Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey all,

Cheap and mid-priced "Factory" steel string guitars all pretty much have bridge bolts on them.
Now... the repair guys will attest that they really won't hold the bridge on... that the bridge bolts just end up tearing 2 big holes in the soundboard when the bridge comes all the way loose....

The $2,000+ models don't have bridge bolts on them..... So... what are they really there for?

My current theory.... to act as a "Tone Sink" on a "Cheap" guitar.... the ones I have measured add ~5g or so to the bridge weight... and significantly change the Tone of the guitar.... And if you take them out... you Void your Warranty!

Why would they do it? Because a $300.00 guitar shouldn't sound as good as a $3,000 guitar.... Right?

I have pulled them out of a couple guitars and have been amazed at how they sound without those darned things.

Thanks

John

My guess is that one reason is for efficiency on the assembly line. Alignment and clamp in one operation.

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Tom Krebs

Which brands are these? None of the good, inexpensive instruments the stores here carry have bolts (Godin, Blueridge), and they can be under $300 and under $500 respectively. Are they makes we don't see as much here?

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

For insurance against poor materials and poor workmanship.

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

For clamping -- I have had better luck with plain 'ole #10 flat head machine screws + bolts thru the bridge string holes... Just use 2.. on #1 and #6. Great alignment, no extra holes.

All of the cheap - Mid priced guitars have them that I have seen.... They are frequently hidden by wooden plugs in the bridge.

I have seen them on:
Takamine
Fender
Epiphone
Gibson
Yamaha
Alvarez
Ibanez
Walden
Seagull
Ovation
Washburn family
an old Blue Ridge BR-OS had them
the entire Samick made family,
and all the cheap-o Miscellaneous Chinese brands like Indiana, Esteban, Burswood, etc.....

Thanks

John

For the guitars you "pulled" the bolts out of, how did you reattach the bridge? Have any pics?

Most of these bridges are glued in . I just pulled an LG1 screw and replaced the plastic dots with pearl . Nothing more needed

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

Yeah, the bolts make a hell of a stress concentration.

How about those old Gibbys with the plastic reverse-belly bridge held on by three self-tapping screws with big washers? Class or what?

The idea of bolts on the bridge seems strange to me too. It is not something that I would do.


But on the other side - I have owned many guitars and only the Gibsons of the ones I've owned had bolts in the bridges. All the old Gibson vintage guitars have them and if you pull the bolts out the value of the guitar drops a bunch. And many of these old 30's, 40's and 50's Gibsons sound fantastic. Why? I can't explain it.

Ed

Along with a spruce bridge plate

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

Our buddy Charles Fox uses a bolt-on bridge (four small T-nuts with allen head screws and washers from what I could tell), and his guitars sound great! Therefore, I'm not convinced that it's a problem....

Cheers,
Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

Alan
Do you remember the plastic bridge with the big ceramic saddle? Ewww that was a beauty.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

You might add Gallagher guitars to the list...and they sound great.
Their "bolts" are covered by MOP dots just below each end of the saddle.

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Hank Mauel

So that's the SECRET....where can we get some of these bolts....?

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

Ace Hardware.... Lowes... Home Depot....