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Tele Bridges


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I'm in the process of building a tele out of solid padauk. If all goes well, I plan to spring for a set of Kinmans. However. in looking at bridges I noticed that all of the ones available have saddles made out of steel. nickel or even graphite with the mounting plate made from nickel or steel. Will this effect sound?? I have read that the earlier bridges with brass saddles and an iron (ferrous) mounting plate will make a difference in achieveing the authentic Tele twang, etc. Does it matter with some of the pickups out there now? Kinmans are noiseless and have there own unique electronic qualities. I wanted to get the ABM bridge as seen in the Allparts catalog without the piezo pickups as the saddle adjustments, etc. and quality seemed to be better than the usual bridges offered. Seems to be made out of nickel or steel. Any opinions?

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Can’t say much about the difference in sound when using different material in the saddles. What I do know is that the material in the bridge base plate can make a big difference. If you have a modern bridge with a brass base plate it will not affect the way a pickup sound (brass isn’t magnetically). If you have a traditional stamped steel base plate that will in fact change the shape of the magnetic field. It focus the magnetic field. That change in sound (going from brass to steel) is what many people think is THE Tele sound. IMO it is one of a couple of important components.

Don’t really know how the magnetic fields of the Kinmans are shaped, though. It might be so that they are unaffected of the magnetic shield that a steel base plate acts as. Why not contact them and ask.

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You need to take a trip over to the TDPRI and use their search engine, you'll be reading about Tele bridges, their attributes and their detractors, for days.

The TDPRI

Personally, there are several considerations to keep in mind, I'll discuss.

1. If you're looking for twang, it consists of three basic elements (this can be argued, but oh well)

a. Stamped steel bridge (no heavy brass Goth jobs)

b. Vintage spec single coil bridge pkp (6-8K range, the lesser the better)

c. a light, resonant body wood.

Also go HERE, they make the arguably best aftermarket Tele parts for twang.

All said and done tho, twang is 80% in your hands and technique, you can have the twangiest guitar on the planet, if you don't understand how to make the most out of it, it won't twang at all.

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Also go HERE, they make the arguably best aftermarket Tele parts for twang.

Disgustingly expensive too. Never fails to boil my butt when I see this kind of profit taking...taking advantage of the naivete of their customers, like that silly audiophile cult...or watching an episode of the 700 club...sure, I understand they have to pay for their tooling costs, but still...

Anyway, what's wrong with a Fender tele bridge? Assuming that's the sound you're after, doesn't it make sense that Fender makes it? I bought mine (stamped steel, magnetic) for $20 shipped (cause I paid for another exploiter's Gatton mod...could have done that myself, though, kind of silly of me...live and learn)

I've been tempted to replace my tele plate with a humbucker...but the plate is huge, thick as hell, heavy as a brick, and in no way captures that awesome Tele design thang...

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Anyway, what's wrong with a Fender tele bridge? Assuming that's the sound you're after, doesn't it make sense that Fender makes it? I bought mine (stamped steel, magnetic) for $20 shipped (cause I paid for another exploiter's Gatton mod...could have done that myself, though, kind of silly of me...live and learn)
Actually, nothing, I've bought some of them too, I should have mentioned that.

I've been tempted to replace my tele plate with a humbucker...but the plate is huge, thick as hell, heavy as a brick, and in no way captures that awesome Tele design thang..

Right on. But if you're putting a HB in a Tele, you're losing the Tele sound anyway, so in my eyes, what's the difference anyway, the thick brass bridge would probably help the HB tone in the end.

I offered Glendale primarily because of their saddles, which I agree are a real profit making scheme, but they ARE a total quality product and DO deliver the goods Tele-tone-wise.

They just had a sale (which I bought 4) of a combo saddle/bridgeplate set for $80.00, which considering their prices, was a really good deal. It ended the 4th.

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Thanks for the responses. I picked the ABM as it seems to be a great quality plate/ bridge. I can get it for cost plus shipping. Then again I can probably get Fender's also. I'm not getting the piezo as there are problems with installation and use for my novice experience. The wood is more similar to mahogany in tone and is a bit heavier than swamp ash. I'll check out your references and write to Kinman. I have a feeling the newer electronics will matter more than the wood and ferrous plate. But I'll research a bit more. I have plenty of time as I haven't committed to anything yet other than having the body cut out and routed. Thanks to all. :D

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Well, on my first go-round with my tele, I added a P90 in the middle...then I made a pickguard out of rusty ol' sheetmetal...well, the pickguard looked cool, but it just sucked all the life out of the P90. Basically, the entire pickguard turned into a pickup, and the P90 sounded awful. The neck pickup, however, wasn't affected at all. And of course the bridge pickup has always been surrounded by metal. So I'm not sure why the P90 reacted that way.

My point is, maybe it's possible that not all pickups like to be surrounded by a metal plate? Of course, if these Kinmans are designed to be tele replacements, that's something else. (I'm just as wary of these fancy high-priced boutique aftermarket pickups as I am of those overprices plates n' saddles, but hey, it's your wallet.)

As for the humbucker plate (actually I was planning on putting a humbucker-shaped P90 type in there), well, it just doesn't LOOK like a tele...even though I think it might sound cool...I'll just save that for another build...

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I had a chance to look at one of the sites; particularly the one with the very nice aftermarket bridges and saddles. What I meant earlier is that, PERHAPS, and I don't know, if the bridge material being steel or brass will make much of a difference as some pickups are well shielded and may not be as effected as an original or original spec tele pickup. Kinmans are designed to be noiseless, and yes, they are expensive. (I'm going on recommendation of a few "authorities" who've had experience with them.) However, I had a chance to listen to and test out, a Tele with the newer sanarium (sp?) cobalt pickups and they were quite nice. The materials used in them are quite brittle, so I'm curious how they will stand up. I was just questioning between the type of wood I'm using and pickups I may use if it will matter that much to use a ferrous or non ferrous bridge. I don't play country but I like the tele crunch.

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Well, on my first go-round with my tele, I added a P90 in the middle...then I made a pickguard out of rusty ol' sheetmetal...well, the pickguard looked cool, but it just sucked all the life out of the P90. Basically, the entire pickguard turned into a pickup, and the P90 sounded awful. The neck pickup, however, wasn't affected at all. And of course the bridge pickup has always been surrounded by metal. So I'm not sure why the P90 reacted that way.

My point is, maybe it's possible that not all pickups like to be surrounded by a metal plate? Of course, if these Kinmans are designed to be tele replacements, that's something else. (I'm just as wary of these fancy high-priced boutique aftermarket pickups as I am of those overprices plates n' saddles, but hey, it's your wallet.)

As for the humbucker plate (actually I was planning on putting a humbucker-shaped P90 type in there), well, it just doesn't LOOK like a tele...even though I think it might sound cool...I'll just save that for another build...

Mick, the reason why the P-90 didn't work in your guitar was because you had completely covered it with the metal plate except for a few polepiece holes. The magnetic field was completely blocked by the plate. The neck and bridge pickup weren't covered at all by the plate and therefore not affected.

Look, I agree, there comes a point where you're just paying more money just to pay more money. I say just get a good quality part and don't worry about the rest. No one on this forum is going to sound like Danny Gatton or Prince just because their Tele is made out of the same stuff.

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Mick, the reason why the P-90 didn't work in your guitar was because you had completely covered it with the metal plate except for a few polepiece holes. The magnetic field was completely blocked by the plate. The neck and bridge pickup weren't covered at all by the plate and therefore not affected.

Well, the thing I didn't get was why the neck pickup works--since it's covered in metal too? Same thing with Danoelectro type pickups...unless they're using a different kind of metal?

It's a shame, I really liked that pickguard...maybe I can still use it for the new version I'm working on...no third pickup this time.

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