Floating Bridges

[NEONMOONY]

Floating bridges are much too undependable for live performance, particularly when playing any thing like rock with any enthusiasm. So, how do you guys keep the bridges stationary? Do you physically pin them with something, use adhesives or what? Thanks in advance.

 

[martin82]

I don't find any issues with floating bridges, and I have three guitars with the. But recently to ease string changes, I use cello rosin to keep the bridges in place,

 

[NEONMOONY]

Well, you must have a softer touch than I do. I don't know what you play or if you play in a band, but a good slam on a chord and the tuning can jump up a half step as the bridge is pushed and slides down. Not good if you are playing in a group.

 

[Default]

Sandpaper, rosin, acid-free scrapbooking squares, drill two holes in the underside of the bridge base and put two brads in the top of the guitar.

Epoxy. <ducks> ;-)

 

[Walter Broes]

I have two guitars where I just put two tiny screws through the bridge base, two with tiny double stick photo squares under the bridge, and one with sandpaper under the bridge. Floating doesn't work for me.

 

[NEONMOONY]

I have plenty of double sided carpet tape. That should work.

 

[Quantum Strummer]

I play hard, when called for, but I've never had a problem with floating bridges moving. I also use fairly heavy strings and buzz/choke-free action, which probably helps.

-Dave-

 

[Guildadelphia]

A bit of thin 3M double sided poster tape on the bottoms of the bridge base always works for me. Thinner the tape, the better.

 

[sailingshoes72]

I've always enjoyed this video of Phil X playing a 1959 Gibson Byrdland. While playing "All Along the Watchtower" he accidentally moves the bridge out of position. No problem! He re-adjusts the bridge mid-song and then fine tunes it again after his solo. This impresses me to no end, because it takes my luthier at least a half-hour to intonate my archtops and then he charges me 50 bucks. :barbershop_quartet_

The fun begins around the 2:50 mark.
https://youtu.be/yot2YF75yc4

Bill

In order to observe proper protocol, and maintain Guild content, here is Phil rockin' out on a 1959 Guild "Aristocrat" M-75 . This guy always makes me smile!
https://youtu.be/_EyrLGrzkPs

 

[txbumper57]

On my Guilds that Aren't pinned My Luthier uses a very thin piece of the double sided 3M tape as mentioned previously. He has also in the past on other guitars used a small drop of super glue type adhesive under the bridge, Then if it ever needs to be removed you can just pop it off.

Another option if you have a competent Luthier is to have the bridge pinned from the underside like some of the Higher end Gretsch's come with. Both of my Black Falcons have a factory pinned bridge that is not visible from the top of the bridge. (One has a Ebony wood base and the other has a Delrin Material split style bridge base). This is my favorite way to secure the bridge as it has no chance of moving unless one of the pins break which I have never had happen and I can be known to play my Arch tops hard from time to time. Basically at the factory they drill 2 holes in the top where the bridge will be anchored and install 2 rivet style posts. Then the underside of the bridge is drilled to match the location and height of the pins without drilling all the way through the wood or Delrin material bridge base. This way when it is finished there are no holes visible in the bridge base. This allows the Bridge base to slide over the rivet style pins and lock itself into place in the proper position. The rivet style pins protrude through the top of the guitar about 3/32"-1/8". The pressure from the strings even at low tension for shipping does not allow the bridge to "wander" from it's proper position. Personally I think this is the best way to fix the bridge without directly screwing the bridge to the top. Hope this helps!

TX

 

[kakerlak]

I was thinking about the visibility of screws at the corners of floating bridge bases... Why not (if screwing one down) use countersunk flathead screws in between the height-adjust posts? They'd be virtually invisible with the bridge top in place, unless it was raised really high off its base.

 

[Walter Broes]

I was thinking about the visibility of screws at the corners of floating bridge bases... Why not (if screwing one down) use countersunk flathead screws in between the height-adjust posts? They'd be virtually invisible with the bridge top in place, unless it was raised really high off its base.

You could do that of course, but the little screws don't really bother me :

 

[kakerlak]

You could do that of course, but the little screws don't really bother me

Hey Walter,
After all the mods + tweaks you've made to that NS-175, how happy are you with the guitar as a whole? It sure looks good!

 

[Walter Broes]

I really didn't do all thàt much to it, or it sounds like more than it is when I sum it up. Bigsby and tune-a-matic bridge because you can't get the black model with those stock. It's a USA made Guild Bigsby. Old Franz pickups, because I still had them, and the stock ones were too loud and midrange-ey compared to what I'm used to. The lead pickup was moved to where it sits on a vintage X175, the cavity for the neck pickup was deepened a hair to give me some room for adjustability to balance the pickups volume-wise. My luthier buddy sanded the bridge base so it conforms to the top arch better, and I drilled the holes in it for the screws and countersunk them slightly, screwed the bridge to the guitar's top. I also put the Daka-ware "stove top" knobs on it because I think they look cool, and "Banzaï music" in Berlin has them available fairly cheap.

When I have the time and I'll get off my lazy *** for once, I'm still going to put CTS pots, a new harness, and a switchcraft switch and jack in it. I got one of those CTS push pull pots, to have a "both pickups out of phase" option, cool tone for blues and the odd early Chet Atkins-sounding thing. I also have a sheet of black five layer pickguard material, and I'm going to make a pickguard for it with one of my old ones as the template. I'll probably have that engraved with my "WB" logo at some point.

But the last thing I did to it is something a lot of people will file under "snake oil/B.S.", and I understand.....I hooked up a "Tonerite" gizmo to it for slightly over a week, at full power. I was very skeptical too, for sure, but I figured if it didn't help, it wouldn't hurt. And call me crazy or a sucker, but I'm not convinced it actually did help in loosening the guitar up a little, it actually does sound a little bit sweeter, both unplugged and plugged in. You don't have to believe me, but I've become a believer. I'm on holiday now, but as soon as I get home, it's getting more Tone-Rite, for at least a week, probably two!

So how do I like it? I like it just fine. I wish they'd been around twenty/twenty-five years ago when I put my last cent into a Japanese made Gretsch that I tried to love so hard, but eventually ended up really hating. It's a much, much better guitar than that one was.
I'm extremely spoilt now, owning four Hoboken archtops, and those are sweeter and nicer than the NS one. But even stock, out of the box, I think the NS X175 is a much nicer guitar than a lot of other new electric archtops costing twice as much. I really do.

 

[kakerlak]

Thanks for that summary, Walter! The pickup location tweaks are frustrating to me, since that's just Guild's choice to mount them in the wrong spot and too tall, in the case of the neck one. As for the pickups themselves, I know we're talking Korean repros of the old stuff, but they look pretty "right" under the covers (much more than I'd have ever expected them to). Do you think Guild could've nailed the real-deal Franz voice by simply putting less winds on them, or is there more at play?

Have you ever thought about getting a back-painted plexi pickguard w/ your WB logo on it?

 

[parker_knoll]

I don't find any issues with floating bridges, and I have three guitars with the. But recently to ease string changes, I use cello rosin to keep the bridges in place,

me neither, never had a problem, AND I put floating bridges on guitars that didn't even have them because i think they sound better

 

[adorshki]

Do you think Guild could've nailed the real-deal Franz voice by simply putting less winds on them, or is there more at play?

I seem to recall reading here, way back, that part of the "warmth" (of Franz's)was because the windings were literally like bird nests, it was supposed to prevent them from becoming inductive and keep frequency response fairly equal across spectrum, although whether it was intentional wasn't known.

 

[parker_knoll]

I seem to recall reading here, way back, that part of the "warmth" (of Franz's)was because the windings were literally like bird nests, it was supposed to prevent them from becoming inductive and keep frequency response fairly equal across spectrum, although whether it was intentional wasn't known.

isn't this a "thing" and it's called "scatterwound" (e.g. rather slapdash as opposed to robotically accurate) and you can get it as an upgrade from boutique pickup makers?

 

[Walter Broes]

Thanks for that summary, Walter! The pickup location tweaks are frustrating to me, since that's just Guild's choice to mount them in the wrong spot and too tall, in the case of the neck one. As for the pickups themselves, I know we're talking Korean repros of the old stuff, but they look pretty "right" under the covers (much more than I'd have ever expected them to). Do you think Guild could've nailed the real-deal Franz voice by simply putting less winds on them, or is there more at play?

Have you ever thought about getting a back-painted plexi pickguard w/ your WB logo on it?

The bridge pickup sitting closer to the neck is a Mike Lewis thing, he did that to the Electromatic Gretsch guitars too. (I'm a little suprised too, because Mike's a strat guy, so he obiously likes thinner and twangy) For people playing more modern styles and wanting a beefier sounding lead pickup, it probably does work. Thing is, most people I know who actually play dual-Franz Hoboken-era Guilds are in the middle switch setting more than half the time, there's some real magic there, and with the lead pickup moved forward, it does get a little too woolly and mellow.

I'm on my second NS X175 - I sold the first one because I unexpectedly need the money. That guitar had the pickups rewound to 6K lead, 5K neck by my late friend/tech, and it totally did the trick as far as I'm concerned, it was a LOT closer to the late 50's/early 60's Franz pickups I'm familiar with.

Reickguard - yes, I'm sure Paul Setzer could do a great job, but I like the multi-layer plastic look too, and it's cheaper! ;-)

 

[adorshki]

isn't this a "thing" and it's called "scatterwound" (e.g. rather slapdash as opposed to robotically accurate) and you can get it as an upgrade from boutique pickup makers?

Ah yes, I'd forgotten that term "scatterwound" (I'm not really a 'leccie guy) but when I first read about it, it made sense from the electrical theory standpoint, so what you say makes sense too, that you can specify that for custom wound pickups.
I'm about 99% positive the observation was made by a member here who was dissecting or had opportunity to see a dissected early Franz and offered the comment about the construction.
Anyway I just remembered it in association with Franzes and it seemed appropriate to the question of "is there more at play"? as another detail to look for.