Lodestone PP4-TS Bridge

[Phil Hill]

I have a Lodestone PP4-TS bass guitar and I need to find a bridge for it. Anyone out there know where to go for that?

[Peter Wilcox]

Sorry, I don't understand. Do you want to put a one piece bridge on it, or do you need a 4 piece bridge as shown in the picture?

[Phil Hill]

I need the original 4-piece bridge. Thanks.

[Peter Wilcox]

There are lots of single string bass bridges out there that would probably work, but none that I can find associated with that brand.

[Phil Hill]

Ok, thanks. Those bridge pieces are somewhat unique in that they have ceramic saddles, so I would like to replace them with original parts.

[David King]

My guess is that ceramic is really Graphtech "tusq'" material, which is what I use for my bass saddles. Send a photo of a saddle to the folks at Graphtech and see if they recognize it. The rest of the unit looks like a Korean single string bridge which you might see on eBay or even in the Allparts catalogue.

[Brian Evans]

As an aside, what is the usual way to ground those individual bridge pieces? I am building a bass for a guy who sent those bridge bits over, instead of a typical single plate bridge, and I haven't yet come up with a graceful way to ground them all without having a piece of wire running along the top.

[Peter Wilcox]

I have only used these bridges with a zero fret, so grounding one piece will ground all the strings through the fret.

You could use a brass nut or string retainer, or mount them on a thin metal plate, or run a wire or a thin metal strip underneath which might not be too obvious. Or run a ground wire from each bridge to the control cavity which would be a PITA.

[John Clifford]

. . . or don't ground the strings. It really shouldn't be necessary if the rest of your electronics are properly shielded and grounded. And it's actually safer not to ground them, since that's how people get electrocuted on stage.

[David King]

John,

This may be the case with EMG pickups but I can't think of a single passive pickup install I'ver ever done that didn't demand the strings to be grounded to be truly quiet. Meanwhile a quick perusal of the NEC would show that all metal parts on a guitar are required to be grounded period. People get electrocuted on stage because club owners don't hire licensed electricians. Everyone should carry an outlet tester and a GFCI power strip in their gig bag.

Regarding how to ground multiple single bridges I've always found it cleanest to drill 1/8" holes drilled at a shallow angle to meet between the saddles and then feeding a ground wire through. If you tin the ground wire first to stiffen it and than bend it into a gentle curve it will pass through the adjoining holes easily. The trick is to mark the drill with the proper depth so that your holes just meet but don't form an "X". It takes a little practice.

[John Clifford]

Well David, I'm not looking to get into an argument with you here, and I didn't research the NEC, but I am 100 percent certain that guitar/bass strings with no electrical connection cannot kill you (unless someone wraps them around your neck), whereas that potential does exist with grounded strings. Also, my understanding of the reason for grounding strings is not that ungrounded strings themselves are a problem, but that by connecting the strings to the common ground of your guitar, and then connecting your body to the strings, your body effectively becomes a big ground shield for the whole circuit (so touch the strings, no buzz, release the strings, buzz). And if that is the case, then it ought to be possible to substitute other shielding and take your body out of the circuit. But you are absolutely right about the GFCI strip and circuit tester. And great solution to drilling holes for the ground wire!

[Phil Hill]

To David King: thanks so much for the referral to Graphtech!