Schaller offer two variants of this bridge, non-reverse (part number 12080100) and reverse (part number 12080101). Non-reverse has the screws pointing toward the pickups and reverse has the screws pointing toward the tailpiece. Hope this helps.

If you buy this bridge from the manufacturer in Germany they provide them with the intonation strings facing the pickups, or the bridge. Chose reversed or non reversed, simple.

Based on e-mails I've received, I want to clear up an area of possible confusion. The points covered in this video are intended to address and help those players who have invested in a Gibson Les Paul but now have a difficult time keeping it in tune. It then goes on to say what can be done about those problems. Some are under the mistaken impression that I'm suggesting they buy the guitar, then make upgrades to the hardware. I myself might do that but at least I'm going into it with the full knowledge of what to expect with a Gibson Les Paul. Some have asked the question, why buy one in the first place if it is known to have issues? The answer for me is that in spite of the need (IMHO) to upgrade the bridge, pickups and tuners, it is an otherwise outstanding guitar. The neck either feels right in your hand or it doesn't. The body either feels right when you hold it or it doesn't. Those factors plus the bound neck and the fact that I want to support a USA company do it for me. I realize what these guitars cost vs imports and USA Fenders but I'm willing to pay it to have what I consider to be the quality in the areas I mentioned. By the way, I have owned many USA Fenders including a customized Tele I now have. If you would like to make civil, rational comments, feel free. Those who post vitriolic, argumentative comments, especially those using foul language will be deleted. Peace. BH

Great video. You're an articulate speaker and detailed in your process. Very useful video.

The cap on that LP is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. You sir, own a gorgeous instrument. Also, thanks for the info on this product. Was considering replacing my bridge with one of these. Probably still worth the extra effort needed to get the adjustment screws facing the proper direction(rearward). Sad they don't see that.

Thanks very much, First well done roller bridge video I came across. Exactly what I was looking for !

nice playing at the end!

I played with an upside-down Schaller roller bridge for 7 years... ...until I watched this video yesterday. That's what I get for blindly copying pictures online! It sure plays a lot better now. Many, many thanks sir! Greatly appreciated!!!

Thank you sir for taking SO much time to cover EVERY detail of your experience. I think you would be a wonderful pre-school teacher.

Schaller's website sells both non-reversed and reversed bridges. I assume the reversed is for a left-handed guitar. Use small needle nose pliers to put the e-rings back on. There is a special tool for working with them, too. It's fairly inexpensive. I agree that the screws should face to the rear. Nice video.

Thanks for the video Bobby. I will be putting the same bridge on a strat style guitar build I'm doing and the bridge I received from Schaller has the intonation adjustment screws facing forward. I'll see how it works the way it came before changing the orientation of the saddles as you have done. Great explanation and photos of the e-clips and other bridge parts.

Thanks Bobby, it very nice of you to share your experience and ideas on the Schaller roller bridge. I changed the bridge to Schaller on my Gibson Les Paul too, but immediately I put the original back on because it killed the sustain of my guitar.

Fitted one of these this week. I mounted it like my old bridge with the screws facing the pickups but the u shaped grooves were under the treble strings and the v shaped under the bass. I’ve switched it up now having watched this. Makes a bit more sense now.

Thank you for the informative review of that bridge. I was just looking at one. That’s how I found your video. I just unboxed my new Gibson Les Paul this afternoon. It’s good to know how to change this bridge around. Thanks again.

I have reverse them myself. You just unscrew them until the little e clamps come loose. You have to do it slow and make sure the clamps fall naturally. Put them aside. Change the saddles so they go reverse, take a pair of locking tweezers and pick up the clamps. Give the clamps a slight bend in. Clip them back onto the screws. Take the locking tweezers on either side and squeeze them back tight around the screws. They are done.

the flame on that standard is beautiful

The intonation screws face the pickup on all my Les Pauls. The original bridge on your green LP they did as well as you can see from the pic of the original bridge in your video. Thank you for showcasing this product. I've been considering this mod for a while.

Thank you for the video. I have been looking at Schaller today and wanted to understand more about it. I also agree with you about the intonation screws. I am not sure why they would make them towards the pickups side. More of a mess to get to them, rather than the tailpiece side. P.S. Awesome guitar playing.

My lp. Special has the intonation screws facing the pickup on stock tune o matic the clips are called e clips cause looks like the letter e

My Gibson Les Paul Standard 2016 HP is already with the new bridge after your recommendations. It was an ideal placed instead of the old bridge. With the Schaller bridge, I was able to lower the stop bar bridge below. The sound now is a completely different guitar! The sound is just fantastic now!!! Thank you for advising this modification!

Technically the "correct" way is the screws towards the pickups. I also prefer it the other way. I appreciate your video, helped me make my decision to buy this bridge!

Nice les Paul beauty top thanks for the info on the Schaller roller🙏

Just installed the Schaller STM bridge mon reverse on my Epiphone Les Paul studio. These are awesome. Combined with tusq nut and dusenberg Les trem 2 the tuning stability is awesome. Thank you for your video.

oh And great video. I am about to change two guitars to these bridges when they arrive.

Thanks for the info, because I have been thinking about s roller bridge.

Schaller didn't decide that the screws should be facing the bridge pick up, you have the option to choose. Your dealer didn't know that or order just the regular. Just go to their webshop and you will see the option and the explanation.

Finally, a video that points out the possible pitfalls of a project. Life ain't all sunshine and lollipops. S happens! Thanks Bobby, I appreciate your bringing the "Real." Did I mention the reverb on your voice? Made me laugh buddy; a true showman.

Gibsons with ABR-1 bridges have screws towards pickup. Nashville bridges are towards tailpiece. Because the screws on the abr1 bridge would interfere with the string path

You can use a ninety degree screw driver when intonation screw are facing toward pickup.

My Epi SG has the intonation screws on the pickup side from the factory. Same as the three Gibson SG's I have looked at in the store. LP's arent the only guitar with a tune-o-matic so maybe there are more guitars with the screws on the pickup side than the other way round so Schaller reversed the bridge?

I was just on the Schaller website and you have a choice which way the screws are facing. You can order the bridge in reverse so the screws face the tailpiece.

Very informative! Thank you!👍🏼 It makes perfect sense to have the intonation-screws facing the tailpiece. The strings are pushing the saddles towards the headstock, so its ideal to have the screwheads resting tight on the bridge, contraire to having the c-bushings hold against that force (hope I‘m understandable, I‘m deutsch). Roller saddles allow a string to vibrate freely behind it. So the tailpiece begins to have a bigger influence. You get a more open, more trebly and kinda jangly sound. Although the access angle to the screws are the same from rear or front on my two LP-type guitars...(both have the screws towards pup, and I will change it on one of them), the chinese knock-off has the post-mount better done then a real Gibby: the posts are drilled at an angle in the body, exactly the precise middle of the break-angle of the strings at the saddles! Like the bridge on a violin! Thats perfect!! So, the stringtention is just pushing uniform towards the body, no left or right- the perfect middle 😮 On perpendicular to the middle-plane of the body mounted bridge posts, the strings are always pushing the saddles towards the neck. I think, the violin way is the better one I also wax-pot roller bridges. Moving parts can cause buzz, so filling gaps with wax at the roller axes prevent chirping and buzzing😉

Excellent info, thank you. Very nice tone from the finished article too!

sweet, a pod in the background. I had a 2.0 for a number of years (2002-2015) but had to part with it when times were tough. easily my favorite accessory.

Gibson needs to offer these type of bridges & a better headstock design for better tuning on at least some models. Why could they not have the old design for those who are traditionalists and a new design with a roller bridge & improved headstock for those who want better tuning stability and improved playing. It does not have to be either/or, they can offer both? Thanks for your review and explanation.

I am unable to turn the thumb screws wheels on the bridge with my fingers to lower or raise the bridge. Is there a tool for this, or do I need to loosen something to take the tension off of the bridge?

Much appreciated sir, thank you

I was getting a bit bored with the long, drawn out explanation, and I mentioned that, but there was this voice a few feet away saying, "Michael, you know you do exactly the same thing when you're trying to explain something, so shut up"! And well, yea, she's right, I do. Then all you were saying came to this great conclusion, and it all made perfect sense. I love the Les Paul body style, but my budget says "no" to Gibsons. Life goes on. I did however, pick up an ESP EC-50, and an Epiphone Wildkat for my recent 60th birthday, and I think they will both get roller bridges. I don't care to deal with the Schaller issues, so....whose?

Knowing what we know now, thanks to you, we right-handers should probably order these for lefties... Thanks for sharing! You've just saved a bunch of us much wailing and gnashing of teeth!

Yea, so I got bridge in about 2011 for another guitar actually and the intonation screws are accessed from the pickup side as you noted. I have never noticed that the slots were different sizes but I must have read the instructions when I mounted it that way. I can access the screws from the pickup side on the guitar it is on. However, I just bought another one ($70) for my recent Les Paul Standard purchase. I wish they would make one with individual string height adjustment. I will see which way I should best mount it. I also bought the TP-6 Tailpiece ($90) with the fine tuners right there at your finger tips that I like, even if it doesn't have a tremolo system. It is just convenient and definitely an upgrade from the stop bar. Together, they should be the ultimate combination. I agree with some other comments here that Gibson could and should make these upgrades standard. They waste time making decisions like removing the little "Treble/Rhythm " ring around the switch. I bought a 2017 Standard AND the little ring to put it back on. BS. At $2,500(plus) price point, we should expect better.

Thanks for posting this video - nice tone and style you have there sir!

Reversing the intonation screws by Schaller must've been an engineering decision made at a New Years or Christmas party after a few libations lol. I do like a roller bridge as opposed to a fixed point so thank you very much for this video and the details you discovered. May be my next upgrade :).

From what I’ve seen and noticed Gibson bridges are installed both ways with the adjusters toward the tailpiece and toward the pickup. There’s no right way of installing the bridge but like you said you gotta install it to what makes sense to you but ultimately you gotta make sure your saddles are in their right spot. Now the question have you check string radius at the bridge location Because if they’re not radius is not right this means you gotta file and how to file roller saddles. This is the one thing that keeps me from shelling out the cash for one of these

I've installed a couple of these bridges and even special bridge ant tail pieces Schaller has in Antique Bronze along with matching tuners. Made my Hamer look beautiful. But the main thing is I like them very much and there are extremely well made.

I watched this video because I wanted the roller bridge, too, but wanted to see if it was a perfect fit for my LP, without modifications. So when Bobby mentioned the "reverse" part, I went straight to Schaller's website (also to make sure I wasn't buying a fake Chinese ripoff). They do sell what they call the "Reverse," which is the way Bobby says is correct (and I agree, too). That's what I ordered, and voila! Schaller is the Cadillac (or Mercedes/BMW, etc) of machined metal guitar parts. They are made of nickel silver, which means they are more durable and more resistant to corrosion (ever seen a rusty bridge on a guitar?) Not to mention the fine craftsmanship! Anyway, they don't know I exist either, but if I was a rock star, I would endorse their products without hesitation. I went so far as to have "Schaller Edition" engraved on a custom metal pickguard for my LP- and I replaced all of the following with Schaller products: Machine heads, poker chip, pickup frames, roller bridge, stop tailpiece, jack plate, speed knobs, and strap locks. Yes , it cost me $435 USD for all the parts, and I realize not everyone call afford it, but if you can, you will absolutely love the look, feel and sound!

Thanks! I bought my roller bridge for my new baritone guitar with Bigsby.. The strings are getting caught up on the stock saddles whenever I use the Bigsby… I’m hoping that the set of 14 gauge strings will fit in the rollers..🤔 I’ll find out this afternoon..🤞🏼

Intonation access on the pickup side makes more sense with a Bigsby, which I suspect is the main reason people would go the roller bridge route.

Thanks for the video. Great information. I was considering the Schaller bridge for my LP, not for intonation issues but for tuning stability. I love my Gibby but getting frustrated with the constant need to tune.

Regarding the snap rings flying across he room... Use a large zip-lock baggie to do the work. Place the parts and your hands inside the baggie and do the work there. If the snap ring flies off the baggie will catch it.

Tx for sharing. I have only ever changed to a roller bridge on guitars with a Bigsby... and I think you might know why. Got the desired result. Will change my Les Paul and see if your recommendation works for me. Tx again.

You should of show from the start how you put it on and everything you did

good info thanks for sharing.

I'm just getting ready to purchase one of these and I can tell you what the issue is. They have 2 roller bridges, the 12080100 (reverse) is what you were looking for. The 12080200 (non reverse) is what you ordered and received. If you ever need one again, get the 12080100.

I bought a Schaller stm roller bridge for my LP from Musicstore in Germany and sure enough as in your video the screws for adjusting the intonation were facing forward, you cannot adjust the intonation without taking the pick up out which is ridiculous ,I took out the c clips as in your video and moved the rollers one at a time from one end to the other so the intonation screws faced backwards it is a fiddly job for sure but well worth it, the difference in feel and sound to me is huge.Thanks for putting your experience on KZfaq i found it very helpful in sorting this problem out .Why they manufacture them like this i have no idea .

I'm pretty sure that the option to have the intonation screws facing the neck is because a lot of people want roller bridges to work in conjunction with a vibrato. If you need to adjust intonation and there's a bigsby in the way, you're going to have an even harder time than if your bridge pickup is kind of in the way.

Thanks Bobby - Hadn't realised mine was backwards as well. Did the swap around of saddles and all is good.

I noticed that golden age make a very similar bridge, I was wondering if it was the same bridge just with a rebrand

OMG... that was like asking your wife how her day was! This could have been a 4 minute video.

Sounds like you did the right thing and just modified it yourself and move them over which seems easy to do, I know exactly what you mean on a Epiphone Dot did not understand why the intonation screws were on the inside I thought someone messed up with the bridge but that's the way it comes

Great video! Thanks for the information and your opinions! I appreciate it!!!

The reason Schaller changed the bridge rollers is in fact that mostly all Gibson guitars and guitars from most other manufacturers actually have the intonation screws facing the inside towards the pickup not the other way round, a simple look at the Gibson web site will show this, i understand that Bobby's guitar suits the screws to face the tailpiece as this set up does not change the play-ability and is preferable by many, but it is not the factory setting. But anyway great vid Bobby, infact its inspired me to go and buy one of these bridges and actually try it. Usually the roller type bridges and the original Tunematics for that matter are not popular replacements due to the fact that the many moving parts inside them suck the tone from the guitar and thus people choose solid type bridges like Crompton,Tru-arc,and now Dbridge but these all have their shortcomings with intonation. However if you've found a fully adjustable roller bridge with great tone then that's a life changer gotta give it a go on ya Bobby. Cheers Mic.

I enjoy watching this fella.

nice very good information,,,thanks a lot

Every new Gibson (Les Paul and SG) I've bought came from the factory with the intonation screw heads towards the pickups. A few of my used vintage ones have the screws facing the tail piece. I've had no trouble intonating either way. But whatever works for you. Like he said, just be aware of what you're getting.

does this mean that a left hand bridge, used on a right-handed guitar, would have the saddles and screws oriented correctly? I agree that the screws should face the tailpiece

Also, update: Schaller sells these bridges with the intonation adjusters in both the reverse and non-reverse position. So, they will face the neck pickup or the bridge pickup (reverse).

Great video and you are a great player. Thanks.

Very interesting. I bought the cheapest Les Paul an Epiphone Soecial II to modify and practice on without risking too much.The adjusting screws were on the inside on mine and as Tele player I'm used to the screws in the logical place outside .Anyway I could not get the intonation right so decided to try a roller bridge to see if that fixes it .I bought a kaish and luckily these cheap bridges have sane size rollers all along but in a couple of years I want to do the same on my Gibson I will bear that tip in mind.

I bought this bridge for an Epiphone Les Paul Standard, I got the non reverse model with intonations screws show to the Pickup, but I noticed that the saddle rollers they are not in this order: wide flat rollers for low strings and tight U-shaped for high strings.

Hello Bobby. I need know which tool do use to lift this bridge ( to adjust string action on 12 fret) I am going crazy because I can't find a proper tool to do it. Best regards

I have a hard tail Fender Japan Jaguar with similar bridge and tail as a Les Paul. I am seriously thinking about putting on a Bigsby, and will need to look seriously at a roller. Thanks very much for your video, as it REALLY helps me to learn about these... I only want to buy once, so learning about best choices is important.

It would have been sweet if you had before and after sound comparison but it's very insightful. Thank you!

I just put one on my Epiphone Dot. The old one was an ABR-1 style. Had the retaining pin in it and was rattling, funny, I never heard it until a few days ago. Swapped it out, easy peasy. Sounds fantastic now.

You only have to set the intonation once, a long screwdriver is easy to set the saddles when the screws are facing the pickups (like a million TOM's since they were invented in 1954.

I was just about to buy this bridge (for a '19 SG). I watched your video and changed my mind. …Yes, the intonation screws should be facing the stop bar tailpiece.

Good information! I just experienced some issues with a TonePros roller bridge myself & made a video about it. To your point, the ABR-1 bridge on the original Les Pauls (late 50s) had the screws facing the pickups. I have mine this way, & I’m able to get a small/skinny screwdriver in there just fine. But of course you need it to fit your own needs & preferences. 👍🏻

Very nice setup you got!

THANKS FOR THIS VIDEO...YOU SAVED ME SOME ISSUES WITH THE INSTALL . THIS WORKED AS IS BUT I WOULD NOT HAV EKNOWN TO CHECK THE ROLLERS HAD YOU NOT POINTED THAT OUT......YOU ARE AWESOME THANKS.

Thanks Bobby, fantastic advice, don't know why all good guitar makers don't fit them as standard. It seems as if there still living in the Stone age. All the Best .John.

I have one of these for years but never went all the way with putting on simply because there is so little of the spin wheel exposed that it seems it would be next to impossible to raise and lower it without removing 100% of the string tension. The spin wheels that come were smaller if I remember correctly but are the only ones that will support the bridge design properly. In other words, I'm thinking I would have to literally loosen the tension enough to pull back the tailpiece and lift the strings off the bridge just to tweak the height which seems like an endless nightmare just to get the setup correct to taste. What are your experiences in this matter?

yeah as a luthier I've been there too a few times and I do agree with your opinion on having the screws on the outside.

I got mine today, is the rollers going from side to side when it rolls a problem? If you bend alot, won't it adjust it self over time?

My potatoes burned in the pan until you explain what you mean

hi, thank you so much for the information. I was looking for a video with the Schaller STM TOM-Style Bridge N, but installed to a jaguar, I could find any and I know this one goes good fit on a gibson but I would like to know if its worth put it on a jaguar. Thank you

I believe the reason is that the roller bridges are for the bigsby bridges. They are much farther from the pick ups

Thanks for saving me a headache . Great video

Valuable information, thank you.

Hello Mr. Howe. Did you felt that it lost harmonics in your play? Thank you for this video.

Most les Paul’s come from the factory with the intonation screw facing the pickup. You can, however, loosen every screw and reverse the rollers if you wish to have the intonation screws facing the bridge. I can tell by the direction the saddles are facing in the original bridge, that it was originally installed with the intonation screws facing the pickups. At some point it was flipped around.

You can now order whatever orientation you want from the Schaller website, reversed or non reversed.

Good to know. Thanks

The intonation screw traditionally are on the inside closest to the pickup on Gibsons

I’ve got this same bridge thing sitting in a drawer. It’s been there for so many years. I bought it before I understood how to really set up a Gibson. The nut etc. Proper string technique is another one. Please understand I’m not suggesting this man doesn’t know these things. I’m sure he knows more than me. I’m just talking about my experience. I think I have 8 Les Pauls. They all stay in tune. I mean I guess if you put one up against some kinda 6000 dollar PRS it wouldn’t beat that but to my ear? Definitely stay in tune. I actually have 11 LPs but I don’t really count the Epiphonies. They stay in tune also though. It seems like it’s a nice bridge though. Very well made. Cost me about 160 Canadian. I’ll figure out some way to use it someday. Maybe I’ll put it on my Gretsch . ( that’s spelled wrong I think) My 2 Cents. I know… Cool Story Bro Ha ha.

Nice video...Well done.

I found out about the different roller saddles at some point after getting one of these bridges in a guitar that I purchased on ebay. I had to get the magnifying glass out to see the difference. I eventually changed them around too, but I didn't have to take the clips off and unscrew the intonation screw. Mine just came off the top, and I was able to put them back on where I wanted them. I might have used a little screwdriver to help take out off the stubborn ones, but I didn't use any force. The bad side of my particular bridge is that they can still fall out if something hits them when the strings are off. I don't think I broke anything, but maybe they are more prone to fall out after doing it my way..

Nice video. I too like roller bridges, and went hunting for one to use on my Gibson CS-356. I finally settled on the German made ABM 2400 roller bridge, which is a beautifully made piece of kit. Best of all the ABM has a 12" radius (matching most Gibsons) while the Schaller I believe has a 14" radius. Unfortunately the ABM also has the adjustment screws facing the nut, though as you have done one could swap them around if needed. In my case that wasn't an issue since the CS-356 has plenty of room to reach the screws when mounted that way. The down side of the ABM is the cost, which has risen to something like 130 Euros, but if you can get over that it is well worth considering.

I have this bridge on my guitars. One thing that annoyed me was that this is quite an expensive bridge and the posts supplied didn't fit. I had to separately order M8 posts for my guitars

On the Gibson you may not be able to adjust the screws because of the pick-ups in the way but on an Epiphone Les Paul there is room to adjust the screws. Maybe that is why Schaller is making them this way. ( Schaller is sell more bridges to Epiphone owner)

It’s too bad that this is the only review of this bridge out there and you did not address the two most important issues. Did it improve tuning stability and are the roller side adjustable to spread the strings as it looks? If so, that is a feature I have not seen on any bridge and I wish you should have reviewed both…

Wonder if Schaller would let it be a custom request.