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Hey,
I am looking for a hollowbody jazz guitar with a fixed bridge. Does there exist any brands that do that? I don't like floating bridges, they just seem to be trouble, also I am on a tight budget.
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05-19-2014 07:30 AM
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In my opinion:
Get the guitar you want, with the feel and sound you want.
If the bridge is not fixed, there are a handful of effective ways to secure the bridge in its location.
The best method depends on the guitar in question and whether or not you want the process to be easily reversible.
So come on back with your actual guitar and we can suggest a specific solution.
Chris
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How much $ are you looking to spend? Heritage has several models. For example:
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Like maximum of 700 $
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Epi Casino, hollow, double cutaway, thin body, fixed bridge. Or did you want a full sized box?
David
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Full sized box and it's not good when you try to reach the high frets
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Not sure that guitar exists in that price range.
Why so down on a floating bridge?
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What's the trouble with floating bridges? I have used them for 45 years on all the archtops I have owned. They have also been used on the violin instrument family for centuries with great success. I like them because they are floating. With a floating bridge it's easy to get the intonation right with whatever strings and action one may prefer.
Originally Posted by Jazzman35
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I much prefer the pinned bridge on my Hot Rod... sort of the best of both worlds, it's not "attached", yet it always goes back to the same location and can't be knocked out... unlike the bridge on my Broadway, which I am going to pin first chance I get.
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In that price range check out the Ibanez Artcore models. If you find one that you bond with, simply have the wooden bridge pinned. Originally Posted by Jazzman35
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The alternative to pinning the floating bridge is to rub rosin under the feet of the base. That will hold it tenaciously to the top. It also allows for intonation in the future.
I agree with the suggestion to look for the Ibanez Artcore series. Also, you may be lucky enough to find a used Comins GCS-1. Sounds like what you are searching for.Last edited by Jabberwocky; 05-19-2014 at 04:09 PM.
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My 2 cents : I use a very fine black sharpie to carefully mark the 2 back corners of the floating bridge to the top and voilà, you always know where to put the bridge.
No need to pin or use adhesive and easily removed with a quick wipe of light fluid...
Ok might not work with an Ebony L5 but then sharpies now even exists in silver and white ink.
I would not limit my quest for an Archtop based on the fixed vs floating bridge
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I recommend reading up a bit on very basic setup techniques. A floating bridge is an advantage and not a disadvantage. Gluing it to the top will make it difficult for you to change the action or even try different string gauges.
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Not so with my Hot Rod (pinned bridge), on which I have done both. Zero problems with intonation. Originally Posted by AlainJazz
I was recently reminded how much I love my Gretsch's pinned bridge when I put new strings on my Broadway. And how easy it was to move the bridge...after the strings had been brought up to pitch.
Fixed/Not Fixed... for me, fixed is better (altho I don't see the need for "glue", I like the pins)... some people have an aversion to fixed. Whatever- it's all good, just different. There is no "better" (and tonally, I'll bet there is absolutely zero difference). For me the fixed bridge is purely functional, and headache-removing.
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i'd never pin a bridge. Like someone else said, floating bridges have been around for centuries. Use the right tool for the right job. A strat, tele or les paul have anchored bridges for a reason.
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I agree. To each his own.
However, one will get into trouble intonation wise with a pinned/glued bridge if one should want to set the guitar up with high action for Freddie Green like playing. Often I change the position of the bridge slightly when changing to a different string set. I can see problems with a floating bridge if one wants do do 1½ step sidebending with heavy strings (or use a Bigsby heavy handedly), but since I don't bend much, I have never felt any need for a fixed bridge. My bridges stay in place nicely by string pressure only. And for other reasons (string tuning when the bend is released), other kinds of guitars are more suited to vigorous bending (locking nut, short length of string behind the bridge like with a stop tailpiece or a Fender hard tail).
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Regarding the Strange Guitarworks method: I have found (in over 40 years of using tape!!) that this works very well f you stick to (hah, get it?) the super-thin Scotch double sided tape. I can hear no difference whatsoever with this tape between the bridge and the top.
But again, I would avoid this over lacquer.
Personally, I never bother with any of this. But for some players, fixing the bridge base in place has high value.
Gretsch guitars are a particular case, where you have a low break angle (so very little friction on the base/top), light strings, and a theatrical flourish to the right hand style (and hair-do). So for many a Gretsch/Player combination, it is pretty necessary to tack things in place.
All in my 40+ year opinion (Which may only mean that I am wrong in a durable way.)
Chris
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Yamaha AES1500
I worked a few gigs with a guy that had one, it was one of the best sounding f-hole style guitars I've ever heard. It has a center block, but it's not a very massive block, and to me, it sounds about like an ES-175 acoustically.
Yamaha AEX520 also sound good, different beast, but a good Jazz guitar.
If price was not a problem, I'd say Gibson 150D, a deep 335 shaped guitar with great Jazz tone.
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I find that floating bridges don't float once you put strings on the guitar and tune them.
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You haven't played my Broadway then. Originally Posted by GuyBoden
I find that floating bridges don't float once you put strings on the guitar and tune them.
Tuned to concert pitch, I had little problem sliding it all over the place (I taped it down to change strings, but apparently not quite well enough, as somewhere along the string change process it had moved).
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Change strings two at a time. It's a good idea anyway.
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I agree the sharpie thing might not always be the best solution, might depend of the chemical in it and the finish of the guitar. I also would be more careful with a nitro finished piece of gear.
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Hi,
I came across this thread while researching fixed bridges in the jazz context online, and joined the forum just to throw in an answer to the actual original question by the OP, which was not, "which is better, fixed or floating," or, "which do you prefer, fixed or floating," or, "should i get fixed or floating?" the question was, do you know of any hollows w/fixed, because that is what i prefer. on this whole thread, which included some tantrums, i saw one (that's, 1) post answering the original question. so here's another couple of ideas for the OP, and also--this is a really cool forum. i have learned so much from reading threads here---
---The Reverend Pete Anderson model is a hollow-body with a fixed bridge. It's also supposed to be a great guitar for the price---it does have some kind of center wood, which some might find semihollow-ish, though Reverend considers it a "hollow"--it has P90s. The review below includes sound samples and there is a note at the end praising its "woody" sound, which would augur well for a jazzer...
Reverend » Pete Anderson PA-1
Reverend Pete Anderson PA-1 RT Review | Premier Guitar
---During the oughts, Gretsch's 5100+ lower-priced Asian-made Electromatic line included a "true hollow" model with amazing US Dearmond pickups, sometimes called the 512x series. They were all the same guitar, but each color got a separate model number, like this, 5124, 5125 (black), 5126 (silver), 5127 (blue), 5128 (gold), etc. There was an orange, can't remember the #. They were available for several years and phased out sometime in the 2006-2008 period. Point being, early in the run, these guitars were made with fixed bridges. The fixed-bridge models were pooh-poohed by puristas and they made them with floaters after that. But you can still find the fixed-bridge ones out there if you keep watch. They're great in whichever bridge config you prefer.
--Gibson is currently doing a limited # of reissues of its classic es-225 thinline hollowbody archtop with a florentine--this guitar has a fixed bridge. I guess it's kind of like the es-330/Epi Casino, but Florentine. It's Googleable out there, expensive, about $2600-$2700.
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