What Is the Difference Between the Different Bridge Types

In the guitar parts market, you’ll hear a lot of words thrown around that might not mean a lot. In fact, if you are new to the world of guitar upgrades and customization, some of the words thrown around might even make the process of sourcing the right parts for your instrument more of a challenge than it needs to be.

One term that you will hear a lot in your search for a new bridge is “Tune-o-Matic”, which is a blanket term used to describe the typical Gibson style bridge system with individually adjustable saddles for each string allowing the user to intonate each string separately.

Both the ABR and Nashville bridges are types of Tune-o-Matic bridges. The main differences between the two can be found in their adjustability.

ABR Bridges

The ABR style bridge is the “classic” bridge style. If you own a vintage Les Paul, Reissue or Custom Shop model, you will most likely have an ABR style bridge installed. The bridge posts are 6-32 threaded rods and will be screwed directly into the body wood. The thumbwheel is a separate part of the post that the bridge sits on and moves up and down as the thumbwheel is turned. Many players gravitate towards this style bridge as it’s the typical configuration on vintage and vintage reissue Gibson style guitars both functionally and visually. The Faber Guitar Parts ABR style bridge meets all the vintage criteria and is the perfect upgrade for your ABR-1 equipped guitar.

Nashville Bridges
The Nashville style bridge is similar to the ABR and is found on many more Gibson guitars than the ABR-1. The main difference between the two guitar bridges is in their widths and how they are mounted to the body. The Nashville style bridge has a bridge post that screws into a metal body bushing, with an integrated thumbwheel. Height adjustment is carried out by turning the thumbwheel, which moves the entire assembly up or down as it screws into the metal body bushing. There are several reasons why players do not like the Nashville bridge system.

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