Callaham vs Glendale vs General Hardware Comparison and Thoughts

[cowardm]

Hi all,

Edit: This is a partscaster. I personally picked out everything on this guitar.

I've had a Callaham bridge on my guitar for years that I just swapped out for a Glendale bridge. I wanted to give my thoughts as I've now had a few parts from both, but bear in mind these are preferences and each maker has a reason for doing things the way they do.

Bridges (I kept the Callaham saddles)
The Callaham is .075 inch thick. The Glendale is .048 thick. This obviously brought my action down, so there's an adjustment there. I don't think the truss rod needs an adjustment.

If the thickness didn't get your attention, the weight should. The bridge plate by itself on the Callaham was 125.39 grams, Glendale 63.89. Yep, pretty much half the weight.

Control Plate
I got a fully assembled control plate from Callaham. I have to be honest, it's a clunky piece. It makes a pretty hard click that goes to the amp when I change pickup positions. I didn't want a whole new control plate though, but I did want some lighter knobs, so see below.

I don't have a Glendale comparison here. I previously had a Kinman assembled plate with an angled switch. The angled switch was novel, but only useful in theory and not in practice (for me at least). No clicking or clanging between switching. It was super smooth and light.

Output jack
Without knowing I'd gotten it from Callaham, my local luthier called it cheap garbage. I'd had problems with it for years and with his replacement, it's basically resolved the issue.

No Glendale comparison. I don't know what he put in, but it works.

Knobs
The flat top Callaham knobs weighed 73 grams (2 of them together). They are intentionally heavy, but Glendale offers a similar version in aluminum (domed). Which came out to 23 grams total.

Analysis:

Tone
Obviously, the bridge plate is going to affect the tone. A thinner, lighter piece of metal, but I couldn't tell much of a difference. I found the mids more pronounced with the Glendale and that I also had to turn down the treble, but it felt like with the right pickup height and EQ, the tone would be near identical. In fact, now it matches the treble EQ I use for my Les Paul so I don't have to redial anything if I switch guitars.

I find that hard to believe, but that's what my ears are telling me - they're nearly the same tonally. I'm not as picky as I used to be. I will say that I haven't really played enough to comment on the sustain, but I feel like this guitar would still sing with a plastic bridge plate.

Weight
So, I got the aesthetics I wanted and lightened my guitar by 111.5 grams give or take. Sorry to deviate from metric, but it doesn't sound like much until you think about it being nearly 4 ounces lighter, or a quarter of a pound. If you have a guitar that's 7.75 pounds and you knock of .25 of a pound, that's 5% lighter. Find a way to do that with lighter woods and hardware (tuners, etc.) and it might just be the difference in back surgery.

Pics or it didn't happen
The redder background picture here is the before (Callaham bridge plate and knobs). The pic of the Tele with pink Jag in the background the is the Glendale bridge plate (still Callaham saddles) and Glendale knobs (still Callaham control plate).

Conclusion
My overall thoughts: Callaham over-engineers their stuff. I think it's perfect for a very specific need and it has served me well over the years. I don't want to badmouth a brand I've stood by and that others have espoused their quality work. I think the thing with the control switch clanging (multiple techs have looked at it and told me I'm stuck with it unless I change it) and the comment of a trusted luthier about the output jack without any Emperor's New Clothes clouding his judgment calls a lot into question. Then there's the fact that this stuff is just heavy, unnecessarily so. I think in theory it does what Callaham says it does, but at least for me it's overwrought. That said, in 6 months time, who knows how I'll feel. I have heard the Callaham bridges can liven up a guitar that isn't particularly resonant. So, take it all with a grain of salt. I think we're talking about good and honest and quality work in any case. Just some things will be deal breakers for some players.

I'd love to hear your experience.

 

[telemnemonics]

THAT is a Callaham plate?
Looks like a Squier or Am Std?
Those thick three screw plates are kind of nutty, but this is more changing from modern to vintage ashtray style than brand name change.

I like the US Fender ash tray just fine but did buy a Glendale Strate Plate to get rid of the foolish angle.
It is thinner and has the edge cuts, neither feature is to me an improvement.
But I've run it for a few years now and aside from needing to drill the front for corner screws to contain squeal with high gain it is fine.

Output jacks I just but Switchcraft ten at a time.
They do wear out eventually and cheap jacks are terrible.
Did you buy a jack from Callaham and it was cheap crap?

That Tele looks like a partscaster, guard doesn't quite fit.
And I've never seen an unmarked Callaham plate but maybe the brand is hidden.

 

[telemnemonics]

I do get switch noise because I like a bit of microphonics in a pickup.
Old time switches are more clicky I think.

 

[monkeybanana]

I like the click. Lightly potted pickups.

 

[cowardm]

Callaham offers American standard bridge plates with vintage-style saddles. This was my Callaham order.

edit: I did later change the screws for slotted screws.

 

[cowardm]

THAT is a Callaham plate?
Looks like a Squier or Am Std?
Those thick three screw plates are kind of nutty, but this is more changing from modern to vintage ashtray style than brand name change.

I like the US Fender ash tray just fine but did buy a Glendale Strate Plate to get rid of the foolish angle.
It is thinner and has the edge cuts, neither feature is to me an improvement.
But I've run it for a few years now and aside from needing to drill the front for corner screws to contain squeal with high gain it is fine.

Output jacks I just but Switchcraft ten at a time.
They do wear out eventually and cheap jacks are terrible.
Did you buy a jack from Callaham and it was cheap crap?

That Tele looks like a partscaster, guard doesn't quite fit.
And I've never seen an unmarked Callaham plate but maybe the brand is hidden.

The pickguard has a bit of history. It's the oldest piece on this guitar. I had a Bill Lawrence Swampkaster with a tortoise pickguard. I had Pickguardian make a 3-ply parchment version of it and it's been a mainstay on my Teles since.

I won't lie, I'd buy back that Bill Lawrence Swampkaster in a heartbeat. My Tele will always be my #1, but that guitar was pretty special. So, the pickguard fits well enough and it stays.

 

[Alaska Mike]

I have Fender ashtray bridges, so there may be some differences.
Of my seven Telecasters, four don't have Callaham ashtrays on them. My Acoustasonic Tele really doesn't count, so make it an even 3/3 split.
- My MIJ '62 Custom has a serially-matched ashtray, so I left that on.
- My American Professional has a different screw pattern, so I left the original cut-down ashtray on.
- My CV '60s Custom doesn't quite rate, so it has a $20 Fender ashtray.

I have two Callaham Vintage bridges and a Callaham Bigsby bridge on other Teles.

I also have another Callaham ashtray waiting for the next project.

Personally, I like the extra weight. I like how smooth the machining is. I like how they don't look out of place on a Telecaster, even with the subtle modifications. Some aftermarket bridges look excessively bulky or the finish isn't as durable.

The Bigsby bridge I paid retail, and the rest I bought used. I'm not crazy about the standard compensated saddles (Bigsby is slotted), and usually replace them with Rutters or Gotoh. I wish they would just sell the ashtray without saddles.

My Warmoth partscaster has a Callaham control plate, and I like the feel and finish of it better than the regular Fender. Worth the upcharge? Meh.

I have all aluminum Fender knobs, but have wanted to try the heavier Callaham knobs. I'm not the kind of player that twiddles knobs a lot, so I don't think I would really notice a difference.

Compared to a PureTone jack, some people would say Switchcraft jacks are junk. I've never owned or have been interested in Callaham electronics (I cook my own), so I can't say what they use.

 

[telemnemonics]

Callaham offers American standard bridge plates with vintage-style saddles. This was my Callaham order.

edit: I did later change the screws for slotted screws.

View attachment 1242744

Yeah that is still more a design change than a quality associated with the brands being different.
Many players seem happy with the six saddle Am Std plate that is this huge slab of steel.
Seems like a really dumb design but maybe Fender felt it made a rack of guitars sound closer to the same since the heavy mass eliminated most of the rest of the character of the guitar depending on how heavy and dense the body is.

I would still choose a plain old $15 US Fender RI plate and donate the other $100 to a soup kitchen or whatever, before buying an upgrade plate.
Maybe I'm too much of a sucker for what Fender used to mean to me?
Pretty much this!

My Strate Plate is great except for the upgrades like thinner and cut down for fingerpicking which I don't do.
Really dislike the cut down sides as that weakens the stiffness of the front and increases the chances for squeal.
Not that I would go all the way to the big honkin Am Std abomination but the original Leo plate was damn near perfect except for that foolish angle which makes the high E extra shrill.

I wish somebody else made a no angle plate but Glendale barely sells any of their strate so I guess my taste is freaky and not popular.

 

[yegbert]

I also like a clunky switch, my CRLs seems more that way than Oak Grigsbys and a microphonic bridge pickup combined with it makes that sound come through an amp. But a slightly microphonic pickup can be good if it doesn’t get noisy, likely with higher gain.
STB holes that close to back of saddles on a 3-screw bridge, looks like body was from (or at least drilled to specs of) an American Standard.

 

[red57strat]

Yeah that is still more a design change than a quality associated with the brands being different.
Many players seem happy with the six saddle Am Std plate that is this huge slab of steel.

The six saddle Am Std bridge plate is made of brass, so it needed to be thick. The Callaham is steel.

 

[red57strat]

I also like a clunky switch, my CRLs seems more that way than Oak Grigsbys and a microphonic bridge pickup combined with it makes that sound come through an amp. But a slightly microphonic pickup can be good if it doesn’t get noisy, likely with higher gain.
STB holes that close to back of saddles on a 3-screw bridge, looks like body was from (or at least drilled to specs of) an American Standard.

I prefer the positive feel of CRL switches over Oak Grigsby switches.

 

[telemnemonics]

The six saddle Am Std bridge plate is made of brass, so it needed to be thick. The Callaham is steel.

All Am Std six saddle plates are brass?
Wow, hard to believe.
Brass would not need to be thick though, plenty strong metal for the not very stressed task.
Thicker due to no sides of course though with being only secured at the back

 

[red57strat]

All Am Std six saddle plates are brass?
Wow, hard to believe.
Brass would not need to be thick though, plenty strong metal for the not very stressed task.
Thicker due to no sides of course though with being only secured at the back

Yep. The base plate is brass. You are correct- it needed to be thicker due to it having no sides.

The saddles were some kind of a sintered stainless steel from the '80s into the '00s, then stamped steel Strat style. My '12 Am. Std. Tele had a brass bridge plate with stamped steel saddles.