Tele Bridge Placement?

[thebadger138]

I am building a tele and have the neck pocket routed and scale length marked but I am not sure where to place my bridge pickup template in relation to the scale length or string length (1/16 back from the scale length)

The template I have has the bridge pickup cavity and string holes layed out on it.

I have searched around the forums but have not really found anything so I figured I would make a post about it. If anyone could help me out that would be great.

[thebadger138]

oh yeah, the bridge is a standard allparts/gotoh three saddle tele bridge

[bluesy]

oh yeah, the bridge is a standard allparts/gotoh three saddle tele bridge

You have to end up in a position such that the adjustability of the bridge saddles allows you to set intonation, which means the scale length must lie approx somewhere within the travel of the adjustment of these saddles.

Knowing that, and having the bridge, you should be able to measure the distance from the pickup hole in the metal of the bridge to it's saddles, and hence work out where you want to put the cavity on the guitar.

[thebadger138]

my initial plan was to center the saddles so I knew they had room to travel to allow to intonate, line those up on the scale length line (or should I use the string length line?) then mark the the pickup spot then center my template around the initial pickup outline.

does that sound like it would work out? should I adjust the saddles differently first?

Edited August 8, 2008 by thebadger138

[bluesy]

my initial plan was to center the saddles so I knew they had room to travel to allow to intonate, line those up on the scale length line (or should I use the string length line?) then mark the the pickup spot then center my template around the initial pickup outline.

does that sound like it would work out? should I adjust the saddles differently first?

I have the idea that it might be better to bias the saddles towards the nut end of the guitar. My thinking is that, due to the small amount that a string must stretch when fretted at the 12th fret, thus sharpening the note slightly, that the bridge will need to be just a little further away from the nut than the true scale length in order to drop the pitch back to be exactly one octave above the open string. Is my logic right?

If so, then chances are that most length adjustments via the saddle will be to increase the distance from true scale length slightly, therefore putting them at the nut end of their adjustment when measuring the scale length for bridge placement, will allow maximum adjustability.

That said, Tele bridges have so much adjustment, I can't imagine it really being a problem if they were near the centre of their adjustment when you measured. Just trying to be careful. Hope I am right - can someone verify?

[thebadger138]

Yeah when I was looking at the bridge I was suprised at how much travel the saddles have. I am used to messing with tune-o-matics, this is my first fender style build. My initial look at the bridge after laying it on the body was that if I basically get it in the ballpark it should intonate.

that being said though I am still shooting for getting it it in the right spot.

[Acousticraft]

Try Stew Mac http://www.stewmac.com/FretCalculator

Put in your scale length and number of frets and it will tell you the bridge placement measurent you need.

Edited August 8, 2008 by Acousticraft

[thebadger138]

thanks for the help, I think with this info I will help me out. The fret thing from stew mac is pretty cool

[WezV]

try to remember that the string should never need to be shorter than the scale length. we move the saddle back, make the string longer, to compensate for the amount we have to bend the string from straight when we fret it... if you have a higher action you will bend it more so need more comensation.. i.e. the bridge saddle needs to be further back. same goes for heavier strings!

so when placing the bridge you allow for the fact you need more backwards than forwards adjustment, although you need no forwards adjustment in theory it is best to play it safe and leave yourself some

adjust the saddles so they are most of the way forward - maybe about 3/4" or 7/8" of their total adjustment. then you just need to measure the scale length down the centre line from the nut to the saddle and put the bridge there.

[bluesy]

Ah, that confirms my thinking. Thanks

[Mickguard]

The Stewmac calculator is nice and all, but only works if you use the exact bridge they refer to. There's no substitute for making your own measurements based on the parts you have on hand.

I agree with positioning the saddles toward the nut end of their travel -- I always leave a couple of millimeters, but if you've measured correctly, there's no reason you'll need to use that. On the other hand, your low E is going to be set back significantly compared to the high E, so you'll need the travel room. You don't want to have to force the saddle back too far, it'll screw with the break angle over the saddles.

The HIGH E saddle gets positioned exactly at the intonation point. This is what determines the placement of the rest of the bridge.

And the intonation point should be measured using the actual neck, with the nut in place, and already attached to the guitar. There are just too many variations in 'standard' guitar parts to trust anything but the actual parts you're using.

Don't know if someone else has stated this, but it doesn't hurt to make it even more clear.

Anyway, since it's a tele -- assuming you're using a tele plate/pickup --then the bridge placement becomes even more important, since it'll determine where you'll route the pickup cavity.

Also, I use a laser sight when positioning my bridges -- I think it's important to make certain that the bridge is properly aligned with the taper of the neck --the laser line emulates the string line really well. Just a tip I picked up here that helps me a lot.

[bluesy]

Also, I use a laser sight when positioning my bridges -- I think it's important to make certain that the bridge is properly aligned with the taper of the neck --the laser line emulates the string line really well. Just a tip I picked up here that helps me a lot.

Way more high tech than the white cotton thread I used. I just ran 2 threads, one for each E string, from the tuner, over the nut and down to the bridge saddles on each side. I then locate the bridge laterally so that the space on the outside of each thread, at the bridge end of the fingerboard, is equal