Doc T Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 I just joined this forum hoping to get help from the experts, so here goes. I just picked up a Korean made Epi Broadway that is practically new (probably 5 or so years old and never played) on Craig's List (400 bucks with a hard shell case!). I am thrilled with the guitar overall but I find the floating bridge to be a weak point on an otherwise superb instrument. The grooves for the strings are cut a bit sloppy (the bottom E does not sit over the pole pieces of the pickups if the top E is dead on). I have a Gretsch Electromatic 5120 that came with a floating Tunomatic bridge. There are alot of aftermarket rocking bar bridges available in different metals for that. My question--is there an aftermarket replacement bridge for the Broadway? I would take either a better quality wood or some sort of metal into consideration. What does the Broadway Elitist have for a bridge? Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Here's an option: Stew-Mac Floating Bridge A Gibson-branded replacement is here: Gibson Bridge at FQMS Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc T Posted January 30, 2011 Author Share Posted January 30, 2011 Does the Broadway Elitist have a Gibson tunomatic bridge? That's probably what I will go for. What should I be measuring? I can keep the wooden base since it matches the radius of the guitar and then just put the metal tunomatic on top of that, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianh Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Maybe not - Gibson parts are US/Imperial and Asian Epiphone are metric. Take measurements of the existing post spacing and check the specs before you order. Stew Mac has dimensioned drawings on all the stuff they sell like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sledge57 Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Slightly OT but are you in the Detroit area? There's been a Broadway on CL for $400 for quite sometime and the ad finally disappeared. If that's the one you bought I'd love to see pics and hear more, it was all I could do to not buy it myself Welcome BTW... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upiory Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Great guitar! John Lee Hooker's favorite instrument. Two questions. Do you plan on swapping pickups (I am), and what gauge strings are you using? I'm still using .11 flatwounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc T Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 I am not in Detroit--upstate NY. I started out with D'Addario 12's (Nickel) and played that way for a few weeks. I have 11's on my Gretsch Electromatic so I put 11's (11-49 Nickel) on the Broadway. I still get that fat, rich tone but can do the bends that I am used to (12's are pretty tough to work with). I am leaving the pickups as is since I really like the sound I get. (I put TV Jones Classics in my Gretsch since the original pups were pretty uninspiring). I am still thrilled with the deal that I got for a beautiful guitar, and I have been very happy with Epiphones since I got a Dot Deluxe 5 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crust Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I put the top of a Gibson tune-o-matic bridge on mine. It fit and worked perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sledge57 Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I am not in Detroit--upstate NY. Ok cool, still want to see the guitar though, like everyone else here does Oops never mind just saw the pic.... brain dead tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc T Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 I put the top of a Gibson tune-o-matic bridge on mine. It fit and worked perfectly. Awesome response and beautiful photo. So I went back to the FQMS web page and I see that there are 2 options for the Tunomatic (just the metal bridge part without the wood), Which of those should I get? Are they exactly the same measurements? I was looking at: Gibson Gold ABR-1 T.O.M. w/Full Assembly. Thanks again to everyone who responded. I am new here but love this place so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 If you get the full assembly, it's a sure thing that the hole spacing on the tuneomatic's bridge will fit the posts on the base. If you buy just the bridge itself (which has US spacing for the posts), it MAY not fit the base you already have, as it's unknown right now whether the posts on the base are set up to receive a US or Metric bridge. Doc T said he dropped a Gibson bridge on his, but I would measure the post-to-post spacing first, in case a previous owner/seller has swapped the base. You can find the US and Metric measurements on the Stew-Mac site. I think though, it's likely that you will get a denser base with the full Gibson assembly, which may have some impact on tone that you would like. For what it's worth, the Elitist uses a base without feet. While that style of base makes more contact with the sound board (and is said to increase bass response and provide other tonal changes), it may require some fitting to more precisely match the curve of your guitar's top. I think you can find the procedure on the Stew-Mac site; if not, just Google it. I don't know what kind of music you play, but here is another option, a bridge with a wooden saddle (like would have come on a new Broadway straight from the factory), with both straight and footed style bases: http://www.ultimaguitar.com/gibsonarchtopguitarbridge.htm You can have bridge assemblies made to order on that site, too, out of a variety of wood. The Allparts site is also a good resource for this kind of thing. Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc T Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 Ok Thanks for the many helpful points. I will do careful research (with the good links provided) before rushing into anything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eor Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 my archtop also has a rosewood floating bridge, but if i were ever to change it, i would turn to: tru arc bridges i have a stainless steel version on my gretsch g6118t and it is wonderful. completely changed the sound, saved teh guitar from a pickup swap. no tuning, stability or intonation problems, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc T Posted February 26, 2011 Author Share Posted February 26, 2011 my archtop also has a rosewood floating bridge, but if i were ever to change it, i would turn to: tru arc bridges i have a stainless steel version on my gretsch g6118t and it is wonderful. completely changed the sound, saved teh guitar from a pickup swap. no tuning, stability or intonation problems, either. OK after MUCH research, I went with a Compton copper bridge. It was custom made for me (specifically for the string gauge I use). It is a MAJOR improvement over the crappy wooden bridge that came with the guitar--a nice warm tone with good sustain; pretty much what I was looking for. I attached a not-so-great photo. I got good service (he is quick with his e-mail) at a reasonable price: http://www.comptonbridges.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crust Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 ^^^Looks good to me^^^^ B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upiory Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Very interesting. Thanks for following up. Are you still happy with the stock Alnico V pups? I'm still shopping around for replacements on my Broadway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc T Posted February 26, 2011 Author Share Posted February 26, 2011 Very interesting. Thanks for following up. Are you still happy with the stock Alnico V pups? I'm still shopping around for replacements on my Broadway. As far as the pickups, the short answer is "yes." For what I want out of THIS guitar--a warm jazzy (sometimes bluesy) tone, they are really good. They don't respond well to distortion; I use a Boss overdrive pedal with my Dot Deluxe. With my Boss Digital Delay pedal they sound really sweet (especially for rockabilly slap echo). So far, with the new bridge, I am quite pleased with what I am getting. As far as replacing pickups--I had never done anything like that until I put TV Jones Classics in my Gretsch 5120 last summer. It is quite intimidating at first, but armed with a digital camera and some good online videos, it all went very well (about 2 hours of work). So don't be afraid of going that route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upiory Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Very good. I'm rather spoiled here in southwest Michigan, so I take everything to a former Gibson luthier for work. I really should learn how to do some of these things myself, since the old timers will eventually circle the drain (a crude metaphor, I admit). Back to the Broadway, I was gobsmacked that Epiphone would put Alnico V's in the guitar. To me it just seemed inappropriate. I've been looking at Gibson '57 Classics on the high end as well as Tonerider and Guitar Fetish on the low. Just in passing, I ordered a set of DiMarzio Air Classics for my Riviera. I didn't have the courage to go budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 OK after MUCH research, I went with a Compton copper bridge. It was custom made for me (specifically for the string gauge I use). It is a MAJOR improvement over the crappy wooden bridge that came with the guitar--a nice warm tone with good sustain; pretty much what I was looking for. I attached a not-so-great photo. I got good service (he is quick with his e-mail) at a reasonable price: http://www.comptonbridges.com/ Never heard of Compton bridges, so thanks for sharing. They look well made, and the selection of available bridge materials looks intriguing. I like the descriptions of the effect each would have on tone, but I'd sure love to hear sound clips of the same guitar equipped with with each of those bridges, to hear the difference the various materials are responsible for. I may try one out in the future. Glad you found what you were looking for! Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc T Posted February 26, 2011 Author Share Posted February 26, 2011 Never heard of Compton bridges, so thanks for sharing. They look well made, and the selection of available bridge materials looks intriguing. I like the descriptions of the effect each would have on tone, but I'd sure love to hear sound clips of the same guitar equipped with with each of those bridges, to hear the difference the various materials are responsible for. I may try one out in the future. Glad you found what you were looking for! Red 333 If you go into his web site, he DOES have sound clips for each bridge type. He is playing a Gretsch 6120 with both pickups on through a Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb. I listened several times to different clips before I settled on the copper. http://www.comptonbridges.com/soundclips I discovered Compton on one of the Gretsch forums; alot of people use them for the 5120 Electromatic, since the tunomatic on that (and I own one) is a bit unresponsive. The other option is the Tru-Arc bar bridge, which is a beauty, but it is almost double the price (I paid $48.00 for Compton and got free shipping). Wayne Compton is the owner and as I said, he answers e-mails almost instantly and was very helpful in answering my questions about bridge dimensions, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 I'm considering going the other way with a bridge replacement on my L-5CES, and am looking for a compensated ebony bridge to sit on my existing base that now holds an ABR-1. Anybody got one laying around? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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