Every Gibson guitar should be like this...

I just pre drill wood dowels and put them in makes a big difference

how low can the action go? cause THAT's what I look for now. I lovee me some low low action.

The Callaham ABR-1is the best of the bunch

Do you have to file the saddles to match the radius or do these come "pre-filed" ? I had my original filed at one point and THAT was a huge difference. I'm looking to replace mine now because the chroming is peeling off and it's actually starting to wear on my hand.

Here's a fun thought. Take the Ritalin before you make the video and edit it after.

SteveSterlacci, what Gibson Les Paul is that you are holding?

A significant disadvantage of the ABR-1 style bridge is that if you're unlucky, it might develop 'post-lean' over time. Basically the posts lean towards the headstock, damaging the inside of the guitar. The studs of the nashville style bridge prevent this

Faber Products itself are not produced in Germany. Try to ask their consumer service by mail. You wil not get an decent answer to where the parts are made. It is just clever marketing but in the end their parts are the same like for ex. the Standard Gibson Hardware.

I didn’t hear or feel any difference between the two modifications when I tried it..

It really seems like the placebo effect.

bit of nail polish on your wire ABR will stop the rattle...and double up the thumb wheels

Absolutely true! But just as important is the quality of the stud and other bridge components.

I've done the full Faber conversion to all my Les Pauls... well worth the money... sustain, tone etc miles better

Buyer beware. The Faber studs do not fit a Gibson ABR 1 or a Nashville bridge.

I guess the same principle would apply to 335s that use tuneomatic bridges ?

Do any pro, well known players use Faber?

Dude. Would you want to sell that guitar?

TP6--Every Les Paul should have it. Even the Epiphones.

Callahan has more sustain than a faber

So I did a “flame maple mod” on my edwards e-Lp. It’s when you buy longer threaded rods for your abr-1 and you screw them all the way down to you reach the bottom of the hole. So nice. It’s crazy how much the guitar rings and sustains.

You can also stay with Nashville style, but try brass studs.

ABR 1 is better if it's a 50s one made of brass the new ones are no good. I love a Gibson but by the 60s they had changed them again and then again in 70s.. I remember when you could get a Gibson custom Les Paul for 800 bucks brand new. Now starting at 5000 bucks and is way cheaper made 😢. But I do have two Les Paul guitars two SG a 71 and a newer Angus Young model. A 335 Cherry and a 1965 Gibson custom J200 has a tunomatic bridge love it best acoustic guitar ever made in my book. But check it out Gibson has been getting worse and charging more over the years. Sad but true😢

Try taking off the bridge. Raise the tail piece for a wrap around tail piece for proper string height. Don't use the bridge. It makes for a longer scale length and slinky string feel. Try it. You might like it.

I added the Faber tone lock to my 2020 les Paul and it is 100% a game changer and is now a standard upgrade for any Gibson guitar I get

This video may have finally pushed me over the edge to try a Faber conversion. I've looked at them for years but have never been brave enough to pull the trigger, considering the price tag. Thanks for the great video!

I am buying a master kit conversion from Faber and very excited. I think in couple weeks they are having 20% off sale which is very nice. Thanks for shedding some light on this interesting and somewhat confusing topic. I think it goes without saying how critical a good bridge system is, and Gibson is notorious for cutting corners.

Interesting 👍

Seth Lover invented the Gibson PAF humbucker. McArty was president of the company and wanted a solution to the noise.

Great video, thank you for the explanation Steve. I understand the rattle on one of my guitars now. Grazie !!

Cool

I have an Orville les paul with the abr, and it has a lovely sweet and lively sound. I have a Gibson Les Paul Classic Antique which had the Nashville bridge and sounded awful. I changed the bridge to a Gotoh with large posts and it still sounded dreadful. recently I changed the bridge again to a Tonepros TPFA bridge with aluminium body and brass saddles. also with large posts.
I can't believe how good it sounds now. Nashville and abr bridges are made from zinc alloy. I don't know why they sounded so bad on my guitar, but I am now a big fan of aluminium bridges with brass saddles. my Gibson has been given a new lease on life.

Great info and that Les Paul is beautiful!

Okay, Steve. Good job. I've had a real jury-rigged bridge assembly on my FF338 since I installed a roller bridge, so I ordered one of these conversion kits. Really surprised their shipping charge is nominal compared to most of these places! This should be the last upgrade I'll make to it (until I come up with another lol). 🎸🎸🎸

A friend of mine put one of those on his Gibson goldtop to stop the buzzing. I tried it out this morning and it was 👌👌

Steve…did you tap the holes for the faber inserts to screw into???

On electric guitar the acoustic resonance contributes almost 0 to the tone as the magnet only picks up the vibration of the metallic string and not anything that comes out of the wood. This wood resonance might be audible acoustically but does not really affect the string vibration and if it does, it does not do it in a meaningful way.

Steve…my only point of reference is my PRS McCarty…it has the ABR style bridge and I can honestly say that guitar rings like a bell…not sure if that is the ONLY reason, but I’m sure it helps…I have to agree, there is something lost with the Nashville stud type bridge…great stuff my brother!!!!

Great video as always Steve. Many people feel that the ABR1 sounds better than the Nashville bridge because of the additional mass of the wider Nashville bridge. This is also why some people go hunting for lighter weight stop talis. The longer travel of the saddles on a Nashville sounds like a good thing on paper, but in reality, if you are playing a decent quality guitar (ie: bridge mounted in the right place), that longer travel shouldn't be necessary. With a good guitar, if you can't get your guitar to intonate, there is usually something else wrong, like really old strings, worn nut slots, worn saddles, etc. I actually had a luthier tell me he had to reposition my bridge (pull the studs, fill the holes and redrill in the "right place"), when in reality, all I needed was new saddles. (Glad I didn't let him touch my guitar.) If everything else is OK, an ABR1 should intonate properly (and not at the extreme edges of the bridge either). One problem with the ABR1 is that the threaded rods can bend over time. The Nashville mounting system is sturdier. This (I think) is why Gibson now uses a hybrid on their regular production line Les Pauls. The actual bridge is essentially an ABR1, but the mount is a modified version of the Nashville, made to fit the ABR1 bridge holes. I changed from a Nashville to an ABR1 on my SG Classic using conversion posts that screw into the Nashville bushings (Philadelphia Lutherie sells them). I am not sure that I can hear the difference, but becasue I am so used to the look of older guitars, it just looks better to me. Would replacing the separate bushings and post with a combined bushing/post assembly like you used on your guitar make a sonic difference? Maybe? But there is so much MOJO (ie: rumor, folklore, B.S.) involved in these sorts of upgrades that it is impossible to know until you do the upgrade/mod and listen for a change.

I have an old Gibson ES-175 Archtop that has a wooden bridge like the one in the video. I wasn't sure if I wanted to play it with flatwound or roundwound strings. I got some brand of Tune-o-matic bridge (I think it has a wire) for it so I wouldn't need to modify the original wooden bridge for a plain or wound 3rd string. Both round and flat strings sounded good, but I lost the traditional Archtop sound with the round strings. So, I switched back to the original wooden bridge. I have not noticed any wood compression on the bridge saddle due to string pressure.

Thanks again as always Steve. I will disagree for the first time with you regarding the screw head orientation on the bridge. The string is always in the way and should be loose and off the saddle before adjusting which then allows good access. When the screw heads face the neck then the bridge pickup is in the way. The tailpiece is lower and allows better access from that side. Keep on truckin', Gale

Also the Theodore. I am very happy I couldn't afford a Gibson LP until 2020 after the new leadership was in place. I have a 60s standard and the only change I made to it was putting some historic spec wider top saddles on it that I bought form a guy off one of the forums for $40. I think it made a subtle but distinct difference and is totally reversable. While it does have an ABR-1 bridge it does have the metal bushing inserts. All things considered I'd take the vintage ABR-1 mounting method but I don't have any complaints. Nice information man. I didn't know why the Nashville style was flipped until today.

PRS started in 1985.
The first PRS I saw was in 1983 Santana played one at the US Festival.