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Changing a Nashville bridge for an ABR-1.......worth the $$$ and effort?

Wilko

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For the record, I tend to prefer the vintage style 6/32 posts directly into the wood. When possible, I do the "Mapleflame mod" by using longer stainless steel posts which seat farther into the body hoping for better "coupling".

My theory is that the lighter mass of the abr-1/smaller posts and tighter joint allows for higher frequencies (less energy) to be transferred to the body allowing for some effect. My preference is for lighter/more resonant body adding more overtones and wood reaction (not to be confused with feedback which is often easier to get with tighter focused guitars).

While I shy away from plugging the holes for the fear of a negative effect, I hadn't never considered the longer post option to help counteract any losses that may occur from a less than optimal plug job.

For my traditional I used the simple conversion posts and steel posts with a lightweight tailpiece. The results are nothing less than stellar for my taste. My Traditional is my #1 and allowed me to sell my '56 conversion without too much pain.
conversionposts.JPG


19959306_1558871907467326_1690841500536540865_n.jpg
 

mowelker

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Jan 23, 2016
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How do you deepen the bridge holes for the press in Faber inserts? Drill press? Man, that would make me nervous.
 

El Gringo

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This is exactly something I have been thinking about as I have one of my Les Paul's which has a Nashville Bridge and I want to convert it into a ABR-1 . What is the easiest and best way to do this ? Who should I buy this from ? Should I just get the conversion posts and if I did would that mean I could use a Gibson ABR-1 on top of the conversion posts ?
 

Wilko

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This is exactly something I have been thinking about as I have one of my Les Paul's which has a Nashville Bridge and I want to convert it into a ABR-1 . What is the easiest and best way to do this ? Who should I buy this from ? Should I just get the conversion posts and if I did would that mean I could use a Gibson ABR-1 on top of the conversion posts ?


By far the "easiest" is to use the conversion posts. No mods needed. No risk of damaging the coupling between bridge and body. A simple swap and done.

Gibson ABR-1 fits right on.
 

El Gringo

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Apr 8, 2015
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By far the "easiest" is to use the conversion posts. No mods needed. No risk of damaging the coupling between bridge and body. A simple swap and done.

Gibson ABR-1 fits right on.
From who can I purchase the conversion posts please ?
 

ivan H

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Nov 14, 2017
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How do you deepen the bridge holes for the press in Faber inserts? Drill press? Man, that would make me nervous.

To deepen the hole I used a (correctly sized) drill bit in a hand chuck. Mahogany is a soft, workable wood so its very easy to do. Just take your time & you'll be good. Cheers
 

Hotshot

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Jul 25, 2017
Messages
282
Put Faber system on a 97 Studio i re finished. Cost a bit, but like it a lot. Used a drill and a hammer to mill out the added length.

Having said that, I put the Faber system on my 80 KM just to see if the "upgrade" makes all better. It did not. Some machines play awesome just the way they are. So, On my 97, it was a great addition.

And added brightness.
 

mowelker

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Jan 23, 2016
Messages
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Put Faber system on a 97 Studio i re finished. Cost a bit, but like it a lot. Used a drill and a hammer to mill out the added length.

Having said that, I put the Faber system on my 80 KM just to see if the "upgrade" makes all better. It did not. Some machines play awesome just the way they are. So, On my 97, it was a great addition.

And added brightness.

Do you remember what size drill bit you used?
 

bern1

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Nov 23, 2004
Messages
1,275
Once again, the LPF a great resource so I hopefully make the right move. Aesthetically yes, the plug/thin ABR-1 posts has the most appeal, but I have the same concerns as Wilko with this approach. I considered the conversion posts from Philadelphia Luthier Supply (great company btw), however I think I am just going to ream out the post holes on a modern reissue ABR as Big Al and others have suggested. One of the reasons is that there seems to be some variation in in the post hole width between the Nash and the ABR, which might make it necessary to ream out the ABR anyway? Seems as long as I am going to retain the stock Nashville bushing, I can keep the stock Nash post that fits in that bushing. Looks like there is only a 0.3 mm difference in the post diameter anyway. An advantage to the conversion posts is that I could use the old style thin ABR thumbwheels. But realistically I can’t see how that small mass difference would have any effect when I have these huge bridge post fittings factory installed. I guess I’ll find out how well this works.
 

Wilko

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The conversion posts are cheap, no work needed and you won't be messing up any parts so you can easily swap back. They all fit so there is no worry there.
 

bern1

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Nov 23, 2004
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The conversion posts are cheap, no work needed and you won't be messing up any parts so you can easily swap back. They all fit so there is no worry there.

Philly supply out of them at the moment and unsure if/when they will be back. I still might wait, I think I would rather have the narrower posts and thinner thumb wheels all things considered. All mainly cosmetic and or mental considerations, I’m pretty sure it will have no impact on the actual sound or feel.
 
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