Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I have an early 1990s Rick 325v59 that was sort of "Lennonized" when I bought it, in that the tuners were replaced with open-back Waverlys, the knobs with Hofner teacups and the bridge with a Sorkin bowtie. I also added Glen's Loom several years later.

I'm growing less interested in Lennon/Beatles cosplay as the years pass, however, and am wanting to do more than play chunka chunka Beatles rhythm with the guitar. That being said, I'm interested in replacing the Sorkin bridge with a Mastery bridge to get a little more sustain (especially) and volume and maybe better intonation.

Will it work on this guitar, with the Bigsby? And has anyone out there done this with a 325, and how pleased were you with the results?

I have a Winfield Accent and a Mastery on a 330 and it works great together.

I think you will be impressed with how well the Mastery M5 bridge works, with a vibrato.

That bowtie bridge does nothing for the vibrato (i.e. it’s a fixed bridge without any movement to the saddles). A Mastery has stationary saddles, but they’re designed to allow the strings easier movement with a vibrato.