timeconsumer
TDPRI Member
Do you mean that the neck should be as straight as possible? It’s currently set up almost perfectly straight, which is why I’m puzzled as to why the saddles are so far back.
Why are my barrels so far back on the bridge?
- Thread starter timeconsumer
- Start date
It's quite hard to see in that single picture you shared, some close ups of the bridge at different angles will help.
Shimming the neck will alter the angle so you can get a lower action with higher saddles... that can be good or bad, if your saddles are down very close to the bottom then it probably would benefit from a shim, if however your saddles are high already (which it looks like they might be) then shimming the neck will probably mean they will end up too high.
can you take a side on picture so we can see what's going on a bit better?
Yes.
Don't do anything else before you measure. How high is the action? Measure that as well.
Shimming won't do much to affect the saddle position for intonation.
Bangdapoontwang
Tele-Meister
Looks fine to me.
It does. The saddle gets higher, so the distance to nut gets higher and with the same tension the string sound lower. Then you have to compensate with saddle position nearer to the nut. It's just a matter of millimeters.
It's a matter of way less than millimeters. It's about a half a millimeter.
I'm not arguing that it won't require that the saddles shift to get the notes to intonate properly. I'm saying that it won't shift them far enough to matter for this guitar, where the saddles are almost 1/4" farther back than they are on most Telecasters.
And what I'm really arguing is that before changing anything, he needs to measure and diagnose the problem.
timeconsumer
TDPRI Member
Sorry, I realised
Sorry, I realised that the first picture doesn't help that much. Here are some close-ups of the bridge and how it's currently set up.
The action is around 2mm across all strings and the intonation is perfect across the entire fretboard. It does look odd though, especially since the EB-saddle is so wonky.
I completely forgot that the brass saddles ARE compensated, sorry for the confusion. The compensation grooves are mostly toward the edge of the bridge though, so the saddles shouldn't make much difference. (If anything they'd alleviate this issue slightly.)
Sorry, I realised that the first picture doesn't help that much. Here are some close-ups of the bridge and how it's currently set up.
The action is around 2mm across all strings and the intonation is perfect across the entire fretboard. It does look odd though, especially since the EB-saddle is so wonky.
I completely forgot that the brass saddles ARE compensated, sorry for the confusion. The compensation grooves are mostly toward the edge of the bridge though, so the saddles shouldn't make much difference. (If anything they'd alleviate this issue slightly.)
Cosmic Cowboy
Tele-Afflicted
Looks good to me. Not sure about the angle of the saddles, but overall looks pretty good.
I feel the same, it doesn't look like there's anything to be overly concerned about with it the way it is, especially if it's good action and intonation.
@timeconsumer So the only question is if there's enough room to fit the rolling bender thing. I'm tempted to say F it, just order one and see... if you buy online you have the right to send it back if it doesn't fit. (distance selling laws and all that)
cousinpaul
Friend of Leo's
High action will cause the guitar to intonate with the saddles farther back. It looks high to me in the pix. The sharp screws are a seperate issue.
Dostradamas
Tele-Afflicted
Just curious, what is the measurement on the low E from bridge edge of nut to point of contact with string on saddle?
timeconsumer
TDPRI Member
Just measured: it's 658mm from the nut to the saddle (25.905 inches).
somebodyelseuk
Tele-Holic
Because since the 70s, Fender has been putting the bridge units on Teles and Strats about 2 mm closer to the neck so they look neater.
If you play anything heavier than a 0.042 E, it's impossible to get the intonation right.
It's why I won't buy production Fenders anymore.
kuch
Tele-Meister
This is my second reply to your post. Again, if you haven't looked at the pdf i posted earlier, please do. It's from Fender and explains how to measure from the nut to the saddle to attain the proper string length. If you haven't done this, it's a good place to start. If it's redundant, just ignore .... again good luck.
Sea Devil
Friend of Leo's
The saddles do indeed look odd. Sometimes funky angles happen, but those angles combine with the notched saddles to make the string spacing seriously off, to the point that I would consider the guitar unplayable.
If that were my guitar, I would start over from scratch. First I'd try to get the saddles more parallel, even to the point of having no radius to speak of, and push them as close together as possible. Then I'd set the height of the high and low E strings with the saddles flat/parallel to the bridge plate. Then I'd raise the D/G saddle much too high in order to get it out of the way, and use an under-string radius gauge to set the height of the A and B strings. Then drop the D/G saddle down, preferably as close to parallel to the plate as you can get it without completely disregarding what the radius gauge is telling you. See where the intonation needs to be from there; you may be surprised. (Alternate method: start by setting the heights of the D and G strings, compromising slightly by trying to keep the saddle parallel to the bridge plate)
The fact that you have consistent string height now is irrelevant when the string spacing is that wrong. It needs to be fixed.
The way that those saddles are constructed suggests that the string spacing might be better with a flatter radius. Sometimes a saddle radius flatter than the radius of the board works; it's worth a try. (That's a hotly debated issue, btw!)
If that were my guitar, I would start over from scratch. First I'd try to get the saddles more parallel, even to the point of having no radius to speak of, and push them as close together as possible. Then I'd set the height of the high and low E strings with the saddles flat/parallel to the bridge plate. Then I'd raise the D/G saddle much too high in order to get it out of the way, and use an under-string radius gauge to set the height of the A and B strings. Then drop the D/G saddle down, preferably as close to parallel to the plate as you can get it without completely disregarding what the radius gauge is telling you. See where the intonation needs to be from there; you may be surprised. (Alternate method: start by setting the heights of the D and G strings, compromising slightly by trying to keep the saddle parallel to the bridge plate)
The fact that you have consistent string height now is irrelevant when the string spacing is that wrong. It needs to be fixed.
The way that those saddles are constructed suggests that the string spacing might be better with a flatter radius. Sometimes a saddle radius flatter than the radius of the board works; it's worth a try. (That's a hotly debated issue, btw!)
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jaxjaxon
Tele-Holic
I can tell you how to get the saddles moved forward more. Loosen the neck put a shim in at the heel of the neck this will move the neck further away from the end of the body pocket, and you will need to move the saddles forward more to intonate. Now you could move the neck with out the shim but you might loose some resonation due to the neck not being set firm against the pocket hence the use of a wooden shim.
Buzzgrowl
Tele-Holic
This is mine. Similar to yours. Never thought it was "wrong".
timeconsumer
TDPRI Member
The action is actually as low as I could get it: around 2mm.
Sorry, didn’t mean to ignore your post. This is the exact guide I’ve been following when adjusting my Telecaster. (And the bass equivalent for my Blue Flower Precision bass.) However, I definitely missed the section on measuring the string length to rough out the saddle location. Is the “first” saddle the BE strings? If so, it’s currently set to 25.9 inches when it seems it should be 25.5.
timeconsumer
TDPRI Member
Thanks, might be the way to go if I decide the Rolling Bender is still worth it. The saddles look a bit wonky, but it plays great.
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