Replacement bridge

[AIM]

Just wanted to know the opinions of the forum as to what is a good replacement bridge. I'm seriously thinking about replacing the wooden bridge on my X160. I've got a few deep notches on the small E and G strings and its beginning to dig into my D string as well. I've searched for a replacement bridge (i'm a lefty) and so far nothing. A friend of mine recommended a roller tune o matic. My only concern is what will I lose or gain in tone going from wood to metal? Also wanted to mention that my wound G string is sitting almost 1/32 below the top of the bridge and is now popping when it just about gets in tune.....just wanted to know if any members on the forum gone through this and what did they do to "fix" the problem.....thanks in advance.

Guitar Parts Resource has the bridge i'm looking at: http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/gbridge_wood.htm

 

[Walter Broes]

In my experience, roller bridges don't sound all that great because there's just too many little parts sucking away string resonance, and the idea they help keeping a Bigsby in tune is mostly an idea - with single roller Bigsbies anyway.

On a solidbody with a B7 or B5 Bigsby that has the extra string retainer roller, a roller saddle bridge can work, because there's a lot of down-pressure on the bridge, but on a hollowbody with a single roller Bigsby, there's not enough pressure on those saddles to get them into motion.

A metal bridge will change your sound compared to a wooden saddle bridge, whether it's for the better is a matter of taste. You'll probably get a little more sustain because of the greater mass of the bridge, and for lack of a better description, your guitar will sound a little more "metallic", but that's not necessarily a bad thing at all.

I'd go with a non-roller bridge though if you want a metal one, some kind of common variety tune-a-matic - cheap and easy to get too.

 

[Default]

Can you take the bridge to a luthier and have him grind down the top of the bridge and refile the slots? If he/she is sharp, they'll match the radius of the bridge to the fingerboard.