vintage gibson bridge

[John Rosett]

my teens A is going to need a refret soon, and the action is low enough now that i think it will have to be raisd with new frets.
#does anyone make a nice reproduction 1-piece bridge, or am i going to have to get an adjustable bridge?
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #thanks,john

[keithd]

John,

If you go to frets.com there is a nice article about how to shim a mandolin bridge from the base by glueing on some matching wood:

http://www.frets.com/FRETSPa....m1.html (http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Mandolin/MandoShim/mandoshim1.html)

It's probably worth keeping your original bridge in use; I've never seen one like those for sale. You light try contacting some of the luthiers that make new mandolins based on the teens Gibsons, like Sawchyn, od looking at their webistes to see what thery use. Any good luthier could reproduce the Gibson bridge though. Another option might be to use a Weber adjustable bridge, they have a similar profile to the Gibson fixed bridge.

Good luck,

Keith

[atetone]

The last time I changed strings, even though the bridge on my 1915 Gibson A is fine, I figured I would try a fossilized ivory bridge on it just to see if it would work. I had it kicking around as a spare.
Wow!!! Unbelievable difference. Louder, clearer and a really improved bass.
I had thought that the mando was very good with the old bridge but this really improved volume and tone.
The only caveat here is that it is really a Loar style bridge, probably meant for an F-5 or A5 style mandolin, so with the screws turned as low as they can go it is fine, but on my mandolin at least there is no room to turn the screws up and still keep decent action. Of course you could always take some meat off the bottom of the bridge if need be to tweek it.
The great thing about mine was that it fit the arch of the mando perfectly. I didn't even have to sand it to shape. Luck.
The string notches are also meant for a slightly narrower neck so the strings are inset from the edge of the board just a hair.
I might order a different one with teens A spacings, but really it is just fine as is.
I got mine from Kurt Gisclair.
It truly made a big difference on an already fine sounding mandolin.