Bridge, Nashville/TOM, Billet CNC Machined, Steel, Chrome

A Nashville-style (Tune-O-Matic) bridge, CNC machined in the USA from a solid steel billet by Gibson's supplier. Notched steel saddles. Chrome plated, including the saddles and intonation screws. About 64 g.

Includes steel posts with a 2 mm hex socket in the top, which makes setting the height easy, plus steel anchors should you need them. Fits guitars built for a Nashville bridge.

History

From Kalamazoo to Nashville. In 1974 Gibson began building guitars at its new Nashville factory, moving production there from the old Kalamazoo plant over the next several years. During that time Gibson decided to update the ABR-1 bridge it had used since the 1950s, and gave the redesign to Schaller, the German hardware maker. The resulting Tune-O-Matic™ (TOM) bridge is often referred to as the Nashville bridge.

What changed from the ABR-1. The bridge body is wider, so the saddles travel farther and the bridge can be properly intonated more consistently. The body is also beefier, so it is less likely to collapse over time under constant string tension. The ABR-1's 6-32 posts were replaced by threaded anchors pressed into the top, with one-piece post/thumbwheel height adjusters screwed into them: a sturdier mount and a more robust height adjustment. And clips hold the saddles and screws in, so they don't fall out when a string is removed or breaks. The ABR-1 had used a retaining wire for this from 1961, but many players disliked the wire because it could rattle.

Metric sizes. Because it was designed in Germany, the Nashville bridge is metric. The posts have M5 x 0.8 threads. The top of the post, where the bridge sits, was originally 4 mm in diameter; Gibson enlarged it to 5 mm in 2012.

Details

How it mounts. The anchors press into the guitar's top, the posts screw into the anchors, and the bridge sits on the posts. Turn the posts to set the bridge height. The included posts have a 2 mm hex socket in the top, so you can set the height with a hex key.

Posts and anchors included. You get a pair of posts and a pair of anchors, in the same steel as the bridge. If your guitar already has anchors installed, you'll usually just use those with the new posts.

Older guitars with 4 mm posts. The bridge has 5 mm post holes, which are too loose on the older 4 mm posts. The included posts are 5 mm.

Intonation screws. The intonation screws have 2 mm hex socket heads. They make intonation adjustments easier than slotted screws when you use our 2 mm ball hex driver (TS-TOOL-17).

Specs

• Nashville (Tune-O-Matic) bridge
• CNC machined from solid steel billet
• Steel saddles, notched
• Intonation screws with 2 mm hex socket heads
• Chrome plated, including the saddles and intonation screws
• Includes 2 steel posts with a 2 mm hex socket in the top, and 2 steel anchors
• Post holes 5 mm
• Dimensions: see the drawing in the images
• Weight approx. 64 g
• Made in the USA by Gibson's supplier