Question about Roller bridges

[Nosignal]

Hi everyone. I've been having some trouble with my e strings popping out of the bridge saddle on my 525. I emailed Heritage and they sent me a Schaller roller bridge. I'm on the fence about it though. I swapped it out and it seems nice but I'm seldomly getting some unwanted noises from behind the bridge. Also, I can wiggle the high e string from side to side and it makes the section behind the bridge ring. Has anyone else had any issues with this type of problem?

Like I said, the original bridge gave me some issues with the strings slipping out but I'm certain that could be fixed with filing out the saddles a tad more. I'm not quite sure what to do. Just wanted some opinions.

 

Thanks!

[Millennium Maestro]

The shaller bridge is really an excellent bridge, the saddles are adjustable left to right AND you can lower the tailpiece and get a good downward angle to the strings without any rubbing on the bridge.

 

*notice the roller bridge has different thickness on the wheel/saddle sections*... I suspect the bridge is 180 degrees out of position.

 

Let me know if this helps!

[big bob]

Once you have the roller/saddle where you want it you can place just a dab of clear nail polish on the edge and that will eliminate the movement.

[Hfan]

Once you have the roller/saddle where you want it you can place just a dab of clear nail polish on the edge and that will eliminate the movement.

 

That's what i do. Never had any rattles etc, but the rollers will roll during string changes etc. Another good thing about the bridge is the break angle..the strings clear the edge of the bridge from the tail at a decent angle. And I never heard of one that collapsed.

 

I was looking at the one on my 157 last night though. All those "Schaller roller bridges don't sustain" comments popping into my head. And I recently installed and notched my first Nashville Tone Pro bridge on my 150. The original one had collapsed some (came out great). The cost would be low..no tech needed. Is the grass greener on the TP side?

 

For the op..what gauge is your high E? I never noticed my .010" move or rattle.

[Nosignal]

Millennium hit the nail on the head, I had the bridge backwards. My mind put the adjustment screws where I could get to them as the p90s wouldn't allow easy access to the screws. I'll have to try the Schiller again tonight! I usually use 10's, hfan.

I couldn't tell if there was any significant sustain loss with the rollers in the breof time I played with that bridge

[tbonesullivan]

I have the roller bridges on two of my heritage, and I've never had any complaints. I think both of mine have the screws facing away from the pickups.

 

I believe heritage started using that bridge because they felt it gave the guitars a warmer sound.

[Millennium Maestro]

Millennium hit the nail on the head, I had the bridge backwards.

Common problem, Glad I could help

[Nosignal]

I have the roller bridges on two of my heritage, and I've never had any complaints. I think both of mine have the screws facing away from the pickups.

 

I believe heritage started using that bridge because they felt it gave the guitars a warmer sound.

I'm a lefty, so I'm all backwards!

[Nosignal]

okay, update. Just put the roller bridge back on the guitar, the right way this time. No more funky noises or anything. BUT my high e string still slips out if I try to bend (whole stepish) above the 12th fret approximately. I guess the "V" roller groove doesn't provide enough resistance? Any suggestions? I'm stumped

[Hfan]

Nothing visibly different about that one? Never heard of this before

 

Is the tail piece too high? Maybe more of a break angle (lower the tail) would help anchor it better.

 

Or try to reverse that roller (remove it and turn it 180 degrees) or swap it with one of the others? Maybe somethings flaky with that particular roller.

 

Have you got nut files or mini files? Maybe notch that particular slot a little. Really though you shouldn't have to and you may cause more harm then good. Post some pictures if you want.

[FredZepp]

Tailpiece is all the way down?

 

I've got a couple of 150s with the roller bridge and a gotoh stop tail, there's a good amount of angle at the bridge to hold it in place.

[Nosignal]

Ahh sorry, I forgot to specify that I have a bigsby b3 on the guitar so I can't really adjust the height. I could wrap the strings under instead of over but that would sort of eliminate the bigsby. I'll post some photos as soon as I can get some taken.

[PunkKitty]

I also have a Bigsby on my Prospect. It was installed by the previous owner. He used this bridge from Wilkinson. http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailpieces/Electric_Guitar_Bridges/Locking_Roller_Bridge.html

 

One of the guys from the factory (I can't remember his name) also recommends that bridge. I've had no problems with it.

 

[Hfan]

Ahh sorry, I forgot to specify that I have a bigsby b3 on the guitar so I can't really adjust the height. I could wrap the strings under instead of over but that would sort of eliminate the bigsby. I'll post some photos as soon as I can get some taken.

Ah..a Bigsby. Uncharted waters for me but most likely the variable in play.

[Nosignal]

Yeah I'm sure the bigsby is what's giving me the problems, which sucks because I really like it. I also have a DeArmond starfire with a bigsby and tune-o-matic. The starfire has absolutely no string slipping problems.

 

Here are some images. I'm assuming the break angle is what's causing my problems.

[58super]

Since there's no tension bar on that model Bigsby a lot depends on the neck to body angle. Too shallow and the strings pop out. I had the same issue with an Es135 and I tried the roller bridge with no success. You could try using a heavier gauge string to see if that helps. The few pictures of the H525 with Bigsbys had the Bigsby B7 model with the tension bar.

[Nosignal]

I think I'm going to call heritage tomorrow to see what they recommend. My issue is that I just bought this new so it should be working perfectly. If it were used I'd have ordered a new bridge on my own dime. I'm thinking that the original TOM may work if the saddles are notched a bit deeper?

[FredZepp]

I think I'm going to call heritage tomorrow to see what they recommend. My issue is that I just bought this new so it should be working perfectly. If it were used I'd have ordered a new bridge on my own dime. I'm thinking that the original TOM may work if the saddles are notched a bit deeper?

Or maybe the dealer should be doing a set-up on it to get it right...

[Nosignal]

Or maybe the dealer should be doing a set-up on it to get it right...

 

Yes, I agree completely. I bought this guitar in TX but I live in OH so unfortunately I can't take it back to have their setup guy fix it. I was told (by the shop from which I bought the guitar) to call heritage directly as I would have a warranty. Heritage then sent me a roller bridge and here we are.

[SofaPlayer]

Looks like the B3 doesn't work for this guitar. Should have never left the factory like this in my opinion. It escapes me why the dealer should be responsible for a problem like that. He could or maybe even should have sent the guitar back to Kalamazoo instead of selling it. But of course that doesn't help now.

 

The best solution would be swapping the B3 for a B7, imho. If you don't want to spend the money or drill the holes, slotting the saddles deeper could be an option that works. The bridge will have to be adjusted a little higher after this, so check in advance if there's enough room for that. It doesn't help if the saddles are slotted deep enough to hold the strings but the bridge as a whole gets wobbly. And mind the fretboard radius when you do it.

 

Good luck!

[tbonesullivan]

yeah, that's definitely not the right tremolo for that guitar. The 525 would normally have a trapeze, which would keep the strings lower and have more of a break angle. As it is there is practically NO break angle. It looks like it should really have the B7, and not the B6 or whatever that is.

[HANGAR18]

Once you have the roller/saddle where you want it you can place just a dab of clear nail polish on the edge and that will eliminate the movement.

 

 

 

That's what i do. Never had any rattles etc, but the rollers will roll during string changes etc.

 

 

Learn something new every day. Now I have to see if the wife has any clear nail polish.

 

As for the OP, yes, I agree with the previously stated that the break angle, or lack thereof, looks like that's where the problem lies.

[barrymclark]

The Schaller bridge truly is a great piece. I had one on a 140 and then had one put on a Gretsch. I ended up putting a wooden bridge on the Gretsch but if I went back to metal, I still have that Schaller and it will go right back on.

 

I was bummed to hear that the Schaller G'50 was no longer being used by H but SD makes great pickups. The Seth Lovers in my 575 are truly great. I won't lie... one of the nicer things, for me, in looking for a guitar from the year of my younger daughter's birth is that it will likely have a Schaller G'50 in it.

[bolero]

I had that exact same problem on my millie eagle

 

 

the bigsby was aftermarket though, someone else installed it.....the gtr originally had a trapeze

 

I swapped it for a B7 and all is good now

 

 

as an aside, I tried a brand new gibson firebird '63 reissue and it had that same problem, the string angle wasn't enough to keep the strings down. they buzzed. it had that funky bent-sheet-metal tremolo, I forget what they're called