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"Mapleflame Mod" for ES-339


badbluesplayer

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So I was looking at the LPF or somewhere and I came across a thread where somebody explained how to modify the bridge posts on an ABR-1 bridge by installing longer posts. The idea is to install longer posts so they extend further into the guitar. I installed the longer posts and it sounds much better, especially the highs. The whole guiitar resonates much more and the sustain is better.

 

Somebody called it the "Mapleflame Mod" because a guy on one of the forums by the name of Mapleflame told somebody about it. The idea supposedly came from somebody at the Gibson factory.

 

The existing studs only penetrate about one half inch into the guitar, and since the laminated top is about one quarter inch thick, the studs are only about one quarter inch into the center block.

 

What you do is this. Remove the bridge and screw out the old posts. They are about an inch long and they penetrate about a half inch into the guitar. Use two jammed nuts to remove and install posts. The posts are machine screw threads but they screw directly into the wood in the guitar.

 

Then, get some stainless 6-32 X 2" long machine screws and grind off the heads. I got mine at Lowe's. You'll be left with 6-32 studs that are about 2" long - or maybe a little shorter. Dress up the threads with a die or thread restorer if necessary.

 

Deepen the screw holes in the guitar by using a 7/64" drill bit. The key is to extend the holes without disturbing the sides of the existing hole - where the old screws threaded to the wood. I ground down the flutes on the drill bit so that the side of the bit would not disturb the existing threads. You need to end up with the exact right depth of the hole to allow the new studs to bottom out in the hole when they're installed.

 

Install the new studs and screw them in so they are tightened securely against the bottom of the hole. Reinstall the bridge to check the height of the posts. Re- grind the tops of the bridge posts if necessary to make sure they're below the top of the bridge.

 

Here's a pictrure of the old studs and a new set of screws before the heads are ground off.

 

DSC_0002.jpg

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