Roller bridges

spencer · Post by **spencer** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 6:50 am

Just wondering about a few things...
-When were roller bridges phased out and why?
-Will this part become availible again with the advent of the C series? (I know the 325C58 has one)
I've found some repros on the "Fabgear" site and was considering putting one on my 325V63. I'm assuming it would sound different than the standard blade style bridge, being that the rollers themselves are brass (string ball ends)
and I'd hope I could use the accent vibrato without knocking myself out of tune every time.
What is known about these bridges?
There's not much in the archives.

adam_swapp · Post by **adam_swapp** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 7:52 am

$75 seemed a little steep, do I made my own from 1/8" AL stock, finishing nails, and ball ends.

Here's what I did:
- Cut a strip of AL to the width of the saddle.
- Drill a 1/16" hole through the side at one end.
- File a notch in the top to allow the ball end to clear.
- Use a finishing nail (or brad, etc.) as an axle. Push it through the hole you just drilled and a ball end. Trim it off, then crimp (if necessary) or give it a drop of threadlocker.
- Calculate the proper height for the saddle, then trim the stock and drill/tap a hole at the proper location.

This sounds complicated, but it's actually straightforward. You're working with aluminum, so it's soft and fast to do the machining. I would guess about 15 minutes per saddle. The hardest part is getting the saddle height correct. Since there's some amount of slop in the adjustment screws, I would recommend cutting them a little bit long, then filing to the exact length to set the radius and eliminate the need for shims.

spencer · Post by **spencer** » Thu Apr 01, 2004 4:31 am

I don't think I want a roller bridge bad enough to build one myself. I've read an Arnquist post about that before and it is an easy enough thing to do. Just hoping a re-issue will be availible from Ric soon.

mike_d · Post by **mike_d** » Thu Apr 01, 2004 6:57 am

I didn't care for the roller bridge the short time I had it on my 325c58. It rattled quite a bit, which Mr. Hall said they were prone to do. I'm using a bigsby and a reprouction bowtie bridge and it works great. I sold the kaufman vibrato and the roller bridge. good riddance to both.

johnhall · Post by **johnhall** » Thu Apr 01, 2004 7:52 am

The bridges rattle when they're rolling properly and they don't rattle when they don't roll correctly. Take your pick. A non-roller bridge works just as well anyway, as the entire bridge rocks with vibrato use and there's never been a string wear issue.

Of course, if you want the vintage look, nothing will do other than the roller saddles. I mitigated the problem a bit in the C Series by using a miniature spring-split dowel pin for the roller's axle (which is not visible) but it takes a special tool to insert these and some close tolerances.

spencer · Post by **spencer** » Thu Apr 01, 2004 11:10 am

Well now, that's all I need to know about roller bridges. I'm a vintage nut, but also a utilitarian. I wouldn't swap something that works perfectly for something that rattles, regardless of the appearance. You have to look up under the bridge cover anyway to see it.
Also answers my question as to why they were phased out. Thanks Mr. Hall.