Donelson Posted July 7, 2011 Posted July 7, 2011 I had this item, the archtop bridge with compensated bone saddle, in my Stew-Mac "shopping cart" for some long time, like two years. I needed another nut file so I decided to go ahead and get this oddball bridge as well. I have left my H575 Custom 100% stock so far since I bought it NOS almost three years ago and love it, rosewood bridge, Schaller PU's, etc.; but I am a fiddler by nature and have often wondered what the axe would sound like with the bone saddle. I was wondering if any other Heritage archtoppers had tried this thing. If there's any interest I'll review it once I get it & install it. I will have to do the sandpaper on the top/rub the bridge back & forth trick I guess to make it fit well. http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailpieces/Archtop_guitar_bridges/Archtop_Bridge_with_Bone_Saddle.html
DetroitBlues Posted July 7, 2011 Posted July 7, 2011 One thing about Stewmac parts is that they are only about 90% finished. You'll still need to shape the saddle since its at a 13" radius.
DeLorean Posted July 8, 2011 Posted July 8, 2011 Those actually come from AllParts, Stew-Mac just orders from them. AllParts is the one getting those made, and they at least name it correctly (Foley bone top bridge).
Donelson Posted July 8, 2011 Author Posted July 8, 2011 they at least name it correctly (Foley bone top bridge). I saw that Foley bone top bridge on the web and it did indeed look identical to what stew-mac sells. Now I know the truth. I assume that I'll put this on, think it's awesome for a few months, then start wondering "maybe it would be better with the old bridge" and it'll get parked in a box. But for such little $ it seems worth a shot.
Donelson Posted July 10, 2011 Author Posted July 10, 2011 I got the bridge in the mail today. I wanted to hold off as I have a non-gig playing situation tomorrow where I will use my Heritage; but went ahead anyway. The bonetop doesn't fit on the Heritage base; off by a small amount. So I put the whole unit on. I did not slot or "fit" the bridge yet as it's just a trial run. On my guitar it didn't "brighten" the sound as the stew-mac blurb says. The sound is actually fatter & fuller, esp. on the high E string from open to 7-8th fret. The low positions overall seem richer in tone. Sustain or decay time seems unaffected. I had to slant this bridge a good bit more than the original, because the compensation is smaller with the thin bone saddle. The intonation with 13-56 strings seems pretty good. A thing I don't like is that the width is barely enough. It is enough but with no room to spare. Lining up the strings with the neck PU poles means you are maxed out. Soon I'll try to "fit" the bridge better, or have a luthier do that. P.S. It was easy to set the action back to the right setting because a few months ago I took the trouble to re-set-up my main axes to similar actions measured from a good-feeling axe, using one of those round spark plug gap measuring things. $1.59 from Walmart. I like (at 12th fret) low E at .095-.100 and high E at .080-.085. Much better than fiddling around; you can get it right real fast adding a little tweakage as needed.
Donelson Posted July 11, 2011 Author Posted July 11, 2011 One more on this thing. I did indeed get to try out this bonetop bridge on my H575 in a duo (non-gig, just playing) playing tonight. The other player was a fantastic pianist, hampered by having to use a "digi" piano Ivory. Well, Ivory is a good sampled piano, but the tone of the H575 with the bonetop bridge blew that faky crap out of the water. This was playing & "dicking around" with interesting standard tunes. Kudos! Get one! Fat toned but real-sounding archtoppiness. Well, because it is real. Super-easy to put that original wooden bridge back on. Completely "no fingerprints" mod. Enthused!
Steiner Posted July 11, 2011 Posted July 11, 2011 How well did the base fit the 575 top's contour? With a few archtops hanging around, it may be worth "experimenting." thank you for the review.
DetroitBlues Posted July 11, 2011 Posted July 11, 2011 One more on this thing. I did indeed get to try out this bonetop bridge on my H575 in a duo (non-gig, just playing) playing tonight. The other player was a fantastic pianist, hampered by having to use a "digi" piano Ivory. Well, Ivory is a good sampled piano, but the tone of the H575 with the bonetop bridge blew that faky crap out of the water. This was playing & "dicking around" with interesting standard tunes. Kudos! Get one! Fat toned but real-sounding archtoppiness. Well, because it is real. Super-easy to put that original wooden bridge back on. Completely "no fingerprints" mod. Enthused! Glad it worked out, but now you see why I said they come only 90% done. Stewmac expects guitars to vary and their stuff is meant for the buyer to finish it up to fit their guitars.
MartyGrass Posted July 11, 2011 Posted July 11, 2011 There is much I don't understand here. A rosewood or other "softer" wood should decrease sustain and dampened higher frequencies. These effects are not necessarily negative for be-bop. Ebony is harder and brighter with longer sustain. Steel is the hardest. So where does bone fit in? Is it harder than ebony and softer than steel? Bone is largely metal, calcium.
DetroitBlues Posted July 11, 2011 Posted July 11, 2011 There is much I don't understand here. A rosewood or other "softer" wood should decrease sustain and dampened higher frequencies. These effects are not necessarily negative for be-bop. Ebony is harder and brighter with longer sustain. Steel is the hardest. So where does bone fit in? Is it harder than ebony and softer than steel? Bone is largely metal, calcium. Maybe bone hits that sweet spot of tone between steel and wood?
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