Quote:
Originally Posted by boris bubbanov
Telesavant, I can see your build is not bowing out. But I see on Yegbert's, there is some distortion of the metal there, on the left side wall.
My theory is that a played string vibrates all the way from end to end. We know of cases where we get extraneous noise from North of the nut (D and especially G strings) and I find we get noises, undesirable noises from South of the saddle break point (which is awful close to the bridge pickup). The sound of what I think is the saddle length spring vibrating against the unplucked part of the guitar string is unpleasant to me - as is what I think is the sound of loose saddle height screws where saddles are cocked or canted or leaning on one another.
The process of locking them all together (so well done on the G + L Saddle Lock top loader bridges) should alleviate the height screw problems and should keep saddles from resonating against one another - but it does not address IMO the issue of the string resonating against the intonation or saddle spring.
I'd like to devise a way to just ditch those springs - might solve a lot of residual issues.
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The other issue is adjustability, to be frank. When I swap parts around, and build and rebuild guitars I find myself setting the saddles higher and higher and higher. The set screw solution is only gonna work if that locking screw is mated with E string saddles that are darned low. I don't jack my saddles up into the stratosphere but there's more than a few of them where I would simply run out of adjustability. I'd have to keep the saddles low - and lower vis a vis one another to make the locking mechanism effective. Would not work well (I wouldn't imagine) on a 7.25 radius necked Telecaster. Cuz at some point the outboard hammer saddles are no longer holding the middle ones in place - they're trying to make them just pop out and fly up.
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If your saddles are up past the side rails past the point of catching them with this mod...this mod is the least of your worries. You can do this mod as high on the rails as you want with no rail distortion...Yegberts might be too tight or distorted in the first place from the drilling or clamping methods.....very little tension is needed to lock these saddles.
In describing this mod previously....the guitar should be tuned, intonated and setup BEFORE the mod is attempted and the optimum placement on both sides indicated and set screw size decided on. If a screw doesn't appear that it will catch a saddle then a screw with a head (flat) can be used with the flat head inside the rail and the outside end slotted for adjustability just like the setscrew.
Yes....the whole bridge could be redesigned....but it's a MOD to address a certain malady that plagues a certain type bridge that exists already and people like for a host of other reasons....and takes 10 minutes to do.
This mod works on any radius neck....the only prerequesite is that the saddles "catch" each other....no matter the radius the saddles can be raised or lowered on a level plane and kept level....so other than the intonation being so far afield that the saddles are past the prolongation of their lateral curb lines and don't catch any part of the one next to it....it's a breeze.
Also the other useful by-product of the mod is to shift the saddles left or right as so many of Teles could benefit from due to strings on one side or the other being too close to the side of the fretboard.
Yes....if the set screw is too low the saddles could distort....too high they could also distort.... but remember the strings....on a body thru anyway....are pulling those saddles downward with considerable force....they ain't goin' nowhere. Everything should be adjusted and indicated BEFORE the mod is attempted and the largest setscrew possible used....I use 10-32 and if indicated correctly you could raise the saddles as high as would ever be needed.
As far as the sonic properties of the springs behind the saddles....as I stated....theoretically they can be removed after the mod, though I've never had the need....If they are still under tension....and they should be....they should be quiet. If they rattle....that can be adressed in a host of ways.
I've done hundreds of these mods from back in the '70s with no problems, no rail distortion, no spring rattle, no radius obstructions or any other unforseen problems....and I will add this mod works particularly well with the Gotoh 12 string saddles when mated with the vintage-style bridge. I always thought those saddles were a little anemic sustain-wise and this mod will add a little oomph by locking them together and allow left or right shift if needed. See pic...no rail distortion whatsoever and tons of vertical adjustability and these set-screws could even have been "cut in" higher in the rail if desired or for that matter forward or back if needed.
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