Alembic Guitars Club

Connecting => Swap Shop and Wish Lists => Seen on craigslist, eBay, and elsewhere => Topic started by: hieronymous on December 13, 2020, 06:23:04 PM

Title: Interesting Stars Guitars tailpiece/bridge on Reverb
Post by: hieronymous on December 13, 2020, 06:23:04 PM

This showed up in my Reverb feed:

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50716441958_c01268b404_o.jpg)

https://reverb.com/item/37706075-stars-guitars-alembic-brass-bass-bridge-1970s-rickenbacker-guild-starfire-replacement-bridge (https://reverb.com/item/37706075-stars-guitars-alembic-brass-bass-bridge-1970s-rickenbacker-guild-starfire-replacement-bridge)

I'm always on the lookout for something interesting to replace the harp bridge on my Guild AleM-85, but this looks more like it was made as a Rickenbacker replacement?

Title: Re: Interesting Stars Guitars tailpiece/bridge on Reverb
Post by: gearhed289 on December 14, 2020, 08:27:27 AM

I've seen those over the years on Rics. Usually natural brass, so the chrome plating is nice on this one. Price seems steep.

Title: Re: Interesting Stars Guitars tailpiece/bridge on Reverb
Post by: Soilandstone on December 15, 2020, 01:11:47 AM

Hi!

We really appreciate the feedback regarding pricing and overall input.  My husband and I run the Reverb shop selling the bridge (Thorpe Collect Create). We have lowered the price to better reflect the market.

Yes, you are correct, these were originally sold as replacements for Rickenbackers. However, Chris noticed (having owned a few Starfires) that it seemed that these could very possibly work in that application as well. He's considered doing that himself. If it could work out, we think it would look awesome on an M-85.

We would be happy to take additional measurements and provide more pictures if that would be of interest.

- Jen T.

Title: Re: Interesting Stars Guitars tailpiece/bridge on Reverb
Post by: edwardofhuncote on December 16, 2020, 06:15:05 AM

Hi Jen, that's a cool piece there, especially with the chrome plating. With apologies for swiping your picture, could you please measure this distance from the mounting screw holes to approximate bridge saddle location? I believe Chris' idea might be right-on... this would be pretty sweet on a Guild Starfire or M-85.  :)


Thanks!

Title: Re: Interesting Stars Guitars tailpiece/bridge on Reverb
Post by: Soilandstone on December 16, 2020, 05:44:44 PM

Hi,
We did our best to get detailed measurements.

We measured the distances with the bridge centered within the tailpiece.
From the left mounting hole to the approximate center of the bridge (E side) we measured about 2 3/16”.
From the right mounting hole to the center of the bridge (G side) we measured about 2 3/8”.
From the center mounting hole to the middle of the bridge is about 2 1/8” (shorter because the center mounting hole is more forward than the other two mounting holes).

There is room for you to mount the bridge centered, forward or back within the tailpiece.
We shifted the bridge forward and backward within the tailpiece and determined that any of the measurements listed could be modified by approximately 1/16th-2/16ths in either direction, depending on how one chooses to mount the bridge within the tailpiece.

It would be great to confirm that this would work for a Starfire, M-85 or something similar. Chris has thought about this being a neat idea whenever we’ve come across these, but we have not tried it before.

Sincerely,
 
Jen T.

Title: Re: Interesting Stars Guitars tailpiece/bridge on Reverb
Post by: edwardofhuncote on December 16, 2020, 07:13:35 PM

Thanks Jen, I will dig my Project Starfire out tomorrow and apply these dimensions. I feel like it should work fine if I can figure out how to make the flat base make full contact to the top. Perhaps with a thin wood shim fastened to the underside, dished out a bit.  Very much like fitting a bridge to an upright bass.

Gears are turning!  :)