Tone Pros

Inspired by the mention in another topic.

Has anyone actually put the tone pros bridge/tailpiece on a love rock?

Do they fit directly onto the old posts/holes etc or is there modding required? Do you just pop off the old bridge and stick the new one on or do the posts need to be altered?

Do they do what it says on the tin (ie. increased sustain etc)?

Ta

Paladin, I can only answer half you're question, so maybe someone else can help out, too.
I changed my chrome hardware to nickel with some parts I bought at a guitar show. I'm pretty sure the tailpiece was Tone-Pro because it had the set screws drilled in. It fit directly onto the Tokai chrome studs, which was a good thing, because the stud anchors are a metric thread, and would not accept the imperial threaded studs supplied with new tailpiece.

The TOM bridge was probably not a Tone-Pros, and it was just slightly longer than the old Tokai one, which also was OK with me because I felt the original was a little undersized and the saddles didn't line up real well with the polepieces. So I had to remove the threaded bridge studs, fill the holes with maple, and redrill - not a major job, just a bit of a pain.

As far as tone - the lightweight tailpiece definitely made a difference acoustically - it brighted it up, made the chords seem more "open" and ringing - but I honestly didn't notice more sustain, and couldn't hear a difference when the guitar was amplified (but I usually go for a louder Gary Moore sound anyway).

Hope this helps in your ToneQuest - it is indeed a noble calling. I hope to post some pics soon of my newly "aged" Loverock.

Hmm.

The fitting thing is what worries me since I don't want to take a power tool to that lovely flamey top and I don't want anyone else to either. And since the polepieces don't quite line up on mine either I think the tonepro would need that alteration. If only there was more info on that Gotoh version GKelm has...

Come to think of it, I wonder how much of a problem it'd be to drill some holes in the current bridge, thread them and stick some small allen screws down there? Not sure the nickel plating would be too happy with it but maybe. :-?

Tailpiece shouldn't be a problem - my LR apparently has a lightweight already and the tonepro studs are available in metric.

Oh well, if there isn't that much difference it may be more trouble than it's worth. :roll:

Cheers Novosel :wink:

Any other input welcome

Just done some measuring and comparing to the spec sheets and it seems the tonepro bridge would fit the posts in their current positions... Would probably need to swap the saddles from my current bridge however as they've been properly filed and shaped and the tonepro stuff is only notched.

Thinking about going for it if WD music UK ever get back to me. :roll:

Paladin2019 said:

Any other input welcome

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Yes, definitely more input from other members. I'd hate to think I'm the most knowledgable person here - if I am this forum's in real trouble!

I understand your apprehension about drilling into your guitar. My own decision to relic my Love Rock came about from my drill slipping off the carve top and leaving a 4 inch gouge across the flame (ha ha - just kidding Paladin - you can unclench your butt cheeks now). But in all honesty, I was in a hurry to switch over to the nickel and did a...ah...less than professional job, but I think it's one of those things only I would notice. I'd be a simple job for a more anal person.

There is a lot of disagreement regarding the value of tone change in a lightweight tailpiece. Some people are blown away by it. My '84 ALS60 sounded great before, but the change didn't hurt. Personally a locking bridge and tailpiece is not an issue for me- I change my strings one at a time, and in all the years I've been playing, I don't recall ever bouncing one off the top.

But I would definitely like to hear other opinions - I'm sure every Les Paul-style player has considered this mod.

Even if you don't notice a great improvement in sustain, the fact that it locks the bridge and tail piece in place is an added bonus when restringing.
That way you can remove all the strings and do a nice cleaning job as well without worrying about the system falling off.

Kent

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kherman said:

That way you can remove all the strings and do a nice cleaning job as well without worrying about the system falling off.

Kent

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Cleaning? HAHAHAHAHAH.....

You slay me, hermy :wink:

kherman said:

That way you can remove all the strings and do a nice cleaning job as well without worrying about the system falling off.

Kent

Click to expand...

That's my justification at the moment.

I got a reply from the UK distributors and they were very confused by the LR bridge; something to do with the posts being unusual for that particular TOM design. The kit I think I need (screw-down tailpiece studs with no tailpiece and bridge with no posts) would cost about ?80. Seems a lot for the cleaning benefit and I'm hearing mixed reports about its sustain properties.

I'll see what happens when the distributors find something to match the LR bridge.

Paladin2019 said:

(snip)
I'll see what happens when the distributors find something to match the LR bridge.

Click to expand...

Please keep us informed of what you find out, I'm also interested to know if this is an easy 'drop-in replacement' type job, or something more complicated....

Many thanks,

Bill, Hong Kong.

Update: I'll hopefully be ordering the tailpiece studs (not the locking tailpiece itself, can't afford the lightweight one I'd need to replace the current one) next week but the metric thread ones aren't in stock at the UK suppliers so it could take a while. :roll:

The big problem is the bridge. I described the Tokai TOM over the phone and the poor guy still had no clue which replacement was needed since my LR's bridge is Nashville style but its posts are screwed directly into the wood; and it doesn't help that Gotoh's highly comprehensive online product catalogue has been removed :evil: (tonepros do gotoh stuff which is nice)

I've done some measuring, but not as accurately as it probably needs, and he and I reckon the ABR 1 bridge would fit best. Problem? Not available with notched saddles so even if it does fit it's down the the techie's again...

Trouble is I just found out I *need* a new bridge. The current one is collapsing and going concave which is probably why the outer saddles needed filing downwhen I first got the guitar - now, according to Dan Erlwine's fretboard radius measuring tools it's getting worse. Before I bought his books I didn't even know there was a problem (buy them, they're bloody brilliant!).

Not much useful info in that post really... aah, who cares there's nothing else to do right now!

That book sounds very interesting.
I was reading about it over at the LPF.
I going to have to check into that.
I'm going to wait till he adds those other guages he mentions as well.
For measuring the action I believe.
That shop tour was pretty cool also.
He's doing a complete setup on someone's (dewey) historic.

The more stuff I can learn to do myself the better.

Kent

More TP news.

Got the bridge yesterday (the ABR1 version). Aligned over the posts perfectly but the stock posts were too wide to take it. :roll:

Luckily Tone Pros supply the right posts with the bridge so the local tech is working on fitting them right now. Since the TP posts are narrower than standard it's not a straightforward drop-on replacement as I'd hoped. I'm not too bothered as the ABR version doesn't come with pre-cut saddles so it was going to the tech's anyway.

I suppose a confident person could file out the insides of the bridge postholes or replace the posts themselves but I'm not that brave. :lol:

There is a version of the bridge that has wider postholes but I'm not sure how well the rest of the measurements match. I prefer the ABR1's looks anyway.

Won't be able to pick up the finished product til next Saturday so expect another update then 8)

Well, I've had the bridge fitted. Initial impressions?

Not sure about sustain as I've not plugged in yet but the tone does seem richer and a bit more vibrant. Slight increase in volume too. Not sure how much of this is due to fresh strings though. :wink:

Not got the tailpiece studs yet so I probably haven't seen the full effect. Guess there's some more waiting to do. :roll:

On my 90's Love Rock the tailpiece anchor on one side is so loose that you can pull it out with no effort whatsoever. No problem when the strings are on ~ it's really tight, but I was thinking of replacing the anchors and studs with US units. Anyone have any idea how easy/difficult this might be to do? Should I be able to tap them in? The current tailpiece is an after market aluminum one that fits the studs with no problem, so I'm assuming it would also fit the US studs. Any input would be welcome.

Wow! That's an old thread!

I can answer my own question! I found some old anchors in my parts box and I hammered them in. They are marginally longer than the original ones and bottomed out with about a mm or so protruding above where the original ones sat, but it can't be seen with the tailpiece in place. They are in there for life! Cannot be budged. The studs I was using screw into them perfectly. So I don't know if they're metric or US but they're perfect!