More Franken-Tele Madness

I posted a few days ago about my "Turkey Roaster" Tele (http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-technical/237687-turkey-roaster-tele.html), which used strips of aluminum snipped off a disposable aluminum roaster pan as material for raising the neck pocket and adding some nice fullness and overtones to the partscaster.

Here's my latest weird idea: Brass saddle barrels recycled and used in conjunction with aluminum compensated saddles.

I wanted more snap and sting, so I went to compensated aluminum saddles, but I lost a lot of the richness and depth I had with the brass. Then it suddenly hit me: why not use both? Let me explain. I working with a zzguitarworks space bridge and a Bigsby B5. I wedged the brass saddle barrels between the strings coming off the aluminum saddles and the body between the back of the bridge and the front of the Bigsby tension bar. Here's a picture:

http://iwcenglish1.typepad.com/Images/SAM_0214.JPG

And guess what? It works! Now I've got the crispness of the aluminum saddles with the added richness of the brass saddles. Not going for classic tele tones. Just trying to make a totally unique, versatile guitar.

Am I missing something on the downside of this strange arrangement?

Here's the whole beastie (pre aluminum/brass saddle mod):
http://iwcenglish1.typepad.com/Images/SAM_0205.JPG

I shall be the first to say this:









That looks really really cool!!!

This is a really cool mod! I wanna try it now.

of course the saddle under the b and e strings is backwards. in the last picture.

Those are some huge pictures.

I re-sized the pictures. Sorry guys.

As for the brass saddle under the b and e, I needed to do this to wedge it in. That's the side where the B5 has the little extension part that holds the screw hole, so you can't quite get the saddle barrels to line up cleanly on the other side of the bridge.

This does not seem to affect the sound, however. The main point is to somehow get solid brass between the bottoms of the strings on the Bigsby side of the bridge and the wood surface of the guitar. This set up does just that. The barrels stay in place with string pressure and there is a huge difference in the overall sound.

I honestly have never seen an arrangement that tries to exploit the opportunity to get string-metal-guitar body contact after the bridge. It's neither possible nor desirable, obviously, in a traditional string-through tele. Perhaps I'm overly concerned about what is lost when you don't string through and this is one possible way to capture and use string vibration.

You double saddle concept aside, clever as it is ;) I don't see aluminum saddles with a Bigsby as anything but a maintenance issue. The wound strings are going to saw into the Soft AL pretty quick IME.

Robt57 -- what about steel saddles where the aluminum saddles are now? If I went back to just brass saddles in the normal setting, won't the same thing happen to the soft brass?

How about this:

Callaham Enhanced Vintage Compensated Bridge Saddles for Tele®, Stainless Steel

Machined from billet stock, the Callaham Enhanced Vintage saddles maintain the vintage look while eliminating the problem of the string moving on the saddle and altering string spacing. These stainless steel saddles are recommended for players using string benders. Just like the original Callaham saddles, these saddles give you perfect intonation. All Callaham saddles are hand polished and buffed to insure they are free of burrs that can cut strings. Allen wrench included.

I have threaded nickle plated saddles on my Bigsby setup with the vintage plate notched. So far so good. I thought brass would be too soft myself, Aluminum would go faster I would say, certainly.


To answer your Callaham question, you are asking the wrong guy, I am anti boutique as IMO the fluff is not for me. How many Teles with crappy original saddles for for how many decades where recorded before Guchi saddles even stated getting marketed.

Robt57 - where did you get your saddles? Are you talking these boys?

http://angela.com/59stylethreadedsteelsaddlessetofthree.aspx

I like the idea of steel for $19 and threaded for string stability, but how do you compensate for intonation?

I found that the angled brass barrels created some strange "sitar" sounds (possibly because the strings were sitting at strange angles and with the Bigsby, not enough break angle to pull the string tightly against the barrel. Plus the strings jumped around during bends. The compensated saddle design seems to solve this and I know that I can get the same type of saddle in a variety of metals, and for much lower prices than Callahan.

Robt57 - where did you get your saddles?


I have a bunch if installs out there with RS Guitar Works compensated saddles of all their materials with lots of satidfied players. Although I will say the steel are not rust resistant in the least.

Personally, I have several setup with steel saddles, and one Ti set, all non compesated.
I do not record at all, so I am not as fussy I guess, and they are not that off I consider it a problem for me. But I suck playing anyway.
The Ti set are 5/16" threaded Ti screw/bolts cut and fashioned, and the guitar they are on is spot on. I did do a slight bend on the d/g on that one, on the saddle screw I mean.

robt57:

You mean these?

http://www.rsguitarworks.net/rsstore/product_info.php?cPath=32_51&products_id=289

I got my aluminum saddles from these guys, so maybe I'll blow $10 on the steel and try out the steel/brass combo.

Oh and I can guarantee that my playing is 100 times worse than anyone else's on this forum!

But at least I can now play all the parts on "Hip Hug Her," including Booker T's organ lines on my Paulownia franken-tele. Oh, and the chords and melody to "Pet Sounds" by the Beach Boys! Such are the unsung triumphs of my basement playing. . . .

I buy mutilple Brass and Aluminum sets to make AL/Brass/Brass sets to have on hand. As I said, the steel are not real rust resistant. If you use them, I suggest you dip them in acetone and clear something before you put them on. Just IMO. I perfer the Nickle plated Fenders, but not compensated as mentioned.

Thanks. Appreciate all the advice. You say to dip the steel saddles in acetone and "clear something"----I get the first part, but not the second. Do you mean some kind of clear lacquer or sealant? Would a light coating of silicon waterproofing spray, for instance, hold back the rust?

I would dip in 'clear' lacquer or poly maybe. What ever I had that was too old to use on wood. ;)

Boiled Linseed oil is a good choice for dipping metal tools to prevent rust.

Boiled Linseed oil is a good choice for dipping metal tools to prevent rust.


How is the longevity of the process ?

How is the longevity of the process ?

I really don't know on something you would touch every day like a guitar saddle.

On tools I clean up and dip, seams to stay shiny for a year or two with normal use. The thing I like about it is it doesn't chip off in big chunks like poly or lacquer.

So, back to the original "double saddle" idea. Can any of you Tele-masters see some kind of structural or engineering flaw in the idea? Is there a tradeoff I'm making here that I may not be aware of? Can you really add together the benefits of two different metals or would they, in theory at least, cancel each other out or interfere with one another in some way? To my ears, it does seem to be an additive process. I'm very curious now to hear what steel + brass would sound like.

Trade off being more friction for the string to overcome to get back to pitch when yo use the Bigsby perhaps. Especially of the brass ones make the string touch the metal on the plate as they pass through.

Sorry.....but I don't know what's worse; seeing a Bigsby (or ANY trem) on a Telecaster, or seeing one on a Les Paul.

Just chiming in to say that looks absolutely brilliant! This is coming from someone with little to no technical knowledge, but it seems like a great solution to me, and hey, a compliment's a compliment right!