Anatomy of a Gibson Plastic Adjustable Bridge from 1962
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- Опубліковано 17 сер 2021
- Ever wonder what those "Plastic" bridges that Gibson used in the early 60's were all about? Most Gibson Flat Top acoustics built in 1962 and 1963 had this style of injection-moulded plastic bridge with adjustable ceramic insert, but perhaps you've not seen one of them up close and personal.
Here's Folkway's Mark Stutman showing this bridge set up in detail.
thanks a lot for this information
I have a '65 J45 with a rosewood adjustable saddle.
I own and wear the same Folkway shirt.
I’ve been watching guitar fix vids for about 5 years and I certainly never heard of plastic bridges.
Interesting 👍🏻
Hi Mark, I once had a B25 with a plastic bridge and I found the best sound was obtained by screwing the ceramic saddle down, leaving the spring in there, until the saddle was firmly resting on the top. Most of the sound comes from the two bolts so you get a bit more wood this way. It may not work on all guitars, but give it a go.
Great information, thanks Mark
Thank you. I've wanting to know about that for a long time. Good job.
You're welcome! Thanks for the comment.
I have a 2020 with adjustable tusq. I hate it. Ordered a bone replacement saddle today. Can't wait to install it. May do a video on it.
You might prefer to use the bone saddle as a 'drop in' and shim up the bottom for the right action rather than using the adjustment screws. You'll hear a marked difference in tone.
@@TheFolkwayMusic May try that. I have the new bone one in. Wow what a difference! I like this guitar now
i got hold of one of these plastic bridges and what amazed me is that they are hollow, not even solid contact, no wonder they warped.
i have a 66 gibson j45 that the previous owner converted from (wooden) adj to fixed, and i have a 69 epiphone texan that still has the adjustable (wooden) bridge - the texan sounds better, not by much, but definitely more resonant bass. i thnk obviously a plastic bridge is crap, but sound of acoustics is so subjective it varies from guitar to guitar. the only weird thing about adj saddles is, once you've got it just where you want it - it's redundant. anyway, on with the video, let's see what you have to say...
Quite an elaborate set-up very interesting never seen one of those holow bridges. I wonder how the gluing of the bridge plate is taking nice contact on the top with the bushings in the way ?
The bridge plate is glued to the top. The bushings go through it.
I just got my hands on a 1962 J-50 with a rosewood bridge and ceramic saddle. Do you know if the construction is similar in terms of all the bolts and if so, would it get in the way of an installation of K&K Pure Mini pickups?
You can install a K+K pickup in one of these guitars, but pickup placement won't follow the same rules as with a 'normal' saddle. You're best to experiment with placement.
Hi did you say you prefer the plastic bridge to the rosewood? Just about to buy a 63 and not getting a chance to try before I buy.
Generally speaking, the 1963 and earlier versions sound significantly better than the post-plastic versions. Our faves are those from 1956-62 (rosewood), followed by the plastic ones in '62 and '63, but there are no strict laws about any of this.
Hey Mark! I've seen a J-160E, first year production ('54 I think), with that kind of light-colored plywood bridge plate and hardware. But it was mounted on top of a first bridge plate of darker, thinner wood. The plywood plate had a cut-out over the string-end holes. Have you ever seen that? I'm wondering if all the early J-160E's were like that. I'm placing emphasis on it because, as you say, if you change elements of that adjustable bridge construction then you could get dramatic changes in the sound of the guitar. Thanks for a wonderful video!
The first J160E models had a unique saddle height adjustment system that was completely different than the 'standard' adjustable saddles that followed by 1956. The big nickel-sized disks on the wings were hight adjustments that raised and lowered the saddle (and offered a lot more range than later adj saddles. The extra plywood plate under the top is part of that system. Hope that helps.
I have a '63 J45 with the plastic saddle. Should I replace with a wooden saddle?
Most plastic bridge Gibsons suffer from damage due to the attachment style and a better off replaced. There are those, however, which remain in good condition and aren't causing harm the guitar. In those cases, give thought to the irreversibility of the modification.
Thanks for all your great videos! A question: is that dark brown, opaque glue squeeze-out that old harmony built guitars have, also urea formaldehyde glue?
I believe they were built with hide glue, but I've never looked too closely.
Super interesting, thanks. I have a Dorado by Gretsch from 1974 that needs it's neck reset. Jumbo Model 5967. I sold it back in about 1980, and found it in Florida last year and rebought it. I'm thinking it may not have been solid wood, but sounds huge anyway. It has binding on neck and headstock, mustache adjustable bridge. The string height, like many of those old ones now, is too high. IT sounds deeper and more full than my 2021 Gibson Songwriter Standard. So I'm going to want to make it more playable. Where are you guys located? Thanks for the video!
Glad you enjoyed it. Our shop is in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
My Ariana A-690 has an adjustable bridge needing removal but the brass grommets with nuts removed, are stuck. What gives? Are the grommets screwed into the bridgeplate and top? Afraid to force them out but how to unscrew them? Good Japanese dreadnaught.
Sorry, Doug, but we can't offer help on this one without seeing it in person.
@@TheFolkwayMusic Thanks, the grommets were jammed in, not screwed. But the brass saddle was compensated exactly in the wrong direction, so I eliminated the adjustable bridge altogether and installed a wood/plastic saddle system. Works fine.
are the saddles on them porcelain or ceramic. Have the original plastic on my 63 SJ-ty
I believe they are porcelain as they have a very fine-grained composition. That said, I'm no ceramics expert!
@@TheFolkwayMusic ty. Appreciated
Oh...and do you know what kind of wood that light-colored 3-ply plywood is made of?
Mark, I Inherited A Family Owned J-45 with a s/n of 107138 and it has the plastic adjustable bridge with a Black saddle. It Sound Amazing as I played this Guitar as a teen and I am 63 now. based on the serial and what you say about the plastic bridge dates, when was my guitar built? The s/n says 70's. Thanks in advance Sir.
Frankie - Gibson recycled serial numbers from the 1960's in the 1970's. If it has the plastic bridge it's from the early 1960's, and likely 1963, which works with the SN you've listed. The 70's J-45 are altogether different guitars.
So, they have been taking the piss out of their customers all the way back to then
Do you know what year they started using the plastic bridges?
1962
Buy Authentic! Gibson sure broke the bank with their bridge assemblies..
was there a certain '60s year that Gibson had a Ceramic saddle in the adjustable bridge? or were they all plastic?
MOST of the adjustable bridges were made of wood. In 1962/3 the Plastic bridge was used, with exceptions.
I commented also on Facebook. Question for you. I recently bought a 64/65 Hummingbird. It has the ceramic bridge but the bridge is made of wood. Would that be original from the factory?
Likely. The plastic bridges were largely gone by 64. I can't recall seeing a hummingbird with a plastic bridge, but they're out there. The plastic bridges were used on J45/50 and B15/25 as well as the epiphone equivalents. They show up on SJ's as well.
@@TheFolkwayMusic ok. Thanks.
that is disturbing