tele bridge pickup installation

[tone4days]

tele guys,

gotta quick question and looking for advice ...

i have been reluctant to change out the bridge pickup in my tele-clone for fear about uninstalling then reinstalling the bridge assembly to get the old one out and the new one in ... i guess i am worried about screwing up the intonation / alignment / etc. and not being able to get it back to the exact right place ... (i am not worried about the electronic part of the upgrade) ...

so, how hard is it and are there any tips you'd offer to make it painless ?

thanks
t4d

 

[mrfjones]

Re: tele bridge pickup installation

it is really simple, you just unscrew and lift it off, intonation shouldn't be too bad when you put it back, it is not much worse than just changing strings all at once. i think the hardest part is adjusting the pickup to where you like it with the strings on.

 

[Curly]

Re: tele bridge pickup installation

I put tape down on the bridge, and marked the saddle positions ... I think I did that on both my vintage bridge, and my AS bridge, 'cause you have to move the saddles to get to the bridge mounting screws

you can see the tape in the pic on the bottom left, and almost make out the pen marks:
http://www.bluestheater.net/antiquities.html

once I got the saddles back into position, I just had to fine tune the intonation a little

 

[XSSIVE]

Re: tele bridge pickup installation

lol i'm real lazy with teles...i just take off all the strings and spin the saddles on the side, and hold the one nearest the screw away a bit with your other hand while your unscrewing the mounting screws. this should give you enough room to get a screwdriver in there. just remember which way you spun them then spin them back after screwing it back on...worked for me on my two tele's with no problems and no need to pull the saddles.

Mike

 

[mongrollo]

Re: tele bridge pickup installation

I put tape down on the bridge, and marked the saddle positions ... I think I did that on both my vintage bridge, and my AS bridge, 'cause you have to move the saddles to get to the bridge mounting screws

you can see the tape in the pic on the bottom left, and almost make out the pen marks:
http://www.bluestheater.net/antiquities.html

once I got the saddles back into position, I just had to fine tune the intonation a little

This is a good idea also to mark the bridge position. You can put three pieces of tape one in each side of the bridge. This will mark the position of the bridge so when you put again in place it will be in the previous one.

 

[tone4days]

Re: tele bridge pickup installation

thanks guys ... i guess i can probably pull it off without major screw ups ... the tape ideas seem smart ... if i totally geez it, i can always put the parts in a bag and take it to a shop

will let you know how it goes

cheers
t4d

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: tele bridge pickup installation

lol i'm real lazy with teles...i just take off all the strings and spin the saddles on the side, and hold the one nearest the screw away a bit with your other hand while your unscrewing the mounting screws. this should give you enough room to get a screwdriver in there. just remember which way you spun them then spin them back after screwing it back on...worked for me on my two tele's with no problems and no need to pull the saddles.

Mike

That's exactly how I do it...if I can. Sometimes I do have to loosen the adjustment screws for the saddles...but usually not. I end up reintonating the saddles with a new set of strings after a big job like that anyway. Lew

 

[mrfjones]

Re: tele bridge pickup installation

i actually just pushed mine to the side last time, when i let go they went back in almost the same position. i still had to adjust them with new strings but i usually use the three saddles (noncompensated) so it is never perfect anyway.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: tele bridge pickup installation

i actually just pushed mine to the side last time, when i let go they went back in almost the same position. i still had to adjust them with new strings but i usually use the three saddles (noncompensated) so it is never perfect anyway.

Ditto. Though I have started using those compensated/angled brass saddles like Danny Gatton used on all of my Teles except my early '54. It too has brass saddles but not the angled ones. Lew

 

[mrfjones]

Re: tele bridge pickup installation

i put those compensated ones on my sunburst 50's reissue, now with the 59, it makes a difference with the humbucker, but i couldn't tell much difference with the tele pickups, just a touch closer to a perfect tuning. i still like the older ones because that is the way i think my tele should sound.

sorry T4D i think we just hijaked your thread.

 

[tone4days]

Re: tele bridge pickup installation

sorry T4D i think we just hijaked your thread.

nah, no problem, bro .. it's all good, especially 'cus i've considered the angled brass saddle replacements myself while i'm at it ... i'm happy to learn as much as i can from guys who know

i briefly considered this wilkenson bridge / saddle setup ...

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges...ted_Vintage_Tele_Bridge/Pictures.html#details

have you guys seen them ? ... i played a suhr tele clone with it and it claimed to be feitenized (!) ... i was stunned to read that such a setup could be so precisely dialed in ... i asked on this and a few other forums to get a real world review of that bridge, but no one had any first hand info ... it is kinda pricey to take a shot in the dark ...

we'll see - pickups / switch / cap first ... then a nut ... then ... then ... then ...

cheers
t4d

 

[Curly]

Re: tele bridge pickup installation

t4d,
well, the least expensive thing to do is get the Fender plate from MF, and StewMacs version of the angled brass saddles (thanks for the tip, Lew!)

I have the Barden bridge (thanks for the tip, Butch!), but I don't even know if you can find those now
the Barden was $100, so the Wilkinson doesn't look so bad at $60+, and if the quality is as nice as the Wilkinson strat bridge, it's probably great. I like the looks of the Wilkie, and the allen adjustments make sense - I had to go back on my Barden, and replace all the saddle height screws, 'cause they were diggin' into my palm

 

[Hellion]

Re: tele bridge pickup installation

The last (and final, I might add) bridge that I put on the bastardcaster was this one....

http://mailboxmusic.zoovy.com/product/GBR_HRSCH

and it was a pain, because I used my previous GraphTech saddles with it and it gave my luthier nightmares with the installation. It probably wouldn't have been so bad, but I was switching it out with another heavy brass bridge and they didn't quite match up, so she had to do some extra work.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: tele bridge pickup installation

I really do think the three brass saddle bridge sounds better.

I just sold my '02 James Burton Tele and it came with the six saddle bridge.

I've been playing it for the last year with a Fender replacement bridge with the three angled brass bridges that I put on it right after getting the guitar.

I just put the old six saddle bridge back on and shipped the guitar off. But not before installing new strings, adjusting the intonation, setting it all up, polishing the frets, etc.

The six saddle bridge buzzes. I can hear the strings buzzing against the actual metal saddles...it's not fret buzz.

I got it to play really nice with the original six saddle bridge but there's no doubt in my mind that the 3 saddle brass bridge sounds better!

Now I know for absolute certain.

Alot of the buzzing that guys hear in Strats and teles is the string buzzing against the hard metal saddles. It's mostly an issue with the high E string.

For that reason, Eric Johnson uses a brass saddle on his Strats for the high E string ONLY. So do I.

It works for Teles too!

 

[Hellion]

Re: tele bridge pickup installation

I know people that swear by the saddle bridges, too, but I personally like my bullet saddles. They sometimes rattle a bit, but it's fixable.

 

[mrfjones]

Re: tele bridge pickup installation

i prefer the callaham bridge, but i put fender reissue saddles on it instead of the angled ones. it is about time to replace the bridge on my #2 tele with a callaham.