Problem With Afender Jaguar W/ A Tom Bridge

[liquidshadow]

Hi everyone. A friend of mine has a Japanese Fender Jaguar and he decided to mount a TOM bridge. He bought a Gotoh GE103B-T. The problem is that when he plays the strings go out of the slots in the saddles. Can someone help me to put his guitar in good playing condition?

[j. pierce]

A lot of the after-market tune-o-matic bridges I've seen haven't really had the bridges slotted very much, the slots are really just sort of started. At least on the lower, wider strings I've had to go in with a file and widen/slightly deepen the slot to keep the string from sliding around too much. Keep on eye on the height, you don't want to lower the the action unevenly or too much. (Well, he actually may want to slot a bit lower on the outside strings, seeing as almost every TOM I've seen is a 12" radius and I believe Jag's have a tighter radius on the fretboard)

[Mickguard]

Wasn't the strings popping out a 'feature' of the Jazzmasters and Jaguars?

[ZoSo_Spencer]

if it the bridge i am thinking of, you may have it in reverse.

[liquidshadow]

Wasn't the strings popping out a 'feature' of the Jazzmasters and Jaguars?

Yes, it was...and it was also the reason myfriend decided to change the bridge.

if it the bridge i am thinking of, you may have it in reverse

We tried it in both directions, but the problem still persists.

[Mickguard]

You don't say if the guitar has a trem or not.

If it doesn't, why not try a wraparound bridge instead?

But if it has a trem and he's committed to using it, you could try changing the saddles for Graph Techs -- you can notch them deeper, which will let you raise the bridge a little to increase the down pressure, and the deeper notches will keep the strings in place, and since the Graph Techs are slippery, you won't have to worry about the strings binding.