Richie Kotzen Tele gets a 3 saddle bridge - and it's a bit surprising

[big jilm]

I'm really loving my Kotzen Tele - it's great for the heavier gain stuff that my Baja (a GREAT guitar) doesn't do quite as well. Plus, I love the neck on this thing even more than my Baja neck. 12" radius, fat C. Very comfortable, and the flat radius and big frets make those big rock bends with heavy vibrato really easy with D'addario NYXL 9's.

I'm a sucker for the three saddle bridge though, so I put on a Gotoh In-Tune bridge. I did it mainly because the look of that long 6 saddle just messes with my eye, but I was kinda surprised at the change in the sound, as I was honestly not expecting much of a difference. Intonation is good. Here's a couple of before and after shots:

The sound difference is noticeable. It's a bit brighter, snappier, and more open. A bit livelier, kind bouncy under the fingers as the notes come out of the amp. You can hear the individual notes in a chord with gain easier. I really like the change - it's a slightly "congested" sounding instrument by nature, and the bridge change opened it up some. I'm pleasantly surprised. It's not a huge change, but it's there.

I like the look a lot better, too - the shorter bridge makes it look more like a Tele to me. As an added bonus, it made the 7 lbs 12 oz guitar into a 7 lbs 6 oz guitar!

 

[brookdalebill]

Interesting!
I bought a used RK Tele at Guitar Rez earlier today.
This one.
The saddles are a little tarnished.
I might rethink the bridge.
I'm definitely going to put some kind of noise cancelling neck pickup on it.
I love the bridge pickup, and the comfortable, large neck!

 

[big jilm]

View attachment 836938 View attachment 836939 View attachment 836940 View attachment 836941 Interesting!
I bought a used RK Tele at Guitar Rez earlier today.
This one.
The saddles are a little tarnished.
I might rethink the bridge.
I'm definitely going to put some kind of noise cancelling neck pickup on it.
I love the bridge pickup, and the comfortable, large neck!

Nice guitar! If you already love the tone of the bridge pickup, you might just pick up a new set of the Gotoh saddles for the bridge the Kotzen came with. If you wouldn’t mind a bit more zing and openness, I can recommend the Gotoh In-Tune bridge. I’m really liking mine.

 

[fender4life]

Thats why i don't like modern bridges. I have teles because i like the sig tone and modern bridges move them away from that too much for my tastes. What you heard is basically what i hear from vintage designs in general and why i dislike modern stuff like 2 post strat trems and all the other modern hardware. Try tossing the cast tuners too and get conversion bushings to use lighter vintage tuners. Less weight at the head adds to the tone what described too. I just buy vintage designs to begin with.

 

[big jilm]

Thats why i don't like modern bridges. I have teles because i like the sig tone and modern bridges move them away from that too much for my tastes. What you heard is basically what i hear from vintage designs in general and why i dislike modern stuff like 2 post strat trems and all the other modern hardware. Try tossing the cast tuners too and get conversion bushings to use lighter vintage tuners. Less weight at the head adds to the tone what described too. I just buy vintage designs to begin with.

That's interesting about the tuners - i didn't know that they had any real effect on tone. I'm pretty good with the sound of the guitar right now, but I'll bear that in mind. I bought this one to be my "Gibson", so I wasn't shooting for vintage Tele tone with it, but I am happy with the vintage style bridge sonically, so who knows. I will be going in and replacing the stock wiring on the Kotzen, though - the only thing I don't like about the guitar is the switch. The Oak Grigsby (is that what it's called?) I put into my Baja just feels superior in every way. Thanks for the info on the tuners!

 

[fender4life]

That's interesting about the tuners - i didn't know that they had any real effect on tone. I'm pretty good with the sound of the guitar right now, but I'll bear that in mind. I bought this one to be my "Gibson", so I wasn't shooting for vintage Tele tone with it, but I am happy with the vintage style bridge sonically, so who knows. I will be going in and replacing the stock wiring on the Kotzen, though - the only thing I don't like about the guitar is the switch. The Oak Grigsby (is that what it's called?) I put into my Baja just feels superior in every way. Thanks for the info on the tuners!

To be more clear, it's not really something you hear as much as feel. Not that it's not audible, especially on acoustic guitars where i had done the cast to vintage open gear tuners and had it make a great difference. But on electric it's more of a dynamics thing. Heavy tuners will sustain more but at the cost of some of the guitar's dynamics/touch response. It's not going to be as noticeable to everyone, especially those who use a lot of distortion all the time. In the 70s or 80s groove tubes sold a thing called the "fat head" which was a sheet of brass the same size/shape of a strat headstock that would be fitted to the rear side of the head to add weight. It worked as i described heavy tuners do, but it never got popular which IMO is because it's like having a compressor on all the time, and if most guitar players wanted that why not just use a compressor and be able to turn it off when you want your dynamics back.

 

[Nick Fanis]

Horses for courses ..
First thing I do with all vintage style telecasters is the opposite

I much prefer the balanced sound of the brass MODERN GOTOH bridge especially on the unwound strings.

Here's a before and after sound test (Scroll down)

https://www.tdpri.com/threads/is-the-gotoh-tele-bridge-twangy-enough.164652/page-2

 

[cousinpaul]

Fender still makes a gizmo called the Fat Finger that clamps onto the headstock for more sustain.

 

[Ess Eff]

Oh, and don't forget the strap buttons!

Put vintage strap buttons on and you really hear it open up and breath better.

I really noticed the difference. Like night n day for me.
.

 

[shallbe]

Good choice. I like the guitar a lot, but I can’t stand those long 6 saddle bridges. I’ll take a vintage compensated bridge over them every time for tone, dynamics and feel.

 

[big jilm]

Horses for courses ..
First thing I do with all vintage style telecasters is the opposite

I much prefer the balanced sound of the brass MODERN GOTOH bridge especially on the unwound strings.

Here's a before and after sound test (Scroll down)

https://www.tdpri.com/threads/is-the-gotoh-tele-bridge-twangy-enough.164652/page-2

Nice comparison, Nick - your guitar tone is much cleaner than I use, and your sound is more open than mine from the start. I use the Kotzen for pretty heavy gain (VH+) and the bridge doesn't make tons of difference, but there is a bit more openness and high end with the vintage bridge than with the modern through my rig. Like you say, horses for courses for sure.

BTW - happy independence day, φίλος!

 

[big jilm]

Oh, and don't forget the strap buttons!

Put vintage strap buttons on and you really near it open up and breath better.

I really noticed the difference. Like night n day for me.
.

You should hear the difference with vintage pickguard screws!

 

[fender4life]

Actually, the REAL deal when it comes to parts that make unblievable tone a reality, nothing, i say NOTHING improves tone like a vintage jackplate. Thats why they are expensive of course. (link removed)

 

[brookdalebill]

I'm really loving my Kotzen Tele - it's great for the heavier gain stuff that my Baja (a GREAT guitar) doesn't do quite as well. Plus, I love the neck on this thing even more than my Baja neck. 12" radius, fat C. Very comfortable, and the flat radius and big frets make those big rock bends with heavy vibrato really easy with D'addario NYXL 9's.

I'm a sucker for the three saddle bridge though, so I put on a Gotoh In-Tune bridge. I did it mainly because the look of that long 6 saddle just messes with my eye, but I was kinda surprised at the change in the sound, as I was honestly not expecting much of a difference. Intonation is good. Here's a couple of before and after shots:

The sound difference is noticeable. It's a bit brighter, snappier, and more open. A bit livelier, kind bouncy under the fingers as the notes come out of the amp. You can hear the individual notes in a chord with gain easier. I really like the change - it's a slightly "congested" sounding instrument by nature, and the bridge change opened it up some. I'm pleasantly surprised. It's not a huge change, but it's there.

I like the look a lot better, too - the shorter bridge makes it look more like a Tele to me. As an added bonus, it made the 7 lbs 12 oz guitar into a 7 lbs 6 oz guitar!

I took your advice!
I got the Gotoh bridge, but with titanium saddles.
I took the rest of the gold hardware off the body.
I may get locking tuners soon.
The Sperzels on my Cabronita are working very well.
Anyways, it also has a new Duncan Hot Tele neck pickup, and black pickguard.
I pick it up from my repair guru, Ben at South Austin Music mañana.
Here it is.

 

[unixfish]

I took your advice!
I got the Gotoh bridge, but with titanium saddles.
I took the rest of the gold hardware off the body.
I may get locking tuners soon.
The Sperzels on my Cabronita are working very well.
Anyways, it also has a new Duncan Hot Tele neck pickup, and black pickguard.
I pick it up from my repair guru, Ben at South Austin Music mañana.
Here it is.

And what do you think?

 

[brookdalebill]

And what do you think?

I pick the guitar up today, and I have a gig tomorrow.
I’ll report back!

 

[TeleTex82]

View attachment 836938 View attachment 836939 View attachment 836940 View attachment 836941 Interesting!
I bought a used RK Tele at Guitar Rez earlier today.
This one.
The saddles are a little tarnished.
I might rethink the bridge.
I'm definitely going to put some kind of noise cancelling neck pickup on it.
I love the bridge pickup, and the comfortable, large neck!

Nice! Guitar Rez always has cool stuff, which I know you know

 

[boris bubbanov]

We need to be on the lookout, for changes in the amount of 60 cycle noise that's suppressed. These thin, steel plates have a funny way of negating some of the 60 cycle noise cancellation (although less evident IMO with blade style humbuckers).

Looking forward to your observations about this project, Bill!

 

[unixfish]

I pick the guitar up today, and I have a gig tomorrow.
I’ll report back!

It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's...

 

[brookdalebill]

It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! It's...

I picked it up, and did a gig with Tracie Lynn at the Broken Spoke.
I like it!
I need to dial in the set up a little, but the new bridge, and new neck pickup are vast improvements!