Just replaced my rosewood bridge with a tune-o-matic---some thoughts

[jazzbow]

I have always been intrigued by this. But the price puts me off and other than that one solitary clip, I find no mention of anyone else, especially in this forum, having any experience with it.

I would really like to try it out some day but won't risk a Gibson L-5 Wes Montgomery because it seems hard to reverse the work. The maker recommends drilling holes in the top of the archtop for best response.

Best course of action would be to utilise the tailpiece for blend pot and seperate volumes and using the hole cut for the earth lead to bridge for the magnetic pickup output wires.

Use something like this...

[floatingpickup]

well floatingpickup, they were still making t.o.m.'s in '75 judging by the one on the 150DC next to the L-5.
maybe they had a gold one laying around and put it on yours. was your L-5 bridge base the standard rosewood t.o.m. or ebony?

Mine had the standard ebony base of the day, with the little fleur de lis inlays. Must have been a fluke.
Keith

[jbernstein91]

Why, then, doesn't someone simply make a T-O-M bridge with wooden saddles, but sans piezo?

[kris]

Why, then, doesn't someone simply make a T-O-M bridge with wooden saddles, but sans piezo?

I haven't seen wooden saddles at T-o-M.

[jbernstein91]

I'm sorry; I meant to respond to the posts by jazzbow and Jabberwocky concerning the Naturacoustic bridge, which is basically a tune-o-matic bridge with adjustable wooden saddles, but uses a piezo system. My question is: Why then can't someone make a non-piezo T-O-M bridge with adjustable wooden saddles, that can be used on an archtop that has a conventional pickup?

[kris]

I'm sorry; I meant to respond to the posts by jazzbow and Jabberwocky concerning the Naturacoustic bridge, which is basically a tune-o-matic bridge with adjustable wooden saddles, but uses a piezo system. My question is: Why then can't someone make a non-piezo T-O-M bridge with adjustable wooden saddles, that can be used on an archtop that has a standard pickup?

Good quastion...
I also like Naturacoustic bridge but without piezzo.

[jbernstein91]

Indeed, it seems to me it would be the best of both worlds, having the intonation capabilities of a T-O-M while preserving the woody sound of a traditional wooden bridge. And I assume a non-piezo Naturacoustic style bridge would be considerably cheaper.