HELP!!!! Gibson 3 point bridge needed!!!

[JonnyRingo]

Hi,

This is my first ever post. I just bought a '91 Gibson Thunderbird and upon changing the strings I have found that there is a crack in the bridge

I can not find a replacement anywhere!!! I have tried Ebay etc and searched the net for hours. There are any number of Epiphone bridges available but I have yet to find an original Gibson part. I have most recently tried to get one from a stockist who stated they deal in Gibson parts but they have advised me that since March last year Gibson only sell parts directly. I have emailed Gibson USA twice and had no reply...

Can anybody give me any help at all???... I'm on the verge of tears because I wanted to thrash my new baby at a gig this weekend and now I'm scared to even play it....

[SoLongJake]

hipshot makes a direct replacement for gibson's 3 point bridge.

[JonnyRingo]

Thanks I will give it a look.

I have had a reply from Gibson now... And they do not sell the bridge part seperately!?!?!

What a joke...

[Fly Guitars]

There are a few three points on ebay just now. The Epiphone ones will also fit (although IIRC the saddles are not interchangeable between a Gibson abnd Epi)

BUT... most people that try the hipshot have liked them alot. They don't quite look the same, but offer greater string adjustment

[JonnyRingo]

I fancy the Hipshot as I've heard they are "superior" to the original Gibson product but I'm worried for the originality of my guitar...

It's a tough one... I will probably never sell it so the originality should not bother me too much... and finding a gibson branded (or even a black epiphone) bridge is proving to be really difficult... Thanks for the pointer on the saddles because if they were interchangeable I would probably gone for the Epiphone product!!!

[amimbari]

although I have an EPIBird JonnyR, I also did the same thing I traded out my black one that was marked epiphone on the bottom for a allparts chrome one. ( yes I know you have a Gib ), in any case, this allparts one DID make a noticeable sustain difference, but all I could get at the time was a chrome one.

if you want another 3 pointer,

there are many people online here that have "birds", but tbird1958 has like 12-14 GibsonBirds, and he may be able to help you narrow down what you need and sell you a black gib-spare he may have laying around.

you can PM him, or I can just to ask him if he does or not.

[StyleOverShow]

Bought a Ripper last spring. Not a fan of the 3 point bridge. Try

http://forums.gibson.com/

Looks like someone may know something on that site.

-richard

[Fly Guitars]

The Epiphone 3 pointer does fit - it's just the epiphone saddles wobble a bit on the Gibson bass plate - so use the Epi base plate and you'll be fine

Also the hipshot fits WITHOUT any modification, so no worries about originality - unlike the old badass bridge that got screwed into a zillion Gibsons - plus they are more adjustable than the original, so an improvement there to.

If I needed one, i'd get the hipshot in a flash.

[JonnyRingo]

Thanks for all the help guys

I had a guy I know (who has a lot of contacts) looking for a part for me (he even has a connection that has something to do with the Gibson custom crew!!) and after a week he had come up with nothing. So I bought the Hipshot on Ebay as after lots of reading I actually think it might be a superior product to the 3 pointer....

And then 2 hrs after ordering the part my guy calls me back and says "good news......"

He has a friend who deals in music memorabilia; who has a TB with a broken neck (that apparently belonged to the Manic Street Preachers until they smashed it on stage) but the bridge is intact!!! He is prepared to swap with me for a small fee..... So I'm going to get that one too in case I ever sell the guitar on and I need it to be "original"

Rock on

[madmaerou]

I need the press-in bushings for an epi 3-point bridge? does your guy know where I coulld find some?

[Rockit]

I put a Hipshot Supertone on my Epi Les Paul Standard Bass and it is such a better bridge. I had some issues with my truss rod and took that bass to local Boston guitar Yoda Jim Mouradian and he could not stop raving about that bridge and how it is superior to the old 3 point bridge. He solved the truss rod issue and I'm so psyched to have that bass back. I only paid 300 bucks for it but it sounds and plays great. I paid over 100 bucks for the Supertone but it was worth every penny.

Madmerou, check allparts.com for those bushings or even Ebay.

[NOVAX]

Get the supertone, leave the 3 point in storage-call it a day.
I'm ordering one for my SG re-ish tomorrow.
Who has the best price?

[Rockit]

I've seen them as low as 95.00 on Ebay.