A message from a "newbie":
A couple of weeks ago I got an AllParts-made Tele for my birthday (used via eBay) -- my other main guitars are late 90's Strat and a DeArmond M-75 -- and I noticed a few issues. I had to give the guitar a full setup, but I noticed that the saddles at the bridge (it is a top-loader with the six-barrel saddles) weren't standing up straight -- even when "level" -- because some of the screws were coming out at an angle. At the high E string the bottom screw was pulling itself away from the face of the guitar back up into the saddle (usually after I let it sit in the case for a few hours). I also was having some buzz with the D string (open and around the first couple of frets -- this was after a good setup with truss adjustment, saddle height and intonation set) and the A string (a little less buzz, but similar to the D). The guitar played pretty good, and it was setup with correct intonation after I got everything setup to my taste and to specs (it was probably around a 4/64 action height). But, I wanted to get rid of the buzz altogether (not a good kind of buzz), and I thought replacing the saddles might do the trick since I had some crooked screws in there and I assumed the bottom screw on the high E string saddle must have been stripped out, which is why it was pulling out after sitting. This was strung up with .10s by the way.
So, I replaced the saddles with the exact same barrel type, but this time graph-tech (the others were std chrome). Basically the same issues. A new problem now, though: the screws that attach the saddles to the bridge (not for height adjustment) feel kinda "loose" to me in their bridge slots...the D string especially (where I'm getting the most buzz) is kind of loose. I also noticed that the screws that came with these saddles (again, for bridge attachment) are all the same length...the ones I had on previously were staggered to account for the different string lengths necessary to bring each string up to pitch. So, the D string screw is almost backed up as far as it can go, but it needs to be backed out a little more still (it's the only string where intonation is still a little flat). I'll post some pics below. If anyone has any clarity on this issue and has advice, I would be most grateful. I have never had to take my guitars in for a "pro setup," as I've always been pretty good with this stuff, but this is kind of beyond me...and I really don't have the money for a setup...we're pretty broke! Thanks!
From Phone - sam and sophia, tele guitar 072.jpg
From Phone - sam and sophia, tele guitar 073.jpg
From Phone - sam and sophia, tele guitar 074.jpgdave b