Wraparound bridge placement? Do I add to the scale length?

[Rapdog]

Any tips for doing a wraparound bridge?

1. It seems to be on a 25” scale the posts are actually placed at 25.25”. How much extra do you add for placement for getting the right intonation? I am planning on using a bridge with adjustable saddles.

2. Some are offset posts and done are at same level. I am looking to do a wraparound but want to do it right the first time rather than drill, fill, and drill again.

Thank you.

 

[sonar1]

1/8” longer on the bass side.

 

[pshupe]

Is this a new build? Do you have the bridge? I like to set intonation before drilling. I have a cheap trapeze tailpiece that I setup with the strings and place the bridge where it needs to be for intonation then drill. It's a little trickier if you are using a wrap tail because the strings wrap around and you want to push the bridge farther to the bass side to align the strings. In this case the bridge is not centered on the neck. Pictures?

Cheers Peter.

 

[ARandall]

Yep. There's a whole slew of instructions for wraptail placement depending on the type. But with adjustable saddles you could probably bank on the nut-12th measurement +1/8" (add that beyond the 12th fret) as your centreline for the saddles all at middle of range. Your studs can be perpendicular to the centreline as you want the string to wrap inline with your saddle and not pull sidewards.

 

[CerebralGasket]

I've seen a lot of second hand vintage SG Juniors and Specials with the incorrect wraparound bridges installed after the guitar left the factory. In other words, the bridge posts are at the correct location, but people unknowingly swapped a 50's wraparound for a 60's wraparound and vice versa. They are not interchangeable. See link below for some of my observations about wraparound bridge placement.

1950's vs 1960's Wraparound Bridge

1950's Style Post holes are drilled so that the position of the bridge is slanted in relation to the pickup. There is no lightning bar on this style bridge. In addition to Les Pauls, this bridge style was also used on 1961-62 SG Juniors and Specials. 1960's Style (Lightning Bar) Post holes...

www.mylespaul.com

 

[cmjohnson]

Based on personal results, my method which so far has never missed is:

Double the nut to 12th fret measurement. Add 1/8". Draw a line at this point, across the guitar face, and perpendicular to the centerline of the neck.

Now mark the center of the six strings on that line. This is your center reference point.

Draw another line with the same center point, but rotate this line, making the bass side longer and the treble side shorter.

Rotate the line so that the center of the bridge posts on a TOM bridge are now respectively 3/32nds of an inch longer (bass) and shorter (treble).

THIS line is the saddle line.

I've never missed using this method. So I presume it to be good.

It's been accurate enough for even a wraparound non-intonatable (Pre-intonated by the way it's made) PRS stopbar tailpiece.
This does allow for the whole bridge to be moved back and forward on the studs, but this type has no separately movable saddles.

 

[LtDave32]

There is a .pdf file floating around here somewhere, compiled by MLP member @DoneOne. it has everything about wrap-tails in it to the finest detail..
I'm not home right now to post it, but maybe someone else here has a copy they can post .

 

[ARandall]

^ I tried to find DoneOne's thread a while back but my MLP-Search-Fu must have been poor that day or its gone missing.

Luckily I had a PDF saved of the file - so I can always send that to someone if all else fails.

 

[cmjohnson]

Doesn't matter what the bridge type is. What matters is the saddle line. Whatever it takes to put that right where it needs to be is what needs to be done.