February 2009 \ Reviews \ Components \ Close Up: Brown's Guitar Factory Bridge Conversion Posts

Close Up: Brown's Guitar Factory Bridge Conversion Posts

Kenny Rardin

Bridge conversion posts make using an ABR-1 bridge a snap
Premier Guitar February 2009
A few years ago, I found out quite by accident that when I replaced the ABR-1 bridge on my Gibson Historic Les Paul with the same bridge from an actual 1959 Gibson, the tonal change was almost as dramatic as some pickup changes I had made. The bridge mass and material made all the difference in the tone. I noticed that a great majority of Gibsons were using the Nashville Tune-O-Matic bridge. However, as many have found out, there’s a difference in the construction of the ABR-1 and Nashville Tune-O-Matic bridges (installed on all post-1976 Les Pauls), since the holes are drilled at differing widths.

When the ABR-1 was dowelled, drilled and reset properly, the tonal change was much more pronounced. There was more chime and snap when the guitar was played with fingers. The overtones were more musical and pure, and octave sustain and pick harmonics were more readily available. The Nashville bridge was more massive, and logically should have sustained better, but this was not the case. More low end was present at certain frequencies, but these seemed to diminish low-end tightness. With the ABR-1, there was all the bass anyone could ever need. As a matter of fact, it provided much more definition to the low strings for muting and fast playing.

John Brown has created a post that screws into the existing Nashville bridge anchors— offset so that lining them up to the ABR-1 bridge is a snap. Using the ABR-1 type thumbwheels vertical adjustment is possible, and installation is simple. You have only to radius and slot the bridge and you’re ready to play. Intonation can be done at this time. I do recommend having the work done by a professional if you haven’t done this before, as spacing is critical.

Brown also cleverly inserted a locking set-screw at an angle to the post (adjustable with an included Allen wrench), so there’s no play at all in the threads of the anchors, which some have felt was an issue. The posts are now machined out of a single piece of steel for more strength. I have installed these posts on many, many guitars, and never had a dissatisfied client. Everyone felt it was well worth the price of installation, and loved their new tone.

     

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Comments

 (5 comments) display by
UsernameComment
SoK66
on 12/29/2009 		Hate to be a skunk at the picnic, but having suffered "ABR-1 Angst" since '61 I've always preferred the Nashville-type design, particularly if that was the guitar's original fitment. Having become a veteran at battling rattling retainers, wobbly saddles, buzzes, bent & loose posts or crawled around on my hands & knees on a stage trying to find the &^%$#@! saddle that fell out when the string broke, PLEASE, send the ABR-1 to the museum where it belongs.
Calvin Jacobs
on 08/16/2009 		Agree with Jim Chambers..... There is one part with the Nashville height adjustment thumb roller combination. Here there are 3 parts that can move when you add the movable thumb roller. If not using a valuable vintage bridge you can also drill out the hole on the ABR-1 style to fit the Nashville posts.
Jim Chambers
on 08/16/2009 		Geeze all you have to do is take a little off the existing Nashville combination thumb roller/pole piece and put the ABR-1 style on. I've done a dozen of them. That means less moving parts also. Less moving parts = more tone and sustain. Way less expensive also. This is a bunch of b.s. for the money
Rick in Philly
on 02/02/2009 		Any conversion from a trapeze tailpiece to a stud tailpiece will result in a loss of high end, chime and "openness." You'll get more sustain, but the benefits, for many, don't outweigh the losses. If you like the tone of your trapeze tailpiece guitar, please don't convert it. But the changes you've mentioned are much more likely due to the tailpiece than the "Nash" to ABR switch. Comparing hardware on different guitars, (Nash on one, ABR on another) is futile. You have to evaluate each part on the same guitar to get any true sense of the results. That said, whatever works best for you is all that matter. Personally, I love the Brown Guitar Factory conversion, as do many of my customers.
Maleko
on 01/20/2009 		Yeah, I have an opinion. I've found the opposite to be true however my experience was with an ES335. My guitar came with what they referred to as a "trapeze" tail piece. Back in 1974 I had it converted to stud and ABR-1. The chime you speak of got lost and a darker tone was had. It also seemed to make the instrument much more sensitive to intonation adjustments. In retrospect I realize I should have left it alone. The gentleman who made the conversion was an experienced guitar serviceman and did an excellent job. My LPC and Artisan both have the"Nash" type bridge and seem to have a much more balanced tone through the entire tonal range. My '69 Deluxe had the ABR-1 also and it too had a (in my opinion) an inferior tone.I have considered and realize that there may be other factors involved such as pickups, wood density, etc. All that being said, I'm somewhat partial to the "Nashvilles". Aloha from Maui.



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