Gibson and TonePros? Finally!

For years now, I've been telling my customers with Gibson Custom Shop Les Pauls some sad and surprising news, "You've got to change the bridge on your guitar or it will never stay in tune." and I've had some mixed responses to say the least! Most are in total disbelief that the guitar they just spent $3-6000 on would not come with the very best parts. I sympathize with that and agree completely! It should! However, until recently it did not. Gibson was using inferior tune-o-mattic bridges that had alot of play (or movement) in them. Don't take my word for it! See for yourself! If you have a Gibson Les Paul that is a few years old, simply take the strings off and see how much you can rock the bridge back and forth. Now take your finger and press back and forth on the saddles within the bridge itself. You'll find they have quite a bit of play in them. This is a problem I've been dealing with as a Guitar Tech for years now. Several of my customers have put their trust in me and paid for the overpriced TonePros locking tone-o-mattic bridge with stellar results! These bridges are rock solid and stable. There is no play in the saddles and they even lock onto the studs! This generally eliminates any play (unwanted movement) in the entire bridge! Oh, by the way, no more "bridge accidentally falling off" when your changing strings too! TonePros claims their bridges increase sustain. Well... of course they do, but that isn't the point. The real reason to buy one is how much better your guitar (once professionally setup) will stay in tune! I am so happy to see the recent ad on the back page of Vintage Guitar Magazine showing Gibson and TonePros partnering together for the 55 Reissue Les Paul. Your paying a premium for these guitars and it is about time they came with a decent bridge! My hat goes off to Gibson for doing this. Also, on a side note, for those on a budget who need a better quality bridge I highly recommend the Gotoh Tune-O-Mattic as sold by various suppliers on my Links page. Did you know Gotoh also makes TonePros hardware for them? Yes, the Gotoh version is basically the same Les Paul type tune-o-mattic bridge, but non-locking and half the price! I bet that is a secret they'd like to keep, but their high prices disgust me so I'm disclosing this infomation to you here. In the future, I hope to see Gibson and other guitar manufacturers using Gotoh and TonePros parts on their guitars from the factory. It makes my job easier and saves you money. Are you interested in upgrading your Les Paul style guitar with a one of the bridges discussed in this BLOG? Send me an email!