FG-230 Bridge Replacement

[Peter Piotroski]

Can anyone steer me to a replacement bridge for the FG-230? Most replacement parts are smaller than the original.

Thanks.

[Mark Pollock]

I doubt there is one off the shelf - you'd have to have one made, which won't be cheap.

OR - you seriously could just buy another one and swap out the bridge. There's a couple on Ebay right now.

[Peter Piotroski]

Thank you Mark. I was kind of gravitating to that conclusion myself after searching the heck out of the internet. I've had this guitar almost 40+ years now and just hate to throw it out. Maybe I'll grab a blank and see what I can do with it.

Same goes for an old Goya G-13 I have also. Not worth that much, but they do bring back some good memories of days gone by.  

[Mark Pollock]

And they can both be dang good guitars. Those Yamahas were made with really good laminates, very high quality, and though the finish tends to be a bit thick, I love Levin-made Goyas!

[Jeffrey L. Suits]

FG230s were from the pre-slathered on finish era.

Peter--It's not hard to make a bridge.  You may want to consider installing a JLD in this, as well.

[Peter Piotroski]

Jeffery, great minds think alike..First off Happy New Year to all.

I have a JDL in a bag all ready to go. The rest of the guitar is in okay condition. Just need an original sized bridge to move forward. 

[Peter Piotroski]

I bid on both, and banged up the bid to the point that I thought it was worth it, but was out bid on both. It got to the point that a replacement bridge wasn't worth that much money.

[Peter Piotroski]

While on the subject of FG-230 bridges - I've read on another forum that the neck angle can be judged by laying a straight edge on the neck, and the straight edge should be level with, or just below, the top of the bridge, not the saddle, but the top of the bridge. Is this valid? 

Can someone describe(in 50 words or less) what the angle of the neck to the body should be?

I would think they should ideally be parallel and level with the saddle height setting the action, but I really do not have any idea behind what the design parameters/considerations might be.

[Hesh Breakstone]

Peter buddy here is how I check neck angles:  checking the neck angle

By my count I still have some of those 50 words left.... ;)  Neck angle is a function of many things so any specific angle or "spec" on an older gutiar with upper bout distortion likely happening is useless.  Instead you want the neck angle to work for the gutiar that you have in the condition that it's in.  This is why we "reset" necks when they become under-set as the guitar ages, wood moves, and the body starts to distort.  Again the specific angle, what ever it may be, is not important. 

What is important is that the proper angle be set so that the saddle is not too high where it can split the bridge or too low where we can't get proper "break angle" of the strings over the saddle to permit the strings to have a good, clear voice.

Here is how I set a neck angle:  setting neck angle

Hopefully something here will be of use to you.

As for the bridge it's likely that you will need to make a new one which as others have said is not all that difficult.  If it were me and I had not done this prior I would make a few test runs with scrap to get my processes down and then use some Indian rosewood or ebony, what ever the original was, and make a new one.  You may also have to fill and redrill the bridge pin holes if you cannot get the new bridge to match perfectly OR is the holes are currently in need of repair, over sized, etc.

You will find other articles on my site for fitting bridges to the dome of the top as well.

There are tools (Stew-Mac) for filling pin holes but I doubt is you are going to want to go this route if you don't have to.  Be sure too to inspect the bridge plate for damage and if it were me I would go over the entire gutiar for loose braces etc. so that I had the real big picture before diving in....

[Peter Piotroski]

Hesh,

I really appreciate and value the input. This "project" is one of a learning experience for me. If I can "improve" the 230 in the process, that would be a nice outcome also. I don't play much anymore due to some crippling arthritis in my left hand pinky. Tough to play with that issue so reluctantly I sold off my Martins(I wanted them to be played) and took up the keyboard to satisfy my "I gotta make some music" habit.

I have looked things over and all looks to be solid mechanically. Pin holes the plate all look to be in good shape. I'll check out your site and let you know what I think I'm dealing with.

[Peter Piotroski]

Well after reading all I thought I could hopefully retain at this point in my life, I decided to convert the 230 to a "bolt on" neck/ reset. I started this AM to remove the neck and I'm happy to say 6 hours later - the neck is removed with only a few scratches to deal with. Being an R/C modeler, my iron used for covering aircraft supplied enough heat to lift the fingerboard extension and the rest was accomplished via careful, time consuming use of a few different hand saws. I can now understand why any professional would say it is "cost prohibitive" and not want to do this job. It has to be taken on for personal reasons and I was even beginning to wonder why I just didn't go buy a new one, but when that neck came off - a big smile came across my face.

[Peter Piotroski]

There is a 3/16" gap between the heel and body should this be filled before bolting it up?

[Mark Pollock]

Peter -

Is this a Red Label Era Yamaha?

Could you post a couple pictures of what the neck joint looks likes now that you have opened it up? Any idea what kind of glue is in there?