tele questions

william · Post by **william** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 5:06 am

James wrote:As I said in my first post on the topic, the looks thing is a given the feel thing I can buy. I don't recall ever hearing anything specifically about the sound. Many people say they sound better and when pressed will give no details and eventually resort to something like 'well they definitely feel better'.

I'm not trying to break your balls here, I just want someone who is quite definite about prefering the sound of the 3 saddle to give some solid info as to why. You don't have to explain the science behind it, just as accurately as possible describe the tonal differences that you see as being superior.

id love to give a personal opinion from experience if i can figure out a way to retrofit 3 saddle on my amstd.

his argument sounded religious to me too:

brass is better for me.

jesus is lord for me.

hear that? its the sound of science not dropping.

anyhow, personal opinion is fine. i too prefer the 3 saddle but im not going to pretend its for anything beyond aesthetics and mojo because ive never seen any empirical evidence that it is in some measurable way superior.

thanks for weighing in on this in any case, guys. still waiting for bobarsecake to fill me in on the retrofit

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 5:08 am

just drill (depending on what tele it is).
a few extra holes wont hurt your guitar.

mellowlogic · Post by **mellowlogic** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 5:11 am

he said drilling wasn't an option I think :/

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 5:15 am

yeah, but im just saying he should just drill and add an extra couple holes.
dont know why its not an option...

william · Post by **william** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 5:20 am

its not an option because thats dumb.

im not going to explain. EDIT- ok so i explained...

plus, im pretty sure id have to redrill the string holes and reinstall the ferrules, and fill the old holes.

its not an option because its beautiful and im not refinishing it, and im not going to have 4 random holes in the top of the guitar.

maybe i could get an "im a douche" sticker to put over them.

"a few holes" does hurt the guitar. its physical damage, one, and resale value hurt, 2. and aesthetic, 3.

i dont have any pics of mine, but its one of these, with a white pickguard and modern saddles.

mickie08 · Post by **mickie08** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 6:34 am

Personally, I Have had the following teles:
Custom shop -3 saddle
Squire CV - 3 saddle
Mexi standard - 6 saddle
Mexi deluxe - 6 saddle
Mexi Baja tele -3 saddle
Hamer tele - 6 saddle
RobOg tele roller bridge/bigsby
2 G&L ASAT teles with G&L designed bridge with 6 graphite saddles.

Opinons

Obviously the 3 saddle brass saddles w/ashtray thing looks best, plays the best, and has the most typical "tele" tone.

The brass saddles I think (along with the ashtray bridge design) give the tele more brightness and excentuate the classic tele bridge sound

The G&L design was much better than any of the fender 6 saddle designs by far in my opinion. There is a tiny nut that locks all the saddles into the bridge and the bridge is a very hefty one. That gives the guitar more sustain than a standard tele normally has.

The fender 6-saddle was OK. Nothing great (except the intonation) to say about it. Also, since I don't play lead as much as rhythym, small variations in intonation do not drive me crazy. Ia m rarely up past the 12th fret so it doesn't get out of hand.

aen · Post by **aen** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 7:47 am

In my case, I don't do standard tuning, and I play wayyyyy up the neck a lot. Aen Standard is quite compromised on a 3 saddle, so a sixer is the only choice for me. I'm not sure abou the sound though,

The last time i heard a 3 saddle IRL it was this bridge pickup wired directly to the output, so the "spank" and "twang" were unfiltered.

Will · Post by **Will** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 8:09 am

The 3-saddle is much closer to the stereotypical Tele tone, doesn't mean anything else sucks. I've never been able to get a 3-saddle to intonate even close to correct, so the thinner tone of the 6-saddle is an OK trade-off.

I think the tone difference is more to do with brass v. steel then the number of saddle pieces.

Post by **Mike** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 9:19 am

3 saddle intonation is down to the tuning and gauge of string you use. There is a combination that will intonate perfectly, I'm lucky that the combination on my Baja is 11s and Standard, which is what I would choose to use anyway. It is perfectly in across all the strings. I think there is a real but subtle difference in sustain and upper midrange spank between 6 saddles and the 3 saddle brass ones, since the mass of the brass saddles is higher, their shape means you have more string in contact with the bridge as it wraps around and the break angle appears to be steeper. It could all be psychosomatic and I have never compared the sound on the exact same guitar, so it's a moot argument. It works on my Telecaster though.

BobArsecake · Post by **BobArsecake** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 1:19 pm

william wrote:oh, i def. prefer troo vintage 3 saddle loveliness, but the holez dont line up. the modern 6 saddle bridges are way longer than the vintage, and they have 4 screws instead of 3.

bob, how did you manage? id really like to know. refinishing isnt an option, either.

the only thing i could think of as far as a sound difference is that the material may be harder, and the design has less mass, both of which could change the sound.

i agree that strat saddles on a tele aren't ideal, but id rather they be stamped saddles at least. the boxy modern saddles are easily my least favorite thing about the guitar.

there are conversion bridges on the market, but they are way pricey:

► Show Spoiler
the callaham is 115, and has an interesting kind of hybrid design:

not sure if i dig.

the glendale one is 99 WITHOUT saddles. WTF.

looks nice, but holy hell.

the vintique is the most ridiculous, and perhaps nicest looking:

http://www.vintique.com/www.vintique.com/vistbr.html

sorry, it wont let me copy the photo location. also, wtf with their addresses?

240 dollars?! fuuuuuuuuuuck that.

if somebody made one for 40 bucks, i believe theyd make a killing.

if anyone knows of any other amstd > vintage conversion plates, please let me know!

What model's your Tele? 'cause the hole thing is confusing me as mine's got 4 scre holes for the bridge. Mine's a MIM standard and I got one of these bridges and it fit perfectly despite it being shorter than the modern one. I've not got my tele with me but I'll see'f I can find some pics of it before & after.

BobArsecake · Post by **BobArsecake** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 1:27 pm

Not the best pictures;

Before with modern six saddle (now on Doogcaster);

After with 52 vintage;

And with ash tray ><

But yeah if it's a MIM, get a Fender stamped vintage one and it'll defo fit.

Post by **Mike** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 3:45 pm

Jon, you're the only person here qualified to comment on the differences between the bridges. Did you notice a change in sound or feel only?

BobArsecake · Post by **BobArsecake** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 3:51 pm

Well I've had those brass saddles for about 3+ years now, so can't really remember, however I didn't notice anything in the change in the sound of it at the time, like I didn't think "oh this is nicer", or "oh crikey, what's happened to my Telecaster?". I just prefer having the lips on the unit for comfort and ease whilst playing, the aesthetics of the brass saddles, and also the ease of intonation and curving of the strings compared with six saddle.

Post by **Mike** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 4:57 pm

Well there we go - it's all bollocks.