dj335
New member
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2008
- Messages
- 120
Hello,
I would like to get some opinions/advice about replacing the adjustable bridge on my 1964 J-50 (bought this in 1975 for $300). I've been getting fret buzz around the 12th fret on just the D & G strings, so I took it to my luthier to see what was going on.
He showed me that the adjustable bridge piece, the white colored part (which is made of porcelain or bone?) has collapsed in the middle, and no longer has the correct radius for the neck. It's definitely not the right radius anymore; he proved it with a radius gauge. Also, the existing bridge is not compensated, and is not in exactly the right spot either (it's slightly too far towards the neck).
His solution is to remove the adjustable bridge, fill the hole with a piece of rosewood that he has that is an almost exact match in color and grain, then route out a new slot and put in a compensated bridge.
My question is: will this ruin the resale value of this guitar? I'm not planning on ever selling it, but still want to be mindful of making a design change like this. Plus, I made a couple permanent changes to it when I bought it years ago. I replaced the awful inline white button tuning keys with individual Kluson green keys. Also, right after I bought it, I took it to a great repair guy in Glendale Ca named Jack Willock (was Gibson's warranty & repair tech in the 1930's) for a setup, etc. Jack convinced me to replace the thick, tone killing stock pickguard with the thin replacement guard that he installed (see picture below). Opened up the sound tremendously, so I have no regrets doing that mod.
I would think that this bridge replacement my current tech wants to do would add to the value, as it is not really playable anymore in it's present state. Here are a couple pictures to illustrate:
By the way, this guitar is in near mint condition, no finish checking anywhere, zero buckle rash, only a couple of dings on the entire guitar. Plays like a dream, sounds huge with a great focused and balanced tone. I want to start playing it again, but with the bridge as it is now, the buzzing is not acceptable to me, and I don't want to raise the bridge up. My only other choice is to somehow reshave the present bridge into the correct radius, which still doesn't fix the location problem.
Advice? Anyone else here change out the adjustable bridge on theirs? In my opinion, this adjustable bridge idea was more of a design flaw than a feature....
Dave in So Cal
I would like to get some opinions/advice about replacing the adjustable bridge on my 1964 J-50 (bought this in 1975 for $300). I've been getting fret buzz around the 12th fret on just the D & G strings, so I took it to my luthier to see what was going on.
He showed me that the adjustable bridge piece, the white colored part (which is made of porcelain or bone?) has collapsed in the middle, and no longer has the correct radius for the neck. It's definitely not the right radius anymore; he proved it with a radius gauge. Also, the existing bridge is not compensated, and is not in exactly the right spot either (it's slightly too far towards the neck).
His solution is to remove the adjustable bridge, fill the hole with a piece of rosewood that he has that is an almost exact match in color and grain, then route out a new slot and put in a compensated bridge.
My question is: will this ruin the resale value of this guitar? I'm not planning on ever selling it, but still want to be mindful of making a design change like this. Plus, I made a couple permanent changes to it when I bought it years ago. I replaced the awful inline white button tuning keys with individual Kluson green keys. Also, right after I bought it, I took it to a great repair guy in Glendale Ca named Jack Willock (was Gibson's warranty & repair tech in the 1930's) for a setup, etc. Jack convinced me to replace the thick, tone killing stock pickguard with the thin replacement guard that he installed (see picture below). Opened up the sound tremendously, so I have no regrets doing that mod.
I would think that this bridge replacement my current tech wants to do would add to the value, as it is not really playable anymore in it's present state. Here are a couple pictures to illustrate:
By the way, this guitar is in near mint condition, no finish checking anywhere, zero buckle rash, only a couple of dings on the entire guitar. Plays like a dream, sounds huge with a great focused and balanced tone. I want to start playing it again, but with the bridge as it is now, the buzzing is not acceptable to me, and I don't want to raise the bridge up. My only other choice is to somehow reshave the present bridge into the correct radius, which still doesn't fix the location problem.
Advice? Anyone else here change out the adjustable bridge on theirs? In my opinion, this adjustable bridge idea was more of a design flaw than a feature....
Dave in So Cal
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