Which Bridge System Is On Your Gibson Guitar?
Nashville
Gibson guitars with separate bridge & tailpiece, starting circa 1974. Still in use on many new Gibson USA guitars, i.e. Flying V, Explorer, Firebird, LP Classic.
Smooth Post Tops, Flush with Bridge
Thumb Wheels and Post are One Unit
Metal Bushing Mounted in Body
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ABR-1
Used on vintage Gibson guitars from 1957 through 1974, Historic/Custom Shop, various “Reissues”, 1990-2003 Les Paul Classic.
Rough Post Tops
Thumb Wheels Rotate On Posts
Post Installed Directly in Body
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USA/ABR-1
2017 and later Les Paul Traditional, some 2017-2019 LP Standard & Classic, 2019 & later “The Original Collection” Les Paul Standards, SG Standard ’61 & ES-335/345.
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Wraparound
All Gibson guitars with wraparound (“Wrap Tail”) bridges, since 1954.
Strings Wrap Over Bridge
Bridge & Tailpiece One Unit
Bridge Mounts on Typical Tailpiece Studs
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“Larry, got all the parts that you sent installed into my new Firebird. All the new parts looked great, especially the ABR,the saddles fit in their grooves just right. The iNserts fit great, and I love how solid the bridge feels when locked down. Tone-Pros sent me two of their bridges for free, and this Faber Tone-Lock smokes them...
“I just wanted to let you know that I received the bridge kit and I have it already installed on my Les Paul Anniversary Flood... All we needed to hear was the first strum before plugging in to an amp to hear the fullness and sustain. And then, the first strum of an open A through the amp was astounding. I was expecting perhaps a subtle change in tone and some sustain improvements but not the huge boost in everything...
“I wanted to send you a note to thank you for getting the bridge parts out to me so quickly... I originally intended to just drop the ABRN bridge onto the Nashville studs. It went fine, but I am glad I went with the BSWKIT as well. I removed the original slugs installed the stud kit, and the difference in both sustain and the flavor of the tone wood of my 2001 Les Paul is miles better than it was originally.
“A lot of times you don’t get what you want -but the bridge that you sent was spectacular! Om Gosh the sustain and brightness of tone. Far out! (child of the sixties) Kick’in, I would recommend to anyone! P.S. I already had the Faber aluminum tail piece on my Heritage Les Paul. the bridge sent it to the next dimension! Found that 59 tone Happy!”
K.M.USA
“I have to say, my LP standard has your ABR on it and anyone who plays it RAVES about it. I can’t tell you how much the tone improved, even just unplugged when i swapped it out. can’t wait to put the ABRN on the custom i just bought! have a great weekend”
M.G.USA
“I don’t believe the difference this bridge made to a guitar I had almost given up on. She’s an early SG Classic with an ABR1. Just couldn’t get the tone I expected from the P90s or the feel of the action no matter how I tweaked it. Popped on the Faber, and bang! Twice the acoustic volume, great tight feel, better separation and there’s the tone!
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S.L.USA
(continued)...I don’t rave about many mods, don’t buy into the locking bridge deal and never consider leaving well enough alone in that elusive search for perfect tone, but this is the most I’ve been impressed with a piece in near 50 yrs of playing. Can’t believe these aren’t as well known out there as they deserve to be. Thanks, I’ll be back.”
S.L.USA
“Hi, Not that you need another testimonial, but I just installed a Tone-Lock ABRL bridge on my cheap-but-fun Chinese-made travel guitar, and holy cow!! did this bridge improve its tone and sustain! I really couldn’t be any more impressed. Your bridge took an cheap-but-fun $100 guitar that had relatively poor sustain and transformed it into an actual instrument. Between your bridge, posts, and the locking mechanism, I am now getting more sustain than I could have hoped for…”
J.M.USA
“Hi, I received my ABRN Bridge and found it to be really easy to install on my Heritage H-150 Les Paul... ... It only took about 5 minutes to replace the bridge and studs. The weight of your bridge is nice and the details and finish are superb. I was so happy to have the rattling of the loose tension screw on the B string saddle go away with the old inferior bridge, and just love this new bridge. Next up a new ABRH bridge for my 335!”
R.B.USA
“Hello. I have an Epiphone Les Paul. I have removed the original bridge bushings and installed the E-sert conversion posts. They fit perfectly. Swapping out the hardware was unbelievable easy. Then I put a wireless bridge over the posts and it fits perfectly. The thumb-wheels move smoothly up and down the threads on the thin posts. I couldnt be happier! Now I’m looking into further upgrades. I’m interested in buying a Faber locking bridge for another project on which I’m using the E-serts.”
S.G.USA
“I’ve played guitar for 31yrs, been in professional sales for 18+, – my point is when something goes wrong – people always let you know how you fell short but never how your service and or product excelled. I can’t help but chime in to you guys because the service, delivery and most importantly – was so much more than I ever expected. Thank you all – the bridge and tail piece look and sound incredible!!!”
P.L.USA
“This is my third Faber ToneLock installation. I have it on both my Les Pauls and of course it sounds great. I finally put a ToneLock Hybridge (brass and titanium) on my 335, which has always sounded somewhat dead and flat, especially when not plugged in. Now this baby rings and the sound is so much fuller... If you have a Gibson, you won’t believe the difference! Easy installation, by the way. Thanks, guys!
M.G.USA
"...How does it sound? Definitely different. I’ve tried top-wrapping this guitar in the past, but while it seemed to have more ring and an airier sound, it lost some of the harmonics I like (it actually has a fairly shallow neck angle, so there wasn’t a lot of angle across the bridge with the top-wrap). I’d say the sound now seems a little like the best of both – the positives of the top-wrap, without losing those cool harmonics. It also feels like it has more sustain than it’s ever had.”
T.B.Australia
“I just wanted to say that the Faber tone lock arrived and is everything that the hype promised it to be. My Les Paul Special sounds and feels like a different instrument … luxurious and piano-like. Thanks for a great product.”
J.C.Canada
“I installed the tone-lock. Guitar sounds amazing. Previously even with the new strings it sounded muddy, now is like an acoustic guitar, full and rich. Important thing is to remove the soft pads between the lacquer (under the finish) and the studs’ nuts, to direct contact the rings and the nuts. I don’t know why the Gibson put them, they kill the sound.”
M.G.Poland
“I wanted to let you know I’ve recently installed your Tone-Lock Master Kit on my ‘96 Gibson Les Paul Custom and I couldn’t be happier. Now, it not only looks better, it sounds better! The kit was a breeze to install. Everything I needed was provided and was carefully packaged to avoid damage. The parts all appear to be of high quality, and there were no visible defects.”
M.C.USA
Hello, Larry,
I have recently purchased a HyBridge Tone-Bar Wraparound Tailpiece, and I'm extremely happy with this purchase.
I think this was my 7th or so purchase of Faber Bridge (or Tailpiece), as most of my Gibson guitars have Faber installed on them.
And was a significant upgrade from the "standard" aged tailpiece I got from you, as I was struggling with Low wound string side
to be muddy and muffled on my Juniors. As I installed it upon arrival, I was stunned that it made those strings to vibrate like never before
and it sings like I never imagined. On top of it, I did not have to adjust the grub screw to intonate, as they were perfectly in pitch.
I just literally dropped it right in 🙂
I purchased 2 of those "Aged" version with brass tone-bar, and I put this HyBridge to Les Paul Junior, but the SG Junior still has the
brass, which is having similar problem with wound strings. (slightly less of a problem but still muddy)
Here's my question;
Will you be getting more of those by Memorial Weekend? Because I would like to get that for SG Junior as well. But I'm not in rush
to get them, yet. I hope you do, because it sure does make huge difference!
Thank you, Larry!
N.H.USA
“Hey Larry, I looked around for a bit when I decided to replace my ABR-1 on my 3 pickup Custom with Bigsby. I considered everybody, also inquired on various guitar forums. Many suggestions as you might well expect. Faber had the majority. I considered much of it hyperbole (after all, everyone thinks theirs is the best and y’all are trying to sell product) but I liked the fact that it said rattle free which was one of the problems with my Gibson ABR. I bought one on Fri. the 15th, an aged, gold unnotched one. I got it today, I’m in Okinawa, Japan. Well it is rattle free and it’s so much more. Actually, kinda unbelievable...It even sounds better unplugged, it’s made a difference...
G.M.APO-AP
...Finally, I picked up a 2014 LP Standard that needed some TLC. I got around to replacing the terrible stock Nashville bridge with your ABR conversion posts and bridge and it’s night and day! Perfect intonation, no having to spin saddles around and it’s just great! I’m about to buy the matching tailpiece right now.
Thanks again for the wonderful craftsmanship you put into your hardware. The fact there is a US distributor is absolutely perfect, I have received my items quickly and efficiently and they have worked incredibly well on my Gibson guitars.
G.A.USA
WOW!!! First off I wasn't expecting to even receive my order until maybe tomorrow or Wednesday at best. So thank you so much for sending it out over the weekend!!!
More importantly, this bridge sounds amazing! I've had an awful time trying to get my 2016 Les Paul traditional to sound as good as I knew it could. I recently replaced the pickups with a set that were more to my liking (Wolfetone Marshallheads). That fix worked to get me the sound and output I was looking for. Unfortunately it also brought out all the short comings of the stock Gibson Nashville bridge. If I got the high B and E strings to sound good, the wound strings were muddy and lacked clarity. If I got the wound strings sounding good and punchy, the high B and E strings would be shrill and ice-picky. And no amount of pickup adjusting could work around it.
I don't usually start espousing the greatness of a piece of gear or replacement part without spending a lot more time with it but this hybrid bridge just sounds so fantastic. Everything is sounding loud and proud now! I've been searching for this balance with this guitar for so long, I wish I would have found you all sooner! Love, love, loving it!
Thanks again!
M.Y.USA
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