Metal Guitarist Forums banner

Compound Radius and bridges

3K views 29 replies 12 participants last post by  Rocka_Rollas 
#1 ·
So I have been doing a little research and seem to be going down a rabbit hole. I wanted to change a TOM bridge on a Jackson with a 12-16" radius however I cant seem to find one with the same radius or one that will work, would a "normal" TOM bridge work or would I find a difference in the feel.
Has anybody any information or had experience in this ?
 
#2 ·
Tune O Matics are classically radius'd to 12" to match the standard Gibson radius.

Some companies may offer a 16" radius TOM, but I'm not up to date with that as it's not something that comes up.

You may need to just buy a 12" one and file the inner 4 saddles so that strings sit in the correct 16" radius to match your board.
 
#4 ·
Not a Rocka thread? :scratch:

Typically, you want the bridge radius to match the radius at the headstock end of the fretboard, not the other way around.
 
#8 ·
Learn something every day, one must. Here you go:



Keep in mind that past the last fret on a compound radius, the radius should continue to flatten. So like on a 12-16 your bridge should be flatter then 16. Think of your strings on a compound radius as making a cone shape.
This is correct.

People must stop fooling around!!!!
 
#7 ·
ITT Donnie dropping the math. Came here to say that. if you're at 12" at the headstock, and 16 at the 24th, the radius at the bridge would be ~17.3". A 16" Tom is probably gonna be as close as you get.
 
#20 ·
Apparently it worked! Attention confirmed!

But it's not the point.

The point is that whoever is NOT matching the radius to the fretboard with a Floyd Rose is not picky about setup.
Well, I'm glad for those people.

But those who takes setups seriously MUST shim the saddles to the correct radius, otherwise you caaaaaannnnnn''''''ttttttttttttttt get a even string action across all strings over the frets!
 
#23 ·
No, an Ibanez JS guitar has a more round 9.5" radius (like many Fender strats), unlike Ibanez Prestige RGs with a flatter 17" radius..
Most cheaper RGs have a little rounder 15.75" radius.

Not many guitars have 18", not sure where you got that number from regarding a Ibanez JS?
I was just saying that the JS have shims in there trems, I was not talking about 18" for the JS. I said going back to my problem would I need roughly an 18" for my compound...
 
#28 ·
I can't speak for other manufacturers, but I have four USA Jacksons with 12-16" compound radius fingerboards, and the OFR saddle radius is somewhere around 18" or 20" from the factory. Maybe I'll break out the radius gauges and measure them when I get a chance to see exactly what it is.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top