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For as long as I've been building guitars and basses, the classic Hipshot hardtail bridge has been the mainstay for builders needing a friendly, easy-to-implement 6, 7 or 8 (and now 9!) string hardtail bridge. This classic hardtail became synonymous with single-scale extended range instruments, gracing guitars by both amateur and boutique custom-builders alike. You could even suggest that it played a pioneer role in driving the development of these instruments and it's still just as popular over ten years later, regularly appearing on member builds here on ProjectGuitar.com. Hipshot have released a new alternative to the classic hardtail, adding a compelling new tool to a builder's armoury! ----==---- The simple unassuming exterior hides a whole lot of brass.... Overview The Hipshot Ibby HM is a part-for-part retrofit for the Ibanez Gibraltar Standard I and II, with a range covering the 6, 7 and 8 string versions in chrome, black and gold finishes. As is the norm for Hipshot, the bridge's baseplate is milled from a block of solid billet stock; in this instance brass. All one has to do is unscrew the existing bridge and drop in the new part with zero modification required. High mass components are part of a tone chaser's armoury of tricks in perfecting the sound of their instrument. Whilst some advocate lightweight or other specific materials for dialling in or restraining certain aspects, the visceral sonority that brass add to a guitar or bass's timbre is the strongest draw for most. In its intended form of being a retrofit for Ibanez Gibraltar bridges (cast zinc alloy?) the use of a heavy brass baseplate unlocks aspects to an instrument's tone that simple die-cast materials don't. Fine as many Ibanez instruments can be off the shelf, basic upgrades such as this only make them finer. However....if you're reading this then the chances are you're not interested in this unit as a retrofit item, and want to know how it fares as the basis for a custom instrument. For the most part, the same things apply. Brass is a fantastic material for a bridge, and a great choice to spec in from the outset. ----==---- Fundamentally, the bridge is a simple string-through-body unit fitted individual steel saddles. The baseplate is patterned to match the string-through holes of the Gibraltar bridges it is intended to replace, with six in-line holes and additional staggered holes at either side. These staggered holes allow the saddles for lower strings to intonate further rearwards (lower strings) without creating a sharp break angle over the witness point. Staggered holes feature on both sides of the baseplate, allowing it to be used in both a left and right-handed context. As with any string through body setup, the instrument will require a set of ferrules or a string retainer block to be fitted at the rear of the instrument. For instruments that refuse to co-operate when intonating, Hipshot also include additional adjustment screws of differing lengths to ensure you can dial it in just so. ProTip: Use the bridge itself to mark out ferrule locations on the rear of the body....just remember to get the staggered holes on the correct side! The baseplate mirrors the staggered holes for both righties and lefties! The saddle height adjustment range is broadly similar to the classic hardtail, with a minimum saddle adjustment of 0.33" (8,4mm) from the face of the instrument through to 0.5" (12,7mm) max. This falls almost exactly in between the ranges of the 0.125" and 0.175" base hardtails. Intonation is readily-accessible from the rear via six screws. String spacing is an even 10,7mm (0,423") centre-to-centre for 6, 7 and 8-string models. This slightly wider spacing may require the use of an F-spaced pickup (DiMarzio term) or trembucker (Seymour Duncan) pole spacing. In general it is right on the margin, so either pole spacing should work fine. This is slightly wider than the classic Hipshot hardtail bridge (10,5mm/0,416"), which I presume is down to the spacing on the Gibraltars. Easy access to intonation adjustment. The bridge mounts to the body using two finish-matched screws (supplied). For additional bridge-to-body coupling (a tone-chaser's favourite) these could easily be swapped out for a pair of machine bolts (M4 or 5/32") with threaded inserts sunk into the body, or even through to a custom-made string retention block at the rear of the instrument. It even looks heavy.... The fit and finish is what we have come to expect from Hipshot; the "show" faces are carefully milled and mirror-smooth with little in the way of machining marks or tool artifacts visible in the unseen areas. All hard edges are broken nicely resulting in a comfortable-feeling unit against your hand. Additionally, the string through holes in the baseplate have a softened lead-in to eliminate string breakage. The plating is consistent and clear, with those nicely-broken edges ensuring durability. Overall the unit is smooth and unobtrusive. The 6-string chrome version reviewed clocks in at a whopping 195g/6,9oz; around a third heavier than some zinc alloys! My only gripe is that the outermost saddle adjustment screw's clearance clips into the otherwise smooth internal curve out of necessity to the design. Certainly no issue beyond a minor point of aesthetics. "She may not look much but she's got it where it counts, kid" Conclusion It's maybe true that you can have too much of a good thing. The classic Hipshot hardtail bridge is still as relevant as ever, but ubiquity often makes it difficult to find something that looks different to everything else. Outside of its intended retrofit purpose, the Ibby HM delivers just that; a familiar drop-in format with a fresh alternative look on top of the consistent standards expected of Hipshot. The Hipshot Ibby HM bridge range is available directly from Hipshot (hipshotproducts.com) and via distributors worldwide. Watch our for the bridge appearing in one of our Season One YouTube build videos!

This tutorial is an update on the original by @Brian - all credit goes to him! I bought a cheap Alder body from eBay for a great price, however I wanted to fit a hardtail bridge instead of a vintage six-screw tremolo like it was set up for. The patient whilst I was sanding off the original finish and bad veneer: The plan of action is to rout out the tremolo cavities into accurately-sized rectangles and fit matching pieces of Alder without any gaps. Firstly, I located some Alder with roughly the same grain ring orientation as the body itself. The body is two-piece so I went for the closest match as was reasonable: I decided to do the rear rout first. Using an accurate drawing tools I outlined the rout with a rectangle measuring 135mm x 85mm. This needs to go at least 23mm deep. The first job is to size up the infill wood to those dimensions. I took a piece of Alder longer than the cavity and sized it to 85mm x 25mm before cutting it to length on the table saw. Ensuring that the cuts are clean and square is essential. The next step is to make a negative routing template. You can do this one of two ways. One is to make a temporary template out of four pieces of MDF/plywood, however these can often be a little difficult to attach to the guitar. Double-sided tape works nicely. The second option is to make the temporary template as before and screw these to a second sheet of MDF/ply to make a more secure and easier-to-mount template. Your choice! To make the temporary template, (say) 1/2" MDF or plywood sheet to the same width as the infill (85mm). Next, crosscut this into two pieces on a table saw. Next cut two strips of MDF/ply about three times as long as the infill. Just make sure these have a clean long edge each. To make a more permanent template, place the infill into the middle of the big MDF/ply sheet. Surround it with the four pieces of MDF/ply we've just cut like this: If they all fit snugly around the infill, apply tape or screw the pieces in place. I air-nailed them. You can now remove the infill. Use a drill and Forstner bit to remove the majority of the centre of the template and finish it off with a bearing-guided router bit. I did this on a table router, however you can do this with a hand-router also. Apart from the rounded corners (this is no problem) the negative template should be a perfect fit for the infill. Place the template over the guitar body and tape or clamp it securely in place. Using several light passes, cut the body until you reach the desired depth (23mm). Checking that the infill fits.... Excellent. Now the template can be removed and the corners squared up using a sharp chisel. This small discrepancy was unexpected, however not difficult to remedy. Phew....maybe I didn't use enough air nails.... Carefully check the infill for fit....don't force it in because you need to be able to remove it! Check that it fits flush from the other side: I relieved the inner corners of the infill, simply to ensure it sits as flush as possible when clamping. Hydrostatic pressure from the glue sometimes prevent perfect seating. This relief gives glue chance to escape around the piece. How much truth is in this? No idea, but prevention is better than trying to cure it after the fact. Fit the infill and scribe a line around the perimeter.... Cut or sand the excess off. It's easier to do it at this stage than it is when it's glued in the guitar. Great. Now we're ready to get that block glued in! Because the fit is tight from the outset, you really don't need to go crazy with the glue. Each mating surface needs to be wetted. Clamp the infill in using a caul: Wipe up excess squeezeout with a damp cloth. The finished infill after handplaning and sanding flush. The next step is to do the same process to the other side. Mark up where the infill needs to be. I used another piece of that same 85mm wide Alder for this infill also. Check how deeply we need to go (13mm). Then mark out the infill. Since we're working with the same width of infill, we can re-use the existing template. All we have to do is to make an infill for the template to reduce the length (100mm x 85mm). Using the same process as before, set up the template and rout to depth: Et voilà. The seams around the infills may not be perfect and certain will show themselves over time if you just paint over them. This is how Brian makes this work: Using a Dremel tool, trace a small channel around the seams of each infill. Mix up some good quality non-shrinking epoxy wood filler. Fill out the channels and allow to cure. Sand back flush with the body, now you're ready to fit the hardtail!