El Tele Lobo
Poster Extraordinaire
Advanced Plating Nashville (www.advancedmusicproducts.com) 0.048" (1.2mm) telecaster bridge review.
So I heard about these via @roknfnrol's YouTube channel and decided to give one a try for a refin project I'm doing. Still waiting on the neck for the refin, so haven't got that together, but I needed to order a half-bridge in powder-coat black for an earlier build where I'm upgrading the hardware to black. Anyway, most of their basic bridges are available from (link removed), but if you want something more unique out of their catalog (available at the link above), you can order direct from them, BUT there is currently a $75 minimum order. So in addition to buying the half bridge, I grabbed a set of their very cool compensated saddles (one of the better designs I've seen) another full tele bridge in chrome and a couple sets of uncompensated saddles for cheapie projects.
The guitar in question was luthier built for me in 2015. I've since changed just about everything on it except the neck, body and bridge (a Kluson): Pickups (on my third set...Bootstrap Palo Duro), wiring harness (he used a weird wiring scheme, so on one of my pickup changes I just pulled it out and rewired myself from scratch), and saddles (Wilkinson compensated brass to Gotoh titanium). The Kluson bridge had always been a question mark for me. I've NEVER heard anyone rave about a Kluson on any of the forums. It's seemed good enough (but then so did Wilkinson for a long time...eventually I swapped one for a Callaham..what a difference! Did some comparison videos on my channel). Needless to say, I'm done with Wilkinson for a couple reasons (construction/design related). But, I don't think Callaham would work for all my needs, not least of all because of cost, but also tone. So I was looking for a more affordable option. So, I tried Advanced Plating.
I got the Kluson off and the saddles off it (after carefully marking my intonation settings on a slip of paper slid under them). Visually, they looked very similar. I don't have tools to precisely measure, but they appeared the same thickness, had the same full sides on both sides, both were chrome plated and neither had string-through holes drilled in the back. Seemingly apples for apples. After removing the saddles from the Kluson, I stuck my finger through the pickup hole, dangling it vertically, and struck it with the handle of a screwdriver. It did ring, but in a rather, unpleasant, clanging way (when I tried this with a Wilkinson, it produced a dull, dead clank and did not ring at all). Tried the same thing with the Advanced Plating bridge and it also rang, but with a more pleasant, higher, bell-like sound. Does this mean anything? Who knows? Some have premised their designs on it (look up the T-Tune bridge online).
Put the AP bridge on, set the pickup and saddles to their previous positions, strung up with the same set of well-broken-in strings and plugged in.
I noticed a difference right away. It was subtle, but I could hear it. A subtly more pleasant attack, much better sustain...and, gone was the dead-sounding attack that I had long suspected was a result of the Kluson. A guitar that has long been in the "meh" category among my teles is now a new fave.
Guys, give Advanced Plating a look. You can pick up one of their bridge plates for $20-25, throw your favorite saddles on (their saddles are about $35 a set...won't be able to review them until I get them on my refin). Very high-quality work in a variety of finish and cutaway options (including full-cut sides, partial cut sides, and only one side cut). They come in chrome, nickel, gold, black and I think raw/distressed, though some of the latter ones you may have to custom order. They also offer a thicker 0.060" version and a stainless steel version. They didn't charge me any extra for powder-coat black. No affiliation with these guys...just a satisfied customer.
You're probably wondering why I didn't record a video on this. Honestly, I was in a hurry to try it out. But also, because I'm still shooting with an iPhone, and don't have any real editing skills, my last video was actually 3 videos (before, visual comparison of the removed bridge/new bridge with ring test and after). Not the best format for a side-by-side comparison. Rather than make another crappy video series that might be hard to hear the difference anyway, I'm just giving you a written review. Hope you and your families are staying safe and well right now. God bless.
So I heard about these via @roknfnrol's YouTube channel and decided to give one a try for a refin project I'm doing. Still waiting on the neck for the refin, so haven't got that together, but I needed to order a half-bridge in powder-coat black for an earlier build where I'm upgrading the hardware to black. Anyway, most of their basic bridges are available from (link removed), but if you want something more unique out of their catalog (available at the link above), you can order direct from them, BUT there is currently a $75 minimum order. So in addition to buying the half bridge, I grabbed a set of their very cool compensated saddles (one of the better designs I've seen) another full tele bridge in chrome and a couple sets of uncompensated saddles for cheapie projects.
The guitar in question was luthier built for me in 2015. I've since changed just about everything on it except the neck, body and bridge (a Kluson): Pickups (on my third set...Bootstrap Palo Duro), wiring harness (he used a weird wiring scheme, so on one of my pickup changes I just pulled it out and rewired myself from scratch), and saddles (Wilkinson compensated brass to Gotoh titanium). The Kluson bridge had always been a question mark for me. I've NEVER heard anyone rave about a Kluson on any of the forums. It's seemed good enough (but then so did Wilkinson for a long time...eventually I swapped one for a Callaham..what a difference! Did some comparison videos on my channel). Needless to say, I'm done with Wilkinson for a couple reasons (construction/design related). But, I don't think Callaham would work for all my needs, not least of all because of cost, but also tone. So I was looking for a more affordable option. So, I tried Advanced Plating.
I got the Kluson off and the saddles off it (after carefully marking my intonation settings on a slip of paper slid under them). Visually, they looked very similar. I don't have tools to precisely measure, but they appeared the same thickness, had the same full sides on both sides, both were chrome plated and neither had string-through holes drilled in the back. Seemingly apples for apples. After removing the saddles from the Kluson, I stuck my finger through the pickup hole, dangling it vertically, and struck it with the handle of a screwdriver. It did ring, but in a rather, unpleasant, clanging way (when I tried this with a Wilkinson, it produced a dull, dead clank and did not ring at all). Tried the same thing with the Advanced Plating bridge and it also rang, but with a more pleasant, higher, bell-like sound. Does this mean anything? Who knows? Some have premised their designs on it (look up the T-Tune bridge online).
Put the AP bridge on, set the pickup and saddles to their previous positions, strung up with the same set of well-broken-in strings and plugged in.
I noticed a difference right away. It was subtle, but I could hear it. A subtly more pleasant attack, much better sustain...and, gone was the dead-sounding attack that I had long suspected was a result of the Kluson. A guitar that has long been in the "meh" category among my teles is now a new fave.
Guys, give Advanced Plating a look. You can pick up one of their bridge plates for $20-25, throw your favorite saddles on (their saddles are about $35 a set...won't be able to review them until I get them on my refin). Very high-quality work in a variety of finish and cutaway options (including full-cut sides, partial cut sides, and only one side cut). They come in chrome, nickel, gold, black and I think raw/distressed, though some of the latter ones you may have to custom order. They also offer a thicker 0.060" version and a stainless steel version. They didn't charge me any extra for powder-coat black. No affiliation with these guys...just a satisfied customer.
You're probably wondering why I didn't record a video on this. Honestly, I was in a hurry to try it out. But also, because I'm still shooting with an iPhone, and don't have any real editing skills, my last video was actually 3 videos (before, visual comparison of the removed bridge/new bridge with ring test and after). Not the best format for a side-by-side comparison. Rather than make another crappy video series that might be hard to hear the difference anyway, I'm just giving you a written review. Hope you and your families are staying safe and well right now. God bless.
