Golden Age Roller Bridge, Chrome| Bigsby Vibrato Compatibility | Low-Friction Brass Saddles | Nashville T-O-M 12' Radius

I both love and desperately hate my 2012 Gibson firebird. I have done a lot to this guitar to make it the guitar that I want to be. And it was not cheap even on the used market close to $3,000.Even with the Steinberger tuning keys that came on the guitar it would not stay in tune. I initially thought that was the issue and was ready to yank those off and throw them out the window but instead I decided to check the bridge and try something a little different. I looked up some videos on YouTube about using roller bridges on Gibson guitars. Granted I've owned almost 10 Gibsons in my life and never had a problem as bad as I had with this particular firebird staying in tune. I think either the slots were cut too narrow from the factory or possibly cut for much larger strings that I use by the previous owner not entirely sure, however this thing stays in tune like a champ now. I like this bridge so much that I'm seriously considering getting it for all the rest of my tune-o-matic style guitars, so it's not going to be a cheap investment by any means, but I can't stress how much of a difference this bridge actually made.

For the price I was afraid it was going to be cheap junk, BUT no! It’s a Perfect fit and I’m surprised at the excellent quality. As you can see I have the Bigsby Tremolo and it holds its tune now. It’s all around just feels like the strings resonate better and even if I didn’t have the Bigsby I would keep this style of Bridge on my Gibson.

I bought this for my Gibson double cutaway Les Paul. I have been using other roller bridges for years now and have always just trusted they were correct when they were marked as replacement for Gibson tune o matic bridge. Then I saw this one which is marked as the only 12 inch radius roller and I knew my Gibsons and Epiphones all come with a 12 inch radius .. so I thought what are the other roller bridges radiuses .The other 4 roller bridges I have are very close to14inches . Do they work ? Yes.... Does this one work better? To me it seems to . What is a standard tune o matic radius that comes on a Gibson. Depends but the 2 stock Gibson tune o matic standard bridges and the 3 that came on Epiphone I own are exactly 12 inch or 14 inch radiuses by my guages . Closer to 12'' than 14" That alone sold me this bridge but it was the quality and attention to detail that bought 2 more. So I now have 3 guitars with this bridge but I tried them on both Gibsons .. A 2018 Double Cutaway LP and a 2020 Les Paul Tribute all Epiphones A Les Paul Classic LP Special 2 and a Dot and I tried it on my very first guitar. 1963 Gretsch Corvette w BURNS Vibrola. They fit pretty well on all but I did get lucky with to anchor posts on Gretsch which I should add was modded from the non adjustable original bridge and fitter with a tune o matic years ago. The 3 flat non arch guitars showed the most improvement. They worked well with the 2 LPs and the Dot and I may get one for each but the 3 they went on Gibson Double Cut LP Epi LP Special 2 and the Gretsch Corvette w/BURNS Vibrola were like night and day. I LOVED the way they played already but I love the way they play and sound even more now.

This Golden Age Roller Bridge is the second roller bridge I installed on my Ibanez AX120 guitar. The one I previously had on this guitar was the KAISH Chrome Guitar Roller Saddle Bridge Tune-O-Matic Bridge with Roller Saddles For Epiphone Les Paul,SG,Dot,Bigsby Guitar with M8 Threaded Posts (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07LG2QKDV). The Golden Age bridge is more elegant and friendlier to your palm. Also the intonation adjusting screws move freely compared with the KAISH bridge.However the installation wasn't quite that easy. I had to overcome the fact that the original anchors installed in my guitar are threaded for M8 posts while the post supplied with the Golden Age Bridge are M5. Replacing the anchors in the guitar was out of the question. I would have had to plug the existing holes and drill new ones.Other alternatives were:- Purchase a similar post but with the M8 thread. The keyword here is "similar". I could not find an M8 post that had the same diameter adjusting wheel, including the little shoulder on top of the wheel. Also the stub that goes inside the hole at the bottom of the bridge would have to be cut or ground down losing the chrome plating.- Remove the existing anchors from the guitar and enlarge the threaded holes a little so that the anchors supplied with the M5 Golden Age Bridge could be pressed into the M8 anchors. This is something I already did on a kit guitar that I build and installed a Golden Age Roller Bridge. Again, I did want to avoid pulling out the existing anchors.- Use an M5 to M8 thread adapter. This is what I ended up doing.I purchased the 10Pcs Thread Reducing Nut Repairing Insert Kit Pipe Fitting Reducer Adapter Stainless Steel Fastener Accessory, Female M5 x 0.8mm, Male M8 x 1.25mm 12MM (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09269LG2Z/). These adapter threaded into the M8 anchors OK except for the portion where the screwdriver slot was cut. I spent a couple of minutes with a small file cleaning up the threads in the area of the slot and everything went smooth. I threaded the adapters all the way onto the M5 posts from the Golden Age bridge, with the screwdriver slot down. I used a little Loctite Threadlock 271 to keep the adapters in place. After the threadlock cured I installed the post and the bridge and proceeded to string up the guitar. After adjusting the string action there was enough M8 threaded into the anchors to keep them and the bridge stable. This may not be a solution if you have to adjust the bridge very high.Another point of attention is the fact that the Golden Age Roller Bridge is wider (front to back). You run the risk of the strings touching the back side of the bridge (closer to the tailpiece). In my case they just cleared. On the Ibanez AX120 the tailpiece is closer to the bridge than other guitars. Also the tailpiece that I used sits a little closer to the body of the guitar and cannot be raised, and the string holes are in a straight line not in an arched line. But in the end everything turned out good, the guitar looks nice and sounds good and my palm is happy.

This is my third Golden Age bridge. They come with mounting hardware but I was able to install them using the posts already on my Gretsch, D’Angelico DC and 335 guitars. It was necessary however to remove a little of the plating inside each post hole to fit the original guitar posts. Each roller can be individually adjusted and the whole bridge position can be fine tuned using the grub screws on either side of the posts. Set up was a breeze and I was able to get perfect intonation and action height with ease. Tuning stability was excellent with the Bigsbys. Most other roller bridges are 14” radius which limits their use but these I measured at 12” which is quite rare but makes them suitable for many more guitars. The quality is good and the price is excellent. Highly recommended.