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Material under Luke 3 bridge

sandmannn69

sandmannn69

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 13, 2010
Messages
116
Location
Grand Forks, ND
Just got a new Luke 3 from sweetwater and noticed there is some material underneath the back of the bridge.
Is this for protection of the body during shipping? I was going to remove it, but thought I'd inquire first....


luke3 bridge_small.jpg
 
I would expect a small piece of adhesive felt there, to help protect the top during trem use. That looks like it's sticking out a bit more than usual. Feel free to trim it or replace it or whatever makes you happy, or leave it alone. Just don't take a craft knife anywhere your guitar top. Maybe wait till next string change and take the bridge off first.

That guitar sure is a fantastic color!
 
I think you're right, although I've never seen any material under a floating bridge on MM guitars before. Thought it might be something new they were doing to protect the body during shipping, like some manufacturers put material under the strings to protect the frets during shipping.

I will probably remove it, as it does interfere with pull-up travel on the whammy bar. And yes, it is a stunning guitar, 2nd one I've had in this color. First one was an HH, this one is an HSS and pretty light for a Luke. Thanks for the info, Doc.
 
Just be aware that it is there for a reason depending on how you use your trem (or how much spring tension when you deck it if you don’t) you may have some indentation or marks under the trem. That's why the felt is there (and avoid knocking noises when teh trem hits the body) This is my 16 yo Silhouette Special.

FFB404BA-4549-4AEE-906A-FB597F374316.jpeg

You can tune the pull up range to whatever you want by adjusting the trem claw screws.
 
DrKev said:
Just be aware that it is there for a reason depending on how you use your trem (or how spring tension when you deck it if you don’t) you may have some indentation or marks under the trem. That's why the felt is there. This is my 16 yo Silhouette Special.

View attachment 38943

You can tune the pull up range to whatever you want by adjusting the trem claw screws.
Click to expand...
Interesting, did you receive that guitar new with the felt factory-installed? My last brand new 2020 Luke 3 didn't have any material under the bridge...
 
My Luke III from 2012 has padding on the bottom of the trem at the end. I'm pretty sure that my Stingray RS does too. I can't remember if my Axis does.

The Luke trem is the standard bent vintage trem used on other guitars. They probably all have padding on the bottom to prevent damage to the top, as it is not a recessed trem.
 
sandmannn69 said:
Interesting, did you receive that guitar new with the felt factory-installed? My last brand new 2020 Luke 3 didn't have any material under the bridge...
Click to expand...

I can confirm this too on my Luke 3s. I suspect its either intermittently put on and/or someone at the local shop ends up taking it off before the customer gets their hands on it. Either way no harm, no foul, all brutal weapon of mass musical destruction.
 
racerx said:
I can confirm this too on my Luke 3s. I suspect its either intermittently put on and/or someone at the local shop ends up taking it off before the customer gets their hands on it. Either way no harm, no foul, all brutal weapon of mass musical destruction.
Click to expand...
I bet that's it. Last Luke i bought from Eddies guitars in STL, and I got this one from sweetwater. Eddies probably removed it.
 
Huh, neither of my EBMMs had that material. My Axis I bought from GC, and my Sabre from Eddie's. The Sabre still had the plastic on the pickup tops, so it seems odd to me that Eddie's would remove the padding from the trem but leave the pup plastic.

My Axis certainly could use some of that padding, as the trem makes a little clunk if I'm not gentle with it on return, or if I do a string bend more than a whole step so that it pulls the trem up a bit (two springs and a light touch, but I love the feel).

I've also heard it suggested that such padding can hinder sustain by not allowing the bridge to directly contact the body, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
jayjayjay said:
Huh, neither of my EBMMs had that material. My Axis I bought from GC, and my Sabre from Eddie's. The Sabre still had the plastic on the pickup tops, so it seems odd to me that Eddie's would remove the padding from the trem but leave the pup plastic.

My Axis certainly could use some of that padding, as the trem makes a little clunk if I'm not gentle with it on return, or if I do a string bend more than a whole step so that it pulls the trem up a bit (two springs and a light touch, but I love the feel).

I've also heard it suggested that such padding can hinder sustain by not allowing the bridge to directly contact the body, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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I always leave the bridge floating on Luke's. Never had an Axis with padding, but always bought those second-hand.
 
sandmannn69 said:
I always leave the bridge floating on Luke's. Never had an Axis with padding, but always bought those second-hand.
Click to expand...

Yep also to confirm on my others -- the foam is not present on StingRay RS, Cutlass (w/ Floyd), or Cutlass RS
 
My AL has it, though it doesn't stick out as much. The modern trem bridges on my St Vincents have little bits of padding at the two spots the back of the bridge makes contact with the body. Very thin and barely noticeable. I bought my AL and Stealth Black STV used, The AL is a 2011 and the Stealth Black is 2017. My St Vincent Goldie I bought new.
 
I think my 2002 Axis Sport trem has a piece of black felt under it to protect the body top as well. I dont think my 2007 JP6 has it.
 
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Oh wait, I just remembered I saved this picture. You can see the thing on the bottom of the bridge.
 

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Thanks for everyone's info. Unfortunately, I had to return the guitar because the neck was too thin. It's too bad, because other than that, the guitar was perfect.
 
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