Babicz Full Contact Strat bridge: high E string breaking often

[kyleivanblake]

Anyone else frequently breaking high E string on Babicz Full Contact Strat bridges?

No burrs, very smooth.

[Securb]

Re: Babicz Full Contact Strat bridge: high E string breaking often

Never had a problem with any of my 4 Babicz bridges. I would suggest switching the E and B saddles and if you still are breaking strings on the B string contact Jeff for a new saddle. I am sure they would send it out free.

[Mincer]

Re: Babicz Full Contact Strat bridge: high E string breaking often

I've never tried them, but they certainly look cool. I know his 'day job' is restoring vintage Steinbergers.

[kyleivanblake]

Re: Babicz Full Contact Strat bridge: high E string breaking often

Never had a problem with any of my 4 Babicz bridges. I would suggest switching the E and B saddles and if you still are breaking strings on the B string contact Jeff for a new saddle. I am sure they would send it out free.

Thanks for sharing this idea. Just what I needed.

I love this bridge by the way. It is the best Strat bridge design I've ever gotten my hands on.

[HiFiTele]

Re: Babicz Full Contact Strat bridge: high E string breaking often

I'm currently having the same issue on a black Tele full contact. The high E breaks. It just broke again today. There's a slit that has been cut over time in the saddle. I'll swap the E and B and see how it goes on the next string run. In re to the customer service from Babicz it's hit and miss.

I own multiple Babicz bridges (chrome and black) and they're generally great. On one occasion I ordered a black one and it arrived with the finish completely washed out. I contacted them and they were gracious and said they had a problem with the supplier and many units had been inadvertently shipped to customers with the problem, and they replaced it for me. The material in the chrome models seems to be more robust. Anyway, I had a problem with one of the screws that slide into the back of the bridge to hold the saddles in place. I tried for WEEKS to get some feedback from Babicz to get it replaced.

I gave up on them and went to a huge fastener supplier here in town and they usually have EVERYTHING but said they couldn't locate the right diameter/thread to give me. I gave up trying to get a response from Babicz on that, and it really did piss me off because I tried everything. not cool. As it is, after you tighten down the saddle with an allen key, then set the right height and angle on the allen screws and tighten them down, that back screw isn't critical. It's just there to facilitate moving the nut back and forth when setting intonation. So I loosen the allen key holding the saddle down and set that by hand now. pretty shabby, but it works

Great bridges, hit and miss customer service.

[HiFiTele]

Re: Babicz Full Contact Strat bridge: high E string breaking often

I just wanted to follow up on my previous post to offer a very good suggestion to anyone finding this thread and needing help. As I stated, I own 3 Babicz bridges, and I use 9s on my Teles. I also bend a lot, so that contributes to cutting the slot in the saddle. Here is what I tried and it works very well. Get some wet or dry sandpaper, something around 800 grit. Cut a very small square piece and wrap it around something very thin but solid. A round wooden chop stick works perfectly. A very small wooden dowel will also work. Take note of the diameter of the slot. Make sure it fits into the slot nicely, not too tight and not too narrow. Wrap the sandpaper carefully around the end tip of the chopstick/dowel. I like to wet the sandpaper a bit to decrease the friction. Then slide it into the slot and VERY carefully slide it up and down over the saddle to work the "cut" out. You should be able to sand the cut out easily, so don't press too hard. The metal gave way very easily for me with 3M P80 wet or dry sandpaper. I was done in no time. You certainly don't want to sand away too much of the metal, nor do you want to change the shape of the slot too much, so when you slide it in and out, be aware to angle it to keep the same original shape and don't round the top too much. I found it worked perfectly on the high E, so I went ahead and did it for the 2nd and 3rd strings on both of my chrome Babicz Teles. I'm super happy with the results. They really are great bridges. Worth every penny.