Thoughts on bridge replacement for 1998 Legacy

I haven’t been on the Forum much lately...kinda took a long break from forums in general! But I still have both of my Legacies and still play them all the time.

So on to the point of my post. The DF bridge on my 1998 Legacy has always been very stiff and not all that fun to use. On the other hand, the DF bridge on my 2011 is very fluid and works so nicely! They both have 3 springs in use and are set up indentically. I don’t play the ‘98 as much, partly for this reason. I was wondering if the design has changed from the ‘98 to the ‘11? Regardless, If I were to buy a new bridge from G&L and install it on the ‘98, would it perform nice and smoothly like the ‘11?

I tried emailing G&L about this, but they aren’t really answering my question! So I was wondering if anyone here had any thoughts on this. I’d happily spend the money if it would end up performing like my 2011, but don’t want to if it won’t make much difference. I might look for another solution in that case.

Thanks!

I haven’t been on the Forum much lately...kinda took a long break from forums in general! But I still have both of my Legacies and still play them all the time.

So on to the point of my post. The DF bridge on my 1998 Legacy has always been very stiff and not all that fun to use. On the other hand, the DF bridge on my 2011 is very fluid and works so nicely! They both have 3 springs in use and are set up indentically. I don’t play the ‘98 as much, partly for this reason. I was wondering if the design has changed from the ‘98 to the ‘11? Regardless, If I were to buy a new bridge from G&L and install it on the ‘98, would it perform nice and smoothly like the ‘11?

I tried emailing G&L about this, but they aren’t really answering my question! So I was wondering if anyone here had any thoughts on this. I’d happily spend the money if it would end up performing like my 2011, but don’t want to if it won’t make much difference. I might look for another solution in that case.

Thanks!

Yes, they changed the stud posts to metric, see: When did the dual fulcrum bridge studs change?.

Perhaps post photos of both guitars showing close ups and different angles of each bridge and the trem spring cavity.

Does your '98 have two felt washers on each of the trem post (below the bridge plate)?
Do all the springs in each set have the same tension? You might try exchanging the set in the '98 with the set from the other guitar.

Hope this helps.

Just changing to metric wouldn’t change the feel, it doesn’t seem? They mentioned that in their email reply earlier.

I couldn’t really tell if there were two felt washers...might have to look closer at that tomorrow. Will try to post some pics tomorrow as well.

I did think today that I should switch springs...

I can’t figure out how to include photos in my post, but here are links. The first 2 are the ‘98, the next 2 the ‘11.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gz15Al2keyOGssN82

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ESg0q3oLKXK3tPOa2

https://photos.app.goo.gl/De96WPg2Y30inkzB3

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZtGhd2HuQx2JSngD3

I can’t figure out how to include photos in my post, but here are links. The first 2 are the ‘98, the next 2 the ‘11.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gz15Al2keyOGssN82

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ESg0q3oLKXK3tPOa2

https://photos.app.goo.gl/De96WPg2Y30inkzB3

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZtGhd2HuQx2JSngD3

The felt washers are there, so please post photos of the trem spring cavities. And try the spring set switch to atleast eliminate the springs as being a cause.
I will be looking to see if the trem block is rubbing somewhere inside the cavity.

I would pull out one spring from the Legacy with the stiff feeling one and adjust it to work with them two remaining. I can't imagine any reason, one bridge works harder than the other with same string gauges, except for the springs.

Thanks for the replies. I didn’t have time to do anything last night. Will take a look this evening and get pics of the trem cavity. And will definitely try some things with the springs, including swapping them.

It looks like the bridge on the first guitar (without the SD pickups) is not parallel to the body. This could add additional tension. Try adjusting it so that it is the specified 3/16" from the deck and see if that helps.

Tom

I found the culprit...the springs! The springs in the ‘98 are made with a heavier guage wire (won’t even fit into the holes in the bottom on of the block on the 2011). They are also larger coils, though not sure that makes any difference. When I put the ‘11 springs on the ‘98, it worked great. So I just need to replace the springs. The G&L store does not sell them, so I’ll see if the local Fender dealer has some in stock and see whether or not they seem comparable to those on the ‘11.

Here’s a picture of both sets of springs:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qrP61v5Tw3kMM1IF2

And thanks Tom...I will adjust the tension to get the bridge parallel to the top once I get this other issue resolved.

I found the culprit...the springs! The springs in the ‘98 are made with a heavier guage wire (won’t even fit into the holes in the bottom on of the block on the 2011). They are also larger coils, though not sure that makes any difference. When I put the ‘11 springs on the ‘98, it worked great. So I just need to replace the springs. The G&L store does not sell them, so I’ll see if the local Fender dealer has some in stock and see whether or not they seem comparable to those on the ‘11.

Here’s a picture of both sets of springs:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qrP61v5Tw3kMM1IF2

And thanks Tom...I will adjust the tension to get the bridge parallel to the top once I get this other issue resolved.

Yep, that will do it to you every time. You might try using two of the stiffer springs instead of three and see if that saves you buying more springs. Not that springs are a great expense but give it a try at least, see what happens.

Tom

I did try the two and still wasn’t happy with it. So I bought some Fender springs today. They are considerably looser, I probably should have gotten four...guess I can still go back and pick up another. But I just tightened the anchor screws quite a bit, and it’s working really nicely now!

...and it’s working really nicely now!

Sweeet!