So I Got My Hardtail Bridge From Warmoth...

[Ledzendrix1128]

yeah... im kinda angry...

I got my bridge from warmoth today... and it has no slots... i guess this wouldnt be a HUGE problem if i had known i was ordering a bridge with no slots... but it doesnt say anything about it on their website... i dont know when the last time i saw a bridge sold without slots was.... it also wouldnt be that bad if i had a set of slotting files and a little experience slotting bridges... so does anyone have any advice on what i should do... other than buy a new bridge?

**EDIT - the bridge is gold... and im not sure if its gold plated or not... so if i end up filing the bridge myself i dont really wanna hit a silver part... maybe i should just buy new saddles...cuz i really have no experience doing this...

Edited September 23, 2005 by Ledzendrix1128

[crafty]

Which one is it?

[Mickguard]

Well, look at it this way...a pre-slotted bridge might not have matched your neck and string spacing and the spacing on your pickups' poles.

This way you get to make sure all of that is perfect.

I believe I read it was Gibson that made their slots by stringing up the guitar, then lighting tapping the strings into the saddles...you shouldn't need much more groove than that, and instead of filing at it, you're impressing into it...no issues with hitting the metal underneath.

Of course, I've never done this ---so if I'm wrong, I hope someone more knowledgable will come in a set me straight (but watch out, my avatar's got muscles now--better play nice! )

[Maiden69]

Yes you are wrong! Sorry to post it like this but the strings won't even mar the surface of the saddles by doing this and you need more that just a small groove! You need it to match the radius of your fetboard, (or bigger if you are running a compound radius neck), and you need to have straight and precise notches, if not the string will slide out while bending or I dare say with heavy strumming.

[Ledzendrix1128]

sorry, i shoulda been more specific as to what kind of bridge it is. Its the Vintage stratocaster hardtail model from warmoth. so i can adjust string hieght with the individual saddles versus having to carve it out to suit the radius. My main concern is that i dont want any buzzing to come from it like the first nut i tried to carve without the right tools

[Mickguard]

Yes you are wrong! Sorry to post it like this but the strings won't even mar the surface of the saddles by doing this and you need more that just a small groove! You need it to match the radius of your fetboard, (or bigger if you are running a compound radius neck), and you need to have straight and precise notches, if not the string will slide out while bending or I dare say with heavy strumming.

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Yeah, I figured I might be...though I'm sure I read about Gibson doing that for some of their bridges --maybe their acoustic or archtop bridges?

[marksound]

I could be wrong because, you know, I ain't the smartest guy around here, but I don't think I've ever seen a Strat type bridge with slotted saddles.

[Maiden69]

Buzzing usualy comes from having the wrong angle in the slot, like on the case of the nut, having the end towards the fretboard lower than the one at the tunners end. On the saddle make sure that the end facing the pups is a very little bit higher or dead level. I notched my TOM this way and it turned out nice with no buzzing at all.

idch, maybe on acoustics, since most of the classic guitars I have owned (I don't have or have owned a steel string acoustic yet, all spanish classical guitars) have the nut straight with no notches on it.

[Ledzendrix1128]

So, is it possible to get a relitively inexpensive file at a hardware store that i can notch the saddles with, and possibly a nut? Or am i gonna have to pay for shipping from a luthier's supply store online. Im still waiting for my finish to dry on my guitar so ive got about another week before i need to have the bridge ready, and even then i still dont have a neck due to the fact i cant work right now... so no paychecks are commin in

Edited September 23, 2005 by Ledzendrix1128

[Nitefly SA]

do the saddles curve down in the middle at all? because like marksound said, most vintage style tremelos dont have string slot, just a U shaped saddle keeps it in place

Edited September 23, 2005 by Nitefly SA

[Ledzendrix1128]

do the saddles curve down in the middle at all? because like marksound said, most vintage style tremelos dont have string slot, just a U shaped saddle keeps it in place

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Nope, its straight across... the saddles arent the kind that are solid... its the type that is a flat peice of metal bent up... ill try to find a picture of it

**EDIT... heres a picture of the saddles that are the same style as mine, except mine are gold

Edited September 23, 2005 by Ledzendrix1128

[crafty]

You don't need notches with those saddles. There's enough tension in the breakover from the body to hold the string in place.

Edited September 23, 2005 by crafty

[Ledzendrix1128]

really?... gosh i feel like an idiot... i never knew that... Ive been doing all kinds of mods on strats now, not for a LONG time... but enough that i should know that... i sorta figured it might be enough tension but i dont know... it a good thing i didnt start filing away at the saddles.. lol

[GregP]

Not only is the tension enough, but the small little screws for adjusting height would (like I said, the tension IS enough) keep the string from going berzerk and falling off the saddle.

Greg

[erikbojerik]

Yep...but guess how I always break my high-E string? By down-stroking it right into the treble-side screw!

[Ledzendrix1128]

that kind of a poor design by fender though... doesnt that effect the tuning/intonation if the strings are sliding around constantly?

[marksound]

It's worked for, I don't know, about HALF A CENTURY?

[Ledzendrix1128]

Communism has worked for a long time too mark... and nobody likes communism....

[Daniel Sorbera]

that kind of a poor design by fender though... doesnt that effect the tuning/intonation if the strings are sliding around constantly?

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Auccually you would find that it doesn't matter at ll. Having tightly fitting slots makes you break your strings really bad. Because when you play the string you want it to slide left and right on the saddle so thers no friction and it wont break (it slides so little you can't see it and no it won't effect tuning)

[GregP]

There certainly ARE people who like the concept of communism, Ledzendrix. Legions of them. But I think you'll discover is that the problem is that communism has NOT worked. The countries that adopt communism as a political goal inevitably become fascist states, instead.

Sorry for the OT post.

Back on-topic, I have to admit that I've never been a fan of those bent steel saddles, either. They may have worked for the last 5 decades, but I still prefer American Standard-style saddles, or Graph-Tech replacement saddles.

Greg

[Mickguard]

Right...I ditched the saddles on my strat pretty much the same week I got it...I save money buying Graph Tech saddles!

Godin: the problem with strings sliding back and forth is that metal rubbing metal means that something's got to give...and usually it's the string....usually right in the middle of a set....and of course, if you break a string on a strat, EVERYTHING goes completely out of tune....

Sure, it's been around for 50 years...but hey, they've been trying to get Reaganomics to work for almost 30 years now...

[Ledzendrix1128]

There certainly ARE people who like the concept of communism, Ledzendrix.    Legions of them.  But I think you'll discover is that the problem is that communism has NOT worked.  The countries that adopt communism as a political goal inevitably become fascist states, instead. 

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lol.... yeah i was just kidding about that... but anyway... can you get a set of needle files suitable for carving nut slots with at a hardware store? or are they more a specialty thing that ill have to get online?

[javacody]

Most vintage type bridges that I've seen don't have notched saddles. I've got two strat type guitars and I've been playing strats for years, and even with heavy trem use have NEVER had an issue. I play blues and am a big Buddy Guy and Albert King fan, so I bend the strings a lot. No issues.

On my Telecaster, however, the e strings both slide a little bit. It's because of the saddle being tilted down on both of those sides. Not an issue with a strat bridge.

Try it out first, see if it really is a problem. You can always ruin, err, mod it later.

[erikbojerik]

I've cut slots in Schaller bridge saddles with the metal-cutting disc on my Dremel, no problem, the smoothed them out with a round needle file. Yeah you'll go through the gold, but then you'll cover the slot with a string. Just make sure the Dremel wheel doesn't jump out of the slot and scratch something else.

[ryanb]

Well, look at it this way...a pre-slotted bridge might not have matched your neck and string spacing and the spacing on your pickups' poles.

This way you get to make sure all of that is perfect.

I believe I read it was Gibson that made their slots by stringing up the guitar, then lighting tapping the strings into the saddles...you shouldn't need much more groove than that, and instead of filing at it, you're impressing into it...no issues with hitting the metal underneath.

Of course, I've never done this ---so if I'm wrong, I hope someone more knowledgable will come in a set me straight (but watch out, my avatar's got muscles now--better play nice!  )

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Dan Erlewine talks about Gibson using that very technique on one of his Stew-Mac DVDs. I have never tried it and probably never would. Seems to me that if the saddle is that soft, I don't really want it on my bridge. But aparently this method has been done.