Bridge, Nashville/TOM, OEM, Aluminum Body w/ Zinc Saddles, Nickel

A Nashville-style (Tune-O-Matic) bridge, made in the USA by Gibson's OEM supplier. Aluminum body with notched zinc saddles. Nickel plated. A light bridge, about 30 g.

Fits guitars built for a Nashville bridge, on 5 mm posts. Posts are not included; for the bridge with a pair of matching posts, see our bundle TS-TOM-9321B.

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.

Posts. Posts are not included. For the bridge with a pair of matching 5 mm brass posts, see our bundle TS-TOM-9321B.

Older guitars with 4 mm posts. The bridge has 5 mm post holes, which are too loose on the older 4 mm posts. If your guitar has 4 mm posts, you'll need to replace them with 5 mm posts as well.

Specs

• Nashville (Tune-O-Matic) bridge
• Cast aluminum body
• Zinc saddles, notched
• Intonation screws with slotted heads
• Nickel plated
• Post holes 5 mm
• Posts not included (see bundle TS-TOM-9321B)
• Dimensions: see the drawing in the images
• Bridge weight approx. 30 g
• Made in the USA by Gibson's OEM supplier