Epiphone ES-175 - Wood bridge or adjustable ?

**electricfactory** · 02-03-2016, 07:06 PM

Guys,
Have recently picked up an Epiphone ES175 Premium for a song and have decided to 'upgrade' the guitar in several areas, in essence negating the great price I bought it at! Oh well can't help myself.
One of the upgrades I'm considering is swapping a perfectly fine adjustable Gibson ABR-1 for a wood bridge, this for the [more mellow] tonal attributes.
What do you guys think- wood bridge or keep the ABR ?

Here are a few pics;

**abelljo** · 02-03-2016, 09:33 PM

I like wood bridges on ES175s

**neatomic** · 02-03-2016, 09:37 PM

cool..you got a nice lookin epi there!..nice maple lam top..they aint all that nice..but i'd keep the tune-a matic...drop the pups a tiny bit into body or use pure nickel strings, and you'll warm things up a bit and still keep intonation in check

enjoy

cheers

**electricfactory** · 02-03-2016, 10:00 PM

Also considering losing the Gibson 57's that come with the guitar in favor of a SD Seth Lover in the neck position and maybe a '59 in the bridge ? what do you think ?

**abelljo** · 02-03-2016, 10:09 PM

Those pickups sounded perfectly fine on mine. Generally I'm not a fan of the 57 classic, but I cannot say it sounded bad on my Epi.

The Seth Lover is my personal favorite, but I'd leave the 57s. Try a wood bridge, you may like it.

**neatomic** · 02-03-2016, 10:09 PM

sd lover is hard to beat..i'd start with that, in neck ..rear pickup is for punk rockers!! hahaha

cheers

**electricfactory** · 02-03-2016, 10:27 PM

Ha! Know what you mean, still trying to find a 'useable' bridge pickup within the context of jazz.

Originally Posted by neatomic

sd lover is hard to beat..i'd start with that, in neck ..rear pickup is for punk rockers!! hahaha

cheers

**electricfactory** · 02-03-2016, 10:28 PM

I think I would like to try it, ordering one tonight..

Originally Posted by abelljo

Those pickups sounded perfectly fine on mine. Generally I'm not a fan of the 57 classic, but I cannot say it sounded bad on my Epi.

The Seth Lover is my personal favorite, but I'd leave the 57s. Try a wood bridge, you may like it.

**entresz** · 02-03-2016, 10:47 PM

I prefer wooden bridges... I know the intonation can't be perfect on all strings, but most bridges are compensated such to provide decent intonation. For tone I prefer the wooden bridge, and I also like the fact there's not as many little metal parts that will cause rattles etc.

A metal bridge that I really like is the Compton bridge... I have one on a Gibson L6-S..... you can get them made in aluminium, copper, stainless steel and titanium. I have the stainless steel one on my guitar. They work very well with bigsby vibratos.

**neatomic** · 02-03-2016, 11:19 PM

Originally Posted by electricfactory

Ha! Know what you mean, still trying to find a 'useable' bridge pickup within the context of jazz.

secret is..you can use just about anything!...just gotta roll back the guitar vol and tone on bridge pup... till it sits well with the neck..ie. dial in your neck tone..get a workeable middle..and chances are your bridge only will be ok too

cheers

**WilliamScott** · 02-03-2016, 11:21 PM

Be sure to fill us in on any changes in tone that accompany the new bridge.

**icr** · 02-03-2016, 11:23 PM

I also play clarinet and have wood and metal clarinerts. A member of a forum posted some examples of wood and metal clarinets. No one could tell them apart by sound. I have the same opinion of archtop bridges. I don't think I can tell them apart by listening.

**neatomic** · 02-03-2016, 11:27 PM

imho. any perceived changes in tone can be compensated for by ever so slight tweaks in pup height or type of string...what does make a difference is that a "metal" moveable saddle bridge can be intonated more precisely...tuning is a much undervalued part of tone..a well tuned guitar has better tone, as the entire guitar resonates properly

cheers

**lawson-stone** · 02-03-2016, 11:44 PM

Originally Posted by neatomic

secret is..you can use just about anything!...just gotta roll back the guitar vol and tone on bridge pup... till it sits well with the neck..ie. dial in your neck tone..get a workeable middle..and chances are your bridge only will be ok too

cheers

What about turning the bridge pickup around so the pole pieces aren't right up at the bridge? You'd still get that tighter bridge pup sound, but perhaps a bit warmer?

**neatomic** · 02-04-2016, 12:20 AM

Originally Posted by lawson-stone

What about turning the bridge pickup around so the pole pieces aren't right up at the bridge? You'd still get that tighter bridge pup sound, but perhaps a bit warmer?

doing that changes where the nodes sit over the pickup polepieces..you may find it preferable..tone is in the ears of the player..but i think delicate tweaking of guitar, as is, can cure many ills..

use your ears not your eyes

cheers

**hotpepper01** · 02-04-2016, 08:27 AM

Very recent I went from a standard half wooden bridge to a wooden bridge on my Gibson ES175D in order to achieve a more classic (acoustic) rythm guitar tone. I lowered the pickups considerably, turned the volume knobs way down and the volume at the amp up and voila. Sounds much better now for my purpose of playing in a big band.

**vinlander** · 02-04-2016, 09:04 AM

Regardless of the fact Super 400, L5 CES, Tal and many others come with a TOM, it is a personal preference I guess.
My experience told me I prefer the TOM for electric laminated Gibson style guitars but I also favor the electric tone over the acoustic one. Ironically when I put back a wooden bridge on my Regent it sounded a bit warmer but less "woody" than with the TOM; unfortunately I lost not only sustain but note definition with it.
I guess the only way to know is by trying it.

**SamBooka** · 02-04-2016, 09:21 AM

Let you ears be your guide. A stewmac saddle is 20$ and if you have even the most basic skills you can install it (we are here if you need help) and away you go.

I personally always use ebony. A hair brighter than rosewood in my mind. That said if you are willing to go down the rabbit hole you can try rosewood, ebony or keep the tom with nylon saddles, or just nylon saddles on the wound strings.. or nylon on the plain strings. If you are open minded you can try rounds if you find the flats too flat sounding with wooden bridges.

Bosibilitises are endless..

**pflash** · 05-18-2021, 04:29 PM

Does anyone make a custom wooden bridge to compensate for my plain g-string for 1956 Gibson ES-175. I am using 10-48 flat wounds (not a jazz player).

**skykomishone** · 05-18-2021, 07:09 PM

Matt Cushman made a custom bridge for me several years ago for my L5P. He did an outstanding job. Haven't seen any recent posts from him, but you might check him out on his website. The thread about the bridge was titled:
Matt Cushman Ebony Bridge - Jazz Guitar Online
21 posts · Dec 26, 2018
His website:
Cushman Guitars

**citizenk74** · 05-18-2021, 07:45 PM

Originally Posted by pflash

Does anyone make a custom wooden bridge to compensate for my plain g-string for 1956 Gibson ES-175. I am using 10-48 flat wounds (not a jazz player).

**Filmosound 621** · 05-19-2021, 01:27 AM

same intonation problem with my ES-175 and the Jazz BeBop strings in 12-50, with that unwound third.

stock wood bridge is two parts, with the base and the upper, isn't it ?

I'll get the local archtop expert to make me a new upper, 'til then, I've got that G-string tuned some cents low to compensate.

okay "for now".