Hipshot fixed bridge for guitar

[guitlouie]

I have a hardtail strat body from the almighty Warmoth that I have been slowly but surely working on.  It was a showcase body and as such is drilled for the "vintage style fender flatmount bridge".  My question is if the Hipshot fixed guitar bridge would fit into that space without modification.  I have been searching for dimensions, but can't seem to find a diagram.  Even the Hipshot website does not seem to have that info.  Anyone have any experience with these?

 

[RLW]

Is this the one you're talking about?

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailpieces/Electric_guitar,_non-trem_bridges/1/Hipshot_Hardtail_Bridge/Specs.html#details

 

[guitlouie]

Ah-Ha!  Perfect, that is the one and thanks for the diagram!  All the other things I had read stated that it was a direct replacement for fender hardtail, but I like to be sure!  Thank you again!

 

[guitlouie]

  I don't mean to keep beating this one, but I seem to have gotten some contradictory info somewhere, so I measured the holes in the body and compared them to the tech data in the previous link, and it looks to me like this would work, but I'm still wondering if there is anyone who has used one of these in place of a Fender flat mount.  I know us hardtail strat lovers are few and far between compared to you trem guys, so i'll understand if no one knows or cares!!  I guess I can always order one and if it doesn't work, it'll just give me an excuse for another project!

 

[guitlouie]

Hey all,  I guess I finally bothered enough people in enough places to get an answer on this, and in case any one else here is interested, the Hipshot bridges are not compatible with the Vintage style Fender Flatmount bridge, but are compatible with the newer style, more narrow Fender Hardtail bridges.  Looks like I'll have to wait for my next project to try these out!  :tard:

 

[724sp]

Hey Guitlouie-

I also am another hardtail strat fan...I suppose that is what originally brought me to Warmoth- building a strat that I couldn't find anywhere else.  I saw your post regarding hardtail bridges.  If you haven't already, you should definitely check out Callaham Guitars for their hardtail flatmount strat bridges.  Website is www.Callahamguitars.com.  I recently mounted one on my Warmoth project and can't say enough about the quality and finish on their products.  Because of the neck that I was using, I ordered a narrow spaced bridge from them.  They have great customer support, just call or send an e-mail regarding your project and they should be able to hook you up (they were familiar with the Warmoth mounting hole options).  Just a thought, as I also looked at just about every flatmount hardtail bridge out there!  Good luck.

 

[guitlouie]

Hey man,  Thanks for the response.  I know what you mean about the hardtail thing.  I had an '83 Fender hardtail, it was a rather rare one, that I sold to a friend on condition that he would sell it back to me when he got another guitar.  WEll, instead he moved away and I have never seen him or the guitar again.  Needless to say I have been kicking myself ever since.  Hence the Warmoth build,  I get everything exactly the way I want it.  About the bridges,  I also have a Gibson SG, that i installed a Tone-Pros locking bridge set on for the purpose of being able to lock it down so I wouldn't mess up my set-up everytimr I took the stings off, but what I noticed was that the little bit of added mass that it provided helped the guitar to sound better.  That is the reason I have been looking for a bridge that is just a little beefier than the Fender model.  All that being said, I will be checking into the link you provided, It looks like they have lots of other goodies as well.  Anyway thanks for the lead.  And rock that hardtail!

 

[guitarhobbyist]

Hey guys I need your help. I am building a Hardtail model also. I am using that exact Hipshot bridge. Here's my dilema.

The standard neck pocket is 5/8 inch. The standard heel of the neck is 1 inch. This would then leave 3/8 of the fret board exposed over the top, correct? OK, now back at the saddle part. The base of the bridge plate is 1/8 inch. The saddle blocks are 3/16 inch. This would be a total of 5/16 before any adjustments. This causes the strings to lay against the fretboard. Now, if I max out the height of the blocks, I gain about another 1/8 of an inch for a total of 7/16. This would put the strings 1/16 above the fretborad. At this point there is no room to make any further adjustments to compensate for the curve radius. Also I get terrible fret buzz at this point and no where to go.

In trying to figure this out, I ended up routing the neck pocket down an 1/8. This threw all the standard specs out the window. Now with the neck sitting lower, I had room to move the saddle blocks up and down. But the fret buzz is still there. I have to have higher than normal action to avoid buzz. At this point I went to visit a guitar shop. The tech there ended up trying to adjust it and he said it turns out the neck is defective. Adjusting the truss rod did nothing.

Are there different demensons to go by when building a Hardtail. It seems like the neck pocket should be deeper but I have not read or found this info anywhere. Please help.

 

[guitlouie]

Hey, man, I'm not sure I can help, but to even try...Are the body and neck both from Warmoth?  And I know there are two different Hipshot Hardtail bridges with different baseplate thicknesses, which one is it that you have?  I ended up going with a different bridge due to conflicting string spacing, but so far so good on mine...anyway, more info may be helpful.

 

[guitarhobbyist]

I have the lower .125 base plate. I never knew they made 2 versions untill after running into this problem. I guess the higher one would help out. If I were to lower the pocket and get the neck lower, would this mess up anything in terms of it overall? Does it throw it out of sync?

 

[Superbeast520]

here go to "My Warmoth Superstrat" I laid out as much info and details as I could on succesfully using the Hipshot fixed bridge:

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=50.0

 

[guitarhobbyist]

Wow I eventually found your posting a couple of hours after this one and was about to write you. Reply no. 24 answered alot of my questions. Thanks and you guitar turned out great. Too bad you sold it, oh well. After reading various postings, I found info about the Hipshot and people's opinions on it, I came to the conclusion that maybe they messed up. The holes are not a direct replacement for an existing guitar. The .125 model ends up being way too low for any buzz free action and the height screws are only 1/4 long. I don't know if its reasonable to compare them to the Fenders, but the smallest Fender screws are 5/16 on the outer ends with the inner ones being 3/8. I'm not trying to knock the Hipshot cause I like they way this bridge looks. I like the way it has more mass to it. They only way I can get this to work would be maybe to get longer screws or route down the neck pocket. Other than making sure the pocket ends up level, is there anything else that might pose a problem to routing it?

 

[Superbeast520]

I wouldn't do any type of routing or alteration to the neck or body themselves, but would instead go to a machine screw supply shop and buy some longer replacement screws for the string saddles, thats what I eventually did on several different bridges as I like high action, so I was familiar with that dilema.

If you bring your existing saddle screws as I had done, they will use one of their gauges and get you the right thread and screw diameter.  these will be the same as your existing ones or better, and longer, so problem solved. :icon_thumright:

 

[AGWAN]

Yep, Its me necroposting again.

I've emailed back and forth with... Bill... I believe.

Over at hipshot. and I felt I should share the Convo. as he was very helpful.

I basically asked what Route I needed, and how to choose between the two thicknesses.


Hello Ed,

  My name is Bill and I'm a Tech at Hipshot. Thank you for your question about our Guitar bridges.
  If this is for our Guitar tremolos, yes the American Standard route is the correct pattern. As for the height, this measurement is for our Fixed bridges and would not be needed for our tremolos. If this is for our Fixed bridge, usually we recommend the .125" for Fender style bodies. The pattern for this bridge would be the narrow Strat flat mount.
  Hope this helps, let us know if there are any other questions.

it is indeed for a fixed bridge, on a warmoth iceman (so its a flat top)

what do i need to measure to know the right height? or is .125 generally going to fit on a flat bodied guitar?

Hey Edwin,

  I'm going to go out on a limb and say for this guitar you may want to use a .175" bridge. The picture they show, has the spots for a Tune-o-matic bridge and tailpiece. This make me think that there may be a slight angle in the neck pocket, which will raise the height of the strings at the bridge. The .175" will give you a little more at the bridge.
  If you have any problems let me know and we'll get it straightened out.
Thanks!

Bill


So in all, a Quick reply, very friendly and professional.

but... is he right about the neck pocket?