vanceen Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 They say there are no stupid questions, but this one might come close. I've been playing for a long time and I have a lot of guitars, but my recently purchased Golden Eagle is the first archtop I've owned. Here's the question... I like to occasionally remove all the strings on my guitars to clean and/or oil the fretboard. But as far as I can tell, the bridge on the GE is only held on by the tension of the strings, and would be expected to just fall off if I remove all the strings. I'm guessing that geting the bridge back into the perfect location is not that easy. Is there a trick for doing this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skydog52 Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 I'm guessing. Painters tape on edges of bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genericmusic Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 I'm guessing. Painters tape on edges of bridge. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tulk1 Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Thats how I do it on the mandolin. Same basic bridge set up. Last change I even taped the bridge down. But I wasn't doing a deep clean, just a string change. That blue painters tape will not harm the finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyGrass Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Painter's tape. If it's an older guitar, the "tan" lines will guide you. You rarely need to remove more than one string at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 I'm guessing. Painters tape on edges of bridge. +2 Won't keep sticky residue, but I wouldn't leave it on there too long. If you don't want to do that, leave the E strings on, and remove the rest. That should also give you plenty of open space on the fretboard to clean it up too. If you are polishing frets, you may have to remove the strings and the bridge. You may get lucky and the bridge has left an imprint on the nitro finish as well.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 +1 on the use of blue painter's tape. If for some reason you want to clean the area under your bridge, use the painter's tape as a marker before removing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyGrass Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 My luthier uses a black felt marker to indicate the corners of the bridge base. He's used it on my guitars. It does come off and leaves no marks. The trick is to know which marker won't stain nitro. I don't know so I use tape. Many guys are very compulsive about the bridge position. I used to be. Unless you have a TOM bridge, intonation will probably not be perfect anyway. Wes Montgomery laughed about how a guitar can't really ever be in tune for an entire song. He was telling his pianist that the piano stays in tune a very long time while a guitar lasts only moments. He discussed how he accepts playing out of tune as inevitable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genericmusic Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Wes Montgomery laughed about how a guitar can't really ever be in tune for an entire song. He was telling his pianist that the piano stays in tune a very long time while a guitar lasts only moments. He discussed how he accepts playing out of tune as inevitable. How true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koula901 Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Wes Montgomery laughed about how a guitar can't really ever be in tune for an entire song. He was telling his pianist that the piano stays in tune a very long time while a guitar lasts only moments. He discussed how he accepts playing out of tune as inevitable. That's why Goddess created the Buzz Feiten tuning system. Used to have that on my Suhr strat, along with the locking sperzel tuners, that guitar never went out of tune, no matter how much you use a whammy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 My guitar tech is an authorized Buzz Feiten guy... But he doesn't use it on his own guitars, so that makes you wonder if its worth it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koula901 Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 He probably doesn't use it on his, because no one else uses it on theirs. I think it's well worth it - it makes your intonation perfect, all up and down the neck. Your ears would love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuz Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Once you get the compensated wooden bridge and base plate adjusted properly, You can get amazingly close intonation. FWIW, I have had by far the best luck with Thomastics for intonation on archtops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Gretsch uses a dowel pin method on their higher end guitars. Basically, there is a wooden posts on the body that inserts into the bridge so it never has to be adjusted again... Not sure if I'd recommend anyone doing that to their Heritage unless they found a professional to do it for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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