New Buttons

[Dave F 107]

I bought a new L5 last year and did not care for the bridge and buttons.

 

I immediately made a new Ebony bridge to replace the tune-o-matic.

 

I looked around for some imperials to replace the Schaller M6 Tulips. After looking around I decided to order these replacement buttons instead of replacing the entire tuner. I like 'em.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[OldCowboy 123]

They look good!

[fortyearspickn 125]

Yeah really nice upgrade. I'm a big fan of Art Deco - but mostly in buildings, not guitars.

[L5Larry 201]

I did the exact same thing years ago, but had to re-machine the keyed slot in the buttons to fit the tuner shafts of the unidentifiable "Gibson" branded tuners. Probably the Imperial/Metric thing. I hope yours were a direct replacement, as the mod was very tedious and time consuming. I then took it one step further with a "vintage" style TRC:

 

 

After making many contacts with custom luthiers, Gibson and Gibson warranty dealers, to no avail, I had to hand carve my own bridge from a chunk of ebony I got from a violin maker friend. It took two trys to get it just right, as I first ASSUMED copying a 40's Gibson bridge would then intonate properly,..... WRONG.

 

[Leonard McCoy 47]

Hmph, love me those Schaller imperials.

[Dash_Starkiller 5]

I like the replacement buttons, but I also really like the originals as well. I always enjoyed the tulip style. But both look great. Not super crazy about the TRC though.

[Dave F 107]

I did the exact same thing years ago, but had to re-machine the keyed slot in the buttons to fit the tuner shafts of the unidentifiable "Gibson" branded tuners. Probably the Imperial/Metric thing. I hope yours were a direct replacement, as the mod was very tedious and time consuming. I then took it one step further with a "vintage" style TRC:

 

 

After making many contacts with custom luthiers, Gibson and Gibson warranty dealers, to no avail, I had to hand carve my own bridge from a chunk of ebony I got from a violin maker friend. It took two trys to get it just right, as I first ASSUMED copying a 40's Gibson bridge would then intonate properly,..... WRONG.

 

Buttons were a direct replacement with no mods.

I believe you saw the bridge I made. Did not look correct on the intonation but it was spot on. Since then, I've tried quite a few strings to see what I like. I've noticed that the different gage normally requires a tweak of the truss rod and a change in the intonation. After all the playing around, I think I'm going back to what I started with. Will be interesting to see if the intonation comes back.

[Hall 104]

Looks good, Dave.

[Pesh 15]

Some nice and classy changes! Get some photos up of the whole thing, eh?

[Dave F 107]

 

 

 

 

[L5Larry 201]

Wow, I'm not sure I ever knew yours was an acoustic L-5C.

 

My "acoustic" archtop is the L-7 that you made the bridge for, thanks again. My DREAM acoustic archtop would be a 1948 L-5P.

[Dave F 107]

Wow, I'm not sure I ever knew yours was an acoustic L-5C.

 

My "acoustic" archtop is the L-7 that you made the bridge for, thanks again. My DREAM acoustic archtop would be a 1948 L-5P.

 

L-5 Premier Limited run of 10 from 2014

[L5Larry 201]

L-5 Premier Limited run of 10 from 2014

 

Ah, so it is designated a "P".......SCHWEEEEEET!

 

I love to get my greasy little paws on that guitar.

 

What strings are you using on it?

 

EDIT: Is that a Nashville or Bozeman built guitar?

[Dave F 107]

Rainbow put these on them when they set it up

I've since tried about a half a dozen different acoustic strings but I think I'm going back to them.

It was built at the Nashville Custom shop.

[slimt 46]

Why would Gibson put a tunomatic on a acoustic archtop? theres a definition of duh.. that looks really Nice what youve done there.. cool looking guitar..