L-5 bridge height-anyone?

[floatingpickup]

I have noticed that modern L5's have higher bridges than some older (1960's) L5's. I have a 1966 L5CES with a lower bridge, where the saddle is only slightly up from the bridge base. I have a 1990's Wes L5 and the saddle is much higher due to the neck sitting higher in the pocket, and the pronounced curve of the top which slopes down before the bridge. I checked every photo of a newer L5 I could find online, and they all had the higher bridge with a large gap between base and saddle. I believe that is the way the modern Gibsons are made. I measured my Benedetto's bridge height, and it was very similar to the Wes L5 height. The difference is that the Benedetto has a deep wooden saddle that barely needs to be raised from the bridge base. Therefore no gap is visible.

I agree that modern Gibsons seem to have higher bridges than older ones. The elevation of the fingerboard off the body seems higher too. In fact, I think this seems to be the case with most modern archtops. Bob Benedetto talks a bit about this in his book on building an Archtop. He says when fitting the neck to the body, you should set a straight edge directly on the fingerboard, extending over the bridge location. He says the straight edge should be 1" (25.4 mm) above the body at the location of the bridge. When you add another mm or so for the string's height over the frets, that is about 26.5 mm to top of the saddle when the guitar is strung up. My modern guitars are all around that but my older Gibsons are lower.
Keith

[bigbox]

Thanks alot for all the posts guys.
So according to Floating pickups spec of 26.5mm
27-28mm does not seem so high.
The bridge base is thin so alot of threads show on the studs.
I will probably replace that bridge assy.
Any suggestions for the best bridge regardless of cost to fit a wes L-5?
Now I will get back to watching Mitsukuni Tanabe kill My one and only love on youtube while I look around for a super 400
#)

[Patrick2]

In my opinion, you definitely want an OEM bridge base for that L5 Wesmo. Ya just gotta have those little propellers inlaid in the bridge base. IT"S MANDATORY! You alread got the TOM . . . just order a new base but, make sure you have someone who knows how to fit a bridge base to an arch top .. or, you'll wind up with the same prioblem. Also, you should order an ebony saddle as well. You could switch back n forth to determing the nuance between the TOM and the ebony. I'll post a link up to a great source for bridge base assemblies. You'll need to call them and ask if they would inlay the propellers in the base . . . ala Gibson. Or, just buy one from a Gibson dealer.

If you do call Ultima Guitar, ask for Antonio.

Archtop guitar bridges.

[floatingpickup]

Some more thoughts on bridge height:

Here's a shot of my Benedetto Fratello. Slightly over one inch high, but both the base and the saddle are thick enough that not too much thread shows.



And here's an L4CES with a tune-o-matic. About the same height. The saddle is not as thick but the base is fairly thick so about the same amount of thread shows.




Finally, here is a Campellone. A little under an inch high, but on this guitar the saddle is quite thick from top to bottom, so very little thread shows.



Keith

[bigbox]

Here's the L-5 bridge-
and the instrument itself
Adam

[Patrick2]

Looks to me like you've got plenty of ebony left on that base. You really don't need a new base . . . but, get a nice deep ebony saddle for it. Ultima Guitars can send you one that's already slotted for a Gibson L5. It'll slip right onto those same posts. If you do buy from them, ask Antonio to select the one that is the deepest. Either that, of you can have a good luthier custom make you one for that guitar.

[PTChristopher]

'Box,

Thanks for the pics.

The bridge is fine. As Patrick sez - no need to change the base.

Yes you are on the higher end of perfectly fine, but not even close to problematic. Based on the pic, there is nothing wrong with the guitar or the bridge parts.

As for an ebony saddle, this is always a fun option to have.

All in my opinion.

Chris

[oldane]

Either that, of you can have a good luthier custom make you one for that guitar.

In Europe we have John Moriarty in Ireland: Archtop.ie - Luthier John Moriarty - Customisable Compensated Bridge for Archtop Guitar

He makes totally customized bridge saddles - custom height, custom compensation, custom string spread, custom post spread. 50Euros. He has made three for me so far, and they work perfectly. For all three, I took pictures from above of a tunomatic with the intonation "dialed in". From those photos he could adjust his computer controlled machine to get the intonation exactly the same on the ebony saddle. That method works well, if the radius of the fretboard is the same as the tunomatic (12") - which it is on many (most?) archtop guitars. One he made for my Triggs can be seen on the web page as no. two from left in the buttom row pictures.

One can also make a bridge saddle oneself, but don't do it in the living room. Not all wives loves the black ebony dust flying around.