Well, to me, I guess so. Was it needed? No, not really. Is the new one better? Yes, but only for the reasons mentioned above, not because nylon saddles are inherently better. Does the guitar look cool? Hell, yeah! I'll post pics later.
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Unexpected advantage.
 
Ok, so here's how it looks at the moment:

The bridge:
vNvwROv.jpg


The body:
pU1sjz4.jpg


And the whole thing:
7oVhgnt.jpg
 
So....

This nylon saddle thing prompted me to do some snooping about the inter webs

Guess what I discovered?

Graphtech makes saddles and even entire bridges with Graphtech saddles installed.

This sounds like something I may seriously consider for at least a couple of my guitars.

So, Gahr...if I spend money on them I just want you to know that I’ll hold you responsible.

Okay?
 
smitty_p said:
So....

This nylon saddle thing prompted me to do some snooping about the inter webs

Guess what I discovered?

Graphtech makes saddles and even entire bridges with Graphtech saddles installed.

This sounds like something I may seriously consider for at least a couple of my guitars.

So, Gahr...if I spend money on them I just want you to know that I’ll hold you responsible.

Okay?
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I’ll take full responsibility! And if you are not happy, just send me your guitar and I’ll dispose of it free of charge.:D
 
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