Floating Bridge question

I have an Ibanez AF86 hollowbody on order that I should be here next week. It has a floating bridge, meaning that its not attached to the body and would fall off if I removed the strings. On these types of guitars that are designed to have a floating bridge will I be screwing up if I take it in to have the bridge bolted down so I dont have to worry about intonation problems?

A few possibilities:

1) leave it alone and accept it the way it is( worries me though about scratching the top if it moves)

2) bolt down the existing bridge (rosewood)

3) change the bridge for something better (any recommendations from other experienced hollowbody owners are appreciated)

I might be using the wrong terminology in calling this a floating bridge, is it called something else? I play mostly classical guitar, but I'm so excited to get this beauty.

Thanks,

Sean:)

Here she is:

:D

Floating bridge usually refers to a tremolo system, which that guitar does not have.

I'm willing to bet the bridge on that guitar is set into place. If not, I would try glueing it to the body before drilling holes.

Pretty guitar, btw.

It is fine. Leave it alone. This system is designed so you can move the bridge to adjust the intonation. Don't glue it. Don't bolt it.

-Zach Omega

Thanks for the responses.

Why is the system designed so I can move the bridge to adjust intonation. That doesn't make any sense to me. Wouldnt it make more sense to have a fixed bridge so the intonation doesn't change?

its just the way the guitar is built. some guitars have an all in one bridge/tailpiece which is set up to be perfectly intonated (PRS do bridges like this). The intonation on the guitar "should" be perfect when you get it. I think they give you the option of changing the intonation incase it wasnt done right at the factory or you want to adjust the action. I think adjusting the action means you need to recheck the intonation.

That guitar should be fine when you get it, no matter what you can do with the bridge. if the intonation is out, just take it to a tech and they'll set it up.

Hey Sean I'm not sure but your Ibanez may not have enuff "beef" in the bridge position to adequately bolt down the bridge. Arch tops need a solid center beam of wood to allow support for a bolt-on bridge. If you can look in one of your f-holes and see the center beam extending down far enuff, you can probably bolt it on. Touchy tho. Take a look at the Gibson ES-137. Bolt on beauty.

Bosco

Thanks guys,

I should be getting the guitar this week and I'll check it out then. I guess the reason for not attaching the bridge is to mimick the construction of a traditional violin and how tones are produced thru a moving bridge that resonates thru the body of the instrument. The f-holes and bowed strings over a loose bridge are characteristics of the violin, but I'm fairly sure that the inner construction of the hollowbody guitar differs with the violin in regards to the inner bridge supports. Violins use a sound post thats placed inside the instrument with a sound post setter and gradually shaped to fit the inside surfaces. The position of the sound post can affect the timbre of sound and the playability of the instrument. I'm very interested to see whats inside the hollowbody for bridge support. If I can't bolt it on, then I'll have to resort to placing a mark on the soundboard under the bridge so if the intonation is off I'll be able to get it back pretty quick.

DON'T DO IT - leave the bridge free floating. If you ever decide to go with a different gauge of strings, or even a different brand, your intonation will need to be adjusted. If you bolt or glue down the bridge, you'll never be able to do this.

Change strings one at a time, and the bridge won't move. If you're worried about it, put a little masking tape on the top to mark the bridge's position.

It's not terribly difficult to intonate a guitar with a floating bridge, it just takes some patience and a good tuner. Learn to do this, and you won't have to worry about it if the bridge moves.

Okay, I'll leave the bridge alone. I did some research on archtop construction and the floating bridge is just the nature of the beast.

Yup....and if you only change one string at a time the bridge won't move much anyway.