tricks to ease string tension?

[Wrong-Note Rod]

This is an ongoing issue with me, sort of the second in a round of posts-questions.

I've got two teles. Pictured here to follow

the yellow one (Fender FSR) sounds the best for country and rockabilly but for some reason, it feels like the string tension is a whole bunch tighter and stiffer than in the other one (the graphics tele with the rosewood neck).

I've had a repair guy look at the yellow one, and he did a few tricks to make the string angle breaking over the saddles, as low as possible (a little neck adjustment was made here as well).

That seemed to have helped a little bit, but, the graphics tele is still a lot easier to play; the tension is less and therefore strings are much easier to bend and hold the bend.

The necks are both allparts, the same profile, the same nut width, the back shapes are close, and the same big frets. The graphics guitar has a graphite nut; the yellow guitar bone or standard epoxy, I cant remember.

I thought about maybe putting a six saddle bridge on the yellow one, perhaps that has something to do with the tension.

Can anybody else suggest things to try? Could it simply be the difference in fretboard woods?

 

[fender4life]

Try a set of smooth steel small diameter saddles like on the classic series 50's or the AV 58. Made a considerable difference (didn't do it for that tho) in tension on a tele of mine. The smaller diameter means less string to barrel contact and the steel allows string movement easier. Together they allow the string behind the saddle to stretch and the tension even feels lighter pressing the strings down, not just during bends. Won't guarantee you'll notice but I sure did. You also may or may not like the tone. Many can't tell tho.

 

[Mr. Lumbergh]

The graphics Tele is a top-loader while the blonde is a through-body, no? The top loader will feel "looser" in general due to the break angle over the bridge being much lower.

 

[Wrong-Note Rod]

no they are both through-body loaders.

I thought about maybe getting a top loaded six saddle bridge for the yellow one.

 

[Wrong-Note Rod]

Try a set of smooth steel small diameter saddles like on the classic series 50's or the AV 58. .

I see these on Ebay, is this what you mean?

(link removed)


if this isnt it, what should I be searching for? Is there a specific name?

 

[marsh99]

Wilkinson make a vintage style bridge that can be used as a toploader or a string through. It may even drop right in to the existing mounting holes, so you could try it and revert quite easily if you didn't like it. Just another option.

 

[soulman969]

tricks to ease string tension?

A couple of glasses of wine followed by a Swedish massage maybe?

 

[soulman969]

I don't think the fret board has anything to do with it but since in all other respects they are much the same except in the style of bridge I'd suggest focusing on that.

 

[waparker4]

Are there differences in the neck angle in the pocket? Is one shimmed? What about truss rod/relief?

 

[Skub]

tricks to ease string tension?

A couple of glasses of wine followed by a Swedish massage maybe?

Doesn't that solution work best for nut problems?

 

[MrTwang]

The top loader will feel "looser" in general due to the break angle over the bridge being much lower.

No it wouldn't.

I've experimented with a Tele I have that has a dual top/through body bridge. Each time I restring I do it differently - top 3 toploading bottom 3 through body, alternate strings toploading and through body.

No difference in feel at all.

 

[Bortyeast]

Tune down a whole step.

 

[Tony Done]

The fret number is different, so are they the same scale length?

The effect may be more psychological than physical, so neck profile, fretboard radius or something like that?

What gauge strings?

 

[fender4life]

I see these on Ebay, is this what you mean?

(link removed)


if this isnt it, what should I be searching for? Is there a specific name?

No, and those may be plated brass, not steel. Someone here posted a pic of grooved silver saddles like that after having ground away some of the surface and they were brass underneath. Now that may not be a bad thing as far as the tension, but i have a set of those that came off a CV and they sound pretty mediocre. Anyways, the smooth steel ones don't have string grooves.

Oh, and by the way, i agree toploading gives less tension. But it also changes the tone and dynamics a good bit so you may or may not like the results.

 

[MilwMark]

The solution is obvious - butterscotch needs a bigsby!

Seriously, I don't know if there is any science, but there is one Tele that I had a bigsby on and I didn't like the feel. So I converted it string through and it's now my number one - biggest difference was the stiffer feel (string through was stiffer, that is).

Bigsby guitars always feel "squishier" to me.

But in the food for thought file: I have another Tele that still has a bigsby. Love that one just how it is, feel and all. Moral(s) of the story:

1. I have a Tele problem.
2. Each guitar is it's own ecosystem. The two that used to have bigsby's were basically identical. Same neck, body, hardware. And felt subtly different even dialed-in almost the same.

You might do all kinds of stuff and still have two guitars that seem like they should feel the same, but feel kinda different.

I don't know, keep them as is use 'em for different things - one for bendy stuff and one for chordy-non-bendy stuff? Or maybe look into strings that are "Slinky-er" and use those on the stiffer guitar?

Good luck.

 

[BobbyB]

Pure Nickel strings will flex more and perhaps go one gauge lighter if needed.

 

[variantboy]

another thing to be aware of -

look at how deeply the neck "sits" in the neck pocket. if the pocket is more shallow (MIM's and MIA's are slightly different, but i forget which is deeper), then that means the saddles have to be raised higher so the action is high enough to avoid fretting out.

Saddles being raised higher = more tension.

It's never trivial to change that, of course. It would mean sanding the neck heel, which is very dangerous - best left to a luthier if you go that route (pardon the pun).

 

[Mightyaxeman]

Are the string gauge and brand the same on both guitars? None of the changes your making will make a noticeable change in string tension.

 

[waparker4]

Saddles being raised higher = more tension.

It's never trivial to change that, of course. It would mean sanding the neck heel, which is very dangerous - best left to a luthier if you go that route (pardon the pun).

Shim the headstock end of the neck pocket?

 

[GuitOp81]

I would stay rational and consider that, for a given set of strings and scale, the tension cannot be changed unless you tune the guitar down, maybe a half step hendrix style.
Alternatively, you can reduce the gauge (section diameter) of the strings or reduce the scale of the guitar.
Other than this it's just perception.