E-minor7 Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Yes, I know I know I know. Plastic bridges were thought up and made when the Kalamazoo was lost in some kind of trance. Most of you would say. So this this thread isn't for you. I can foresee all the posts about hollow plast opposed to massive wood, no mass to transmit vibes, cracked gapping material, weird look and what have you so don't bother. BUT, , , there are people who actually think there exist good sounding guitars under this concept. Never played one myself, but met a Gibson-expert in London, who claimed this and as far as I recall at least one member here have spoken very positive about his. So ! Can we get some interesting/otherly comments and experiences on this special and daring topic. Just wonder. . . A strange legend - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I know there will be some who recoil in horror at the thought of a Gibson having a plastic bridge. Personally I've seem some that just exploded, and for that reason (alone) I'm against them. If one were structurally intact I wouldn't go changing it "just because" it wasn't wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainpicker Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I would think that if there is a good sounding guitar that has a plastic bridge that it would sound even better with a wooden bridge. Those stone age plastics tended to dry out and crack whereas more modern plastics can have attributes suited to whatever purpose is intended. Technology marched onward. I don't think there is anyone making replica, restoration plastic bridges for old Gibsons....is there? That would be a leap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Thing is the plastic bridges were only symptomatic of a general "sickness" you see starting at Kalamazoo in 1960 and becoming full blown in 1965 with a change in leadership at CMI. Not only plastic bridges but round shoulder guitars giving way to square shoulder guitars, the appearance of ceramic and rosewood saddles, the large floating brace screwed to the top of J-200s, skinny necks made all the worse by narrow nuts, spruce and laminate bridge plates, thick pickguards, changing the headstock angle from its traditional 17 degrees to 14 degrees, increasingly heavier top bracing starting towards the end of the 1960s, and so on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I'm not done trying to digest your love of adjustable saddles, Em. How can I possibly talk to you about plastic bridges? The Edsel of Gibson ideas. AMAZING to see both on the same guitar! Nevertheless, you're a lover of the sound of the ceramic saddle and I trust your ear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAMELEYE Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I had one of these for a few years. I know few will believe it, but this one sounded fantastic. With the 1 11/16 neck, it was probably from the early '60s. I loved this guitar. A friend and his dad had refinished the top before I bought it from him, so maybe the top was a tad thinner than usual. I thought I'd have this guitar forever. Sadly it was the only guitar I ever owned that was stolen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted February 27, 2014 Author Share Posted February 27, 2014 How can I possibly talk to you about plastic bridges? ,-) I'm very rarely one-dimensional about things'n'themes - not even Gibson squares or 45's. Certainly not plastic bridges, which I never tried (or met). In fact that's one of the reasons for this thread. But yes - I still keep the ceramic in the 1963 Southern Jumbo. And now I also learned about Edsels. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 BUT, , , there are people who actually think there exist good sounding guitars under this concept. Never played one myself, but met a Gibson-expert in London, who claimed this – and as far as I recall at least one member here have spoken very positive about his. May just be part of that universal law that nobody ever buys a guitar that sounds like a P.O.S - it is always the next guy's guitar that is a dog. I know I have said this before but the common line you hear is even though the guitars that Gibson built starting in the late 1960s being increasingly overbuilt are not ranked among the best the company ever let roll out the door a few "gems" managed to sneak through. Thing is everybody who buys one seems to get one of those gems. If you read these posts it would appear that Gibson was at its peak in the 1970s. I must have lousy luck though because every one I have ever gotten into my hands sounds like it was stuffed with old t-shirts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 May just be part of that universal law that nobody ever buys a guitar that sounds like a P.O.S - it is always the next guy's guitar that is a dog. All in all it comes down to personal taste and preference. What you're after for which music, musical tasks etc. Let's face it - you can find weak spots in every high quality guitar there is - I for 1 can, , , even in my exceptional Firebird Custom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 There is a guy named Chris who comes to the homecoming who owns a Norlin era square shouldered something or other. It's kind of heavily built. When I first saw it I thought to myself that won't sound good. But amazingly the guitar was loud and had great tone. I don't own it and have no dog in the fight but that particular guitar was undeniably good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 My 1959 Gibson LG3 has a ceramic saddle, but no adjusters. The guitar has a very bright sound, made brighter by me swapping the plastic pins for bone. If it was my only guitar, I would have swapped it for bone, but I have left it because it has some contrast against the J45. Plastic bridge - I have had a Martin HPL guitar with a resin type of bridge - it was ok. (But left home a fair while back.......) On my LG3, the bridge is Brazilian Rosewood - no wonder it is run out. Old iPhone pic: BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I've posted parts of this story a number of times (and just recently in another thread), as the topic of one-of-the-craziest-guitar-ideas-ever comes up frequently. My '65 B-25n was beginning to suffer structural damage to the top behind the plastic bridge arrangement. Thinking I would stop the damage dead in it's tracks & enhance the tone at the same time, I went with an ebony bridge & bone saddle. End result was that the guitar lost a bit of bass, but otherwise sounded the same. Overall, I actually preferred the tone with the plastic bridge & ceramic saddle! Still, I happily played the guitar for over twenty years. Before the B-25, I had a '64 Epi Cortez with the plastic bridge/ceramic saddle, and loved the tone of that one, too. Fast forward to 2012, when I picked up a '66 Cortez. Amazingly the plastic bridge assembly & top are still 100% structurally stable. The saddle on this one is rosewood & at some point when I get around to it, I'll pop in the ceramic saddle that came off the B-25. In the meantime, it has the same dry & punchy tonal qualities that appealed to me in the other two. Yes, I've played some of these that were absolute dogs, but based on the above, I'm guessing it has less to do with the goofball bridge than logic would dictate. Nowadays, my motto is: Don't assume anything based on generalizations & if you like the tone, leave it alone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Yes, I've played some of these that were absolute dogs, but based on the above, I'm guessing it has less to do with the goofball bridge than logic would dictate. Nowadays, my motto is: Don't assume anything based on generalizations & if you like the tone, leave it alone! Now there's today's bit of wisdom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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