Rainbow 11 replacement bridge & tailpiece help needed

Hi All

I'm trying to fix up my rainbow 11, the bridge is all shot, half the saddles are the wrong size with wrong screws etc and I've seriously worn down the top side of the bridge with my hand, I've also worn right through the pickup cover too but that's another story.

So main question is what would be a good bridge to replace the original bridge with that will fix or where can I get an original replacement part from.

Another side question would I have to increase the size of the holes in the body if I want to replace all the electrics, I've read that most japanese built guitars used different sizes to the us versions.

Many Thanks
Nikolai

If you'd like to sell your worn-out tailpiece I am interested in it. My Rainbow II wears a Bigsby and the tailpiece is long gone (previous owner).

Hi

No sorry going to be holding onto all the original bits :-) didn't know there was such an interest in westones until I started looking into finding parts for it, had my for years but starting to need a bit of tlc. Great guitar though.

Do you know which other makes of bridges will fit on the rainbow?

Cheers
Nikolai

Hi,

The bridge and tail piece look suspiciously like those from the late Thunder 2,2a and Prestige 150, 250 models. Where you would get replacement parts is in the lap of the Gods. Sorry Nickolai, you may have a bit of trawl on your hands, although if you can identify the original parts on your bridge, you could have them made and re-plated. Everything is possible .... just depends how much you want to spend.

Will any 335 tune-o-matic type bridges/tailpieces fit on the rainbow i.e. are the dimensions compatible with most bridges you can get nowadays. it's not the end of the world if I can't replace them, they will be ok for now but any suggestions would be great.

Cheers
Nikolai

I think it will be question of emailing bridge suppliers and asking what the distance is between the bridge posts. Your bridge is rather unique in so much as its classified as a "long travel" bridge ... ie plenty of adjustment and seems particular to Westone. Sorry I cant be more help but the more upmarket and rarer Westone's are not usually broken up and the parts sold on.

Hey Corsair, anything from the Vantage side that might fit?

Thanks for the replied.

Ya I've been searching for long travel bridges on the net and haven't found any. Best option might just be to find a set of saddles/screws/springs that will fit in the original bridge even though it's badly worn on the one side it's still usable.

Cheers
Nikolai

Steve777 wrote:Hey Corsair, anything from the Vantage side that might fit?

..without knowing the post width and saddle separation distances etc., I don't know, but it's hard to imagine Uncle Matt making a bridge solely for one model; there is a Vantage 335 clone (VSH445) and an Aria Pro II (TA range) but both of these are expensive instruments in their own right and as you say, not often parted out.

Vantage VSH445

I'm picking however, that if it's a standard tune-o-matic bridge then it'll be fairly easily replaced from Stewmac or similar... :?:

Hello Nikolai and Welcome!

It sounds like your Rainbow has been well used and well loved at the same time. Good luck with your quest.

Put a few piccies up please so that we can at least see what she's like.

Pauline :flower: :queen:

Ya she has been very well used. I'm busy replacing the pickups, old bridge one has got a big hole in it from my hand, and decided to replace the pots too, which might not have been such a bright idea, so she isn't fully dressed at the moment . I should of taken a pic beforehand but didn't know anyone else was into them.

From what I've read about the serial numbers she's a 82 cherry red rainbow 11 and so much better than any real 335 I've played and she has got one mean bluesy scream in her

Cheers
Nikolai

Hi Nickolai,

You say you are changing the pots. I'm not too sure about the 82 model, but could be PEQ pots and only made by Matsumuko. If you do change the the pots and PU's, I'd put them up somewhere safe if at sometime in the future your sell the guitar or want to change it back to original. Anything marked on the back of PU's?

All the best, Steve

On the bottom of the volume pots it says M 500k 23 K and the tone pots M 500 K 27 B. Well I'm guessing about the M 500 K bit as it's covered in solder. The pickups both have 75 stamped on the bottom of them.

Do you think replacing the electrics would improve the sound at all?

This was my main guitar for years but now have a US strat which is just great. Decided to revamp the rainbow as the two guitars would provide me with a wide range of sounds.

Nope - those MMK75's are a thing of beauty; just make sure they read what they should - about 8.4kΩ and bang 'em back in!! It probably wouldn't hurt to renew the switchgear and re;ated items but "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"; after all part of the reason you like it so much is what it does and every bit of OEM you remove takes a little of its' 'mojo' away, eh!!

Here's a pic of my guitar at present


and the bridge pickup bearing the scars


the saddles on the lower strings are also badly worn but as you can see still usable. I like the look of the new pickups, just in there for show at the moment , now just got to put the wiring back.

I've measured up the bridge and think it might be pretty standard dimensions, well with post placement anyway, but the tailpiece seems narrower than the ones I've measured against.

Cheers
Nikolai

ye gods - what a mission to put everything back in - good luck!! Is there an easy way or is it as fiddly as it looks?

it's not that bad, I hope You just feed string through the holes and tie them around the top of the pots and then feed them back through holes. Well thats the theory anyway we'll see how long it takes me. It all fits through the bridge pickup cavity.