JayLo Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 Hello, Heritage community. New member here with a (new to me) Heritage H-530. After decades of playing ES 330s, 335s and 345s I have finally found my gigging guitar. The H-530 is light, has the long neck and killer pickups. The workmanship is excellent, and the price (used) was just unbeatable. As with all of my guitars, I just can't let a good thing alone: I added a Bigsby (for my playing style), and replaced the knobs and the switch tip (for looks). In order to tame the brightness of the pickups I'd like to switch out the metal saddles on the bridge for nylon saddles. But I can't get out the screws. Has anyone done this? Or would I need to replace the entire bridge? If so, which one? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 Never swapped saddles out, but that is a great looking gtr!! Congrats! I have an old Gibson EB-0 with nylon saddles though, and it sounds dull so you might be onto something. Although I think it's mostly due to the pickups Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayLo Posted April 18 Author Share Posted April 18 Thanks. Probably a combination of both, pickup and saddles. My ES330 and 345 have nylon saddles. Easier on the strings, too, especially with a Bigsby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genericmusic Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skydog52 Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 Nice One! I like how you think. H-530 is a great platform IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spectrum13 Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 I have a prospect with P90 same color and minus the crowbar is a mini copy of yours. To tame the brightness I suggest changing out the pots from 500 to 300 or 250. There are better controls aftermarket and more uniform taper will rolloff the highs smoother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayLo Posted April 18 Author Share Posted April 18 Interesting take. But I'd rather not mess with the electronics. Thanks, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockabilly69 Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 (edited) Here's two Tonepros nylon saddle bridges one with the Nashville insert style, the other with ABR-1 style posts... https://www.stewmac.com/search/?q=abr-1+g+formula another one from amplified parts... https://www.amplifiedparts.com/products/bridge-set-abr-1-nonwired-nylon-saddles-nickel or you could get crafty https://solodallas.com/d-i-y-home-made-nylon-nashville-abr-1-saddles Edited April 18 by rockabilly69 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayLo Posted April 18 Author Share Posted April 18 Thanks, rockabilly69. I saw those bridges but wasn't sure whether they fit my 530. The Allparts looks pretty straight to me. And the Tonepros, 96$+ship.+tax? I already have a the plastic saddles and figured that maybe someone has already done this conversion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 Could always swap the bridge itself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big bob Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 A rosewood compensated bridge like on a 575 would do the trick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayLo Posted April 21 Author Share Posted April 21 I found a used TonePros bridge since the nylon saddles didn't fit the Heritage bridge. I'll install it and report back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElNumero Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 (edited) Hi JayLo, I just recently purchased a 530 (see my recent post on it for a photo) and I was wondering which Bigsby did you install on that 530 and was drilling required? Thank you Edited April 22 by ElNumero Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayLo Posted April 22 Author Share Posted April 22 Congrats on your H-530. I installed a Bigsby B3 like this https://reverb.com/item/45502370-new-bigsby-b3-vibrato-kit After taking off the trapeze tailpiece I discovered that two of the holes line up with the B3 and I needed to drill only two small holes. Make sure that you get the B3 for thinking semi acoustics guitars, NOT the B3 for large arch tops. The latter has a different hinge which is pointed and longer. Good luck with the installation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayLo Posted April 22 Author Share Posted April 22 Congrats on your H-530. I installed a Bigsby B3 like this https://reverb.com/item/45502370-new-bigsby-b3-vibrato-kit After taking off the trapeze tailpiece I discovered that two of the holes line up with the B3 and I needed to drill only two small holes. Make sure that you get the B3 for thinking semi acoustics guitars, NOT the B3 for large arch tops. The latter has a different hinge which is pointed and longer. Good luck with the installation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayLo Posted April 22 Author Share Posted April 22 Oops: Should be thin semi acoustics. BTW, the Bigsby springs are quite stiff. I prefer the softer type and installed one from Reverend Guitars ($10) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayLo Posted April 27 Author Share Posted April 27 I received the Tonepros AVR 2 bridge but it does not fit. The holes of that bridge are too small. Am I missing something? What other brides (with nylon saddles) would fit? Thank you all for your advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 2 hours ago, JayLo said: I received the Tonepros AVR 2 bridge but it does not fit. The holes of that bridge are too small. Am I missing something? What other brides (with nylon saddles) would fit? Thank you all for your advice. Yes, sounds like an ABR-1 bridge. Need a Nashville style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockabilly69 Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 5 hours ago, JayLo said: I received the Tonepros AVR 2 bridge but it does not fit. The holes of that bridge are too small. Am I missing something? What other brides (with nylon saddles) would fit? Thank you all for your advice. Did you use their posts or are you using the ones that came with your guitar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayLo Posted April 27 Author Share Posted April 27 The posts that came with the guitar. The AVR2 fits on my '67 short neck ES-330, though. Understandably, I'm confused now. I'll do a little research on the Nashville bridges. There are posts where people say that they are interchangeable. Has someone here ever replaced the bridge on their H-530? And with what? As always, I appreciate any helpful comments. BTW, just received my Reuion Blues gig bag (RBCSH Continental Voyager) for that guitar. Great gig bag. I highly recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayLo Posted May 9 Author Share Posted May 9 Update: I tried to replace a saddle on my Heritage bridge and it broke. I contacted Mike at Heritage and he sent me a complete bridge the next day, free of charge. After two weeks it was "lost" by FedEx and Mike sent me another bridge immediately. From my experience, customer service at Heritage is just beyond outstanding! I couldn't be more pleased. Still trying to find a bridge with nylon saddles that fits my H-530. (Post is 4.14mm in diameter.)I wrote to Tonepros asking about which of their locking bridges might fit my guitar. No response. On their website under"Contact" there isn't even a phone number listed any more, just a form to fill out which I have done three times already. Does anyone know if they still have customer service/support? Lastly, I'd like to replace the grover tuners with locking tuners without drilling holes. Any suggestions? As always, thanks for all your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayLo Posted Saturday at 08:49 PM Author Share Posted Saturday at 08:49 PM Looking for a Heritage H-530? Saw this on CL South Jersey. https://southjersey.craigslist.org/msg/d/somerdale-heritage-h530/7472637382.html I'd grab it if I didn't have one already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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