Epiphone BARD FT165 12 STRING

[Donald Abbott]

Hi everyoneCould you advise me please?

I was trying to adjust my saddle height on my lovely BARD and would you believe it, the adjustment screw snapped off in the hole! I can't get another for love nor money.  The saddle sits inside a thin metal track and the adjustment screws are gnurled around the slightly domed heads leading to the threaded part which is about 2mm wide and about 6mm long. It would be a good move to buy a complete saddle with screws if that were possible. Could someone please assist me?

 

Don from West Wales UK

 

 

[QuestionMark]

I assume you are just talking about one of the screws itself breaking on an adjustable bridge mechanism.   The first thing I’d do is take the unbroken screw to a hardware store and see if they have something comparable in size/width.  If the nut part inside the guitar is removable, take that with, too.   Maybe buy two new matching screws and nuts if needed.  If no luck there, try contacting JK Lutherie in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the US.  They have a lot of loose parts. Maybe they could help.  You could also try contacting Gibson in Montana, in the US.   They periodically put adjustable bridges on period correct Gibson reissues, so they likely have the mechanism or screws.  You could also call Epiphone in Nashville about the same thing, especially if you bought the guitar new and it’s under new guitar warrantee.    Another option is to bring it to a good lutherie/repair person on the UK to fix or replace the entire bridge if needed.  If it’s an authorized Epiphone or Gibson repair person he might be able to get Gibson to pay for the repair if it’s under a new guitar warrantee.   Hope this is all helpful.

QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

 

 

[pohatu771]

This will be tough to replace. This is a nearly 50-year-old guitar made by a company that doesn’t exist anymore (Matsumoku), who changed parts on the same model based on what was available.

Your best bet is to find a broken guitar with the same bridge and salvage the parts you need.

Otherwise, someone with a machine shop could probably make you a pair of compatible replacements by modifying bolts with the same thread, but it might be expensive.

A luthier would recommend replacing the bridge altogether, because those adjustable saddles create a pivot point and increase belly bulge on the guitar.

[Cougar]

On 3/16/2021 at 6:58 AM, Donald Abbott said:

I was trying to adjust my saddle height on my lovely BARD and would you believe it, the adjustment screw snapped off in the hole! I can't get another for love nor money..... It would be a good move to buy a complete saddle with screws if that were possible. Could someone please assist me?

Well.... these old Epiphone 12-strings aren't worth a lot -- they're going for $200-300 on reverb.  (I've got an FT160, which is about the same.)  But here's an idea -- there is one
"non functioning" FT165 on reverb going for $75.  The seller would probably accept $50.  The neck is broken off, but the bridge and saddle look fine.  After you pay for that and pay for replacing the bridge with the "new" one, it might cost more than the guitar is worth.

Alternatively, you could just buy a brand new (or even used) Guild F2512 and keep on playin'! (These are super inexpensive!)

 

 

Edited March 20, 2021 by Cougar