Harmonica bridge replacement

[btoth76]

Hello!

 

Recently, I have encountered some buzzing issues on my 1978 Les Paul Recording. I have checked the guitar and spotted some problem areas. More about it, and the troubleshooting process here: http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/121541-fret-buzz-troubleshooting/

 

The saddles on the original Schaller "Harmonica" bridge were worn too wide, so I decided to restore it. The restoration will involve reshaping of the saddles, and chrome-plating the entire unit. But I didn't wanted to leave the instrument without strings on it for a longer period of time, so I was looking for a new unit as a temporary replacement.

 

Unfortunately, the Schaller unit is very expensive - 160 USD. That's the main reason why I decided to restore the stock unit, rather than replacing it with a new OEM Schaller bridge. Anyways, a temporary solution was needed.

 

I have found one at Allparts at an affordable price: https://www.allparts.com/GB-0510-010-Chrome-Bridge-for-Gibson-SG_p_1534.html

 

Obviously, I didn't expected it to be as good as the Schaller. There must be a reason for the huge price difference, right?

 

Let's see how good it is from Allparts...

[btoth76]

I bought it from the UK division of Allparts. It arrived very quickly as usual, thanks to Royal Air Mail:

 

 

The small package is indeed heavy!

 

My first thought was, it must be a Chinese-made product at this price. I was wrong:

 

 

...

[btoth76]

After visual inspection, I must say, it looks very nice - the plating is not flawless though, - but to be honest - that's just hair-splitting really. There are some miniature bubbles on the chrome surface, nothing serious.

 

It is heavier than the OEM, German-made unit. That is why: it's back is solid...

 

(Allparts - upper, the OEM Schaller unit - below)

 

It is also, 2 milli-metres thicker than the Schaller.

 

The saddles seat quite firmly in the slots, really nothing to complain about.

 

Then, I noticed the bridge posts. The ones that came with the Allparts unit are longer than the OEM ones. And not only the threaded section of the post, but also it's head is taller. However, the slots - where the post heads fit into - are also deeper on the back of the bridge.

 

I didn't wanted to remove bushings and posts from the guitar, just temporarily replace the bridge unit. Unfortunately, it doesn't works that way! The new bridge doesn't fits on the old, stock posts! They are different in diameter! The next question is then: will the Allparts posts fit into the stock bushings. They do, fortunately enough! Because, no way I would risk the fragile, aged finish of a vintage instrument by replacing the bushings. Not if I could! Not even the bushings are direct replacements of the stock unit:

 

 

Note the huge rim on the Allparts unit.

 

...

[btoth76]

So, the Allparts posts go into the stock bushings. But can I maintain normal playing action with the longer posts?

 

They are bottomed out in the stock bushings, and the string height is just a hair higher than I would prefer:

 

 

Of course, I could've filed the threaded section of the posts, but when the unit was in place, I realised how tall the saddles are! They provide lots of room for further adjustments by filing.

 

 

...

[btoth76]

My overall impression about the Allparts unit is: it is a quality product, well-made, but absolutely not a direct replacement for those guitars that originally came with Schaller Harmonica bridges. At least, the manufacturer should've noted that "some fabrication is required". The bushings are useless, they will not fit in place of the Schaller ones.

 

It came pre-notched precisely, they provide perfect string spacing.

 

The guitar sounds great with it - of course, please note that is compared to when it had the worn-out Schaller unit on. Buzzes, rattles are gone.

 

 

At 50 USD, it is an excellent product. I just keep on wondering why they didn't make it as a direct replacement.

 

Cheers... Bence