tone-- brass vs. steel?

My current setup just feels sorta "dull" when I play it unplugged-- not bright like my other guitars. I'm hoping to get more of a bell-like tone, more ringing and clanging and so on.

MIM '69 Thinline RI neck (maple board)
Nashville body
Wilkinson bridge and compensated brass saddles (string-through)

Would changing to steel saddles (like the Hwy 1 type) liven up the tone? Maybe a thicker bridge plate?

opinions vary widely here on that..i have teles with brass and have them with steel...the only saddles on any of them that make a worthy difference in my opinion are titaniums...but not enough of a difference to justify the price of them...my first set i gave $50 for them and have two more sets i got off EvilBay for $15 each set...mine are non-compensated (my preference) and have very, very narrow string grooves in them...the ones that came on my Hiway1 have rather large grooves in them and the strings do slide around somewhat..

the best..???..can't say what's best...some of my teles have brass, some have steel, some are modern plates, some are vintage style, and they all sound pretty good to me...

as said...my favorite is titanium (if they're cheap...!!) non-comp saddles and vintage style string thru plate...

My experience w/Nashville bodies, were that most were quite Heavy...that could be a large part of your "Unplugged" sound not being very Resonant.

What amp, speakers and other gear do you use when amplified, and how does it sound when plugged in?

My current setup just feels sorta "dull" when I play it unplugged-- not bright like my other guitars. I'm hoping to get more of a bell-like tone, more ringing and clanging and so on.

MIM '69 Thinline RI neck (maple board)
Nashville body
Wilkinson bridge and compensated brass saddles (string-through)

Would changing to steel saddles (like the Hwy 1 type) liven up the tone? Maybe a thicker bridge plate?

Try swapping different necks and bridges, different pickups on to that Nashville body. Find out which part is holding you back.

The stock Highway One saddles are chromed potting metal, some kind of non metallic substance. They won't help.

A heavier bridge plate allows a higher output pickup to be used, and tames guitars with excessive or weird highs sometimes.

Try a $ 8.99 Fender bridge from Musicians Friend, perhaps with some real cold rolled steel saddles from Callaham or Glendale, but find out if those primary parts are good ones and check that neck thoroughly. I always suspect the neck first. Broken truss rod? Crack? Bad union between the neck and neck pocket? Neck screws on the verge of stripping out?

My current setup just feels sorta "dull" when I play it unplugged-- not bright like my other guitars. I'm hoping to get more of a bell-like tone, more ringing and clanging and so on.

MIM '69 Thinline RI neck (maple board)
Nashville body
Wilkinson bridge and compensated brass saddles (string-through)

Would changing to steel saddles (like the Hwy 1 type) liven up the tone? Maybe a thicker bridge plate?

I gotta ask, why do you care? Do you play a lot for people that have hyper-sensitive hearing? The only thing that matters is how it sounds plugged in to me. Again, that's just me. I like a certain sound plugged in and try to get close whether I'm playing a strat, telecaster or my dean or LP so it it wouldn't matter to me brass (ok, I really like brass) or steel or......Unplugged I have a nice Guild to play.

Steel probably, thicker bridge plate no or doubtful.

All really depends on the guitar and parts especially tuning keys
and pickups. Think in your case steel might help and pretty cheap
to try.

Unplugged right? Personally I think this is the most overhyped way to evaluate a guitar. Plug it in. Does it sound good then? Do you mostly play unplugged? If so, get a thinline or even better, a real acoustic. I have a 335 and it sounds terrible unplugged, as do ALL 335's. Does that make them bad guitars? I don't think so....

Unplugged right? Personally I think this is the most overhyped way to evaluate a guitar. Plug it in. Does it sound good then? Do you mostly play unplugged? If so, get a thinline or even better, a real acoustic. I have a 335 and it sounds terrible unplugged, as do ALL 335's. Does that make them bad guitars? I don't think so....

Excellent point.

Gotta agree with above. I like a guitar that has good resonance, but I've played a number of guitars that sound like stool unplugged and sound amazing plugged in. I just put some titanium saddles on my Bigsby tele and they sound great, but I added the Bigsby at the same time so more than one thing changed.

Real easy thing to try - forgive me if you've already done this, but be sure your neck screws are tight. Kind of stunning how much resonance is dependent on that interface and underscores how much the neck plays into the tone.

Hey, Durango, where did you find that bridge plate on that gorgeous ash Bigsby Tele you put the Titanium saddles on? Is that just a modded Squier Tele Special bridge something like this:

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t25/Bubbanov/29OCT052008003.jpg

BTW, I share Roman S's sentiments, that pickguard and 'trons look great on that fine grained 1 piece ash.

Magnetbox, we haven't forgotten about you. If you're still not hearing cool things from the guitar, try this little stunt:

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=456627


Kinda embarrassing to admit it, but this has worked for me on occasion.

The reason I suggest this is, while I often prefer the brass over the steel on most guitars, neither one sounds off, like what you describe on a happy guitar. Just two different, delicious favorites. Not one good, one bad.

I'm going to try that trick!

Thanks for that trick! I'll give it a try.

Unfortunately I don't have another neck to swap. As far as the other components go, it has Fender "F" reissue tuners and an "F" neckplate. The neck / body joint felt very snug when I put it together.

Of course the guitar sounds great plugged in. It's just that it doesn't feel as resonant as my other guitars which I found sort of odd.

Sometimes its not the material that saddles are made of, its the quality. I think thats why people love Glendale stuff so much over cheapo stock stuff. Of course, I may be way off base here, but a good quality metal that is consistently dense and machined will resonate better than chromed pot metal that has been poored or stamped.

Of course the guitar sounds great plugged in. It's just that it doesn't feel as resonant as my other guitars which I found sort of odd.

So why does it matter what it sounds like unplugged?

So why does it matter what it sounds like unplugged?

+1!

I could have some guitars that sound like heck unplugged, but frankly I'm unlikely to ever discover it. They're Electric guitars. They're designed to make music come out of the amp. The amp is still #1.

When I speed read these posts, I'm just blind to any language in there about playing unplugged, because it just does not register, does not compute.

boris - first off thanks, I like that guitar quite a bit. The bridge was a "last one" from Carvin a few years ago and it's steel. I've seen what looks to be identical recently and I would guess they're made in the same factory overseas somewhere.

One thing I would add to this discussion - one thing the acoustic character of the guitar offers is a chance to predict what kind of pickups/hardware might work well. Then you just tweak away.

One thing I would add to this discussion - one thing the acoustic character of the guitar offers is a chance to predict what kind of pickups/hardware might work well. Then you just tweak away.

That's true, actually. A very good point. The trick is that it is very hard to determine the acoustic character of the guitar WITHOUT already having pickups and hardware on it. Kinda Catch 22....

I kinda split the difference.

The base-line I've chosen is the Keystone bridge pickup from Bill Lawrence. I run it directly to the output jack. There may be some who insist the only accurate indicator of what the guitar will sound like is to have it fully wired. But I find this approach suggests enough that I can better guess how to proceed from there. Turn the dials on the amp this way and that, attack the strings this way and that. Multiple occasions, different amps, and take notes. The main thing I cannot predict is what the guitar will do when turned up really really loud. I'm not sure, unless you're really good, there is any short cut on that.

I'm skeptical whether anyone can accurately and effectively predict how an electric guitar will sound amplified, based on how it sounds unplugged. It would be interesting to read any recommendations on specifically how one would make those predictions.

I have both types on different guitars, and recently used the AllParts threaded steel saddles on a project. I like them very much. Quite a bit snappier than brass, but with humbuckers in the guitar, I wanted some of the Tele snap that's missing with hummers. These did the trick. (it's also nice to have your strings stay where they're supposed to be).

Sorry....I know pictures are preferred.


http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc200/pgazzara/ThreadedSteelSaddles.jpg

I have both types on different guitars, and recently used the AllParts threaded steel saddles on a project. I like them very much. Quite a bit snappier than brass, but with humbuckers in the guitar, I wanted some of the Tele snap that's missing with hummers. These did the trick. (it's also nice to have your strings stay where they're supposed to be).

The Allparts threaded saddles I have are brass underneath the nickel plating. I determined this by grinding off a little of the finish on the underside of one.

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/549/SqStd-toploader-vintage-bridge1.jpg

I'm fairly certain the ones I bought are steel. Might have been from GP/Resource. Can't recall. But, they're steel, and completely different tonal qualities than brass. Very similar to the stock steel saddles on my '70 (except they're slotted vs. threaded).

Somewhat off topic....but Dale at Glendale is super cool.... I just picked up some brass saddles from him (cutting edge set....all brass), though I purchased my American Standard Single Cut bridge plate used. I liked that bridge so much that I figure the saddles can't be that bad. ;)

Anyway, point being, the bridge was purchased used, though it didn't ship to me with any of the intonation screws, springs, or mounting screws. I offered to buy some from Dale, but he shipped all the screws and springs out to me free of charge! What a guy! Sure, his stuff is expensive, but it's reeeeeeeeealy nice quality, and his service is awesome.

He is a great guy, and his CD, Trek, is excellent and desrves a listen.