New bridge

To many Gibson fans, the Les Paul in whole is a sacred guitar; parts replacement is heretical. Well, I have no obligations to retain Gibson parts which don't serve my needs. This would definitely hurt the guitar's re-sale value but I've never bought a guitar with the intention of re-selling them.

Gibson plates the Les Paul Standard hardware with nickel. This metal would age gracefully over time, giving the instrument a much desired relic look which many LP fans would want to achieve with theirs, the reaosn they don't react well with polish fluid/ cream (so stop doing so, you can be more dilligent with other parts). I've replaced mine with a Gotoh unit because the tarnish on the original ware was an eyesore but the chief reason here was that I wanted to experiment with a lighter tune-o-matic unit (this bridge is made from zinc) in an attempt to enhance tone. This philosophy isn't new, it's adopted by Paul Reed Smith in many of his instruments in the belief that lighter hardware would enhance resonance as the instrument's vibrations are transferred to the body/ neck more readiy & not hindered by massive parts. Doing so would also mean that the overall mass of the guitar would be affected & the tone expected would be one with accentuated midrange.

I'm definitely not one to fall for such technicality too easily but I do own a PRS McCarty & the hardware on board are indeed light-weight units; this guitar sings better than many others in my collection which are of comparable specs. In this light, the tone coming from my LP Std with the lighter bridge has added clarity with the signature Les Paul bottom end thunder still in tact. Good for me.