Replacement bridge for gibson 175 that's pre-notched?

**jzucker** · 10-26-2022, 01:24 PM

Looking for a tuneamatic style bridge for my 175 where the saddles are already notched so I don't have to take it in to my luthier. Currently, the bridge is a wooden one and i'd like a little more precision over the intonation.

Just to clarify, i only need the tuneamatic portion, not the feet.

update got the faber and the A string screw was stripped and will not turn.

**Max405** · 10-26-2022, 01:42 PM

Jack,
Vinny got me fixed on these. The Faber Bridge is OUTSTANDING.
They are dead quiet, smooth adjusting and made to last. Amazon has them for $72 Well worth every penny.
And prenotched at 2-1/16th. I put them on ALL my guitars. No more buzzing. The stock Gibson ABR and Nashville are OK, but on my guitars they tended to buss and rattle. The Fabers are a 1000% upgrade.
Amazon.com
JD

**jzucker** · 10-26-2022, 01:45 PM

Originally Posted by Max405

Jack,
Vinny got me fixed on these. The Faber Bridge is OUTSTANDING.
They are dead quiet, smooth adjusting and made to last. Amazon has them for $72 Well worth every penny.
And prenotched at 2-1/16th. I put them on ALL my guitars. No more buzzing. The stock Gibson ABR and Nashville are OK, but on my guitars they tended to buss and rattle. The Fabers are a 1000% upgrade.
Amazon.com
JD

Awesome, thanks. The wooden bridge that's on my 175 doesn't quite nail the intonation.

**73Fender** · 10-26-2022, 04:29 PM

And I see that there is even an aged Faber version (named the 59 ABR ) that would go well with the vibe of the 59 VOS. Tempting.

**icr** · 10-26-2022, 05:19 PM

The Graph Tech saddles are pre-notched. I went to the shop one day needing new tuneomatic saddles for a guitar I had all apart on the bench and that is all they had. Years later, I actually still have them installed on the guitar as they work fine.

**Max405** · 10-26-2022, 05:24 PM

Yes, it will work perfectly.
Once again, another Vinny find. Faber bridges are outstanding. Just like Gibson would have Schaller make the m6 tuners for the L5’s, they SHOULD have them make the TunoMatic bridge because the rest of the guitar deserves perfection. All my L5’s, my Tal and my 175 are cheapened by the quality of the abr-1 bridges that the factory put on these guitars. The rattles and buzzing are unbecoming of such expensive guitars.
JD

**burchyk** · 10-26-2022, 05:40 PM

Another vote for Faber.

I've got 2, plus the original wooden one and one made by ABM.

As you've said, the intonation on the wooden one is just not "good enough".

Both of my Fabers do not rattle. ABM does. I play unplugged and low volumes often and the bridge rattling drives me nuts.

Fabers are locking. One with nylon saddles and one with nickel-plated brass. Both aged to match the looks of the VOS.

Nylon is interesting but too dull and dead sounding, reduces sustain too much for my liking.

Much prefer the brass/nickel saddles.

Recommend getting the locking version. Can't say how much it improves the tuning stability really, but at least it can't make it worse. Regular bridge would likely have some wiggle room around the posts.

The full product name is "Faber ABRL-59 Tone Lock Bridge ABR-1 Style (Aged/Relic Nickel, Plated Brass Saddles)". It was a perfect drop-in replacement for 175D VOS.

I will be looking at getting a better bridge base at some point as well. The posts on mine have a bit of lateral movement and the feet do not follow the shape of the top exactly.

**jzucker** · 10-27-2022, 10:27 AM

i ordered the faber but after contacting them, they advised me it might not fit on my gibson 175 since it was made after 2013 because the holes would be too large and the bridge would have a tendency to sit at an angle.

**jzucker** · 10-27-2022, 10:45 AM

so i ended up ordering this bridge instead which was made for a 175 style bridge it seems...

TonePros AVR2 ABR-1 Tune-o-matic Bridge - StewMac

**vinnyv1k** · 10-27-2022, 10:48 AM

They fit perfectly on my new Gibson’s with zero slop. No need for the locking type. The best ABR on the market is the KMS but very pricey.
They are CNC billet Zamac or brass. The Faber is pretty darn good though.
A perfect drop in with spot on notches. No fuss no muss.
Buy direct from Faber and your 1st buy they give a 10% discount.

**vinnyv1k** · 10-27-2022, 10:50 AM

Jack the StewMac ones are junk.

**jzucker** · 10-27-2022, 10:55 AM

Originally Posted by vinnyv1k

Jack the StewMac ones are junk.

This one is a tonepros, not stew mac. It's not garbage.

**jzucker** · 10-27-2022, 10:56 AM

However, i just noticed that the tonepros has a retaining wire so I canceled the order. Sigh...

**Stringswinger** · 10-27-2022, 11:27 AM

Reading this thread makes me glad that my ears are OK with the less than perfect intonation of a wood saddle. In addition, I prefer the tone a wood saddle brings.

Good luck Jack. It sounds like you are going to need it.

**jzucker** · 10-27-2022, 11:32 AM

Originally Posted by Stringswinger

Reading this thread makes me glad that my ears are OK with the less than perfect intonation of a wood saddle. In addition, I prefer the tone a wood saddle brings.

Good luck Jack. It sounds like you are going to need it.

haha, i actually like the tone of the metal bridge but the main reasons I want to switch is intonation and that the strings pop out of the wooden bridge when I play fingerstyle and slap them hard. I don't want to modify the bridge from stock so I figured it was better to buy a new one.

**vinnyv1k** · 10-27-2022, 12:09 PM

Trust me the Faber ABR will work perfectly on any 175.
The tone pro is sloppy, buzzes, and has the retainer wire.
StewMac is not the place to buy a tun-o-matic.

**jzucker** · 10-27-2022, 01:32 PM

after doing some measurements, i ordered the faber again, lol...Thanks again guys!

**Max405** · 10-27-2022, 05:51 PM

I put one on my 2015 L5 Wes and it fits perfectly. No slop. It won’t sit on an angle.

JD

**wzpgsr** · 10-27-2022, 05:55 PM

Are you planning to sell the wooden bridge top? I've been thinking about replacing the tune-o-matic on my ES-175 with wood.

**Herbie** · 10-28-2022, 02:53 PM

The bridge of ES175 is a puzzling matter.

I have ABM TOM's in all my three LP's. My ears think that they make my guitars sound more musical.

So I have tried them in all three ES-175s I have had too. But the same attributes that makes them good in Les Pauls do not make the jazzboxes with flat strings sound so good. So I have had ebony bridges in all of them.

This was the situation when I used .012 TI Swings. Some months ago I decided to change to the heavier gauge, to the .013 TI Swings. With them I couldn't get the intonation correct in my 1984 Mahogany ES-175 so I tried one of ABM TOM bridge in it. And voila, it sounds perfect!

So what do we learn? Things vary!

Good luck with Your chase, Jack!

**2bornot2bop** · 10-30-2022, 01:34 PM

Originally Posted by jzucker

Awesome, thanks. The wooden bridge that's on my 175 doesn't quite nail the intonation.

I thought you recently sold your 175. Glad you still have it!

**jzucker** · 10-31-2022, 01:21 PM

Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop

I thought you recently sold your 175. Glad you still have it!

i advertised it but didn't get a single response on it so I'm keeping it for now. I also have a really nice GB10 which previously I was using more. However, the GB is a lot brighter when playing with fingerpicks which is what I'm primarily playing with these days...

**jzucker** · 11-01-2022, 10:36 AM

I got my faber tuneamatic. The A string screw is stripped and won't turn. Returning for a refund. I'm going to live with the wooden bridge. Sad this has to be such an ordeal...