68 Mustang bridge - possibly original or replacement?

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marginwalker
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68 Mustang bridge - possibly original or replacement?

Post by marginwalker » Fri Jan 13, 2023 1:25 am

Hi all! Recently scored this sweet 68 Mustang and just got it back from my tech who. He’s no expert on Mustangs (neither am I, this is my first proper one) but he said the bridge looked to be in such nice condition, with hardly any traces of tooling marks from adjustments, and the saddles and screws look so clean that he has a suspicion that it’s not original or at least maybe the saddles and screws aren’t original, or they’ve undergone some sort of deep cleaning.

I know with JM/Jag bridges there are noticeable changes to things like domed vs flat post screw holes but are there any tells like that for Mustang bridges? Here are some pics of the bridge:

Image
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According to the shop I got it from it was a one-owner guitar, and the guy sold them a 71 comp stang along with this one but the comp stang was quite a bit more worn in so it was probably his main guitar and this one sat in its case more often

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GreenKnee
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Re: 68 Mustang bridge - possibly original or replacement?

Post by GreenKnee » Fri Jan 13, 2023 6:10 am

Usually a bridge that clean would say to me it's a replacement, but going off the pics in the NGD thread I'm not so sure. This guitar is CLEAN and it wouldn't surprise me if this bridge was original.
You can see some warble of the plating on the base plate too, brand new bridges are generally finished perfectly.

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marginwalker
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Re: 68 Mustang bridge - possibly original or replacement?

Post by marginwalker » Fri Jan 13, 2023 11:05 pm

GreenKnee wrote:
Fri Jan 13, 2023 6:10 am
Usually a bridge that clean would say to me it's a replacement, but going off the pics in the NGD thread I'm not so sure. This guitar is CLEAN and it wouldn't surprise me if this bridge was original.
You can see some warble of the plating on the base plate too, brand new bridges are generally finished perfectly.
Thank you for the insight! Yes you’re right, the base plating does look a bit less than pristine. Maybe my tech was just in disbelief that a guitar this old could look this good lol

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Ceylon
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Re: 68 Mustang bridge - possibly original or replacement?

Post by Ceylon » Sun Jan 15, 2023 1:04 am

I think it doesn't look any cleaner really than the finish on the rest of the vibrato, so to my amateur eyes it could definitely be original.
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