Bridge and stop tail replacements vintage H535 and H150.

[Jwmusic]

Heya all. 
so after a lot of faithful service, I am in need of replacing the old Schaller tail and bridge pieces on my late 80s 535 and my 98 H150. The roller bridge on the H150 is subsiding back and this is the perfect excuse to finally get it removed and replaced with a proper ABR1. Has anyone done this and know what parts fit with out having to get holes re drilled? 

 

[nuke]

I did both my H150 and H535 with Faber and completely happy with how it turned out on both. Especially the 535, the Faber bushing inserts really got some deep contact with the wood in the center block. I wouldn’t have expected such a positive improvement from an already good guitar. 
 

My 01 535 was like yours with the Schaller hardware. My 98 H150 came with Gibson style stop tail and Nashville bridge from the factory. 

Traveling at the moment, I’ll look up part numbers when I get back. 

I did have to get a special drill bit for the 535. The factory holes were just a smidge shallow for the new tail bushings. It was to make a flat bottom hole just about 3/32 deeper. But it was well worth it. The factory tail bushings in the 535 were really short and light. The Faber bushings are normal size and fit much tighter. 
 

Search on my user name to find some comments about what I did. 
 

I would 100% do exactly the same upgrade with Faber. 
 

 

[Kuz]

Every Heritage that I have owned (over 12 of them) I replaced with Faber locking ABR1 bridge and locking stoptail.  On Faber's website, it says, "Bridges for Heritage guitars".

[Spectrum13]

45 minutes ago, Kuz said:

Every Heritage that I have owned (over 12 of them) I replaced with Faber locking ABR1 bridge and locking stoptail.  On Faber's website, it says, "Bridges for Heritage guitars".

This times infinity

[bolero]

Those are both very nice guitars!

[Jwmusic]

 

9 hours ago, bolero said:

Those are both very nice guitars!

Thank you, both have done a LOT of work all over on tours with me. The 535 in particular is an incredible guitar! Feels like a vintage instrument 

[hopkinwfg]

10 hours ago, Kuz said:

Every Heritage that I have owned (over 12 of them) I replaced with Faber locking ABR1 bridge and locking stoptail.  On Faber's website, it says, "Bridges for Heritage guitars".

I now started to appreciate the abrn faber bridge installed on my H150 .... !!

[nuke]

Be aware that Faber website also says that Heritage tended to do different things sometimes, and to measure what you have in hand first. 
 

Some of their recommendations were not exact right for what i had in hand. 

[Jimbob]

FWIW, I've spoken of this previously, but Heritage is now using a new ABR-style bridge/thumbwheel system on their new CC models that's a direct drop-in replacement for the Pinnacle system. They can be ordered through Mike at Heritage as well. I've compared it to a couple of Fabers, and while I actually prefer the Heritage ABR to the Faber, it's not necessarily better or worse-sounding, just a bit different. It's a little louder and brighter than the Faber with perhaps a little less in the low-mids, so that's something to take into consideration before purchasing this system.

Also, I've compared the new Heritage ABR to a recent Gibson Historic ABR-1 from an aesthetic point of view as well as their tonal characteristics, and other than the Gibson name on the underside of the ABR-1, they look and sound nearly identical to one another in every respect. If Kluson is still manufacturing the Gibson bridge, I suspect that they're also producing the same bridge for Heritage.

EDIT: Just another note upon comparing the Faber to the new Heritage ABR, if construction is a primary consideration, the Faber definitely beats the Heritage bridge by a mile. Just the fact that Faber has resolved the issue of loose saddles falling out is a big plus for me.

Edited 23 hours ago by Jimbob

[rockabilly69]

21 hours ago, Kuz said:

Every Heritage that I have owned (over 12 of them) I replaced with Faber locking ABR1 bridge and locking stoptail.  On Faber's website, it says, "Bridges for Heritage guitars".

And never once have you regretted it! I'm with you all the way! The best and most simplest option. I think Heritage should just ship there guitars with FABER hardware. 

[Kuz]

14 hours ago, rockabilly69 said:

And never once have you regretted it! I'm with you all the way! The best and most simplest option. I think Heritage should just ship there guitars with FABER hardware. 

Amen, Brother!