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Drop-in or Long Saddle


duluthdan

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Casually looking around at early 50s J-45s and SJs - many i ee have the long saddle thru the bridge, a few have drop-ins??? If I stumbe upon a 52 or 53 with a drop-in saddle, is that a fairly good sign tht the bridge has been replaced?

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DD,

 

My sense is that the transition was '53/'54 for that switch.

 

My '53 SJ has the saddle-thru type, and all '54s I've seen have the drop-in style saddle:

IMGP1078-1.jpg

 

This applies to other models that sport that bridge type too, AFAICT.

 

My own interest includes the J-185, and my approach is that if the guitar is serialed and FON'd as a '51 or '52 and has the shorter, drop-in saddle, it is likely a replacement bridge.

 

Here's an example of a FON'd '51 sporting a later bridge:

p3_uxgawd2vs_so.jpg

 

This guitar also has the telltale later pickguard that began in 1953, so that strongly suggests a possible visit to the factory to 'freshen' it up, post-'53.

 

I work on the idea that some '53s may have either bridge style, but pre-'53s should be saddle-thru while post '53s should be drop in types.

 

Caveat: But this IS Gibson, so YMMV. [rolleyes]

 

Hope that helps,

Fred

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  • 1 month later...

I've been wondering the same thing since I picked p my '51 J-45. The wear patterns indicate that the bridge sporting a drop in saddle has been there for a very long time. A luthier with experience working on vintage instruments agrees and sees nothing to indicate the bridge has ever been replaced or reset. Brad Barr also swears that his '51 J-45 is all original and has a drop in saddle. I tried to post a picture of the bridge but the forum says that I have met my upload limit... bummer. you can kinda see it in my 1951 J-45 post earlier today.

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