Has anyone ever swapped out the wooden bridge on a stock X170 for a Tune-a-Matic?
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txbumper57
Enlightened Member
Yup, On my Guild full hollow guitars with a Bigsby I use a floating rosewood base with a Roller Tun-O-Matic style bridge from Allparts. The sound is great and it allows the strings to return to neutral more consistently. On my guitars without a bigsby I usually stick with the Factory Wood Bridge as I like the Woody tone that it gives the guitar. The only Full Hollow I have with a different bridge than the Tun-O-Matic Style is my Gretsch Black Falcon which has the Melita matic style bridge.
On my guitars with a Roller Tun-O-matic style bridge I have noticed a slight increase in sustain over the stock and also the tone coloration seems a bit darker over all. The best thing about the conversion is that you can perfectly dial in your intonation. If you are going to do the conversion you will need to measure the pole spacing on your bridge pickup and make sure you get a Tun-O-Matic Bridge that matches that spacing. This will allow proper spacing of the strings over both pickups. Also try to find one that has the proper radius to match the fret board. Most of the Guilds I have had have been between a 12" and 16" fret board Radius. Once you find the Tun-O-Matic with the proper string spacing and Radius you need to find a Wood base (or alter your original base) To fit the mounting post spacing on the new Tun-O-Matic bridge. Sometimes Gretsch replacement bases work great and sometimes you have to buy a base with the proper post spacing and shape it to your guitar top. Once the base is installed I always have my Luthier secure the base with a small amount of Double sided tape to avoid the bridge placement from moving when playing or replacing strings. My suggestion would be to buy a new base so that your original is unaltered and the modification is completely reversible if you ever go to sell it. That way you can return the guitar to it's original state if you need to. Any experienced Luthier can do this conversion with parts included for around $100-$150. In my experience it has been well worth it for proper intonation and reliability.
Hope this helps and good luck and Welcome to LTG!
On my guitars with a Roller Tun-O-matic style bridge I have noticed a slight increase in sustain over the stock and also the tone coloration seems a bit darker over all. The best thing about the conversion is that you can perfectly dial in your intonation. If you are going to do the conversion you will need to measure the pole spacing on your bridge pickup and make sure you get a Tun-O-Matic Bridge that matches that spacing. This will allow proper spacing of the strings over both pickups. Also try to find one that has the proper radius to match the fret board. Most of the Guilds I have had have been between a 12" and 16" fret board Radius. Once you find the Tun-O-Matic with the proper string spacing and Radius you need to find a Wood base (or alter your original base) To fit the mounting post spacing on the new Tun-O-Matic bridge. Sometimes Gretsch replacement bases work great and sometimes you have to buy a base with the proper post spacing and shape it to your guitar top. Once the base is installed I always have my Luthier secure the base with a small amount of Double sided tape to avoid the bridge placement from moving when playing or replacing strings. My suggestion would be to buy a new base so that your original is unaltered and the modification is completely reversible if you ever go to sell it. That way you can return the guitar to it's original state if you need to. Any experienced Luthier can do this conversion with parts included for around $100-$150. In my experience it has been well worth it for proper intonation and reliability.
Hope this helps and good luck and Welcome to LTG!
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killdeer43
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First post WELCOME TO LTG!
Hang out for more replies and consider introducing yourself. We like that.
eaceful:
Joe
Hang out for more replies and consider introducing yourself. We like that.
eaceful:Joe
Welcome, JDW!
walrus
walrus
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I generally dislike Tunamatic bridges with a Bigsby. A lot.
I put Compton bridges on all my Bigsby-equipped guitars and love them: http://www.comptonbridges.com
The site's currently offline, but you can often find them for sale elsewhere.
I put Compton bridges on all my Bigsby-equipped guitars and love them: http://www.comptonbridges.com
The site's currently offline, but you can often find them for sale elsewhere.
Walter Broes
Enlightened Member
GAD, why is that? TOM's and Bigsbies work great on my guitars?
txbumper57
Enlightened Member
I dislike the Blade saddles on Tunamatics but Love the Roller saddle versions. But once again, Everyone has their own preferences.
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I've had all sorts of problems with TOMs over the years from buzzing to breaking. I also don't like the blade saddles for a Bigsby. Everyone's got different tastes, and none of them are "right" or "wrong" when it comes to gear IMO. I am also a huge fan of "simple is good", and it's hard to get simpler than a Compton.
NYWolf
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On x170? I wish I could try! The neck angle on mine would't let me do that, there's no tunamatic that would be low enough to avoid excessive high action. The wooden bridge I have on mine is all the way down, and the base is very thin, to keep the action low enough to be comfortable to play.
Thanks for your replies. Guess I'll leave it just the way it is.
I'm actually not a "new" member. I was a member here a few years ago and when the website changed I just didn't log back in. Had to re-register. I started playing in 1958....played in my first band in 1961. Last time I gigged was 1970. These days, I just sort of "noodle around". My X170 was bought locally back about 15 years ago. It was a demo that was owned by a Guild factory rep. I don't know who set it up, but it's perfect the way it is and has never gone out of whack. My other guitars are a Hamer Echotone (Korean 335 copy), and an Epiphone Masterbuilt flattop. There you have it.
I'm actually not a "new" member. I was a member here a few years ago and when the website changed I just didn't log back in. Had to re-register. I started playing in 1958....played in my first band in 1961. Last time I gigged was 1970. These days, I just sort of "noodle around". My X170 was bought locally back about 15 years ago. It was a demo that was owned by a Guild factory rep. I don't know who set it up, but it's perfect the way it is and has never gone out of whack. My other guitars are a Hamer Echotone (Korean 335 copy), and an Epiphone Masterbuilt flattop. There you have it.
powerwagonjohn
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Take a look at the Schaller roller bridge. It is a quality bridge, is adjustable for string spacing and is pretty thin in height. I put one on my ES-345 with the Bigsby and I really like it.
Thanks John
Thanks John
JWD, I recently did exactly what you're talking about. I've been thinking about it for a while and even e-mailed back and forth with Hans about a metal bridge that would fit the rosewood X-170 base. Of course, that's not easy since the X-170 base posts are on 3-inch centers, and finding a replacement bridge is next to impossible. I looked at the bridges on Stewart-MacDonald's site, but was a little leery.
Then one day while I was prowling around eBay, I came across a guy who was selling a Stew-Mac bridge, new, in an up-opened package, for a very reasonable opening bid. I e-mailed him and asked him if he could tell me the catalog number of the bridge. He couldn't, but sent me a link to the S-M catalog and said "this is probably the current replacement", but that his was older and probably not Chinese-made. So I bid and would up winning the auction for $25.00.
The bridge came, and sure enough it was still sealed in the packaging. I opened it and it turned out to be a Gotoh bridge and a very nice piece.
It took about 10 minutes of sanding to get the base to match the contour of my x-170. I pre-set the intonation to resemble the rosewood bridge, centered the new bridge over the soundpost, and strung it up.
Plugged the guitar in and hit a chord. WOW!!!!!!!! Everything I had hoped for. Louder, brighter, cleaner, crisper, and with sustain that goes until Tuesday!
Since then I've spent some time setting the intonation more accurately, and playing the snot out of it. I'm in love with my guitar. I put the rosewood bridge in a plastic bag and stuck it in the compartment of the case where it will spend the rest of it days, or at least as long as I own the guitar.
Now, your mileage may vary. I don't know if the bridges that Stew-Mac sells today are the same as I have or not. You also may not like the sound after you make the conversion. But that's my experience. Something I've wanted to try; the planets aligned so that I got a good bridge, and I'm as happy as a clam.
Let us know what you decide and how you make out.
Jeff
Then one day while I was prowling around eBay, I came across a guy who was selling a Stew-Mac bridge, new, in an up-opened package, for a very reasonable opening bid. I e-mailed him and asked him if he could tell me the catalog number of the bridge. He couldn't, but sent me a link to the S-M catalog and said "this is probably the current replacement", but that his was older and probably not Chinese-made. So I bid and would up winning the auction for $25.00.
The bridge came, and sure enough it was still sealed in the packaging. I opened it and it turned out to be a Gotoh bridge and a very nice piece.
It took about 10 minutes of sanding to get the base to match the contour of my x-170. I pre-set the intonation to resemble the rosewood bridge, centered the new bridge over the soundpost, and strung it up.
Plugged the guitar in and hit a chord. WOW!!!!!!!! Everything I had hoped for. Louder, brighter, cleaner, crisper, and with sustain that goes until Tuesday!
Since then I've spent some time setting the intonation more accurately, and playing the snot out of it. I'm in love with my guitar. I put the rosewood bridge in a plastic bag and stuck it in the compartment of the case where it will spend the rest of it days, or at least as long as I own the guitar.
Now, your mileage may vary. I don't know if the bridges that Stew-Mac sells today are the same as I have or not. You also may not like the sound after you make the conversion. But that's my experience. Something I've wanted to try; the planets aligned so that I got a good bridge, and I'm as happy as a clam.
Let us know what you decide and how you make out.
Jeff