No Name Hardware

[Bmth Builder]

Hey I'm looking for individual bridges for a multiscale, problem is to get them from some where like ABM is £20/30 per bridge, or I can get them off ebay for £20/30 for the entire set, so its hard for me to justify spending so much for ABM (when you think I want to make an 8 string, thats a lot of money lol)

Normally I wont use no name hardware, chinese import stuff etc (for example I have been looking for ages to get a tonepos TOM 7 string bridge into the UK as opposed to just getting one off ebay for half the price) but this time I'm considering it, I was just wondering if any one is strictly quality components or if people just get the stuff off of ebay because its cheap?

The stuff I have found is

Here

Here 2

Problem is I want to make a guitar, and those are bass bridges, thats why I have only found two companies that sell the through body string bridges as the ball ends might not fit in the top load.

I'm also worried if the sadde will be two wide, will that be much of a problem for my high strings not seating in the center, moving around etc?

They say they are intonatable and height adjustable but I dont know how much room they have, so thats another worry.

So any way, in a round about rambling way, do you think that hardware will be ok?

Cheers

Neil

Edited December 20, 2008 by Neil Beith

[erikbojerik]

I'm working on repairing a 6-string bass right now that has those bridges, they are fine - if you're looking to build a bass. The minimum string spacing is 15mm and typically for guitar you're looking for 10.5mm. A guitar with 15mm spacing would be really awkward to play.

The ABM bridges are the only ones I know of for guitar.

The other way to go - what I and others have done - is to get yo bad self some individual bridge saddles (strat, tele, wilkinson, whatever) and fabricate your own bridge plate to hold them. I made a wood bridge that holds 8 strat saddles for a multiscale on the GBO 8-string, but my design has only a limited amount of room for intonation adjustment. Check out WezV's multiscale in the Jan GOTM, he used what look like Wilkinson saddles and made an ebony bridge plate to hold them, looks really snazzy.

[Bmth Builder]

Would a 15mm string spacing be that bad to play?

I dont really like the look of saddles just screwed to a bass board, ala black machine conklin etc I much prefer the whole single bidge thing, looks really classy, but expensive

[anderekel]

Yeah, I'm with Eric, I would say just pony and up and go with the abm ones if that's what you want, or build your own bridge plate and buy the saddles. I like smaller string spacing though, so take it for what it's worth.

[Batfink]

Would a 15mm string spacing be that bad to play?

Yes, and especially with 8 strings. The fretboard would be huge by the time you got to the heel end - like 4" accross or something.

[Kenny]

i agree, i use 11.13mm string spacing and even thats pushing it; for me 15mm is too large

i did the same method erik did for my multi scale, which was build a wooden bridge that held the saddles, it was the more logical solution given my options

Kenny

[joshvegas]

i agree, i use 11.13mm string spacing and even thats pushing it; for me 15mm is too large

i did the same method erik did for my multi scale, which was build a wooden bridge that held the saddles, it was the more logical solution given my options

Kenny

Why not make individual bridge plates for each wilkinsons saddle neil?

[Bmth Builder]

I prefer the look of the actual metal bridges on multiscales, as opposed to a saddle screwed to a bit of wood.

[erikbojerik]

Imagine each string being 1-1/2 times further apart than they are on a normal guitar - that's what you're looking at with 15mm spacing.

I suppose you could get used to it after a time, but if not then you're looking at buying the ABM bridges anyway, and trying to fill the holes from the bass bridges on either side of the new bridges - AND altering the neck taper after the fact - etc etc. Or turn it into a bass.

Just go with ABM, they're twice as much, but hey - you have to pay if you want exactly what you want.

[Jon]

I'll echo what Erik and Batfink have already stated. This hardware will just end up in your closet once you measure everything out. You could e-mail hipshot on a possible custom bridge, they may already have some nailed out in CAD so you wont have to pay an additional CNC fee.

[WezV]

I prefer the look of the actual metal bridges on multiscales, as opposed to a saddle screwed to a bit of wood.

its actually a lot more solid than you make it sound in that comment .... but you can get the metal saddles too if graphtech aint your thing. and making a metal plate to fit them to (or individual metal plates) doesnt need to be more complex than a hole for the string and a hole for the mounting screw

i have used the abm single guitar bridges from allparts before, strangely they dont have them on the UK site anymore but they are still listed on the USA one... they work well enough but are clearly not worth the money

Tbh i am not a fan of top-loading bridges so the graphtech and metal plate idea let me keep the through body stringing and i was happy

[j. pierce]

If you were rigged up to work metal, (or have a friend that works in a machine shop) I'd imagine you could easily make a custom baseplate out of brass or somesuch, pay to have it plated if that's your thing, and drop in some ready made saddles. Shouldn't be too hard with a decent mill and a hunk of brass. In my head I'm imagining something like the Hipshot contour bridges, but with a funky twist to accomodate the splayed angles of a multi scale system. If you don't have a mill, you could even make it out of two pieces - a thin flat piece for the base, and a thicker flat piece that you cut with a coping saw for the "walls" around the saddles. Bolt the two pieces together with machine screws, or you could screw through one right into the wood. Making holes for the string-through and saddle mounts shouldn't be hard.

Or you could go with a really radical multiscale (30"-18" or something?) or move the perpendicular point so that those individual bass bridges don't line up at all side to side, allowing you to "overlap" them and get the strings closer together. BUt uh, that would be interesting to play. (I'm joking about his approach.)