Fancy ABRs and tailpieces worth it?

Moe_Zambeek

I’ve come back to playing my SG a lot recently and while I love it I think there is room for improvement.

 It has a set of SD antiquities in it which are much better than the HB-L and HB-R it came with but still not 100% right which I hope to eventually rectify, maybe with the assistance of Oil City if they do a T-Top type. May also replace the pots and loom, maybe also the switch which has that occasional need for a wiggle to clear the contacts many Gibson’s have…

Anyway, I’m also considering a new tailpiece and ABR, just because it’s still the original stuff that’s on there from 1990. Is it worth spending the time and money to replace those? With pickups it’s easy to see the justification, maybe less so for hardware…

stickyfiddle

Only if there’s something you want to change about the current stuff imo. 

Faber is great kit if you’re looking though 

fnpt

The Faber bridge and tailpiece made a significant improvement in the sound of my LP, brighter and more articulate.I think it is worth it. YMMV

Offset

Tone Pros locking Nashville bridge and locking tailpiece studs.  Can't detect any difference in sound but not having the fuckers drop off every time you change strings (and potentially ding your guitar) is a godsend.

digitalkettle

fnpt said:

The Faber bridge and tailpiece made a significant improvement in the sound of my LP, brighter and more articulate.I think it is worth it. YMMV

If you're doing it, make sure it's the locking stuff (ABR-1 and tailpiece/studs).

I put Faber upgrades on my LP and SG: besides the practical improvement, they felt a lot more solid and 'in tune' afterwards (especially the SG).

Musical_Mystery_Tour

A decent quality bridge and tailpiece is a good and worthwhile addition. It adds mass which improves sustain, in addition to which, the additional mass makes an SG less prone to neck dive.

Seziertisch

There are a number of videos on YouTube comparing “upgraded” and original hardware on Gibson guitars. 

To my ears a change in the material which the parts are made of does make a difference in a way that a pickup swap doesn’t or can’t. It’s quite subtle in one way but those sonic qualities will be there regardless of what you do with the pickups. 

https://youtu.be/HvQ7g5J4764?si=A4v5svrKq7X7hZp0

https://youtu.be/8KbF45-qmdo?si=Uc086D3cvG8Hf9vN