Gibson vs Epiphone 3 point bridge

**Lazarus.Bird** · #1 02-02-2012, 08:11 PM

I won an old 70s Ibanez Artist on eBay which had a 3 point bridge. Upon removing the strings the bridge which was bent at the two side points broke. I bought a Hipshot Supertone which came in today and unfortunately it was not an exact fit as I expected.

I took it to a local repair shop as I need nut work done and he suggested I find a normal 3 piece bridge from an Epiphone with the idea that it would be made for a metric bass. Can anyone here confirm that an Epiphone bridge would have different dimensions than a Gibson?

darkstorm · #2 02-02-2012, 09:36 PM

Take your bass to a diff repair shop where the tech can install the new bridge for you. Apparrently the one you went to doesnt know about filling the holes left from old bridge and installing the new nicer bridge you brought for him to install. The hipshot bridges are real improvement over the epiphone and gibson ones.

T-Bird · #3 02-02-2012, 10:37 PM

Hi.

What darkstorm said.

Did the Ibanez really sport a Gibson bridge??

Or just a look-alike, just like the bezillion different TOM copies there was back in the day?

AFAIK, the Supertone fits both the Gibson and Epi studs without modification, so getting an Epi bridge wouldn't help any.

Regards
Sam

96tbird · #4 02-03-2012, 01:16 AM

True dat, EPI is same as Gibby width wise. Plug and re- drill req'd.

**Lazarus.Bird** · #5 02-03-2012, 06:23 AM

The bridge is an Ibanez part not a Gibson part. Made In Japan is stamped on the back. I assume they had a mold they used during the lawsuits and time they made the Artist.

So no difference between the epi and Gibson bridges eh? Well that does make sense. The hipshot almost fit but was a tad off. Even if I would have been able to jam the two mounting bolts in some of the saddles would have been misaligned with the string thru holes. In hindsight its possible the current holes are slightly crooked...

Seems finding a drop in replacement is out of the question. Seems pulling the existing bolt plugs, filling the holes, drilling new holes and pressing the mounting holes back in will be labor intensive... how much should I expect to spend?

**Lazarus.Bird** · #6 02-03-2012, 07:16 AM

Also, here is a picture of the same bass I have for reference.

Pilgrim · #7 02-03-2012, 09:22 AM

If the Hipshot has enough meat to it, consider using a rat tail file and taking some material off the inside of the holes on the interference side - just take an equal amount off both sides so it will stay centered.

Or you can surf Ebay and the web for another bridge.

hdracer · #8 02-03-2012, 09:25 AM

Hipshot makes that bridge in two different styles, 2 point & 3 point, even though you only use 2 of the three studs.
What is the stud distance on your bass?

**Lazarus.Bird** · #9 02-03-2012, 10:18 AM

The Hipshot I have is for a 3 point bridge I made sure of that. Not sure of the stud distance offhand.

Although in a stunning turn of events, I found a mint, NOS, still in packaging Ibanez 3 point bridge from 1977 for sale. Must be fate

**Lazarus.Bird** · #10 02-03-2012, 10:26 AM

T-Bird · #11 02-03-2012, 11:03 AM

Hi.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lazarus.Bird

Although in a stunning turn of events, I found a mint, NOS, still in packaging Ibanez 3 point bridge from 1977 for sale. Must be fate

Congrats, that's one hell of a find indeed.

Regards
Sam

96tbird · #12 02-03-2012, 11:50 AM

Oh booooyyyy, fantastic!