Schwarz Customs – St. Helens Low Profile Bridge – Nickel Aged

Schwarz Customs – St. Helens Low Profile Bridge – Nickel Aged

Where German engineering meets American legacy – Gerhard Schwarz is crafting the finest vintage-spec Gibson parts on the market. He didn’t reinvent the wheel — instead, he had original vintage components professionally analyzed in labs to uncover the exact alloys and materials used in the beloved parts of the 1950s. Then, he meticulously reproduced them using 100% accurate materials. They’re indistinguishable from the original material.

His collection of vintage originals and spot-on replicas is nothing short of breathtaking. Most aftermarket “reissue” parts available today come from the same handful of suppliers — and they often miss the mark completely, using cheap or incorrect materials.

What sets Gerhard apart is his passion and relentless commitment to doing things right. His dedication has led to something truly exceptional: St. Helens Hardware.

We’re proud to offer you a curated selection of the finest replacement parts for your Custom Shop or Vintage Original guitar.

The “Low Profile” is 3mm lower than the “Classic” version. Made for Guitars that have a lower neck angle like 1958 Semi Hollow Guitars. Also good for “Conversion” Guitars with a lower neck angle

The St.Helens Adjustable Bridge is made from our unique alloys, analyzed from original parts to meet vintage correct specs regarding composition and hardness to make up for a truly original and authentic sounding hardware.

After studying various vintage original bridges over the past two decades, we selected what we believed to be the best-sounding one and sent it to a laboratory for a precise material analysis.
The data and insights we gathered enabled us to custom order a unique alloy from a local supplier, available exclusively for Schwarz Custom Parts. This allows us to cast our parts to precise specifications and measurements.

– diecast bridge base made from vintage correct zinc alloy (zamac), nickel or gold plated

– saddles and intonation screws made from custom spec’d brass alloy

– saddles tested for hardness according to HV (Vickers hardness)

– drum and hand polished for original look

– vintage correct 2-29/32” (73,8mm) post spacing

– 3,9 mm bridge post holes

– fits 6-32 UNC (3,5 mm) bridge posts

– correct 4-40 UNC intonation screws

– available in finishes nickel / gold gloss (unaged) or nickel / gold aged

– saddles available slotted or unslotted

– comes in a stainless steel “lunchbox”, food- and dishwasher-safe