original bridge thickness on a '75 LoPrinzi dread?

[Dave Richard]

I am working on the above guitar: neck reset, new bridge, refret, etc.  The existing, original bridge measures a skinny 7/32" thick(with little saddle showing), and the owner(who bought it new) assures me it has never been shaved...I am dubious.  It's a model #LR-20, label signed and dated 1975, Rosemont, NJ.

Has anyone worked on (or has) this era LoPrinzi, and can confirm if it is true, that these guitars had such thin bridges?  It's basically a Martin copy, so I would expect to see a bridge about 3/8" thick.

Thanks, Dave

[Doc Rathwell]

Maybe try contacting the maker, Dave...seems to be a website with contact info:

Augustino LoPrinzi Guitars & Ukuleles

1929 Drew Street
Clearwater, Florida  33765
Telephone: [phone]   Fax [phone]

Reagrds,

Doc

[Dave Richard]

Hi Doc, I tried contacting the company a few years ago, about this same guitar(to find out the type of neck joint used).  They never replied....

Dave

[Doc Rathwell]

Hi Dave,

   Well, isn't that a bummer. I haven't had a LoPri on the bench for some years now and it was nylon string...hopefully someone might be able to help you. I'll try contacting a few colleagues that document things well enough in case there is a chance...

Good luck,

Doc

[Mark McLean]

Here is a repair thread with some close-up pictures of the bridge of a LoPrinzi dred, probably from around the same era.  I think they confirm your assumptions that the original was probably a more conventional thickness.  Nice job adding the Roger McGuinn-style 7th string!

http://www.shadetreeguitars.com/articles/hi_lo_prinzi.html

[Mike Kolb]

I had a LoPrinzi dread on the bench a few years ago for a neck reset and the bridge seemed to be of "normal" height... it neither seemed high nor low. 

[Mike Kolb]

It's coming back to me now. Yes, it was also a 1975 LoPrinzi in for a reset.  At the time, the original bridge had been shaved down considerably so I had to make a new bridge.  

In the picture is the old bridge (on the right, obviously) and the the new bridge that ended-up being a fine height. Also including the label for comparison to the one you're working on, Dave.

When (or if) you call the LoPrinzi shop, talk to Donna, who's Augie's daughter and is in charge of all the construction these days.  They're in Florida now and she's a wealth of information.

[Dave Richard]

Thank you all for your replies.  Mike, it's interesting, the bridge on the right in your picture- the original- looks alot like the one on the LR-20 I'm working on(and it's the same year).  Since the owner of this guitar is adamant that no one worked on, or shaved the bridge on his guitar, I can only assume that the neck was underset at the factory..and they stuck a thin bridge on it.  But since it's a Martin copy,and braced as such, I plan to install a 'normal' height (3/8') new bridge, and reset to that.

Dave

[Mike Kolb]

That's what I ended-up doing too.  Not knowing the original owner, I didn't have any first-hand knowledge of the original bridge height, but this one had all the earmarks of being shaved (maybe even a time or two) and it still needed a reset when I got it.  

One of the clues at the time was a very shallow saddle slot and almost zero radius to the bridge top, it was virtually flat.

That's the "luxury" (if there's such a thing) of doing a reset ...you can put a full-height bridge on and adjust everything to it.  Good luck, and they're nice guitars to to work on.