Bridge Rattle Solutions?

[LazyLightning]

Hello everyone, been a while since I posted, hope everyone’s doing good though. Especially with how the past year has gone.

Anyhow, I have a question for those of you who have experienced this issue. The bridge on my Eastwood Jerry Garcia Wolf Tribute has a bit of a rattle on the D and B. It does not translate through my 65’ Fender Deluxe reissue, but I have overdriven OCC, and would like to stop it regardless.

I have read about several ways to clear this up. Those “mods” being, putting springs on the saddle adjustment screws, setting the intonation and putting a tiny dab of clear fingernail polish at every spot the adjustment screw touches both the saddle and the bride itself, using wax on the adjustment screw, and finally (the most complex imho)

I tried the springs, and it worked for a week, then it slowly came back on both. I was going to try the nail polish, but thought I’d get one input from others with either more experience or direct experience with a similar issue, and how you solved it.

you can see in the image the type of retaining clip being used (which has been one of the reasons I think the rattle exists, I may be wrong)

Any help would be appreciated,
Chris

[idsnowdog]

Is there sufficient downward pressure on the saddles coming from the tailpiece? Is the angle sharp enough? Instead of springs you could use rubber tubing. Under compression the rubber tubing would stop anything from rattling.

[ehdwuld]

I literally just watched a YouTube video where a guy doctored a Firefly bridge by putting caulk on the wire that was rattling

That seems a bit much but a dab of something like hot glue may be the quick and easy

[LazyLightning]

Is there sufficient downward pressure on the saddles coming from the tailpiece? Is the angle sharp enough? Instead of springs you could use rubber tubing. Under compression the rubber tubing would stop anything from rattling.

I’d say it’s got plenty of downward pressure. If I take a small flat head and apply a little pressure to the adjustment screws on the two that do it, it stops instantly. I wish the adjustment screws went through the other side, so I could put a small plastic washer and a nut on it. I have a feeling that would solve it once and for all, but I’m not sure my skill level is high enough. I’d be worried I’d end up having to buy a replacement, instead of fixing it, lol!

It’s a custom bridge they cut for this guitar, I’ve heard that there are some aftermarket upgrade bridges that fit the existing posts. Which I also wouldn’t mind doing, especially if it was a brass one. I’ll see if I can’t get some rubber tubing and give it a try, thanks for the suggestion.

[LazyLightning]

I literally just watched a YouTube video where a guy doctored a Firefly bridge by putting caulk on the wire that was rattling

That seems a bit much but a dab of something like hot glue may be the quick and easy

hot glue had not even occurred to me. That would probably work better than the nail polish, and MUCH easier to get off and reapply if I need to.

thanks

[LazyLightning]

Been a bit under the weather last few days. I’m still going to get some tubing, and this weekend try the hot glue. I’ll let you guys know how it went.

just out of curiosity, how hard would it be to put longer saddle adjustment screws in, cut the holes facing the neck wide enough for them to go through, and put a plastic washer and nut on the end?

Also where is a good place to look for the correct thread and size for a project like that? Please keep in mind, my health makes it where I can’t drive, so I would have to order what’s needed online.

Continued thanks!

[LazyLightning]

Well I finally tried a small dab of hot glue, on the spot where the adjustment screws touched both the bridge, and the saddles. So far so good, thanks again for the suggestion. It will be much easier to get off, if I change my setup or just need to adjust intonation.

[playas]

What is OCC? Is that when you stop just short of OCD?

[LazyLightning]

What is OCC? Is that when you stop just short of OCD?

No, it was a typo.
I have severe OCD from when I broke my neck a few years ago. It caused a traumatic brain injury, because of the impact I took to my skull when it happened.

[playas]

Uff, sorry to hear that

[LazyLightning]

Uff, sorry to hear that

It’s OK,
Life happens, just have to figure out a way to deal with things when it does. The way I ( and my Dr. ) see it, three things could have happened when I broke my neck. I could have died, been paralyzed from the neck down (since it was my c5), or what did happen. So when you look at it like that, it could have been much much worse.

Anyhow,
Thanks again, for the help everyone!