#Calaham bridge for tom anderson guitars full#

#Calaham bridge for tom anderson guitars full#

Roller TOM bridges are currently offered by ABM and GГ¶ldo.Д«abicz took the tune-o-matic design one step further with their full contact bridge. The saddles rolling parts are manufactured from solid milled bell brass. The concept behind is simple: if the string is able to roll on a moving wheel, thereвЂ™s virtually no chance that it will snap, as there is zero friction. The roller bridge combines the solid design of the TOM bridge with freely rolling saddles. Other manufacturers are offering replacement bridges, such as Gretsch, Gotoh, and Schaller. Gretsch issued his own version, called Adjust-O-Matic, virtually identical to the Nashville design. As today, one of the most popular guitar bridges on the market, is found on virtually every Gibson you may buy. Main differences are the extended saddles travel, bigger posts and saddles screws orientation. Gibson took the ABR-1 design and developed into a bigger and sturdier bridge. When Gibson moved their Les Paul production to Nashville, a new bridge was required. Unfortunately, itвЂ™s hard to buy the Harmonica Bridge today, but Schaller offers a modern version, with adjustable string spacing. Lighter strings couldnвЂ™t intonate properly on the ABR-1 due to the travel of the saddle that wasnвЂ™t long enough.В Gibson responded back with this bridge, which is not as popular as the Nashville, and can be found on some vintage SGвЂ™s. This bridge was built by Schaller under Gibson request in order to accomodate lighter strings, as they started to become popular in the 70s. Schaller Wide travel aka вЂњHarmonica BridgeвЂќ (1970-1980) The вЂњTrue HistoricвЂќ version, that matches the bridges built between 19, doesnвЂ™t have a retainer wire, so be careful when re-stringing your guitar as the saddles may fall off! You can buy ABR-1 style bridge from manufacturer such as Gibson, ABM, TonePros and Montreux. Thanks to his thumbwheel system, the height on both sides can be adjusted within minutes. The bridge that started it all, the ABR-1 is a vintage bridge often found on reissue guitars. As years passed by, other companies started to build TOM bridges as spare parts or upgrades, leading to a huge catalogue to choose from. Throughout the years, Gibson made some variations onВ their bridges. On Gibson style guitar, the TOM has a 12вЂі radius. Players today are constantly looking for different materials (especially for the stopbar, but also) in order to achieve tonal varieties, such as brass, nickel and aluminium.ДЇinally, the Tune-O-Matic bridge should be arched to match the radius of the fretboard. ThereвЂ™s no exact rule, as people may prefer to have the screws on the Nashville side and be able to adjust the saddles position more easily with the screwdriver.Д«eing the bridge built with metal parts, thereвЂ™s a side effect that surprised Ted himself: a change in tone and sustain, due to the coupling between strings and body.

Historically, the вЂњVintageвЂќ (ABR-1) had the screws facing the neck, while the вЂњModernвЂќ (Nashville) screws are facing the stopbar.

Thanks to his symmetrical design, the bridge can be placed either way round on the two main posts, leading to a little bit of confusion among players. Saddles can be moved back and forward with a screw to adjust intonation.ДЄfter traveling from the machine head, going into the nut, and arriving at the saddle groove, the strings continues hisВ journey to the tailpiece (or the back of the guitar, if you have a string-through-body design), that is responsible for holding the string firmly and tightly in place. The bar part consists of six individually adjustable saddles, with small grooves notched that should match the string gauge and shape. The Tune-O-Matic bridge design is quite simple to understand.В The main part sits on two adjustable posts, screwed down into the guitar body. Fast forward to this day, a high percentage of fixed bridge electric guitars have a Tune-O-Matic style bridge, often partnered with a separate stopbar tailpiece.В (designed starting from the original wraparound design). It was quickly made clear that this piece of hardwareВ did not represent just a вЂњcustomвЂќ upgrade, but a standard feature that every guitar deserved. The bridge was developed and invented by GibsonвЂ™s president Ted McCarty in 1953 for the Gibson Super 400 and later,В in 1954, for the Les Paul Custom.

With the TOM bridge, guitarists areВ allowed to choose the perfect distance from the saddle to the nut for every single string, obtaining a 100% perfect intonation. Sure, the strings were kept in place,В but it wasnвЂ™t enough: the guitars werenвЂ™t fully and precisely intonated. Before the invention of Tune-O-Matic (often calledВ вЂњTOMвЂќ)В bridge, guitars only had wood bridges (usually a compensated one-piece rosewood with ebony saddles), trapeze tailpieces or simple wraparound screwed into the body.