My X-500T arrived: How do I secure the bridge, or do I?

[telegeir]

Hi all. Just back from the post office with my X500-T. Will post pictures soon.

I am sure this has been discussed before, so apologize a Guild beginner's question:

How do I get the bridge in place? It has (whether originally or by the previous owner) a green tape on the bottom which covers some thick non-drying adhesive. Not sure if the tape is put on to protect the glue or came with the tape itself. There are small residues of the glue on the body itself around where the corners of the bridge has been, but only there, suggesting it has spilled outside the tape.

Don't want to do anything silly here: Shall I take the tape off, or leave it on?

Edit: On closer inspection, the guitar looks to be NOS, like the ad said, with the hangtag and all still in place, so maybe the green tape is one protecting the bridge when shipped from the factory. If so, they have been a bit sloppy when putting it on there. Question remains should I remove it or not? Since the guitar has a Bigsby, I would think that he bridge would be prone to move if nothing other than the string pressure held it in place.

Edit 2: Pictures:

Geir

 

[MrBoZiffer]

Those kinds of bridges don't fix to the body in any way. You put them in place and then string the guitar. The string tension will actually hold it in place. When you set the intonation, you just loosen the strings a bit and slide the bridge around. It's not the most accurate intonation, but it's pretty easy to deal with. I would just leave the tape on there and string her up! As long as their is no adhesive or residue coming in contact with the body's finish, I think you'll be fine.

Congrats on the new guitar! Please post some pics when you get a chance.

EDIT: Also, you could probably take the tape off and clean off any adhesive on the bottom of the bridge. I've got an old Guild archtop with a bigsby and similar bridge, and it doesn't move around. It actually does a good job staying in tune.

 

[telegeir]

Thanks. I will have to realign or replace that tape then, because as I said it has been put on rather sloppily, causing some of the glue to end up on the finish when the bridge was put on for display or photos. I hope I can remove it without any damage to the finish. If not, I don't mind. My guitars are meant to played, and will soon enough look like they have been.

Geir

 

[telegeir]

Saw your edit. That is another option, of course. But since the bridge is metal with sharp edges, would it not end up scratching the finish when I move it during intonation?

Geir

 

[MrBoZiffer]

Be careful listening to me this morning. All the wine from last night is showing up. :lol:

I was thinking about wood bridges for a moment. The metal bridge on my CE-100 has a very thin strip of quark on the bottom which protects the body from the metal. So I wouldn't be surprised if there was quark on your's at one point and someone took it off, which is why there is adhesive. Or there was never any and someone decided to use tape as protection. Maybe it is from the factory and they never got around to putting the quark on.

 

[telegeir]

Oki. I will find something suitable to put under it then.

Would this "quark" do: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark_(cheese)?

Thanks again!

Geir

 

[MrBoZiffer]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

I'm usually not this out of it! Obviously I spent too much time on Quark Xpress at work yesterday. Damned delicious wine... :lol:

 

[Walter Broes]

Geir, I'd get rid of that bridge altogether if you want the most out of your guitar, and replace it with a wood-base tune-a-matic, or at the very least get a wood base for the Bigsby bridge. (the all-wood archtop bridge Stewmac.com sells supposedly has a base with the correct post spacing for the Bigsby bridge saddle that's on your guitar)

I've used different things to keep a bridge in place - my N°1 guitar has very fine grit sandpaper glued to the bridge base, facing the guitar body, and the bridge doesn't move. On other guitars I've used those little photo squares for sticking pictures in albums, they're double sided, and very thin, works great.
If you like to bend strings and don't use very heavy gauge (12 or up) strings, that bridge IS going to move around, and you'll be in tuning hell.

 

[Walter Broes]

Oh, and, we'd like to see some pictures of that guitar, of course!!!!! :shock:

 

[gusto]

enough talk! where are the pics? :mrgreen:

 

[telegeir]

Sorry, my wife is away for the weekend, and so is the camera. (The ones in the first post is taken with my phone.) The guitar is IMHO much prettier in real life than in the eBay photos. Will se what I can do. My SSLVO has a wooden base on a bridge with adjustable saddles. Am I looking for something like that?

Geir

 

[Walter Broes]

Am I looking for something like that?

Yes! Opinions vary though, but I don't like those Bigsby bridges much, they make the treble strings sound tinny IMO.

 

[telegeir]

I'll install the Bigsby one for now, and then look for a better alternative.

What is the best way of getting rid of that excess glue from the tape on the body, btw? Just some mild soap water?

Geir

 

[Walter Broes]

Zippo fluid (naphta).

 

[telegeir]

Ok, I'll take it to my luthier and have him do it. He is likely to have a suitable bridge stashed away somewhere too. Will call him on Monday and ask.

Geir

 

[bluesypicky]

Sorry, my wife is away for the weekend, and so is the camera. (The ones in the first post is taken with my phone.) The guitar is IMHO much prettier in real life than in the eBay photos. Will se what I can do. My SSLVO has a wooden base on a bridge with adjustable saddles. Am I looking for something like that?

Geir

.....does she know about you and the X-500???? :lol:

 

[micmac]

I've used different things to keep a bridge in place - my N°1 guitar has very fine grit sandpaper glued to the bridge base, facing the guitar body, and the bridge doesn't move. On other guitars I've used those little photo squares for sticking pictures in albums, they're double sided, and very thin, works great.

Walter : what do you think is the best solution to minimize the impact on the finish?
If there is some silicone in the glue of the little photos square , there will be a reaction with the Nitro
Grit sandpaper will abraze the finish too, I fear.

 

[telegeir]

Sorry, my wife is away for the weekend, and so is the camera.

.....does she know about you and the X-500???? :lol:

Actually, she does. One thing I have always been honest about is the guitar collection. I founded it with a bit of inheritance from my late parents, then I agreed with her that it should be self-sustaining. That is, if I buy something I sell something. The exceptions being my handbuilt Eugens, which where for special occasions, the strat for my 50th birthday. (Although I was almost 51 before it was done...)

This has mostly worked because I bought cheap on eBay and sold at local prices here in Norway, and because I was frequently in the US on business and could take the guitars home with me rather than having them shipped. Now whether the X500T can be considered cheap can be argued, but this is - I hope - a keeper.

My idea was always to buy and sell until I found a handfull guitars that I really liked. I am getting there slowly, which means that I soon will have to stop, since there is only a couple of guitars that I might consider selling now. I will sell one of them to buy that amp I hav been discussing in my amp thread.

For a while I only bought double bound telecasters, I had like 6-7 of them on the wall and in the guitar stand:

But then I startet replacing them with other guitars: A Gretsch, a Les Paul. And finally, a Guild. The Guild was financed by selling the Custom Shop Albert Collins Telecaster that you see in the picture. A shame, because it one of the best sounding and playing guitars I ever had. But in practice, when I wanted to play a Tele i always reached for "the Tux", the black Eugen thinline in the middle. Now that is a perfect guitar. Except maybe the neck humbucker, which I will replace one day. (Should have swapped it for the Seymour Duncan in the AC before I sold it, now that was a nice pickup. Kind of ironic that I bought "the Icemans" guitar and mostly played the neck position...)

Geir

 

[telegeir]

Set up the bridge today and plugged the guitar in. What a mighty sound from those P90s.

I might go for thinner strings than those that were on it. My fingers aren't what they use to be.

Pictures are coming once I get the camera and some time to take them.

Geir

 

[Walter Broes]

Walter : what do you think is the best solution to minimize the impact on the finish?
If there is some silicone in the glue of the little photos square , there will be a reaction with the Nitro
Grit sandpaper will abraze the finish too, I fear.

Yes, both tape and sandpaper will damage the finish some, but then I have to admit I don't really care much what the finish under the feet of the bridge looks like - it's not like that area is ever exposed, and I prefer being in tune to knowing that the paint under my guitar's bridge feet is intact... :wink: