Help!? Steel, Aluminium, Brass or OEM Zinc Alloy? Tunamatic Replacement

[JGale]

First off which type bridge is my Hamer 25th Anniversary? ABR or Nashville?

Callaham - Steel

ABM - Brass, Aluminum, Stainless Steel

Tone Pros - Zinc

Gotoh - Aluminum or Zinc

Got a preference?

TIA,

Jim

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[murkat]

TOM (nashville)

depends on what you want out of it tone wise.

Schaller TOMS are benchmark, tight tolerances.

Gotoh's are japan's answer to Schaller. Good stuff. Solid machining.

Fancy? Faber.

[cmatthes]

2 hours ago, murkat said:

TOM (nashville)

depends on what you want out of it tone wise.

Schaller TOMS are benchmark, tight tolerances.

Gotoh's are japan's answer to Schaller. Good stuff. Solid machining.

Fancy? Faber.

My Fabers have all been purchased new for less than the Schaller equivalent and/or some Gotoh stuff!

They don't mess around when they have sales...

[JGale]

Thank you all for your response. 

A semi hollow all mahogany guitar already has a "throaty"  response. More bass is not welcome, nor is any more high end emphasis.

That leaves Aluminium or Zinc, no?

What about an aluminum bridge with a steel stoptail?

Thanks again🙂

[Travis]

1 hour ago, JGale said:

Thank you all for your response. 

A semi hollow all mahogany guitar already has a "throaty"  response. More bass is not welcome, nor is any more high end emphasis.

That leaves Aluminium or Zinc, no?

What about an aluminum bridge with a steel stoptail?

Thanks again🙂

 

34 minutes ago, gtrdaddy said:

Not having played the guitar I would recommend aluminum bridge with a zinc stoptail to avoid too much brightness. 

Listen to this man. He knows of which he speaks…

[JGale]

Okayly Dokaly 

Going with Faber. Has anyone done the "pop out the posts in the body and softly pound in the replacements" route or just the replace the parts not embedded in the guitar?

Video says itseasyanyonecandoit. 

EZ kit:

https://faberusa.com/product/5004-master-kit-ez-gloss-nickel/

Do it herself Luthier kit:

https://faberusa.com/product/5008-master-kit-plus-gloss-nickel/

Video: skip to 1:25m

https://youtu.be/pZb91F2Je5E

 

 

 

 

[cmatthes]

Faber is also 20% off right now...

https://faberusa.com/

[JGale]

Faber in the house,

Faber in da Haus,

High, Ho the Derrick,

Faber in the house!

[cmatthes]

Whoo hoo!

[BadgerDave]

I'm late to the party on this, but for the benefit of others who may have the same question:

The Master kit Plus version, which requires extracting the bridge post inserts and replacing with hammer-in posts is very easy to install.  Faber provides everything you need, and the process takes minutes to accomplish.  The result is superior to the EZ version, IMO, as it eliminates the bridge post "wobble" inherent in the OEM and Faber EZ screw-in post assemblies.  The Faber EZ version is tighter than the OEM, but there is still movement.

 

[JGale]

Thanks Dave. That's the version I went for. Was nervous about the pick and smash aspect but I'll take the necessary care.

[BubbaVO]

How’d it turn out?   Can you tell a difference? 

[aliparla]

I'm also late to the party, but I found a sound comparison between steel, brass and aluminium:

 

https://www.halonguitarparts.com/index.php/halon-guitar-products/les-paul-parts

[Jakeboy]

I know the difference on my Special Korina Jr was HUGE when I replaced the Wilky wrap with a Faber. More present and zingy, in a good way.

[joshoowah]

Curious how it turned out, and what to specify re: Inch v. Metric, if I order a Faber kit for my Super Pro... I'm definitely interested in the ToneLock design more than the set screw "locking" bridges, just not sure what a Hamer USA needs. I'm also thinking "Plus" rather than "EZ" if I buy Faber. Who can guide me so I select the right posts for my Nashville/Schaller replacement and for the new (aluminum) stop tail?

[JGale]

On 4/22/2022 at 3:19 PM, joshoowah said:

Curious how it turned out, and what to specify re: Inch v. Metric, if I order a Faber kit for my Super Pro... I'm definitely interested in the ToneLock design more than the set screw "locking" bridges, just not sure what a Hamer USA needs. I'm also thinking "Plus" rather than "EZ" if I buy Faber. Who can guide me so I select the right posts for my Nashville/Schaller replacement and for the new (aluminum) stop tail?

It's really easy to get to Larry Corsa via email. Rather than rely on our misreading your situation, seek the horses mouth.

In my case, a hog25th, I was looking to "tighten up" the response. I find 25ths (this is my second) to be a tad "loose" when you play them. Some like it, I wanted solid body snap with my moaning midrangery stuff. I got it with the Faber. I have a set of Carondelet Classic A2 PAFs in there. I get woody and articulate at the same time. How do it know?

The installation is a trip, from winding a tap screw into the wood to eject the insert, to pounding your baby with a hammer, repeatedly. There's video of these things.

The bridge on mine was US threaded. The stop tail was metric. WTF,H?

Pull the parts and check which is which thread before you go any further.