god bless mij lawsuit basses

[Lobsterdeth]

so i bought a supertone two point bridge from hipshot for my old beat-up mij eb-0 aria copy bass and to my surprise aria was not very interested in keeping bridge screw sizes standard with the gibson ones
is my only option plugging the holes with a dowel and redrilling? iirc you're not supposed to drill these kinda big screws directly into the body without some kind of bushing/thimble ain't cha?

 

[E2942]

You don't put those type of screws into wood, they're machine screws.
You'll need another part to screw them into.

 

[Lobsterdeth]

You'll need another part to screw them into.

are these bushings/thimbles standard or do i have to get them custom or what

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Were there threaded inserts in the body when you got it? (What was in the holes you have the bolt sitting in in the picture?)

 

[Lobsterdeth]

Were there threaded inserts in the body when you got it? (What was in the holes you have the bolt sitting in in the picture?)

in the holes? nothing
the threads were on a plate under the bridge which was then screwed onto the body itself, i don't have much experience with actual gibson two point bridges but i'm fairly certain that's not how they do it

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Got it. Yes, different from a Gibby. Contact Hipshot, tell them what’s going on and that you need threaded inserts for the mounting bolts.

Do the big holes for the mounting bolts for the bridge line up with where they’re drilled in the body? If so, place the bridge where it will sit when mounted and measure from the fretboard side of the nut to the 12th fret. That should be the same measurement (probably 15”) as the measurement from the middle of the 12th fret to the bridge saddles with the saddles most of the way towards the neck that they can go.

 

[Lobsterdeth]

the holes line up perfectly and the saddles maxed out measure 15" from the 12 fret no problemo
i didn't think about getting in touch with hipshot lmao, i'll shoot 'em an e-mail

 

[Matt Liebenau]

As long as both those measurements are the same you should be good. Keep us posted on what happens.

 

[Lobsterdeth]

it's been a couple days now and hipshot shows no signs of life
i'm just gonna buy some aftermaket bushings
are these all made to standard 5/16 size or nah
Kluson Anchor bushings USA Thread fits Gibson Stop tail & wraparound KUABC-750 | Guitar Maven Guitar Parts-online | Reverb

 

[Lobsterdeth]

nvm hipshot answered, i guess they heard me talking poo poo about them

 

[Matt Liebenau]

I’ve read and heard mostly good things about them. All good experiences the times I’ve used Hipshot.

I’m sure they’re having the same staffing and supply issues many places are.

 

[Lobsterdeth]

sorry for the lack of updates but hipshot took three weeks to ship me the bushings and they'll only get here on the weekend so it's gonna be another week before the next tech hurdle in my way

 

[Lobsterdeth]

i got the bushings
as far as diameter goes they fit tight and snug in the holes which i know is good and what we want
but they're bigger than the depth of the holes
should i just hammer them in and hope the lower end is gonna drive into the wood or should i just drill a deeper hole
(i don't got drill experience so that means calling my brother in law yeehaw)

 

[lark_z]

I think you going to need to drill it a bit deeper unless the bridge floats above body. Is that bridge ground peeking out of the hole? You're going to have to figure out how to get it out of the way and then back in place.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Don’t hammer them in. At best, you damage the bushings. At worst, you’ll split the body. Drill the holes deeper but check to make sure the body is deep enough to work with the extra depth and not have it come out the back. I suppose you could cut the bushings off assuming they would still be long enough for the threaded inserts but that, to me, would be a last resort.

 

[devnulljp]

The MIJ stuff is usually metric, the US stuff is usually imperial, so they're often close but incompatible

 

[Lobsterdeth]

I think you going to need to drill it a bit deeper unless the bridge floats above body. Is that bridge ground peeking out of the hole? You're going to have to figure out how to get it out of the way and then back in place.

ya it doesn't float, i'ma have to drill then
yeah i'm moving the wire out of the way before i do any of this dw i'm not that dumb

Don’t hammer them in. At best, you damage the bushings. At worst, you’ll split the body. Drill the holes deeper but check to make sure the body is deep enough to work with the extra depth and not have it come out the back. I suppose you could cut the bushings off assuming they would still be long enough for the threaded inserts but that, to me, would be a last resort.

it's deep enough, yeah
i thought about cutting the bushings but i don't got a dremel or anything and i'm more comfortable working with wood than metal

The MIJ stuff is usually metric, the US stuff is usually imperial, so they're often close but incompatible

yeah i figured this out when i went to mexican-ass home depot here and couldn't find anything that matched the hipshot bridge screws and measurements but could find stuff for the original japanese hardware easily

alright well i gotta go get my brother-in-law now so, to be continued...

 

[Lobsterdeth]

ok so i managed to get it done and stick them bushings in tight and all good, everything was coming out awesome
but then i realized that the bridge was floating way off the body, took the bridge off and gave the bushings a couple hard smacks and stuck the bridge on again and now it's just floating a bit
is this something that i'm gonna have to live with or did i screw something up bad

 

[Matt Liebenau]

That type of bridge typically sits up off of the body. If you can set up the string height where you want it, it’s good.

 

[Lobsterdeth]

yeah the height is ok, i never knew these bridges sat up like that, huh
goes to show what i know
thanks everyone for your insight