Found this over on the SG page-
Bridge problems
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74-ish SG Standard with harmonica bridge. Chrome is bubbled and it looks like cr@p, so I went looking for replacements.
Trouble is, these harmonica bridges seem to frequently get flipped around. They are not 100% symmetrical on each side and the saddles are sloped on one side, and 90 degrees on the other. Plus they tend to be grooved for whether it was the bass E or the high E, etc.
So here are my questions -
1) Should I care? I found out my other 74 SG seemed to have a flipped bridge and it's played like a champ for years.
2) If I should care, what is the "right" way for these bridges to be positioned?
3) If the saddles are grooved wrong, is it possible to disassemble these bridges and move the saddles to the right spot? I tried but failed.
I now have 3 harmonica bridges and 3 tailpieces. One set is the original, but the chrome is nasty looking. The other set is new OEM replacement but isn't quite to spec from what I can tell, and the tailpiece is heavier and slightly larger. And the third set I just bought off ebay, supposedly came off mid 70s gear, and the bridge looks good but seems flipped the wrong way for where the string grooves are, and the tailpiece is heavy like the replacement one I bought.
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Off course you should care bro. I like it too - great tone if set up properly.
I think some people flip the bridge around in an attempt to clear the rear edge of the bridge from rubbing the dead strings. But obviously you shouldn’t do that, since intonation will go out of whack.
The Schaller made Wide travel tune-o-matic bridge (aka ”harmonica bridge”) sits perpendicular to the strings and therefore, contrary to an ordinary off-set (angled) ABR-1, requires wide travel saddles for intonation. Hence, the bridge is wider and won’t allow too steep a break angle. (Don’t ever replace the Schaller bridge with any of those replacement Nashville style bridges made to fit the Schaller poles – the guitar won’t intonate since the thin chassis tune-o-matics are designed to be off-set mounted and not perpendicular.)
A steep break angle was never an issue with the stock configuration properly set up. The original 70’s SG’s had “exclusively low frets” and 3 degree neck angle. When people have replaced worn out frets with tall frets, obviously the bridge needs to be raised. If then, the strings rub the rear end of the bridge the proper solution is to raise the stop tail piece.
It’s common that people flip an ABR-1 for intonation purposes. But there is seldom a need to flip a wide travel bridge, since there is plenty of room for the wide travel saddles to be adjusted and intonated. However the slots extends a bit further at the rear end, so you could flip the bridge chassis in the unlikely event you would need more space for forward adjustment. If you do that, you would also need to remove and flip each bridge saddle. It’s very important that the saddle slots fit each individual string, assuming you want optimal tone and sustain.
Now, time for intonation:
The Schaller bridge is not really tune-o-matic compared to an ABR-1 and cannot be adjusted on the fly. (It doesn’t have the thumb screws and there are screws on both sides that need to be turned for intonation.) But it’s not that hard to intonate and once set up, it normally requires a minimum of maintenance.
Sometimes Gibson put a drop of lacquer on the intonation screw heads to prevent them from loosening. You would need to break that seal in order to adjust the saddles.
1. Remove the bridge. Use two flat screw drivers, one on each side. Loosen by turning anti clockwise. First time you need to apply some force (or maybe a solvent) to break the lacquer seal. Apply some oil as well. But be careful so that you don’t hurt yourself or break anything
2. One of the screws works a lock screw – it’s actually a nut. (Once loosened several turns, you can turn the opposite adjustment screw to move the saddle.) If you need to remove the saddles; Remove the lock screw completely and remove the saddles by turning adjustment screw anti clockwise, all the way out.
3. Set the saddles the way you want them. Put the bridge back in place and restring the guitar.
4. Loosen the lock screws, adjust saddles to intonate. Once intonated, tighten the lock screws.
Bridge problems
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
74-ish SG Standard with harmonica bridge. Chrome is bubbled and it looks like cr@p, so I went looking for replacements.
Trouble is, these harmonica bridges seem to frequently get flipped around. They are not 100% symmetrical on each side and the saddles are sloped on one side, and 90 degrees on the other. Plus they tend to be grooved for whether it was the bass E or the high E, etc.
So here are my questions -
1) Should I care? I found out my other 74 SG seemed to have a flipped bridge and it's played like a champ for years.
2) If I should care, what is the "right" way for these bridges to be positioned?
3) If the saddles are grooved wrong, is it possible to disassemble these bridges and move the saddles to the right spot? I tried but failed.
I now have 3 harmonica bridges and 3 tailpieces. One set is the original, but the chrome is nasty looking. The other set is new OEM replacement but isn't quite to spec from what I can tell, and the tailpiece is heavier and slightly larger. And the third set I just bought off ebay, supposedly came off mid 70s gear, and the bridge looks good but seems flipped the wrong way for where the string grooves are, and the tailpiece is heavy like the replacement one I bought.
================================================================
Off course you should care bro. I like it too - great tone if set up properly.
I think some people flip the bridge around in an attempt to clear the rear edge of the bridge from rubbing the dead strings. But obviously you shouldn’t do that, since intonation will go out of whack.
The Schaller made Wide travel tune-o-matic bridge (aka ”harmonica bridge”) sits perpendicular to the strings and therefore, contrary to an ordinary off-set (angled) ABR-1, requires wide travel saddles for intonation. Hence, the bridge is wider and won’t allow too steep a break angle. (Don’t ever replace the Schaller bridge with any of those replacement Nashville style bridges made to fit the Schaller poles – the guitar won’t intonate since the thin chassis tune-o-matics are designed to be off-set mounted and not perpendicular.)
A steep break angle was never an issue with the stock configuration properly set up. The original 70’s SG’s had “exclusively low frets” and 3 degree neck angle. When people have replaced worn out frets with tall frets, obviously the bridge needs to be raised. If then, the strings rub the rear end of the bridge the proper solution is to raise the stop tail piece.
It’s common that people flip an ABR-1 for intonation purposes. But there is seldom a need to flip a wide travel bridge, since there is plenty of room for the wide travel saddles to be adjusted and intonated. However the slots extends a bit further at the rear end, so you could flip the bridge chassis in the unlikely event you would need more space for forward adjustment. If you do that, you would also need to remove and flip each bridge saddle. It’s very important that the saddle slots fit each individual string, assuming you want optimal tone and sustain.
Now, time for intonation:
The Schaller bridge is not really tune-o-matic compared to an ABR-1 and cannot be adjusted on the fly. (It doesn’t have the thumb screws and there are screws on both sides that need to be turned for intonation.) But it’s not that hard to intonate and once set up, it normally requires a minimum of maintenance.
Sometimes Gibson put a drop of lacquer on the intonation screw heads to prevent them from loosening. You would need to break that seal in order to adjust the saddles.
1. Remove the bridge. Use two flat screw drivers, one on each side. Loosen by turning anti clockwise. First time you need to apply some force (or maybe a solvent) to break the lacquer seal. Apply some oil as well. But be careful so that you don’t hurt yourself or break anything
2. One of the screws works a lock screw – it’s actually a nut. (Once loosened several turns, you can turn the opposite adjustment screw to move the saddle.) If you need to remove the saddles; Remove the lock screw completely and remove the saddles by turning adjustment screw anti clockwise, all the way out.
3. Set the saddles the way you want them. Put the bridge back in place and restring the guitar.
4. Loosen the lock screws, adjust saddles to intonate. Once intonated, tighten the lock screws.
"Do not write so that you can be understood, write so that you cannot be misunderstood." -Epictetus
First show: 8/16/69 (Woodstock)
Last show: 3/19/95 (Unbroken Chain breakout)
Member of the Four-Decade Club
Charter Member, President & CEO of OAD (Order of the Ancient Deadheads)
First show: 8/16/69 (Woodstock)
Last show: 3/19/95 (Unbroken Chain breakout)
Member of the Four-Decade Club
Charter Member, President & CEO of OAD (Order of the Ancient Deadheads)
) 