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Would it make any difference in sound if you switched out a tune-o-matic steel bridge that sits atop a wooden foot (don't know how else to describe it)?
My guitar is a Gibson ES-175 and came stock with the tune-o-matic chrome bridge...
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06-27-2012 10:15 PM
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Makes a huge difference, IMHO. It's my experience that metal bridges accentuate the high end, and wood seems to bring out the low end.
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Big difference - almost a new guitar (switching in either direction). The metal bridge has more sustain and a brighter tone. The wood bridge is a bit muted but warm and, well, woody. A ToM makes a 175 more like a classic Gibson electric like a 335 or even an LP. A wooden bridge brings it more deeply into jazz archtop territory. These descriptions apply with lighter gauge round wound nickel strings (12s or even 11s). Heavier strings and flat wounds will blur the difference between bridges a bit.
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It's definitely worth a try, since a wood bridge is not that expensive and the mod is easily reversible.
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I've been playing half rounds 11s. Reason is I don't like the chirping I get from round wounds. Do you think half rounds would be a good match for the wood bridge?
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One other question. How would you adjust the tone of the guitar with a wooden bridge? If you sharpen or flatten the, lets low E string, wouldn't that affect the other strings?
It seems to me that you really could not get a precise intonation of all the strings.
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I experimented with tune-o-matic and back to my wooden bridge.
Metal bridge is a heavy and create more metalic sound.
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With a properly compensated wood bridge any minor loss is more than offset by a better (to me) tone. TOMs are fine... I've got one on a solidbody, but on archtops I prefer less metallic, more woody.
Originally Posted by edh
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Go for it! ES-175+ wooden bridge = tone nirvana
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I use compenated ebony bridge with set up for 13 Thomastic...
....maybe with another type of strings will be not perfect...:-)
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John Moriarty of Ireland takes the settings from your TOM and carves a compensated ebony or rosewood saddle out for you. You may even send him your own wood for him to fashion into a complete bridge.
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yep.. another convert from TOM to Ebony here on my ES165.
I would be curious what nylon saddles would be like but not so curious to actually try it. I found the strings between the bridge and TP rang much less noticably with the ebony.
Once , I DID switch back to TOM and that lasted about 30 min ...
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I have been curious about the Tonepros Graphite Saddles and the KTS Titanium Saddles.
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Isn't titanium supposed to be amongst the brightest saddles? I've heard such for Telese, anywho.
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Yes I personally do. I use half rounds or roller wounds great match for a wood bridge. Originally Posted by edh
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hey fellas!
i have one of each, but the guitars are so different the bridges cannot even be compared. my findings seem to argree with everyone else's: the wood thunks and the tom plinks.
as for strings, i love halfwounds (newtones, i think) on the tom, but use regular old strings (dean markleys, or whatever is on sale, though i might try everlys again) on the wooden bridge.
here's my question (i would have made a new thread but this one is current and similar enough): anyone tried a callaham abr-1 bridge on an archtop? if wood = warm and tom = bright is the consensus, i'm not sure if this is a good idea.
i already have on on a sheraton that became b-r-i-t-e bright when i put it on. or more clear/accurate, depending on how you see things. i like it more now, but the change was drastic. i emailed the man himself about it and he said it would be helpful with note separation (which i need).
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Have a HUGE Schaefer Swingmaster (17") and it was just too dark & thuddy. Went with a metal bridge and 12's (D'Acquisto flats) to brighten it up. Great move for this guitar. Love my tone!
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Thanks to all who have responded to my questions. You guys are a great bunch of help.
I guess I will be going with a wood bridge. Now all I have to decide is whether to go with rosewood or ebony...one foot or two.
Keep the opinions coming. I sure am glad I found this site. It is a great source of knowledge.
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It's sort of like spice - different bridge materials will affect the sound of a guitar. Like spice, it's easy, cheap and the results can be quite surprising.
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Ebony is a harder wood so a little more treble clearer notes maybe a bit more punch. The rosewood is much warmer. Decide what you'd like to accentuate. Originally Posted by edh
Thanks to all who have responded to my questions. You guys are a great bunch of help.
I guess I will be going with a wood bridge. Now all I have to decide is whether to go with rosewood or ebony...one foot or two.
Keep the opinions coming. I sure am glad I found this site. It is a great source of knowledge.Last edited by skiboyny; 06-30-2012 at 07:05 AM. Reason: mis spelled word
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AND very personal... some great TOM players out there.. I think Wes had nylon saddles on his.. (but I may be way off on that..) Originally Posted by Hammertone
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On an archtop, I generally prefer wood. Unless the archtop has literally no acoustic flavor at all. Then tune o matic is fine.
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I’m basically the same, except that I would prefer the TOM to have nylon saddles over metal.
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My Hohner arch top is unusual for a full hollowbody, it has a fixed bridge instead of a floating wooden bridge. It also has a “tone block” under the top to hold the bridge in place. I like this setup a lot. The Bigsby didn’t come stock on the guitar, I added that. Since I couldn’t find a roller bridge to fit my particular guitar, I got graphite saddles to add less friction to the string movement at the bridge. But those saddles were real tone robbers, so I put the metal saddles back on. They work fine with the Bigsby, and the tone is better.
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Wood.
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