The Electra Forums

My son's 180 accidentally got broken. The saddle plate for the whammy bar got a corner broken off and now has to be replaced. Should I look for a similar one or put a better Floyd Rose style on it? It is still 99% original, but honestly, the value for him is in it's playing quality.Any input or suggestion would be appreciated.

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Christian bass player, 190+ bowler, husband,father,grandfather, 45 year old DJ/KJ, living for God.

Well, you'd have to route it for a floyd, right? I'd go with something that can be put back to stock at some point, personally...

...can the old one not be repaired? Any good engineer should be able to weld it so that the repair cannot be readily seen...

You mean X180? IF so, probably an X190 as it looks like there was never really an X180.

This is going to be hard to replace or fix. Those tek-lok bridges are an odd narrow style that doesn't match any bridge I know if (although there is one possibility I'll look into, it'll take some measuring).

The bridge plate is cast of pot metal, so there's no hope of welding it. Honestly it's the most cheaply made part of the guitar. Someone with a good shop could probably fabricate that plate, and someday I may look into that if I can't find a replacement, because I have at least three guitars here that could be fixed if I had replacements for that plate, cause yeah, the corner breaks off. After three years of looking, I didi find one replacement for this bridge- valuable, no, but rare, yes.


So basically what does this damage mean to the guitar? If I understand you right, it should mean that the trem bar can no longer be used, right? (ten years ago I would have argued that nobody uses a trem bar in the real world, and it's still mostly true, but in fact newer players really are making use of it. for most of us it was a useless glamour item) The advice I wouyld give most people is adjust the bridge so it's flat against the guitar body (by tightening the screws under the back cover) which effectively turns it into a hardtail, and play it like that. The bridge should still pivot on the six screws, yes? and the saddles are intact and working?

But I'm, not blowing off the desire for a working trem (not just because I don't use them) I'd agree that you'd want to avoid major mods to the guitar.

My suggestion? Two alternatives, one costs about $150 and the other could more or less break even.

I would say- why even consider modifying a vintage guitar when it is basically worth less than $200 if it were intact? Let is be what it is.

The solution IMHO is buy another entire guitar. If he's serious about using the trem bar than look for one that's 84-86, as all those bridges were two post bridges and the 85-6 ones also had locking nuts. For the aspiring divebomber these late ones are really bulletproof, they come right back to tune after a deep bend. And of course it's the same great neck, pickups, wiring- you know Electra Phoenix sound better than most modern guitars at any price range, and certainly better than the Squiers and Epiphones that are in this price range. a serious divebomber needs a guitar that's really up to it, well designed and factory setup, not something you've modded yourself and hopefully set up right. No offense to your skills, but I know if I treid to rout and install posts I'd have a pretty good chance of borking it along he way and causing more damage than good, or getting it not all aligned right. Jsut a thought. SOme things I do, other things I've learned to leave alone unless it's a lost cause otherwise.


If it's a matter of cost, I'd suggest selling the one he has and getting another one with the later bridge, locking nut and graphite nut that were designed to work together- For instance a Spectrum DX or SX. They appear on ebay all the time (and I've got a DX ai'll be looking for a home for before long if you can't find one elsewhere). Myself, I'd keep both guitars, especially if he has sentimental attachment to the first one. Believe me, when you're over 40 you'd pay big money to get back that one special guitar you had when you were young, so do him the favor and honor that sentiment if it's there.

Hope that helps. I've seen a lot of people go to huge trouble to modify something to make it into something else they wanted- story of my life- when it would have working better to get something buit for that in the first place.