Anybody ever compared different bridges and tailpieces?

[GuitArtMan]

I have had nothing but problems with the schaller setup on my millenium 2k. I contacted heritage and they will drop a stop and tune-a-matic on it for 75 bucks. I can't get the guitar setup right using the rollers, and I took it to a tech for setup and they said the roller bridge wasn't the same circumference as the neck/fret curve, and since it's rollers they can't file it. They recommended getting rid of the system and putting a tuna on it. I have some binding that's starting to crack up and separate on the guitar so I think I am sending it in for the swap and see if they can take care of the binding and some IMHO low quality fretboard finishing. Is this something I could do myself, and should I bother? I think heritage is just charging me parts pretty much. This guitar has been a pain - I already had to replace the output jack, the neck pickup ring has broken and the neck pickup bounces around, and I have never been able to get this thing setup to my satisfaction. Plus changin strings is a total pita. Beautiful guitar that doesn't get played much.

 

Suggestions?

Well if it's a Millenium 2k that was pre-plek machine so I would expect the set up to be hit or miss, just like it is/was with the G word.  FWIW I factored in a set up cost when purchsing all of my Heritages pre-plek.  Sadly, all of my post plek Heritage have also required set up play their best out of the box.  :-[ 

 

Yes I know what you mean about low quality fret board finishing - file marks, etc.  0000 steel wool works wonders.  Just make sure to mask off the electronics or you will have tons of little steel wool pieces stuch to the pickups.  Polish the frets until they shine like a mirror.  You can even go over the fingerboard itself if you like.  I know of some people who use one of those buffers you cat attach to a power drill to buff the fingboard - no buffing compound just the cotton wheel.  This is to give it a "been played on for 20 years" type of smooth feel.  Add your favorite fingerboard treament (linseed oil, mineral oil, guitar honey, fret doctor) and you should be good to go.

 

As for the roller bridge and fingerboard not being the same radius, I don't buy that.  Heritage has used that bridge for years.  Now do I like the roller bridge - nope.  Put a tune-o-matic on there and be done with it.

 

The biniding starting to seperate from the body?  That's odd.  Has this guitar had a rough life?  Been exposed to extreme temperatures and/or humidity? 

[drewzee87t]

I bought it usedy in 2001 so who knows, the binding on the horn at the sharp negative curve on the back is cracked at the glue joint and starting to come off. I don't gig the guitar but I do play it, it's usually out of its case hangin on the wall or on a stand. I live in SoCal, so not much in terms of weather variation to cause problems. I had lived in Philadelphia when I got the guitar and took it to my local shop after I got frustrated trying to set it up myself. They said the radius didn't quite match the fretboard and to dial it in super low like I wanted would require filing the saddles. They got it pretty close but every time I change strings I manage to mess up the string spacing or the height. I am a bit paranoid about sending the guitar back to kalamazoo until things settle down up there. I have a box sitting here ready to go. Do you think they could plek this while they have it up there? That would probably be the deal to have them put the stop on it, set it up perfect, fix the couple little gripes with it and send it back. I am sure once I get this done I will be damned pleased with it. Even with the minor setup prob's it plays almost as low as my G* lp.

[dharmafool]

OK, my bad.  I have never heard of those bridges called Nashville Bridges.  These guys have them.  http://www.allparts.com/store/guitar-bridg...010,Product.asp 

 

I was talking about the bridge on this SG.  It is junk. 

http://www.ronwarren.com/heritage/img_2310_std.jpg[/img]

 

 

The bridge in the photo is often called a harmonica bridge. It was manufactured by Schaller for Gibson. The design was favored by some for its greater bulk and stability. The bridge body may have been made of brass, but more likely it was made of zinc, with brass saddles (the usual Schaller formula). I no longer see it on Schaller's Web site with its other bridges, so I would guess that the Allparts harmonica bridge is manufactured by another company.

[dharmafool]

I admit to being somewhat obsessed with electric guitar bridges. Some players are nuts about pickups, others about frets or neck contours or wood grain, but for me it's bridges. I play an H-535 built in 2000. It has the Schaller roller bridge and stop tailpiece. For some time, I'd been considering switching those out to a Pigtail ABR-1 and stop tail, studs, bushings, the works. If it were a simple drop-in replacement I'd have done it long ago, but it's not.

 

Certainly the mod can be done, for a price. After discussing the idea with Steve Rowen, owner of Pigtail, and luthier Scott Lentz, we all ended up scratching our heads about whether the expense of such a change-out would be justified by a substantial improvement in tone.

 

Suffice to say, I haven't done the mod. Unless a player who has done it can convince me it's worth the dough, I'm more inclined to order a new instrument with Pigtail parts, or at least the compatible spacing for them.

 

If anyone has changed over from the Schaller roller bridge/tail to Pigtail, I'd love to hear about the results, particularly if it was done to a 535.

 

Thanks for letting me sorta hijack this thread.

[GuitArtMan]

I admit to being somewhat obsessed with electric guitar bridges. Some players are nuts about pickups, others about frets or neck contours or wood grain, but for me it's bridges. I play an H-535 built in 2000. It has the Schaller roller bridge and stop tailpiece. For some time, I'd been considering switching those out to a Pigtail ABR-1 and stop tail, studs, bushings, the works. If it were a simple drop-in replacement I'd have done it long ago, but it's not.

 

Certainly the mod can be done, for a price. After discussing the idea with Steve Rowen, owner of Pigtail, and luthier Scott Lentz, we all ended up scratching our heads about whether the expense of such a change-out would be justified by a substantial improvement in tone.

 

Suffice to say, I haven't done the mod. Unless a player who has done it can convince me it's worth the dough, I'm more inclined to order a new instrument with Pigtail parts, or at least the compatible spacing for them.

 

If anyone has changed over from the Schaller roller bridge/tail to Pigtail, I'd love to hear about the results, particularly if it was done to a 535.

 

Thanks for letting me sorta hijack this thread.

Well the Pigtail wrap arpund bridge that come standard on my H-137 had a G string that sounded muffled, dull, dead, lack luster.  I ended up replacing the studs with TonePros and then later Pigtail thinking maybe it was the lean od the bridge - for some reason Heritage uses studs that cause the bridge to lean forward a bit.  The new studs didn't fix the problem either.  I ended up replacing the bridge with a TonePros and now my G string rings like a bell.  I got tired emailing Pigtail about a replacment G string saggle - maybe the notch Heritage made isn't clean or something - and never got a response.  Maybe I should try calling...

 

I've noticed on the LP forum that while most rave about the PigTail bridge, some said it was too bright and went back to the stock bridge.  The price is too steep for me.  I would agree that trying to retrofit a Pig Tail bridge to the 535 would be a costly undertaking.  My guess is if you just went to a Nashville stryle bridge (either Schaller or Gotoh or TonePros) you'd notice an improvement in tone and sustain and it wouldn't be a whole lotta dough.