Tone Pros locking bridge and tail piece for my Classic

[Mr.Drye]

So I finally broke down and got one of these sets to try out. I didn't get this for an improvement in tone. My reason were purely lazy. I wanted to be able to lock my guitar down once I got it set up good and I didn't want the bridge to be able to fall off when changing strings. Not to mention I got a good deal on it. I just wanted to show the differences in these parts vs stock and show that it's an easy swap.

 

[Mr.Drye]

The Tone Pros is on the left and stock on the right. Notice the closed back of the Tone Pros bridge. The new tail piece seems to be lighter and also notice the slots for the studs are cut farther back.

 

[Mr.Drye]

Notice how the Tone Pros has more room for intonation adjustment. I've never had an issue with this. It also has Phillips screws and nuts on the other side. Neither positive or negative I guess. Notice the stop bar posts(the stock one is on the left in this one, sorry). It seems to be made to let the stop bar fit more snug as far as the thickness of the stop bar. Notice how much shorter the new one is overall though.

 

[Mr.Drye]

Now onto something I don't care for. Notice how the holes of the bridge don't fit snugly to the posts? The old and new posts are identical btw. I know that once it's locked down it shouldn't matter but from a mechanical perspective I don't like loose tolerances. I don't really plan on turning this guitar 10000 rpm on a regular basis but it still bothers me. I'd be curious to know if those of you with Standards with the locking setup have observed this as well.

 

[Mr.Drye]

And here she is all finished up. It's a pretty easy job(drop in replacement). Just take your time and measure all your old settings so you have a starting point. It's only been on for a day but overall I'm pleased with it. Hope this was helpful, informative, or at least enjoyable for someone. Thanks for bearing with me.

 

[acalaf]

Any change in tone? I put the tonepros locking studs in my 1990 standard and notice the tone sounds fuller and the feel of the guitar is different. I like it.

 

[Mr.Drye]

I haven't tried it through my amp yet. I've played it unplugged a good bit and played Rocksmith some. I can only comment for unplugged. It seems like it rings out more but it could all just be in my head. I think you are on to something about it feeling different too. Not really sure how to explain it though.

 

[acalaf]

to me, the strings feel slinkier and more in my control. also the whole wood of the guitar shakes, but more dispersed and less centralized in one point of the guitar. I like it. i only changed the studs though. the bridge is not locked.

 

[Pwrmac7600]

I have TP locking bridges and locking studs on almost all of my LP's. All of my TP nashville bridges have the slop in the post hole. It bothers me too, you are not alone.
Even if you use the stock gibson posts it is there. I noticed this can really affect your intonation. You need to ensure you go back and forth evenly when tightening the screws to lock it down, and intonate it after it is locked down. I made the mistake once of setting it all up and then locking it down, and it threw the intonation completely off just from the slight shift of the bridge once the set screws were tightened.

 

[Mr.Drye]

Cool thanks for the reply. I figured the ones that came installed from the factory were the same as the kits. Just wanted to be sure.

 

[KiwiCutlass]

Now onto something I don't care for. Notice how the holes of the bridge don't fit snugly to the posts? The old and new posts are identical btw. I know that once it's locked down it shouldn't matter but from a mechanical perspective I don't like loose tolerances. I don't really plan on turning this guitar 10000 rpm on a regular basis but it still bothers me. I'd be curious to know if those of you with Standards with the locking setup have observed this as well.

Interesting facts: Les Paul Standard T models of mid 2010's have locking Tone Pro Tune-o-matic bridges and locking Tone Pro Tailpieces as well. I have a 2016 Standard T which is why I did some research. The T stands for Traditional so it is a Les Paul Standard Traditional but at the same time there is the Les Paul Traditional available. Seems like Gibson go out of their way to confuse people.BTW the Standard T line are I think the most non traditional Les Paul ever ! Big call I know but there is truly nothing traditional about them apart from the Maple and Mahogany wood used, body shape and frets .They are stealthy but everything else is tricked out which is one of the reasons I bought mine. Best split humbucker tones esp the Neck pickup and the nicest neck/fingerboard I've come across. It's like someone went through checking boxes for their own (real) custom build.

 

[Leee]

Wow.
Back from the dead after 10 years!
@Mr.Drye hasn’t been here since 2018.

Oh well - I like TonePros hardware too.

 

[Deftone]

Wow.
Back from the dead after 10 years!
@Mr.Drye hasn’t been here since 2018.

Oh well - I like TonePros hardware too.

I just got a set on an LP I traded an amp for. I like them a lot.

 

[Leee]

What did you get?

 

[Deftone]

What did you get?

'09 Standard Premium Plus....

It came with locking tuners and a Neutrik jack as well. Not crazy about the jack but the rest of the hardware is pretty cool. Think I'm gonna swap out those reflector knobs, tho...