Metric or Imperial Thread on Hamer USA Tailpiece studs?

[Wizard333]

Anyone know for sure? Thanks

[Uncle Thor's Hamer]

I can't say with authority on all Hamers. On my 2001 built Newport the bridge was definitely SAE (US threads). The tailpiece seems to be metric. I replaced the bridge and stop bar with TonePros units and found the new studs did not fit both sets of anchors. The bridge being replaced was a Shaller, while the tailpiece was a Gotoh.

I am guessing they had a mixed bin of parts at the factory and just assembled what they had, and I ended up with a mix of SAE and metric on my guitar. There is no sign of the anchors not being original.

[Wizard333]

It was Tonepros locking studs I was going to put on there so looks like metric for the tailpiece;this one is an '03 but the hardware all appears to be gotoh. Unless someone has something different.

[Uncle Thor's Hamer]

The tonepros tailpiece will fit on the existing studs just fine. That is what I did with mine. The bridge is a different story. The existing posts would work fine but I put in the TonePros posts. I bought an SAE set which came with the anchors, studs, bridge, and tailpiece. So the TonePros posts screw right into the bridge anchors just fine. The issue is that the original Shaller bridge has holes a fraction of a mm further apart than the TonePros. The new bridge fits very very snugly when first placed on the studs. As it goes lower the studs are trying to tilt towards each other, and it binds.

Somewhere, maybe widipedia, I came across some detailed dimensions. There is no overall standard on tune-o-matics. The Schaller seems to use a less common spacing between post holes in the bridge.

I got it to work but it took some pressure from the strings to push the bridge down. Probably this was not the best idea but it seems ok. There is definitely some stress in there but nothing cracked or broke. We are talking only fractions of a mm. I don't think I would force it if I had it to do again.

Bottom line is the tailpiece should be no problem at all but the bridge may not fit properly for you.

If you are just installing the locking studs you could return them if the threads are not correct. Or you could take a stud to the local hardware store and see if it threads into an SAE or a metric nut.

FWIW I think the tailpiece is well worth locking down in terms of sustain and especially to keep it from falling off and denting the finish when changing strings.

[MarkF786]

On the few Hamers I have, the tailpiece studs are all metric.

[Wizard333]

Actually it isn't so much to lock a tailpiece; the non locking studs and set screw tailpiece work fine for that. It's to put on a Duesenberg version of the Les Trem and lock it down, which will require the locking studs and a spacer. I need to have the trem be height adjustable. I use very heavy strings (13-62, sometimes a step heavier) and dont like a severe down angle over the bridge as I've found it deters from the feel of the guitar, hurts tuning stability, and does nothing to help sustain at all (in spite of all the internet conjecture). So I want to keep my shallow down angle from bridge to tail, plus lock in the trem, and it seems the locking studs with a spacer will be the best way to do that (at least I think so before actually trying it).