QUESTION

I am restoring a 1960 Gibson Es-335 and have been looking for a long time for correct bridge I was told I need a non wire ABR-1.What year did they go from non wire to wire on the Gibson ABR-1 bridge.  Also why are they so expensive compared to wire ones especially since the wire ones are better.

REPLY

Thank you for email. First the years the correct one for your guitar is a Gibson  non wire ABR-1  bridge.  these were used until 1962 . An important note f you had a bigsby tremolo on your guitar your bridge would have a curved base. All tremolo guitar by Gibson in this era used curved base bridges to help the guitar stay in tune when the whammy bar was used. So this is important when looking for the correct bridge. Did Gibson ship them with regular base bridges sure a few did as you know there were no real quality checks back then but  most should have curved base. It is also not uncommon to find them on 1963 guitars also Gibson used the  remaining ones up that year they never threw anything out.

Second question is that yes the non wire bridges are more expensive for several reasons. First and foremost most were thrown away because of the design. people quickly noticed if a string broke the bridge saddle would fly off hence the no retaining wire.This was a big problem at a gig lest say  imagine it is bad enough you broke a string imagine having to look around on the floor for your bridge saddle !!!. so most replaced them with bridges with retaining wires so the guitar was more functional. Finally Gibson got the message and by 1963 the bridges all had retaining wires which held the saddles in making changing a string a breeze from the old style bridge.

The curved base ones are cheaper then the normal  base ones only because the expensive guitar from the 1950,s had the flat bases and are the guitar that are worth  alot of money like the bursts and gold top les pauls, the flying v’s and the explorers to name a few so the vintage market which demands originality raised the prices on these and in fact they are not that easy to find because again many were simply thrown away  over the years.

Today Gibson has reproduced these but they do not have the trademark symbol after the abr-1 name on base of bridge so beware when buying always look for that mark. Many of  these new ones have been aged to look old if you are not sure send me a picture and i wil tell you if it is correct. You can e mail me at the partsdrawer and i will be glad to answer any question you may have

Jim Pasch

QUESTION

I have a what I believe to be 1958 Les Paul Jr. but it only has a 4 digit serial number. Is this possible.

REPLY

Great question. This is one of those guitars that breaks many of the rules for identification. People may argue this and that but the fact is that a 1958 gibson les Paul jr has its own set of rules. This is an important lesson for the business in that many times there are exceptions to the rules. True there are not many but they do exist. I have seen many people loose money by advertising a 1958 as a 1960 and getting much less for it so bookmark this post for future reference

Not too many people know this but in 1958 the first run of 1958 Les Paul Jr’s have a 4 digit serial number that is correct. These are usually found of the slab body or thicker body Jr’s and the heel joint is much deeper on the early 1958 double cut Jr’s. I have only seen this serial number example on double cut Jr’s.

Also a cool little known fact is 98% of the ones i have seen also has a soap bar p90 under the dog ear cover. This is to accommodate the deeper neck angle on the slab early body 58 Jr’s . This is so the pickup sits down deeper in the body due to the shallow neck angle a regular dog ear p90 will be too high!! so yes the  serial number is different and also is many little details on that guitar that other people do not know.

So If one is not sure here is list of thing to check. The neck with be almost uncomfortably large in 1958 . will  likely have 4 digit serial number, check pot dates. carefully pull of p90 cover chances are it it is s soap bar pickup it is a 1958. also the heel joint will be deeper on the body. The body will also be a bit more squared off and thicker hence the name slab body.

I hope this helps thank you for  your question

Jim Pasch

Thr Parts Drawer

QUESTION

I was visiting a friend this weekend and he had an American made Fender Baja Sexto Baritone guitar. He bought it he said around 1991  This is an incredible guitar looks like a tele with a along neck . Do you ever see these and do they still make them. I searched everywhere on the next today and cannot find any for sale.

REPLY

Wow nobody has asked about these in years. I forgot all about this model. Well I will tell you these are cool as hell guitars and I have not had one for sale since 1994 . I was Lucky enough to get a few of these from a famous band that fender original made them for and i believe fender only made them from the custom shop for a year or two. I will be honest I do not have any production totals or when they actually started making them.

The baja Sexto was a Fender telecaster with a long neck plain and simple / the ones i had were in a the standard butterscotch finish with black pickgurd  and maple necks. At the time I owned a recording studio and this was a cool addition to the arsenal and everyone who visited the studio was amazed with the guitar and it was a great conversion piece as well. I cannot tell you on how many recording we used it . you can really get creative with this beast.

If my ,memory  is correct the fender custom ship in japan may have reissued these or there was a knockoff model around. The fender custom shop japan has always done a nice job so if i remember they re good instruments also. since then fender has issued a baritone guitar in the shape of a jaguar but let me tell you not even close to how cool the original telecaster Baja Sexto was.

I can understand why perhaps Fender did not continue this model . The fact that it is a baritone guitar limits its market share and in reality how many people really need one. So from a shear business standpoint it is understandable on the decision made. But the guitar junky in all u=of us always wants these gems for our collections and creative glimpses. True we are not the marketing force they need to survive but never the less we are real and we buy guitars!!! So I feel fender should offer this gem in there custom shop and let the few in the know enjoy the instrument.

The bad news is i have not has one for sale in over 20 years and have not seen any for sale in any private collection either. The fact is those that have them keep them and use them and cherish them. My advice is to write or call fender custom shop and for all I know they may eve have an old one lying around they are dying to sell.one of the employees may even have one I  would say that is your best bet .If you have any further questions please feel free to e mail me at  THE PARTS DRAWER just fill out the questionnaire and i will answer within 48 hours.

Jim Pasch