The Les Paul Standard 50s is Gibson's chunkier-necked 'Burst reissue, a fat 50s-profile neck and Burstbucker 1/2 pickups distinguishing it from the slimmer Standard 60s.
14 mods reviewed: 8 drop-in, 1 needs verification, 4 need modification, 1 not compatible.
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The Les Paul Standard 50s is Gibson's chunkier-necked 'Burst reissue, a fat 50s-profile neck and Burstbucker 1/2 pickups distinguishing it from the slimmer Standard 60s. ABR-1 bridge and aluminum stop bar, the narrower vintage-correct post spacing, not the wider Nashville spec found on most current Epiphones. Nut width 1.695 inches, gloss nitrocellulose finish.
Tailpiece
Stopbar
Neck mounting
Set neck (glued)
String spacing
52mm (2.05")
Scale length
24.75" (629mm)
Tuner hole size
8.8mm (11/32")
Nut width
43.05mm (1.695")
Bridge mounting spacing
74–74.5mm (2.91–2.93")
This guitar uses ABR-1 style bridge posts, the narrower vintage-correct standard. Many bridges sold as "Les Paul" replacements are built for the wider Nashville standard instead, and those won't drop in here without new bushings. Check a bridge is listed as ABR-1 before you buy.
Matches your guitar's ABR-1 bridge exactly. Drops into the existing saddle slots, no need to replace the whole bridge.
Saddle-only swap matched to this guitar's confirmed ABR-1 Tune-o-Matic bridge, per Graph Tech's own bridge-stamp fitment guide (PQ-8400-00). Not a universal TOM saddle, this SKU is specific to true ABR-1 spec bridges.
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Purpose-built as a locking version of this guitar's factory ABR-1 bridge. Locking studs mean it will not fall out when you change strings.
TonePros markets the AVR2 specifically as their ABR-1/vintage-spec locking retrofit, matching this guitar's factory ABR-1 bridge, as opposed to their separate NVR2 model built for Nashville-spec bridges.
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View at AmazonThis bridge uses metric threads, not the inch threads on genuine vintage Gibson hardware. Sources disagree on whether it drops straight in or needs different posts. Worth checking your bridge's thread type before ordering.
Gotoh's GE104B uses M4 metric threaded posts, not the 6-32 inch threads genuine vintage Gibson ABR-1 hardware uses. Retailer listings for this exact bridge genuinely disagree on whether it's a direct fit for post-2017 Gibson ABR-1 guitars: some describe it as a straight drop-in replacement for Gibson or Epiphone ABR-1-style bridges, others explicitly state it is not a direct replacement for Gibson ABR-1 bridges. This guitar's bushing thread type has not been independently confirmed against either claim.
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This is built for the wider Nashville-style bridge posts, not the narrower ABR-1 posts this guitar actually has. Expect to need new bushings drilled and fitted, not a straight swap.
Nashville-spec bridges are built for wider post spacing, roughly 74.5mm nominal versus ABR-1's roughly 74.0mm, and typically use a different, larger stud diameter. Sources describe the spacing gap alone as sometimes forgiving, but the stud diameter mismatch is the real blocker, this is not a straightforward retrofit onto ABR-1 posts.
Help confirm this fit
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This bridge is built for the Nashville-style bridge mount, not the ABR-1 mount on this guitar. Would need post/bushing changes, not a straight drop-in.
Hipshot's Tone-A-Matic is built for the Nashville/import-style non-vintage TOM mounting, not true inch-thread ABR-1 hardware found on this Gibson. Post spacing and thread differ between the two systems.
Help confirm this fit
Fits the standard humbucker route. A vintage-voiced, aged alternative to the stock pickups. Needs soldering.
Standard humbucker route and mounting, consistent with this guitar's factory humbucker cavity. A vintage-voiced alternative to the stock pickups, aged and lower output rather than a modern hot-output design.
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Fits the standard humbucker route. A higher-output alternative to the stock pickups for pushing an amp into natural overdrive. Needs soldering.
Standard humbucker route and mounting, consistent with this guitar's factory humbucker cavity. A long-established high-output ceramic-magnet alternative to the stock pickups, aimed at players who want more push into natural amp overdrive.
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A Gibson-branded pickup upgrade built for the exact route already in this guitar. Still needs soldering to install.
A genuine Gibson-branded humbucker set built to the same standard route and mounting as the factory Burstbuckers already in this guitar, effectively the manufacturer's own upgrade part rather than a similarly-sized third-party option.
Fits the standard humbucker route. You will need to solder it in, this is not a solderless swap.
Standard humbucker footprint, matches the factory Burstbucker route and mounting. A commonly recommended vintage PAF-style upgrade for this guitar family.
Sized for the vintage-style tuner holes already on this guitar. Should drop in without reaming.
Kluson's vintage-hole 3-per-side line matches the roughly 8.8mm press-fit bushing size used on this guitar's factory Vintage Deluxe-style tuners.
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View at AmazonThese need larger tuner holes than this guitar has stock. Expect the holes to be reamed out for a proper fit, not a straight drop-in.
Grover's Rotomatic line is built around the modern 10mm bushing standard. This guitar's factory tuner holes are vintage-spec at roughly 8.8mm, so fitting these means reaming the holes out and refitting new bushings.
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View at AndertonsA Bigsby vibrato mounted with an adapter that uses your existing bridge screws. No drilling, and fully reversible.
The Vibramate V7-LP adapter reuses the existing stop-bar bushings and strap-pin hole on any standard LP-style stopbar guitar, no new holes required, fully reversible.
A real modification, not a drop-in. New holes go in the guitar, best left to a tech.
This guitar ships with a fixed stop bar tailpiece, not a vibrato. Direct-mounting a Bigsby means new holes in the top.
Help confirm this fit
See also
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View at AmazonIf you have fitted any of these to this Gibson Les Paul Standard '50s, tell us what you found and we'll update the data.
