Wraparound bridge for Jr?

[Billybob Dylan]

I scored an Epi LP Jr. for $60 the other day! (hooray for Craig's List!) and it's proving to be a pain in the proverbials to get it intonated properly.

 

Any recommendations for a replacement?

[RotcanX]

I dunno, man. There are a number of products, particlarly a fine item from Schaller but I'd be worried about the post spacing. Most of the stuff on the market is meant as replacements for Gibson guitars; they may not fit an Epiphone.

 

I have a Schaller TP at the store that I can check against my Junior DC. I'll let you know if it'll fit.

[RotcanX]

Actually the center-to-center spacing on the Schaller is just under 3 1/4" (3.244"); overall, the max outside distance on the posts can be 3.52"; max post diameter just under 9/32" (7 mm). It just might fit.

 

Not a cheap part though.

[Billybob Dylan]

I have a Schaller TP at the store that I can check against my Junior DC. I'll let you know if it'll fit.

Thanks, man.

[Biff]

Have faith! It's not supposed to be easy, you have to earn the respect of your Junior

 

Beware of the cheap badass style bridges, I got one for the '57 but it was so thick the string height became a problem.

Went back to the standard bridge and after a couple of hours and sixpacks of beers I found a good technique for getting it verrrry close and it's been good since (used only 10-52 sets after that).

 

Sadly I've already forgotten how I did it exactly :)

[RotcanX]

I agree with the Biff. I'm gonna drag my cherry LP Junior DC into the shop and check the intonation this week-end. I've never actually touched it yet but now I'm curious to see just how close I can get to 'perfect' with the stock unit.

[Biff]

I think I'll double check the intonation on my Junior this weekend too, it's time to change the strings anyway.

Good thing I just got 24 big cans of German beer and harðfiskur (air-dried fish) from Iceland to help me cope with the job!

All work and no play makes the Biff a dull boy

[rpach10115]

I have a tonepros TOM wraptail on my junior. It works great.

Like mr rotcan said, it's not cheap, but well worth it for the jr.

 

It dropped right in . The post spacing was exactly the same on this particular tonepros bridge, as opposed to the one that came off. Lucky I guess.

[Billybob Dylan]

Well I tried and I tried. And then I tried some more. Even with the 2 hex screws all the way in, the 12th fret is still a tad (maybe 2 or 3 cents) sharp.

 

Guess I'll learn to live with it. I hate to spend more on a new bridge than the guitar cost! Did I mention I stole this for $60?

[RotcanX]

Yo, BillyBob: checked out the Schaller and it looks to be a dead-on fit to replace the compensated wraparound bridge. AT the same time I checked the intonation on my Junior and with a little tweak it's danged close... not perfect dead on but close enough for rock'n'roll. Gonna stick with the stock unit for now.

[tulsaslim]

I'll never understand why they still put wraparound bridges on some guitars in the 21st century. Kind of like using a magneto in your car instead of a battery.

 

I've had (and still have) a couple of guitars with wraparounds but will never buy one.

 

If you're stuck with one, Spud's answer is the best.

[Billybob Dylan]

Yo' date=' BillyBob: checked out the Schaller and it looks to be a dead-on fit to replace the compensated wraparound bridge. AT the same time I checked the intonation on my Junior and with a little tweak it's danged close... not perfect dead on but close enough for rock'n'roll. Gonna stick with the stock unit for now.[/quote']

Thanks for checking it out. I got it close too, and at $90 for a Schaller bridge (50% more than the guitar cost!) I think I'll stick with the stock bridge for now.

 

 

Seeing as how with the stock bridge it's close (but no cigar) I was wondering if I could just replace the two adjustment screws (the ones that allow you to move the bridge forwards or backwards) with longer ones? I looked at StewMac's and Allparts websites and didn't see anything like that listed. Does anyone know if a guitar parts store sells 'em separately or what size they are so I can get them from a hardware store?

[RotcanX]

I must be lucky. The intonation on my cherry Junior with the wraparound is so close as to make any replacement bridge not worth the time or effort. I guess the key is in finding a simple way to adjust these babies.

 

What I did, was to check each string and mark the deviation down on a piece of paper, i.e. +5, -5, 0, etc. Then once you've 'measured' the intonation on all six strings, you can really see the overall picture before deciding which way to move the bridge to get the closest as possible to perfect. This is a much more simple approach than trying to adjust the bridge string by string... which I guess would drive any normal person nuts. I ended up with flat intonation on the bass side so all I had to do was back off the adjusting screw on that side and voila. Note that there's a lot more adjustment than you might think at first glance... you have to think of it as a big pivot; you can effectively select the center of rotation by how you adjust the screws.

[jcwillow777]

Thanks for the lesson Spud. That makes a lot of sense. My junior is the first wrap around I've ever had. I would have never thought about doing it like that. I'm gonna put my original back on cause the GFS Badass style bridge I got left the action too high. And like you said, all I need is close enough for rock and roll anyhow.