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Tune O Matic Bridges


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Hello all,

I have ben lurking here for a little while and have learned a great deal. Thanks to all who teach here! My question is....what is the lowest profiled tune o matic style bridge. I want to minimize my neck angle and do not want to raise the fret board too high off of the body. I have searched a little here but have no answers as of yet.

Thanks for any help.

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I've never come across any that are particularly lower-profile than others, though I'm not saying definitively that they don't exist.

Whenever the subject comes up, I've always (only) seen as a recommendation to recess the bridge into the guitar a bit, as some major manufacturers (ie. Godin) do. It's also what I plan on doing with mine. By carefully measuring and calculating, you'll be able to do it with NO neck angle, and the fretboard at exactly the optimal spot.

Note, however, that when you recess the TOM you usually can't get away with using a stop tailpiece, as the strings won't break at the correct angle over the bridge anymore. Godin and other manufacturers (and what, again, I'm copying) use a set of string-through holes a little bit back from the bridge.

Greg

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Hello all,

I have ben lurking here for a little while and have learned a great deal.  Thanks to all who teach here!  My question is....what is the lowest profiled tune o matic style bridge.  I want to minimize my neck angle and do not want to raise the fret board too high off of the body.  I have searched a little here but have no answers as of yet.

Thanks for any help.

I wanted to replace my TOM with a roller bridge, problem was, the rollers sat too high. So I milled off about a millimeter from the bottom and now it fits the guitar perfectly. There's no reason why you can't do the same, it's just metal!

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I just replaced a Korean Mighty Mite style TOM with a Schaller (non-roller) and the Schaller was lower, plus I still have to put little saddle slots in it. The slots won't be deeper than 1/32" maximum, but I thought I'd mention it since the Korean bridge has huge "V" grooves in it and it still sat higher. So maybe try the Schaller. The Gotoh should be equally as shallow as the Schaller.

Many publications post the blueprints/specs of their bridges. Try checking all the various parts company websites to see if they have a dimension chart.

You can also recess just the posts and the thumbwheels with a forstner or brad point drill bit, and gain another 1/8"+ that way, before you'll have to recess the whole bridge.

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If you are looking for a wrap-around type, my friend Steve Rowen at Pigtail Music makes an intonatable wrap around (quite a bit like the tone-pros one, which Steve designed for tone-pros, but with several improvements) that allows for little to no neck angle. It's pretty cool, but a little on the pricey side compared to Mighty Mite stuff (being made in the USA and all).

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