Hi everyone.

Silly question (be warned!) ... I was playing a few 5120's the other day and giving them a good hard look as I'm thinking of buying one.

The body was stock and I had a bit of a hard time getting it in tune (those standard tuners were terrible). Anyway, I thought it may have been because the bridge had slipped out of position so I was having a loo at it when I noticed that the bridge had a noticeable backwards lean ie. back towards the Bigsby.

I checked 4 different 5120's and all of them were leaning backwards to a certain extent.

The wood bases appeared fine and I think they were seated correctly against the soundboard ... the pins holding the bridge were definitely leaning backwards.

Is this normal or has the guitar been setup incorrectly or perhaps damaged?

I just want to know what to look for in case I take the plunge!!!!

many thanks.

The bridge should sit perpendicular to the body but it can move from working the Bigsby. It should not be angled back toward the tailpiece. From low to high stings, it should be on an angle for better intonation.

never noticed the bridge leaning back on my guitar

ps: tuning issues usually come from lack of lube at the nut

Ah - I have this on my 5125 - the bridge is stuck leaning foward towards the neck.

I think with these supposed "rocking" bridges they get stuck in one of the positions. Doesn't really seem to affect playing. I think they're meant to rock back and foward when you use the Bigsby but they never seem to work properly and just get stuck in a random position.

Personally I'm going for a Compton at some point - that'll sort you out.

The aluminium Bigsby bridge on my 5129 leans slightly forward but the intonation and action are fine so I don't worry about it.

G5120s do not come stock with a rocking bridge. They do have a thin piece of foam under the bridge for shipping which could compress slightly and cause the bridge to lean, but it would be very subtle.

It sounds like the bridge studs are bent. I have no idea how this happened to all their guitars?!

It sounds like the bridge studs are bent. I have no idea how this happened to all their guitars?!

I looked quite closely at mine, and as far as it's possible to tell with the bridge actually on the guitar, I don't think the studs are bent on mine - this was one of the things I worried about when I noticed my bridge was leaning forward.

It's a 5125 I'm talking about in my example, and it's a solid bridge - but the bottom seems to have a horizontal edge, and two slightly more chamfered edges. It leans permanently on the front chamfered edge rather than sitting on the horizontal edge. The holes in the bridge seems larger in diameter to the bridge studs sligthly so I guess this would allow it to move around slightly?

At least - I damn well hope the bridge studs aren't bent lol.

As for the 5120 - Dunno, is it the same bridge as the 5125?

I looked quite closely at mine, and as far as it's possible to tell with the bridge actually on the guitar, I don't think the studs are bent on mine - this was one of the things I worried about when I noticed my bridge was leaning forward.

It's a 5125 I'm talking about in my example, and it's a solid bridge - but the bottom seems to have a horizontal edge, and two slightly more chamfered edges. It leans permanently on the front chamfered edge rather than sitting on the horizontal edge. The holes in the bridge seems larger in diameter to the bridge studs sligthly so I guess this would allow it to move around slightly?

At least - I damn well hope the bridge studs aren't bent lol.

As for the 5120 - Dunno, is it the same bridge as the 5125?

It sounds like you do have a rocking bridge - I'm not familiar with the 5125. The 5120's have tuneomatic bridges and should be perpendicular to the guitar top.

Hmmmm.... I thought it should sit perpendicular to the body.

I wanted to take a quick photo of it for the forum but suddenly felt a million eyes on me and I put my mobile phone away (!!!)

I have to go back there later next week so I'll steel myself for a bit of espionage ... I don't think I'd hack it in MI5 or MI6 (or ASIO as we have over here)

Stay tuned (no pun intended)