surfpup Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Having already replaced the stock zinc tailpiece with aluminum, my next step was to replace the zinc Nashville bridge with an ABR type. I considered the Faber bridge first, but they are pre-cut in the center of the saddle, which doesn't always lead to optimal string spacing. I also considered the Callaham - milled form one piece of steel, no pre-cut saddles, but very expensive! In the end I went with the Tone Pros AVR-II but used Callaham one-piece steel studs. Easy swap. Took an hour max. Details below... Here it is with the the stock Nashville bridge Bridge and studs removed Using my handy Stew-Mac puller to pull the Nashville bushings (though turned out they were probably loose enough to pull by hand) Studs out Callaham studs ready to be tapped in Using socket to tap studs in Studs in Thumbscrews on AVRII bridge on (had to tap the studs a bit to line this up due to the tighter tolerances (smaller holes compared to the Nashville) Here are the AVRII and the Nashville side by side for comparison Continued in next post as it will exceed the amount of images allowed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted February 13, 2011 Author Share Posted February 13, 2011 Here's the rest of the swap... Used the old red Sharpie to mark the locations for the string slots String slots filed (moved bridge to vise to do this) Ta Da! She's done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Looks great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre S Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 I think I will give this a shot. Thanks for uploading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saturn Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Nice job. You'll soon be giving Andy R a run for his money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted February 13, 2011 Author Share Posted February 13, 2011 Nice job. You'll soon be giving Andy R a run for his money Ha! No chance of that. Andy's a fearless ninja wizard. I didn't actually take the guitar apart and reshape it. (I also still have all my fingertips) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazzboy Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Very good surfpup. How does it sound compare to the Nashville TOM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Wow, nice Surf.... I want to do that to my gold top... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Very nice job! Will make an already gorgeous guitar even prettier IMHO. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twiz Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 That turned out awesome!!! I've got an ABR-1 on my SG. I personally can't tell a difference in tone, but I do think it is a better looking bridge. I might try changing over one of my LP Specials. Nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Much better. What else have you done to that guitar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted February 15, 2011 Author Share Posted February 15, 2011 Much better. What else have you done to that guitar? I tweaked the flux capacitor a bit. It's been through a few changes... Let's see... In chronological order (more or less) Virtuoso cleaner and polish to gloss up the faded finish a bit Dunlop straplocks Ordered/installed custom TRC "Big Joe" after my father in law who left me the guitar Installed plain nickel pickup covers Replaced caps with reissue "Bees" Yanked those and replaced pots and caps with RS vintage kit (500k pots and Bees) Replaced top hat knobs with darker "vintage" amber of same shape Replaced plastic jackplate with worn nickel jackplate Replaced stock tailpiece with Faber aluminum tp Replaced bridge studs with Callaham one-piece steel studs Replaced bridge with Tone Pros AVRII I have to admit I am liking it much better now. Also the finish (which was a bit orange/yellow and ugly). Is mellowing a bit. I put it in the window sometimes and that seems to help. I am not sure that I will stick with the Burstbucker Pro pickups in the long run. They sound good, but there is probably a better sounding set in its future. Attaching before and after pics (not the same shot, but best I could do for now) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Looks good and some nice upgrades. I went the other way and put a plastic jack plate on my Traditional. How long did you sun tan it for? I tried tanning my R0 before winter; I kept it inside under the window, 5 days/week, all day everyday for about 4 weeks but didn't notice any change yet. I'll continue in the spring. I'm not a fan of BB Pros. The neck is alright but the bridge is definitely not for me. There are too many aftermarket pickup choices out there. Do you have anything in mind? I'd like to try a set of WCRs one day. I still have a set of Throbaks lying around for my next guitar. Guess the WCRs will have to wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 You cheater I thought you would plug the holes and drill..... Nice job BTW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre S Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 You cheater I thought you would plug the holes and drill..... Nice job BTW But if you plug the holes and drill, there is a chance that it won't come out perfectly intonated because it may be possible that you don't get it perfectly within that little plug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted February 19, 2011 Author Share Posted February 19, 2011 Looks good and some nice upgrades. How long did you sun tan it for? I tried tanning my R0 before winter; I kept it inside under the window, 5 days/week, all day everyday for about 4 weeks but didn't notice any change yet. I'll continue in the spring. Thanks. I don't really have a plan. I just stick it in the window if the weather is nice. I sometimes lay it in the back yard too. Hoping it will look like your Pearly one day. I'm not a fan of BB Pros. The neck is alright but the bridge is definitely not for me. There are too many aftermarket pickup choices out there. Do you have anything in mind? I'd like to try a set of WCRs one day. I still have a set of Throbaks lying around for my next guitar. Guess the WCRs will have to wait. I'm not sure. I really like the Duncan Pearly Gates set in my gold top, but I don't see the point in having the same pups in two guitars. Like you say the neck sounds pretty good. I might just try something else in the bridge. You cheater I thought you would plug the holes and drill..... Nice job BTW Thanks! I considered the Faber kit which requires tapping, but the Callaham stuff looked good and was highly recommended by another member here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sneakerpimp Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 i also did the aluminum tailpiece/ABR-1 conversion but used these instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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