tune-o-matic bridge

Conceptualized by car designer Ray Dietrich, the original Firebirds had neck-through-body construction, fluid sculpture lines, a single-sided headstock, and special small humbucking pickups.

Photo by George Aslaender

This month’s guitar is a variation on the Firebird III, so rare that its production number is likely in the dozens.

As Gibson was about to launch its new, simplified “non-reverse” Firebird line in 1965, they shipped a small number of “reverse” I and III models that spring and summer with some eccentric features. In his encyclopedic 1982 book, American Guitars: An Illustrated History, Tom Wheeler whimsically labeled these as “Platypus” Firebirds, due to their oddity and rarity: Some had conventional guitar tuners, rather than the banjo tuners on standard ’Birds, and tubular plastic-tipped vibrato arms, rather than so-called “spoon handle” vibratos. So, naturally, I was intrigued. The subject of this month’s column is one of those rare ’Birds that I scored at the 1993 Great American Guitar Show in Philadelphia.

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Name: Rog and Ed Rowan

Hometown: Belfast, Ireland

Guitar: Woodie

Uncle Ed makes a meaningful guitar for his nephew, Rog, incorporating special woods from local trees and buildings in their Irish community.

Woodie was born during lockdown when my Uncle Ed combined a number of very special woods into one guitar. I’d never thought about how a guitar was made before, so it was a real combination of my “guitarist ideas,” and Ed’s ingenuity and patience. That, combined with a worldwide pandemic and time to try something new.

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Fig. 1: This 1960 Gibson Les Paul Classic model needs a new Tune-o-matic bridge.

No matter what style Tune-o-matic your guitar has, it’s important to regularly inspect the bridge for wear. Eventually, you may need to replace it.

Tune-o-matic bridges are common on many guitars, including Gibson Les Paul, SG, and Firebird models. They come in several styles and shapes, depending on the guitar. Some Tune-o-matics have a retaining wire (the vintage ABR-1, for example), others have self-contained saddles like the Nashville Tune-o-matic. No matter what style Tune-o-matic your guitar has, it's important to regularly inspect the bridge for wear. Eventually, you may need to replace it—we'll see why in a moment.

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