JuanCarlosVejar Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Guys , I'd posted something previously about a small piece of wood coming off at the bridge pin hole for the B string so the a little bit of the metal protrudes outward more than it should Is this normal or is this a problem ??? . thanks This has not affected the tone at all !!! here are are the pictures : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devellis Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 I don't see anything that would concern me all that much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
struma6 Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 You mean the ball end winding breaching the hole?? Nah, not to worry. Other than that I don't see anything at all to be concerned about. If you ARE concerned just pack it well and ship it to me. I'll assess it, no charge. It may take me several years though. Like 10 or 15. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted July 31, 2011 Author Share Posted July 31, 2011 You mean the ball end winding breaching the hole?? Nah, not to worry. Other than that I don't see anything at all to be concerned about. If you ARE concerned just pack it well and ship it to me. I'll assess it, no charge. It may take me several years though. Like 10 or 15. thanks you both :) . I was quite concerned . :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torca Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Hi JV,I have two 200's right now and both have slight differences in how the strings exit the pinhole tunnels.Slight.But remember that these guitars are built to see hundreds of string changes,and years of pressure and wear due to string forces,so the rosewood will undergo subtle changes.Usually we will not see actual wood loss,but I sanded my holes gently to remove very small fraying,which in essence mimicked years of string changes.Though beautiful,and delicate in stuctural nature it seems,these Gibsons',YOUR Gibson should be around in 100 years, barring catastrophe.So keep on pickin',no concerns with your 200 that I see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wineredrich Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 what a beautiful lefty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 I'm not sure I'd worry about it. I just looked at my 2004 SJ200 and it looks about the same as yours. The E's bridge holes seem slightly further away from the MOP inlays because of the curve. My 'b' seems closer and I can see the smallest piece of the strings end winding. But it doesn't look like the hole is any different than the other 5. So, it might be that the winding is slightly longer on some strings than others. I've got minor 'imperfections' on all my guitars and I attribute it to the fact that materials like wood cannot always be worked with perfectly. Like the label on a leather couch - 'leather is a natural material and there will be variations which are not flaws'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 . You're looking at a problem inherent in the j-200 4 ribbon bridge - the increased distance from the saddle to the bridge pin holes. This gives the strings a more oblique angle, increasing the probability that the strings wear into the wood and eventually into the ribbon, particularly the four middle strings (A,D,G,B ). It may eventually look like it had a ramp job done on it. This leaves very little room for lowering the saddle for future adjustment. The issue doesn't always result in drastic problems, but I'm looking at your beautiful pics and a couple of those string slots are already up to the ribbon. The issue here is that the neck set doesn't provide enough angle for a taller saddle to accommodate the increased distance to the pin holes. There have been plenty of discussions about this issue here in the past. Some advocate Gibson should change the neck set angle on 4 ribbon models. Unfortunately there's not much you can do outside of a neck reset, so most folks facing this live with the ramp wear. I stick with the 2 ribbon models. Worn 4 ribbon - My 2 ribbon - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 I think the problem is that the strings are on upside down. (J/K)...it is a beautiful lefty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 As mentioned, the 4-ribbon bridge on the Gibson super jumbos can be trouble. Ramping the bridge pin holes is one of the solutions.......sometimes it's enough and sometimes not. Here's the bridge from the 200WC I used to play. As you can see, this one was ramped all the way into the pearl....... When you own a Gibson jumbo with the 4-ribbon bridge you can't sweat the small stuff like pin hole ramping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 As mentioned, the 4-ribbon bridge on the Gibson super jumbos can be trouble. Ramping the bridge pin holes is one of the solutions.......sometimes it's enough and sometimes not. Here's the bridge from the 200WC I used to play. As you can see, this one was ramped all the way into the pearl....... When you own a Gibson jumbo with the 4-ribbon bridge you can't sweat the small stuff like pin hole ramping. Ya know, I've seen this discussed in here before, but I never understood exactly what the "problem" was...now I do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 .... Ramping the bridge pin holes is one of the solutions.... ...When you own a Gibson jumbo with the 4-ribbon bridge you can't sweat the small stuff like pin hole ramping. Buc makes a great point. When you see the problem beginning, having a shop/luthier (or yourself) do a ramp job can prevent the strings from pressure/cutting/wearing their own slots and possibly causing damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted July 31, 2011 Author Share Posted July 31, 2011 Buc makes a great point. When you see the problem beginning, having a shop/luthier (or yourself) do a ramp job can prevent the strings from pressure/cutting/wearing their own slots and possibly causing damage. so what is the safest way to ramp the slots ? should I get bigger bridge pins (for expanding slots) ? thaks to all . I value every comment :) . and yes it's a very nice lefty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Safest way to ramp the pin holes is have a professional do it with a dremel tool. And no, you don't need larger pins. It's not the pin hole getting larger......it's a ramp being cut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drathbun Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 I agree with Buck that the four ribbon J200 bridge is just a bad design. Frank Ford mentions this too in this article at Frets.com... Bridge Design Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
struma6 Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 You can ramp the holes. The down-side is you'll have guys selling bags of oranges on the ramps. Sorry. I had to do it. I'm easily entertained. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adok Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Yes, the string angle is lower in the four ribbons bridge. To prevent string slipping, I did cut six little *V* on top of the saddle of my J-200 custom. One for each string. That's how my Di Mauro type gypsy guitar is set. It has a very low string angle, but is playing fine, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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