TOM bridge vs GFS roller bridge?

[Permanence]

Hey guys, I'm debating whether or not to replace the stock TOM bridge on my CP Jazzmaster with a GFS roller bridge. I know this mod is popular, but I was wondering what benefits come with the roller bridge? How so does it improve on the TOM? And does anyone actually prefer the TOM over the GFS?

[veryredtomatoes]

Good move.

The TOM sucks in compare. The big deal is easy adjustment, great looks, more bell tones behind the bridge (more jm sparleys all around), deep grooves so no more string jump. And it's cheap. Not sure about radius, adjustment is possible with shims but not otherwise.

[mackerelmint]

^^^ yep.

I know you can shim the wilkinson bridge that GFS sells, but they also have that smaller one, and I'm not sure you can shim that to make the radius match.

[arkivel]

The saddles are all the same size and the base has stepped notches. Try shimming the saddles or sanding the notches.

[Guy Guyatone]

I've got the smaller GFS roller bridge on my Warmoth JM with a Warmoth compound radius neck (10-16). It popped right in and It works perfectly if you keep it lubed. I don't think it would work with a 9.5 neck, you can't adjust the radius. I have a couple of SGs with TOMs, they are alright, you can file them a little. They might be OK on some of the newer hybrid JMs. I don't think they'd work real well with a vintage style Fender neck without a lot of work.

[caliban]

Never noticed any real problems with radius mismatch on my SQJMJM when I used a GFS roller bridge on it. Stock bridge probably has the same mismatch by the way!

[gutter rock]

I put the smaller GFS one on a CP jag once and loved it. Improved everything about the guitar and any radius mismatch wasn't noticed by me. BTW, you can usually get that same bridge on eBay for cheaper than GFS. Nothing against GFS, but that bridge isn't exclusively made for them or anything.

[soul1]

I put the smaller GFS one on a CP jag once and loved it. Improved everything about the guitar and any radius mismatch wasn't noticed by me. BTW, you can usually get that same bridge on eBay for cheaper than GFS. Nothing against GFS, but that bridge isn't exclusively made for them or anything.

Do you by any chance have a link, or can you explain what to search for to find that same exact bridge?

I'm guessing you had no issues with buzzing, intonation, or setting lower action with the roller bridge?

[Gav Haus]

I have a Wilkinson roller bridge on my Mascis at the minute, and kinda hate it.... But I seem to be the only one. Ugly, feels wrong under hand when muting, really awkward to adjust, and never once managed to set it up in a way that I'm entirely happy with. Have the appropriate Staytrem bridge on the way though, so it matters not.

Like I said though, I'm the minority here - many rave about them.

[gutter rock]

I put the smaller GFS one on a CP jag once and loved it. Improved everything about the guitar and any radius mismatch wasn't noticed by me. BTW, you can usually get that same bridge on eBay for cheaper than GFS. Nothing against GFS, but that bridge isn't exclusively made for them or anything.

Do you by any chance have a link, or can you explain what to search for to find that same exact bridge?

I'm guessing you had no issues with buzzing, intonation, or setting lower action with the roller bridge?

Do an eBay search for "Gibson roller bridge". A bunch will pop up but it is a matter of searching for lowest price plus shipping to get the best deal. I had no problems with either of the ones I had. One from GFS, the other off EBay, they were both exactly the same bridge.