String saddles

steve_k

steve_k

New member
Jerry,

Any DIY advice appreciated regarding strings jumping out of the saddles. I play fairly heavy handed. A couple of the Warrior custom shop guitars of mine, which I picked up used, have a nasty habit of the top E string and A string jumping out of the saddle. I filed out slightly the saddles and thought I had the problem licked. Played a gig last weekend and was using one of them downtuned and knocked the string out of the saddle and that set me off in another dimension of pissed off than I have been in before.... :gethim:

Granted, the guitars were probably set up for something like a 46 gauge in E on the E string and I am using 52's. A little filing obviously didn't help. Can I take a Dremel tool to the saddles and take them down a little more in the slot? Is there anything I need to be aware of that would cause that cause this repair to turn to shit? The Warriors are string thru and the Tone Pro's bridges are recessed into the body a bit. This makes the angle from the body surface to the bridge to be less than normal, say on a Les Paul.

Thanks...
Steve

DSC_0890.jpg
 
steve_k":1ycexjae said:
Jerry,

Any DIY advice appreciated regarding strings jumping out of the saddles. I play fairly heavy handed. A couple of the Warrior custom shop guitars of mine, which I picked up used, have a nasty habit of the top E string and A string jumping out of the saddle. I filed out slightly the saddles and thought I had the problem licked. Played a gig last weekend and was using one of them downtuned and knocked the string out of the saddle and that set me off in another dimension of pissed off than I have been in before.... :gethim:

Granted, the guitars were probably set up for something like a 46 gauge in E on the E string and I am using 52's. A little filing obviously didn't help. Can I take a Dremel tool to the saddles and take them down a little more in the slot? Is there anything I need to be aware of that would cause that cause this repair to turn to shit? The Warriors are string thru and the Tone Pro's bridges are recessed into the body a bit. This makes the angle from the body surface to the bridge to be less than normal, say on a Les Paul.

Thanks...
Steve

DSC_0890.jpg
Click to expand...

The string angle is the real problem, but you can still probably get them to stay in with a little more filing. I wouldn't use a dremel, it can take too much off too quick, and if the slots get too wide the strings will buzz inside the slot itself. Then you would need new saddles....no good. If you have any nut slotting files, those work best on the saddle slots also. I would just put them a little deeper.

Worst case scenario, if it's a bolt on neck....you can put a very small shim in the front of the neck pocket to raise the pitch of the neck, which would then make you raise the entire bridge to keep the action like it was before. That would create more string angle and push the strings tighter against the bridge. Then you would need to re-set up the guitar obviously.

Hope that helps?
 
Thanks Jerry. Got some files, but nothing I would want to file the saddles with. Will find a decent set and give it a go. It's a Tone Pro's locking bridge. if you stock the saddles, can you slot me a set a little deeper? The guitar has a set neck.

Steve
 
steve_k":39thyyyt said:
Thanks Jerry. Got some files, but nothing I would want to file the saddles with. Will find a decent set and give it a go. It's a Tone Pro's locking bridge. if you stock the saddles, can you slot me a set a little deeper? The guitar has a set neck.

Steve
Click to expand...

I don't have any separate saddles unfortunately, except for graphtech saddles.
 
Fender guitars string lefty very well, because Strats, Teles, Jags, and other used music guitars, have bridges that sit straight across the guitar's body. When one of these guitars is flipped upside down, the inherent intonation points don't change at all, and the intonation can be fine-tuned by using six equally compensating adjustable intonation saddles.

Vessel Sinks
Vessel Sink
 
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