Sheraton Tune o Matic Bridge Replacement

[Boogieman]

Hello all.

I spent a good portion of my weekend pouting over how the new gold tune-o-matic bridge I was so excited about did not fit on my 1999 Black Epi Sheraton John Lee Hooker Model purchased from a limited lot at Mars Music in 2000.

 

My thanks to the previous posters who alerted me to the fact that the Gold Samick bridge is no longer in production or available in gold from WD Music. They still have chrome so if you need one...Call now!

 

Most of the info I read on line described modifying the guitar to accept the new bridge. I get very squeamish with a drill after an unfortunate episode during a modification on my Franken-Tele requiring a fair amount of wood filler....I digress.

 

OK so heres what I did. It was easy, guitar safe and my Sheraton is restored to its original splendor after 9 years of hard gigging.

 

The "drop in" TOM bridges most vendors carry are in fact 2 MM wider than the Stock Sheraton Bridge.

I was not comfortable plugging and drilling my beloved axe so I turned my attention to the bridge.

 

Problem. Mounting holes too narrow.

Solution. Widen the mounting holes

 

I used a drill which widened the holes on the replacement bridge by 2mm each. this bought me a total of the 2mm clearance I needed to install the bridge on the existing studs. The fit is snug and there is no play as the inner aspects of the holes ride right on the mounting studs. Since the modifications to both sides of the bridge were identical, the bridge aligns perfectly.

 

I was concerned about string spacing. There is actually between 3mm and 4mm of fretboard left to use on either side of the strings so this was not an issue. I use 11-52 strings which are fairly burly but Im confident that there would be no "push off" even with a lighter string.

 

A restring, tune up and thorough setting of intonation and my Sheraton is back in the game!

 

I hope this tip is helpful to you all. Potentially it will allow you to put any kind of bridge you want on your Sheri without having to modify the guitar itself.

 

I might suggest....going into your junk drawer and pulling out that old tune-o-matic you pulled off your Les Paul or SG

and doing a dry run of the bridge mod before taking the power tools to your shiny new bridge. It only takes a few minutes and you'll be better at it the second time! Wrapping the bridge in some vinyl tape before subjecting it to the vice is always a good idea.

 

Good luck!