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ABR -1 bridges

guitarvoodoo

Formerly fishnose, Les Paul Forum Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2006
Messages
2,000
"o 1966: Metal saddles replace the nylon saddles on the tunematic bridge."

Are you absolutely sure about this? I was sure I remember plastic saddles on the ABR-1 well into the '70's.

Yeah I agree, that isn't right. I've seen ES guitars with nylon up to '69 as a rule, then from '70 seems to be chrome only.
SG's switched a few years earlier.

:] Fish
 

zombiwoof

Active member
Joined
Feb 22, 2003
Messages
3,565
What about the "rocker" ABR-1 that sat on domed thumbwheels?. My understanding is that the body of the bridge is thinner, with "dished" areas where it contacted the domed thumbwheels, so it would "rock" with vibrato usage. Where does it fit in the timeline, and what guitars used it?.
Another question would be, did it work as designed?. Why is it not around any more (and does anyone make a modern version of it)?.
Thanks,
Al
 

copernicus

Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2007
Messages
64
What about the "rocker" ABR-1 that sat on domed thumbwheels?. My understanding is that the body of the bridge is thinner, with "dished" areas where it contacted the domed thumbwheels, so it would "rock" with vibrato usage. Where does it fit in the timeline, and what guitars used it?.
Another question would be, did it work as designed?. Why is it not around any more (and does anyone make a modern version of it)?.
Thanks,
Al

My '62 SG/Les Paul had one of those non-wire "rocker" ABR-1 bridges, but regular flat thumbwheels. The stud holes were slightly larger than normal to allow for the rocking motion, but unfortunately, the bridge would rock just once and stay there, rendering the infamous sideways vibrola even more useless than it already was.
My '72 Limited Edition Medallion Firebird V's regular 'flat bottom' wire ABR-1 also has the larger stud holes, but rests on domed thumbwheels. Somehow this works like a charm and even severe yanking on the Maestro Lyre Vibrola will not throw the guitar out of tune. It is by far the most stable Gibson I have ever owned, with or without vibrato. To get rid of the inevitable wire-buzz, I installed a German made Faber non-wire ABR-1. These can be ordered in either imperial (inch) or metric (mm) versions and as it turns out, the metric stud holes are exactly the right size to allow for the rocking motion.
Domed thumbwheels can still be ordered and I recommend them highly to anyone with Maestro-equipped guitars, but you will need the larger stud holes.
 

F-Hole

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 2, 2015
Messages
2,171
The shorter bridge was made specific and had ABR 1 with the foundry mark on the bottom.

True, but they also used ground down "standard" ABR bridges. These mostly appear on the earlier guitars, probably something of a stop-gap until the moulds were made for the shorter bridge. Indeed, the ground down version is more common.

Also, Gibson used the shorter bridge on all early 335's, despite many guitars accommodating a full size bridge.
 

marshall1987

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
3,278
"o 1966: Metal saddles replace the nylon saddles on the tunematic bridge."

Are you absolutely sure about this? I was sure I remember plastic saddles on the ABR-1 well into the '70's.

YEP....that's my observation also. I have a 1967 SG Std. and a 1967 ES-335 TDC. Both guitars are 100% original and were equipped with the hard nylon/ABS bridge saddles. I actually like these saddles, IF they have been properly notched and sized at the factory. All too often I see '60s Gibsons equipped with these saddles... which have been ruined by amateur hacks attempting to adjust the notches with triangle-type (three square) files. :dang

I believe these nylon/ABS saddles were phased out beginning in 1968, at which time Gibson substituted metal (brass?) saddles for the nylon/ABS type.
 
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