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Need saddles for vintage Gibson wired ABR-1

Taliesin

New member
Joined
Sep 25, 2015
Messages
24
Hi all, I picked up an early 60s Gibson wired ABR-1 bridge base that doesn't have any saddles. Regular sized brass saddles that fit into, say, a Patent Number ABR-1 bridge don't fit into this one as the holes that accomodate the end of the screws at the rear of the bridge are at a lower height than on a Patent Number bridge. The saddles need to have a relatively lower screw hole so that it matches the lower screw holes on the bridge base. Regular saddles won't sit flush on the base (they angle upwards due to the mismatch in screw hole heights).

Does anyone know where I can find saddles that will fit my vintage wired ABR-1 bridge base?

Thanks!
 

musekatcher

New member
Joined
Apr 15, 2018
Messages
135
Hi all, I picked up an early 60s Gibson wired ABR-1 bridge base that doesn't have any saddles. Regular sized brass saddles that fit into, say, a Patent Number ABR-1 bridge don't fit into this one as the holes that accomodate the end of the screws at the rear of the bridge are at a lower height than on a Patent Number bridge. The saddles need to have a relatively lower screw hole so that it matches the lower screw holes on the bridge base. Regular saddles won't sit flush on the base (they angle upwards due to the mismatch in screw hole heights).

Does anyone know where I can find saddles that will fit my vintage wired ABR-1 bridge base?

Thanks!

If the replacements are bottoming out, just hit the bottoms on a belt sander. Also, are you looking for nylon? I think I saw a bridge with nylon saddles for $30 on Ebay, you could rob and fit those.
 

Taliesin

New member
Joined
Sep 25, 2015
Messages
24
If the replacements are bottoming out, just hit the bottoms on a belt sander. Also, are you looking for nylon? I think I saw a bridge with nylon saddles for $30 on Ebay, you could rob and fit those.

Hi thanks for the tip. The problem isn't that the saddles are bottoming out. The issue is that that the saddle sits at an upward angle when placed in the bridge base because the screw hole in the saddle doesn't match the height of the small hole for the end the of the screw in the bridge base. This causes the saddle to not sit flush on the base. The rear of the saddle is in contact but because it is angled upwards it's not making proper contact with the base. I should probably post a photo of what I mean. I want brass saddles but again, thanks for the recommendation re the nylon ones.
 
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