frogman Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Hi everybody. Can anyone help? Recently one mother of pearl dot became detached from my bridge on the J45. This exposed what seemed to be a screw. Upon investigating I was amazed to see that the bridge is bolted on with what appear to be 3/16inch bolts. Is this usual? Are they used to glue the bridge on in the factory and someone forgot to remove them? I have had this guitar since new and it came direct from Gibson. Any comments would be welcome. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Those bolts are by design. That's why they are covered up by the MOP dots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogman Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 Those bolts are by design. That's why they are covered up by the MOP dots. Thanks for that. I still think it's a bit strange. I have now had a look inside lots of other guitars but no bolts. Is this unique to the J45? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Not unique to the J45. Southern Jumbos, Hummingbirds, going way back. Look for the MOP dots, there's a wide variety of Gibson models with bolts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NaaVDoc Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merseybeat1963 Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Bolts? Why are they there.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Bolts? Why are they there.. Â Installation alignment, and back-up to glue joint. How many old Gibsons have you seen where the back of the bridge is slightly pulled up? Without the bolts, that bridge would have popped right off. Hide glue is not elastic. Â Interstingly, my 2007 Fuller's 1943 SJ Re-issue has the MOP dots on the bridge, but no bolts holding the bridge down. Anyone else have a modern slope J with dots, but no bolts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Nilppeznaf Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Installation alignment, and back-up to glue joint. How many old Gibsons have you seen where the back of the bridge is slightly pulled up? Without the bolts, that bridge would have popped right off. Hide glue is not elastic. Â Interstingly, my 2007 Fuller's 1943 SJ Re-issue has the MOP dots on the bridge, but no bolts holding the bridge down. Anyone else have a modern slope J with dots, but no bolts? Â i was under the impression Gibson have stopped using the bolt on bridge ?..and have only been gluing them for a number of years? Is this incorrect? Â My HB TV has the dots..but no bolts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasAK Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 "i was under theimpression Gibson have stopped using the bolt on bridge ?.." Â That's what I was told by my local 5star dealer after he came back from a MT tour. My 08 j45 has the dots but no bolts. The dots are now for looks. J45nick has it right, theyuse to use bolts as well as glue. I am somewhat surprised that the 97 has the bolts. Â chasAK Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mking Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 My 2007 J-45 TV has the dots but no bolts. There is one thing to remember. If the bridge starts to come up for what ever reason, and the bolts are there, guess what is coming up with it- the top. I have a 1948 LG-2 and the luthier that did some repair work removed the bolts for that reason and frankly, I can't argue with that logic (he is an authorized Gibson repair shop even authorized by Gibson to do refinishing). That may be why we are not seeing them on the new guitars like the fellow's HB and my J-45. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasAK Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 How did your luthier flatten the belly budge around the bridge? The guy that has my old 68-69 j160 has that problem. Â chasAK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mking Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 The buldge was not anything to address. Looking at the guitar you don't see it. He is a really good Gibson luthier and just took them out as a precaution, all before I purchased the guitar so I had no say so in him removing the screws. I have heard of people using steam to flatten the tops but of course it has to be someone that knows what they are doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasAK Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Thanks for the reply! Steaming is beyond our abilities. Â chasAK Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Nilppeznaf Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Â If the bridge starts to come up for what ever reason, and the bolts are there, guess what is coming up with it- the top. Â Â Â Hmmm? I think this scenario to be very unlikely no? Â Unless the full bridge area was damaged/cracked somehow... With the bolts how would the bridge pull against the plate and top to make it all lift ??? Â Has this ever happened to anyone ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 am looking forward to getting home today and looking to see if i have nuts in my guitar . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Nilppeznaf Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 am looking forward to getting home today and looking to see if i have nuts in my guitar .  haha  Your 45 is pretty recent BBG yea?..like 10 years or less.. I would be interested to know when exactly Gibson stopped using the bolt on bridge..( if indeed they have completely )  but i think for the last 10 years or so.. all bridges have been glued.  Anyone care to enlighten us ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 its 2005 , i think , might be '06 Â but its a historic , so maybe nutz n bolts was a feature they resurrrected for these models Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Hmmm? I think this scenario to be very unlikely no? Â Unless the full bridge area was damaged/cracked somehow... With the bolts how would the bridge pull against the plate and top to make it all lift ??? Â Has this ever happened to anyone ? Â Â I think you're right. The bolts are small, but the do go through the hardwood bridgeplate, and they do have small washers on them. To say they would pull through the top is to pretty much ignore the basic mechanics of the installation. The washers distribute the load to the bridgeplate. The bridgeplate would have to fail catastrophically--I've never seen this happen, except for a split along the pin centerline on a badly worn plate--for the strength of the top to even come into play. Â The bridge attachment is loaded in a combination of shear and tension. If the strings are seated properly, most of the string load should be applied to the bridgeplate, not the bridge itself. I think most bridge issues are probably caused by improper seating of string ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mking Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 You all bring up good points as to how would the bridge, with the screws, would pull up and bring the top with it. I'll get in touch with the luthier and ask him. His name is John Masconi (macaroni16@att.net) and his shop is String King in Ohio. http://stringkinglutherie.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 You all bring up good points as to how would the bridge, with the screws, would pull up and bring the top with it. I'll get in touch with the luthier and ask him. His name is John Masconi (macaroni16@att.net) and his shop is String King in Ohio. http://stringkinglutherie.com/ Â It really shouldn't matter if a bridge is bolted/glued or just glued, if it is done properly and the bridgeplate is in good condition. Gibson has done it both ways historically, and I've never heard any particular controversy about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogman Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 Thank you everybody, I thought when I first posted this topic that my guitar might be unusual but it's not, It's all been very interesting to read. Regards from frogman in rainy old England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainpicker Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 I too have a 1997 J45 (the label is orange and says Early J-45). When I first got it there was a terrible buzz coming out of the bridge area and I almost returned it to the seller because this wasn't the only issue but the one that really affected the sound. I played it for a couple of days to see if I could figure out what the hell was going on but I couldn't make heads or tails as to just which string was creating the buzz. Checked the seating of each string and its pin but no dice. When I finally received the new saddle material I was going to use to build a new saddle I took the strings off and felt inside up to the bridge plate. The bolts are like an inch and a quarter or an inch and a half long! The nut on the treble side bolt was unscrewed halfway down the shaft of the bolt. No washer above the nut in case you were wondering. I used a 5mm box end wrench to tighten it snugly to the plate. I wish I had used just a dab of Titebond to seat the nut and remove any future possiblity of vibration loosening it again. But after reading here I think I might just have my luthier remove them when she goes in for an inspection. Does anyone reading advise against this out of personal experience? While I was feeling around in there I ran my hands over the braces and pretty much every one is taller and thinner than the ones on my 2006 J50 just to share info. Tightening the nut completely solved the buzz problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAMELEYE Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Removing the bolts will slightly change the tone of your guitar. In my experience those bolts add mass and improve the thump. Some like this tone. Ce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajsc Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 I'm still wondering why this happened?? mother of pearl dot became detached from my bridge I have a "Historic" also! 2005 Best guitar I ever had! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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