Gibson J series bridge (NMC)

[multidon]

I am aware that the old J45 had the bridges bolted on in addition to being glued. The bolts holes in the bridge were countersunk and the bolt heads hidden with inlaid pearl dots. I have a modern J29 (2016) that has those same pearl dots in the bridge. My question is, do they still use lots in the bridge, or are those inlaid dots just cosmetic, to mimic the look of the old models?

[Willie Poole]

I would google "Gibson guitars" and see if any info is on that site, If it isn`t maybe you could contact Gibson directly and ask them...My guess is that the pearl dots are covering the screw heads...One thing that might work is to take a magnet and see if you get any response when you hold it close to those pearl dots...

Willie

[pops1]

Take a mirror and a light and look inside, if there is a screw under the pearl there will be a nut and threads inside.

[multidon]

I can’t really look inside until I restring it. I was hoping one of you would just know the answer. I tested the pearl dots with a very powerful rare earth magnet and there was no apparent reaction at all. It is a powerful enough magnet that there should have been something. If it’s true that there are no bolts, then the dots are cosmetic only and meant to imitate the look of the old ones.

[rcc56]

Or, remove the strings and bridge pins, reach through the soundhole, and see if you can feel any bolts. There might be a pickup in there, so be careful of any wires and don't let the pickup confuse you.

I'm not sure that Gibson will be of any help, but you can find out all you need to know by inspecting the instrument yourself, or by letting a local luthier look at it.

If I recall correctly, I haven't worked on a modern era Gibson that had a bolted-down bridge.

[Dale Ludewig]

If there are bolts, they would hopefully be brass and wouldn't be magnetic. This could be just the excuse you need to go buy an endoscope! They're quite handy when doing repair work. You can buy pretty inexpensive ones that work with a smart phone or a tablet.
I've built one guitar with that style bridge and I bolted it on under some inlay. The bridge is so perforated that there's not a lot of glue surface left.