Epiphone EB0 - wood glue the ferrules, or new bridge? (hipshot/supershot etc.)

May I start by saying what a great resource and crowd y'all seem here - I found "lurking" to be a great resource, great fun, and awfully helpful!

That said - I couldn't actually find the answer I was looking for, so I'm not trying to revive an old eb0 convo either.

I scored a lovely condition black solid mahog' epi eb0 - local pickup here in NYC. I had every intention of using it as a full modding platform and GAS outlet. However, I'm gonna be honest - I actually love it stock. I may want to add a brass nut, but I'd even say who cares right now... BUT... the issue with the 3-point bridge is unavoidable and quite wonky indeed.

I got this thing home last night, deep cleaned, and after I restrung it - the "ferrel popping up" issue reared its head, the action jacking up a half inch from intended within 10 minutes - hell naw. The stock bridge may not have crazy sustain or be a solid chunk of brass/nickel, but to me it sounds fine, maybe the mute/damp thing is kinda cool for my style.

Q: Should I remove the bridge assembly, and use wood glue to lock the ferrules, or just get the upgraded bridge that everyone recommends (hipshot/supershot, or any other reccos?).

If I decide glue - do I just use wood glue from the hardware store? I've had a bottle in in the past but moved a few times, so I'd have to go grab a new bottle... iirc it was Elmer's Wood Glue...maybe I'll see if they have some hex nuts for the string ends while I'm there.

Or is the glue-to-the-ferrules method not going to work as well and will it still pop up after some time?

Re: the bridge upgrade - is it a straight drop in? any drilling or making new holes - the hipshot looks like a 2 screw, so I'm not seeing how it relates?

I'm not against buying the hipshot/supershot - I'm not as strapped for cash as when I was a kid in a band, but it will have cost more than I paid for this (again, that's fine, as it's an incentive as I saved a fair bit) but I kinda can't get over how much I dig it stock other than the whacky action/playability issue etc. Think of this as more of a "practical GAS" than my next upgrade - you know - when I change my mind next week and decided to get aeronautic-quality titanium tuning pegs, quadruple humbuckers and solid gold plate the whole thing to a mirror finish, and hang it on a wall to look at only/not play.

/s

I look forward to you suggestions, and again, didn't mean to make an obvious request if the info is already here somewhere. Danke!

 

Ah right, Titebond is the stuff most people use for these kind of fixes, not so much "Elmer's Wood glue" right? And yes, I recall now, try to mix in with some sawdust! (pardon, I was semi-retired musician, as music didn't pay the bills back then, but now that I'm finally able to access some discretionary scratch, it's nice to have some things to toy around with!)

Do you have a link to the KickAss bridge you're talking about? Again, money isn't really an issue, but I'd get a laugh at spending more on just the bridge than I did the whole geetar lol , and prefer not to (I'll scour the classifieds here, fleaBay, Reverb etc. also). do you have links or any other reccos? I had a LQ Badass II on my old P-bass (that got stolen actually!! ) I'm kinda new to the Gibson-styled stuff as I was almost all-in Fender. In fact, I did a few builds, one of them, my main was a mahog' tele (Warmoth partscaster) had all Gibson-scale parts, p90/mini hum, 24.75 conversion neck - the goal then was to make a LP Jr. (in disguise) that looked like a Tele... was pretty cool. (also stolen).

Thanks CT!

 

Would this be the guy you're talkin' bout? Is this more like a Fender style bridge that'll simply be adapted over to a Gibby style axe? Does that come with nut width considerations or anything?
https://www.amazon.com/Hipshot-Kick...t=&hvlocphy=9067609&hvtargid=pla-524286875231

 

I like that too - I took an instrument making class waaaaaaay back in school (99 or so?) and I faintly remember that was kinda a tried and true method, mixing sawdust with glue also.

Is that KickAss really a made-for-Fender upgrade? What I do recall/some of these things coming back is that things like nut width and saddle spacing and all that vary quite a bit, and when standard it's definitely "Fender vs. Gibson" and they don't really play well. So would a KickAss (like one linked) be a go on the Epiphone eb0?

Hell yeah. cheap score. It was a girl on FBMP, and by what it seemed a girl that was young enough where where I needed to wait for her Dad to come home to deal with me - of course I had no problem with that, and he was mad cool. She was smart/aware enough to know what she had, but wanted to let it go fast, so priced it to sell. Some of the bridge upgrades I've seen have cost more than I paid lol.

 

Bruce thanks heaps on this! I mean, honestly I think the bridge sounds fine so I guess my goal would be "ease" at this point. What you describe sounds awesome - quite the pro tip! - but right, as I don't have a file or tools more than practical "the cabinet above the sink needs tightening"-level (screwdrivers, Allen wrenches, drill, hammer), I have to wonder if it's more sensible to spend on files and nice glue, or just get a new KickAss bridge upgrade and use a drill, a tool I have in my toolbox. I'm still curious if the one I linked would work, as it looks to be a Fender upgrade? https://www.amazon.com/Hipshot-Kick...la-524286875231&ref=&adgrpid=62521174699&th=1

 

Really what I'm leaning towards tbh also. I think the stock bridge sounds fine, it's just a bit of a design disaster. I read about it a bit before buying, and was like "meh, maybe it's not that big a deal" til I watched those ferrules start popping out in almost literally real-time after I strung it up. lol

 

right right... I see what you mean. like, take care of the whole bridge "balancing act" before going in with the glue or the or even thinking it needs replacement. Having had many EBs, I know you know!!

I still think it's a strange design, and I think that's the consensus... way more so when you think less about enthusiasts and more mass market. For all I know the girl/kid I got this from could've been turned off bc she watched a youtube video and tried to make the action easier and made it worse... I feel like good design considers the user a bit more. Although a fender dude, I actually like Gibson sound much more almost exclusively - but Gibson (even as a working musician and manager at an upscale guitar boutique in my 20s) design is so strange it's almost approaching violin like strangeness... Fender takes a hit tonally in some ways/depending on taste of course, but for sure design-wise is the nuts.

 

Ah so you think the KickAss might not have the height - I see. It's hard to tell, but if it's designed for a Fender, then that makes sense.

I'm siding with the glue also, that's more my speed atm... I have no problem upgrading the bridge eventually... but right now I'd just like to get cozy with it (with the reasonable action lowered that it should have!) and then start considering mods - def wanna go brass or bone on nut, although actually I like the "woofy" mudbucker, atm, I can see how it may be limiting down the road. I'm up for the Dimarzio perhaps. I'd be more inclined to even go more H.A.M. and pop in a P-Bass set by routing the space for them down by the bridge, of all the mods posted I don't think I've seen that yet!!... PBass being my all-time fav bass/sound anyways. (Jazz Bass is by no means a sound I'm at all interested in, never/will never be my taste - so I don't think I'd do a Jbass Pu'p down by the bridge's edge...maybe for balancing to taste, but I dunno... ).

I know what you mean about the string windings ending up on the saddle. again, doesn't seem to bother me right now... it maybe provides a sort of "muff" that I may dig, and I've seen some use hex nuts to alleviate. again, I'll know more when it's action isn't 2.5" off the fretboard haaa

 

woaaaaaah. that is one hell of a rad bass!! I love that. I had never seen/noticed Mike Watt's EB0 before!

I'm down with that whole vibe - I'm not a cognac sipping, Cuban cigar smoking jazz aficionado that must listen on wax vinyl! I started playing music bc I grew up at the intersection of "Nevermind" and "The Chronic"!

I guess my only thing is: is it pretty easy to install? I have a drill, I know all about "measure twice, drill once" but the nut and saddle and all line up? I ran into some issues with that making my "LP Jr. in Telecaster Clothes" as I had a p90 in the bridge, so it wouldn't work to use a Gibson bridge, bc it would never line up with the nut width of a Fender neck (even Warmoth's conversion, that may have changed but that was the case about 10years ago or so).

So I could just buy it and slap it on? I'm down. thanks heaps again CT.

OK my GAS is setting in now - now I want to add pickups haaaaa after seeing Mike Watt's! haaa

 

"shim it with razorblades" - yesssss!

But for real, it looks like an absolute necessary, not even a "might have to" given the height measurements we now know, eh?

And of course, the pbass pickup covers I'll be using would be grabbed off of a sideview mirror in my neighborhood! .