Corsa-Faber Hardware Upgrades
P R O M O T I O N A L C O N T E N T
Written by Larry Corsa. Originally published on the FaberUSA.com website.
If you own an import guitar such as an Epiphone, Tokai, Burny or one of the many other import brands, you may be considering ways to improve it. One of the big changes in the guitar market over the last 15 years is the increased quality of lower priced Les Paul style guitars. These guitars are typical of very high standards and often sound and play great. However, many factories that produce these import Gibson style guitars reduce production costs by using sub-par materials for the guitars’ hardware.
Faber® USA provides high-quality replacement parts for Gibson style imported guitars. Your import guitar can now have some of the characteristics of a real vintage Gibson guitar.
Import guitars often come factory fitted with hardware made mostly from zinc alloy which reduces production cost but also compromises tone. High zinc alloy hardware will affect the guitars sustain and resonant tone.
Bridge Upgrades
Faber® USA provides a range of bridge upgrades designed to improve the tone and sustain of any import guitar. Our bridge upgrades are made from aluminum alloy and will add a vintage look and feel to any guitar. Our bridges do not have the typical rattle inducing retainer wire and the saddles provide 100% mechanical contact in the ABR frame.
Our ABRM model bridge, from our ABR-59 line of bridges, is a direct “drop on” replacement for all import style bridges with 4mm mounting posts. No modification is required to make these bridges fit. We also offer our bridges with the optional upgrade of titanium saddles. Titanium saddles will provide a brighter tone, perfect for brightening up muddy pickups. If your guitar does not have 4mm bridge posts mounted directly into the top wood, see the section below titled, “Mounting Posts.”
Whereas the Faber® ABR-59 bridges are the non-locking type, Faber® also makes the locking Tone-Lock series, with our exclusive No Gap technology which further enhances contact between the bridge and posts and promotes vibration transfer and sustains.
Bridge & Saddles
Faber® offers a range of saddle upgrades for all our bridge types. We offer the saddles in a range of finish options:
- Nickel Plated Brass
- Aged Nickel Plated Brass
- Natural Brass
- Aged Natural Brass
- Titanium
Many bridges come standard with Nickel plated saddles. Many players opt to change these to Brass (For added vintage warmth) or Titanium (For extra brightness). Faber® also offers a HYBRIDge option which allows you to mix and match saddle types for your perfect balanced bridge tone.
Tailpiece
Our range of stop tailpieces is the perfect upgrade for your import guitar. Our 100% aluminum tailpieces are 1/3 lighter than the modern, die-cast zinc alloy tailpieces that modern guitars come factory loaded with. Our tailpieces are correctly weighted to match that of vintage style tailpieces. The aluminum tailpiece transfers vibration differently which provides you with a woodier and more vintage tone.
Mounting Posts
Our ESWKIT is a vintage style bridge post and thumbwheel combo mounted on an 8mm shaft designed to fit import style body bushings. This will require no modification and will be a perfect match if you don’t want to change your existing body bushings. These upgraded posts will not only make your guitar look better but they will enhance your sustain.
You can also use one of our E-Sert kits which come with steel bushings with a fixed post. This configuration contains a separately adjustable thumbwheel as seen on more vintage style guitars. This kit is the ultimate way to ensure your new Faber® bridge gets the most out of your guitar. Our E-Sert kits provide a noticeable tone enhancement and are made from high-quality German steel.
Bridge Upgrade Kits
For an all in one bridge upgrade solution, you could look at one of our kits. Our Master Kits provide all the pieces you need to revamp your bridge and tailpiece on your import guitar. We offer these kits to fit the standard 4mm bridge post mounting, or with the ESWKIT posts and the E-Sert posts. You can order the perfect kit to suit your needs.
Tuners
Many import guitars come with sub-standard tuners which means your import will not hold tune as well as you’d like it to. Many players choose to upgrade their tuners to more stable models. Faber® USA offers a range of replacement tuners to suit your needs.
Our 3 a side sets come with the option of push in bushings as found on most USA style Gibson guitars or screw in bushings as found on import style guitars. Our tuners are the high ratio, meaning more turns of the peg are required to make the most complete a full rotation. This allows for more accurate fine tuning and added stability.