they didnt seem to drill the bridge on les pauls at a 45 degree angle to the angle of the neck, Do you know what I mean?
So when you intonate the bridge bits.the string height raises as you move individual bits toward the neck and the height decrease as you move them bridges back toward the tailpeace.
Its slight I know but its important if you like low action.
@guitartec Yes. A Gibson tune-o-matic style bridge will collapse to some extent under pressure from a stop bar tailpiece that is screwed all the way down to the top. ABR-1's are most susceptible to this, but the Nashville bridges can be crushed as well. When this happens, you won't have anything close to a bridge radius that matches the fingerboard.
@smbstressfest In 35 years of repair, I've never seen a "crushed" (bent) USA-made Nashville. I'd love to see one, though. I've seen plenty of crushed ABR-1s, regardless of the tlpc anchor screws height. The alloy is much weaker, and so is the design.
@guitartec The only picture I personally have in my possession regarding a smashed Nashville tune-o-matic is of my crude little setup for clamping it back to the proper shape. If one comes into the shop for repair, I'll try and remember to snap a picture. It's not as common as with the ABR-1s, but Nashville models can deflect under pressure too.
@guitartec OH YEAH! Especially with the wider Nash style. All the down press will put little notches on the backside of the Nash bridge 'frame' as it goes sharply over the backside. There's a point, its known as diminishing returns. It's NOT needed and causes more problems than it supposedly fixes. It's also gonna push that bridge forward, now changing scale length over time. & angle the inserts (LOOSEN) SO much for the enhanced string transfer now too.It's overkill! MY 2 cents! FWIW...
@crazyiommi I was referring to the bending (crushing) of an ABR1, but I know you're talking about with the Nashville and have several fixes for those kind of break angle issues.
Nashvilles don't typically push forward due to the height adjusters being screwed into anchors (like the one in the video).
Well thanks Jason, I have spent many hours watching your video series which take the fear out of the repairs, although as an engineer myself I know the tools of the trade are very important and seeing all the tools you use to do it professionally I think its best that people like you carry this type of work out. I found the series fascinating viewing, My son has one of those Steve Vai Jem 7v signature guitars with intricate neck inlays, which would probably be one you'd avoid for a refret video!
@ZIPPY014 Nah, those really elaborate inlays don't really affect the fretwork so much. If it's actual shell (most are plastic) and the inlay itself forms the edge of the fretslot you have to be careful and perhaps file down the tangs to keep from cracking the material. At that point you'd want to rely on glue to hold the fret down. But other than that, nothing really changes.
In fact, if i come across one of those for a refret I'll consider doing a few videos to address that very item.
I think you may be right and possibly Gibson studs will fit which I should be able to get in UK . In case the inserts have also come loose are they a press fit and/or glued?
@ZIPPY014 They press in. If you need to replace the bushings as well, you can make or buy a bushing puller, and they come out simply. But as long as they were tight and the new studs fit them, I'd try and reuse the existing bushings.
@ZIPPY014 Hey, I have been playing along time and set up all of my guitars on my own. With that said I have never had to refret a guitar but I would love to be able to Level the frets. I have a question, I noticed when looking through the tools for leveling and fretting 2 tools that do the same thing however I do not quite understand. It would seem to me a radius block would be correct to use since all frets and necks have a proper radii. Then what does the flat sanding block for with no radii?
@ZIPPY014 You must have gotten some bad studs. 8mm steel wouldn't bend under the tensions were dealing with here on stringed musical instruments. You should be able to find replacement studs in a catalog pretty easily.
@ZIPPY014 What make and model guitar are we talking about? All of the Gibson guitars typically have 8mm or 5/16" steel stop bar studs and they don't bend so easily.
Further to my previous comment the strings were 010-046 guage so they are regular light nothing heavy. A tip for curing the problem of the bridge I found was that instead of inserting the strings from the back as normal you insert it from the front of the tailpeice and bring them back over the top of the tailpeice then over the bridge, this gives you no loss of tone/sustain and cures the pressure on the bridge as well as having the tailpeice fasteners firmly against the body keeping guitar tuned
@ZIPPY014 Yeah, that does seem to preserve the tune-o-matic nicely. I still hear people from time to time criticize this approach since it compromises end tension by reducing break angle across the saddles. Many seem to think that the increased end tension is what gives this better sound they claim to hear.
I believe I've said as much in a few videos before, but I'm not convinced that people can actually hear a difference. I'd love to see a properly blinded study that tests this hypothesis.
@smbstressfest I agree 110%. I've been doing this for 35 yrs.Every time I go into a GC (UGhhh!) Every Gibson TP is ALL the way down against the body on LP's and SG"s. {I'm an SG guy not LP unless its a 61-62} They play like shite! TOOOOO much tension MAY? enhance tone & sustain but I think they 'feel' like u r fighting the tension at all times. Shallower angle plays better, bends like butter. and stays in tune too. Never had a problem in 35 yrs. and over 20 SG's & 4 LP's. 4 me shallow works fine
I tried your advice on lifting the tailpeice up to relieve pressure on the Tune-O-Matic bridge but this kept making the guitar go out of tune which it never did before, it was set up to a height very similar to yours with just the first thread or two showng on the tailpiece fasteners. I found the reason for the problem was that under string tension the fasteners were bending due to the increased leverage on them, so every time you tuned up they would bend a bit more so I wouldn't advise doing it
@ZIPPY014 Those studs for the stop bar are like 8mm wide steel! It seems to me unlikely that they'd have "bent" under the tensions present on a guitar. I'd guess that the increased leverage from the studs being higher caused the bushings that receive them to wallow in their holes on the guitar top. That could cause tuning instability. You might try to wiggle the studs in an extra high position and check for movement down near the bushings. It should be very tight with no visible movement.
Holy Crap!! What is the name of the colour of that green Les Paul? Looks amazing!
666jony666 2 months ago
@666jony666 Gibson called it Gecko.
smbstressfest 2 months ago
they didnt seem to drill the bridge on les pauls at a 45 degree angle to the angle of the neck, Do you know what I mean?
So when you intonate the bridge bits.the string height raises as you move individual bits toward the neck and the height decrease as you move them bridges back toward the tailpeace.
Its slight I know but its important if you like low action.
kaptainbastard 2 months ago
Crush the bridge?
guitartec 4 months ago
@guitartec Yes. A Gibson tune-o-matic style bridge will collapse to some extent under pressure from a stop bar tailpiece that is screwed all the way down to the top. ABR-1's are most susceptible to this, but the Nashville bridges can be crushed as well. When this happens, you won't have anything close to a bridge radius that matches the fingerboard.
smbstressfest 4 months ago
@smbstressfest Never seen a Nashville crush before. Gotta see that. Any pics?
guitartec 4 months ago
@smbstressfest In 35 years of repair, I've never seen a "crushed" (bent) USA-made Nashville. I'd love to see one, though. I've seen plenty of crushed ABR-1s, regardless of the tlpc anchor screws height. The alloy is much weaker, and so is the design.
guitartec 3 weeks ago
@guitartec The only picture I personally have in my possession regarding a smashed Nashville tune-o-matic is of my crude little setup for clamping it back to the proper shape. If one comes into the shop for repair, I'll try and remember to snap a picture. It's not as common as with the ABR-1s, but Nashville models can deflect under pressure too.
smbstressfest 3 weeks ago
@smbstressfest Okay, thanks. I'll ask around and see if anyone's seen that.
guitartec 3 weeks ago
@guitartec OH YEAH! Especially with the wider Nash style. All the down press will put little notches on the backside of the Nash bridge 'frame' as it goes sharply over the backside. There's a point, its known as diminishing returns. It's NOT needed and causes more problems than it supposedly fixes. It's also gonna push that bridge forward, now changing scale length over time. & angle the inserts (LOOSEN) SO much for the enhanced string transfer now too.It's overkill! MY 2 cents! FWIW...
crazyiommi 3 weeks ago
Comment removed
guitartec 3 weeks ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@crazyiommi I was referring to the bending (crushing) of an ABR1, but I know you're talking about with the Nashville and have several fixes for those kind of break angle issues.
Nashvilles don't typically push forward due to the height adjusters being screwed into anchors (like the one in the video).
guitartec 3 weeks ago
I learned the hard way that putting the stop bar all the way down wrecks your Tune-O-Matic
Glockenator 1 year ago
Well thanks Jason, I have spent many hours watching your video series which take the fear out of the repairs, although as an engineer myself I know the tools of the trade are very important and seeing all the tools you use to do it professionally I think its best that people like you carry this type of work out. I found the series fascinating viewing, My son has one of those Steve Vai Jem 7v signature guitars with intricate neck inlays, which would probably be one you'd avoid for a refret video!
ZIPPY014 1 year ago
@ZIPPY014 Nah, those really elaborate inlays don't really affect the fretwork so much. If it's actual shell (most are plastic) and the inlay itself forms the edge of the fretslot you have to be careful and perhaps file down the tangs to keep from cracking the material. At that point you'd want to rely on glue to hold the fret down. But other than that, nothing really changes.
In fact, if i come across one of those for a refret I'll consider doing a few videos to address that very item.
smbstressfest 1 year ago
I think you may be right and possibly Gibson studs will fit which I should be able to get in UK . In case the inserts have also come loose are they a press fit and/or glued?
ZIPPY014 1 year ago
@ZIPPY014 They press in. If you need to replace the bushings as well, you can make or buy a bushing puller, and they come out simply. But as long as they were tight and the new studs fit them, I'd try and reuse the existing bushings.
smbstressfest 1 year ago
@ZIPPY014 Hey, I have been playing along time and set up all of my guitars on my own. With that said I have never had to refret a guitar but I would love to be able to Level the frets. I have a question, I noticed when looking through the tools for leveling and fretting 2 tools that do the same thing however I do not quite understand. It would seem to me a radius block would be correct to use since all frets and necks have a proper radii. Then what does the flat sanding block for with no radii?
willeng84 1 year ago
Make is Burny by Fernandes and yes its an 8mm thread.
They are LP copies but high end respected ones. My Goldtop would retail for about $800 - $1000 problem is Jason no-one in UK does spares for these.
ZIPPY014 1 year ago
@ZIPPY014 You must have gotten some bad studs. 8mm steel wouldn't bend under the tensions were dealing with here on stringed musical instruments. You should be able to find replacement studs in a catalog pretty easily.
smbstressfest 1 year ago
They definately bent as they would only unscrew and you could see the bend as you unscrewed them
ZIPPY014 1 year ago
@ZIPPY014 What make and model guitar are we talking about? All of the Gibson guitars typically have 8mm or 5/16" steel stop bar studs and they don't bend so easily.
smbstressfest 1 year ago
Further to my previous comment the strings were 010-046 guage so they are regular light nothing heavy. A tip for curing the problem of the bridge I found was that instead of inserting the strings from the back as normal you insert it from the front of the tailpeice and bring them back over the top of the tailpeice then over the bridge, this gives you no loss of tone/sustain and cures the pressure on the bridge as well as having the tailpeice fasteners firmly against the body keeping guitar tuned
ZIPPY014 1 year ago
@ZIPPY014 Yeah, that does seem to preserve the tune-o-matic nicely. I still hear people from time to time criticize this approach since it compromises end tension by reducing break angle across the saddles. Many seem to think that the increased end tension is what gives this better sound they claim to hear.
I believe I've said as much in a few videos before, but I'm not convinced that people can actually hear a difference. I'd love to see a properly blinded study that tests this hypothesis.
smbstressfest 1 year ago
@smbstressfest I agree 110%. I've been doing this for 35 yrs.Every time I go into a GC (UGhhh!) Every Gibson TP is ALL the way down against the body on LP's and SG"s. {I'm an SG guy not LP unless its a 61-62} They play like shite! TOOOOO much tension MAY? enhance tone & sustain but I think they 'feel' like u r fighting the tension at all times. Shallower angle plays better, bends like butter. and stays in tune too. Never had a problem in 35 yrs. and over 20 SG's & 4 LP's. 4 me shallow works fine
crazyiommi 3 weeks ago
I tried your advice on lifting the tailpeice up to relieve pressure on the Tune-O-Matic bridge but this kept making the guitar go out of tune which it never did before, it was set up to a height very similar to yours with just the first thread or two showng on the tailpiece fasteners. I found the reason for the problem was that under string tension the fasteners were bending due to the increased leverage on them, so every time you tuned up they would bend a bit more so I wouldn't advise doing it
ZIPPY014 1 year ago
@ZIPPY014 Those studs for the stop bar are like 8mm wide steel! It seems to me unlikely that they'd have "bent" under the tensions present on a guitar. I'd guess that the increased leverage from the studs being higher caused the bushings that receive them to wallow in their holes on the guitar top. That could cause tuning instability. You might try to wiggle the studs in an extra high position and check for movement down near the bushings. It should be very tight with no visible movement.
smbstressfest 1 year ago
Thanks, I've seen the strat refret series but this is very interesting nonetheless. 5/5
laripsspiral 2 years ago
I like the two polar opposite LP's as well.
02stanggt 2 years ago
It was great to see an explanation of the neck jig. Great video as always.
02stanggt 2 years ago
Excellent series again, Jason.
I am always impressed by your work.
Marcusisit 2 years ago 5