Which bridge for my Precision Guitar Kits LP

[Lzwb]

Just got my Jimmy Page #3 style LP from Precision guitar kits, will post pics of it once my manlius pickups and rsguitarworks kit come in and I get it all wired up and ready to play.

The only part I didn't order for the guitar are the bridge and tailpiece + the studs that go into the body. The body is routed for the standard tuneomatic and stop bar tailpiece

On Precisions website it says the holes are routed for the larger studs, which lists the dimensions of the holes that are drilled as 11.3mm or 7/16"

I've never changed a bridge on a les paul and now that I'm looking into it I see theres a ton of different brands that make the same tuneomatic style bridge and am not sure what to buy. I also don't want to buy one that isn't going to fit into the holes that are already drilled. I see a lot of people recommend the tonepros bridge, but theres also a few different tuneomatic models that they make. Can anyone give me some recommendations?

 

[Freddy G]

Used to be a tonepros advocate. But it's all Faber for me now.

 

[SGeoff]

To avoid these types of situations, I just ordered the stuff from precision when I ordered my guitar. You could just tell them what guitar you ordered and have them send the right parts. Or get calipers and measure all the holes and order the right stuff that way. don't forget the center of hole to center of hole measurement to get the correct width bridge, as this changes what you may need to order also.

 

[ARandall]

Yep, measure holes and spread. Many suppliers if not all will give tech specs for hardware, so you can doublecheck it is precisely what you're after.

 

[Skyjerk]

Used to be a tonepros advocate. But it's all Faber for me now.

Hmmmm. What does Freddy know that I dont?

The obvious reply there is "A shit-ton of stuff", but I'll content myself with specifics on why you prefer Faber now

 

[Lzwb]

Yep, measure holes and spread. Many suppliers if not all will give tech specs for hardware, so you can doublecheck it is precisely what you're after.

Well the specs of the guitar I bought from the site show
Tailpiece post spacing - 82mm
Bridge post spacing - 72mm

The TonePro bridges that precision sell on their site show
Tailpiece post spacing - 82mm
Bridge post spacing - 74mm

Not sure why the bridges they are selling are 74mm when all of the LP style guitars they sell are showing a 72mm bridge post spacing.

I measured the holes myself and it comes out to 2 7/8" which is about 73mm.

Now i'm even more confused lol. I sent phil at precision an email but it'll probably be a week or two before I get a response, if any lol. Incredible guitar but extremely hard to get a hold of him

 

[Lzwb]

I just properly measured the bridge spacing and it is actually 2.93" or ~74mm. The listing on the precision site is wrong, he has it listed as 2.83" which is only 72mm. Just ordered a tonepros tb3t bridge and tailpiece

 

[BPW666]

Used to be a tonepros advocate. But it's all Faber for me now.

That's nice to hear, I've just started some sort of LP build and got Faber's take on a locking ARB1 and aluminium tail piece in the post this morning.

 

[Freddy G]

Hmmmm. What does Freddy know that I dont?

The obvious reply there is "A shit-ton of stuff", but I'll content myself with specifics on why you prefer Faber now

The lockdown mechanism on the Faber is a much better design. Rather than just a grub screw on the post the Faber locks it down tight. For the bridge and the tailpiece....maximum coupling to the body. I noticed a definite sonic improvement over the tonepros. I really like some of their post conversion hardware too. Everything I'v tried from them so far has been great.

 

[BPW666]

The other bridge i was considering was the pinnacle, it's got a similar locking mechanism to the Faber. It's a lot cheaper but I'd never heard of the brand so when with the Faber, but I've just noticed Gibson are fitting them on some guitars now, has anyone tried it?

 

[Freddy G]

... the pinnacle, it's got a similar locking mechanism to the Faber....

The one I was looking at from Philadelphia Luthier Supply is not locking. It has an hex height adjustment that could be mistaken for a locking system. Or do you know of a locking model they manufacture?

 

[BPW666]

The one I was looking at from Philadelphia Luthier Supply is not locking. It has an hex height adjustment that could be mistaken for a locking system. Or do you know of a locking model they manufacture?

Yup, i can only see the locking Nashville version at Philly luthier supplies but here's a link to a European site selling the arb1 variety. https://www.crazyparts.de/bridges--...nacle-locking-nonwire-abr-1-nickel-plated.php

 

[BPW666]

This looks like it, i think they have just missed the brand name I the listing. https://www.philadelphialuthiertool...with-plated-brass-saddles-for-vintage-gibson/