Tele bridges: 6-saddles vs 3-compensated?

That one is a steal! I wonder if they have it "lefty"? Although, that's not a big deal. I'm not even sure if that's critical. I just got considering that after the "Strat bridge slanted" thread.

I am also sitting n a black 6 saddle you can have if you can use it.

8FM90xB.jpg
 
Thanks man, but this Tele needs chrome. It already has a decent bridge. I was just thinking about going whole-hog since I'm modding it anyway. It will either be, leave it as it is, or Hipshot or Babicz.

But thanks.
 
From Stew-Mac: "Choose brass for traditional Tele twang or titanium for rich harmonic overtones and long sustain."

https://www.stewmac.com/parts-and-h...toh-in-tune-compensated-saddles-for-tele.html

The compensated three saddles is the secret behind that signature Tele twang and overtones cause I get that a lot from my Tele copy which is not even Fender. Intonation is actually less annoying cause I only deal with 3 screws.

Six saddles will make your Tele sound like a Strat.
 
Six saddles will make your Tele sound like a Strat.

My Tele has a modern bridge and 3 single coils. The neck and bridge pickups are Tele style, and it sounds like a Tele on those. The middle is a Strat pickup, and it sounds like a Strat on that one.

Definitely agree that 3 brass saddles are an ingredient in that sound, but I think the pickups are a much bigger ingredient.
 
Six saddles will make your Tele sound like a Strat.

The thing is, it came with six saddles, and it definitely sounds like a Tele. The pickups that came in my Squier Tele were terrible. But the pups in this Fender Tele sound good. There would be no need to change them except that I bought this Tele specifically for this project.
 
Yeah, there are enough great Tele players who use modern bridges. At this point, you can't tie 'the Tele sound' to the bridge alone.
 
Fun thread. I've been over researching this as well since the urge to mod my new Tele is strong. The three saddle bridge looks bad@$$ but seems like the tonal trade-off is significant for some, not for others. It would be cool to try both. More significant I think is the bridge lip that you can cradle, or curse for being in your way.
 
My choice of Tele bridge is more about safety than sound. I have a Hot Rails in one Tele and a Super Distortion in the other. I use them both for Metal and Punk. When playing those styles I strum pretty wildly and feared cutting my hand on the set screws. The Babicz is totally smooth on top, a lot more comfortable for palm muting also.
 
I'm not a fan of the vintage tele bridge, the bent steel strat saddles and the original jazzmaster bridge. When strumming or attacking hard the string moves around on the saddle.
 
Thought I would share this. I met up with my old guitar teacher this week and he tossed me several Tele parts to play with - vintage done knobs, wiring kit, electrosocket jack and a 60s reissue 3 saddle bridge w\ steel saddles. Obviously didn't wait long to install the bridge and there's certainly some differences with the 3 saddle bridge. First the bridge plate is about half the thickness as the newer MIM\MIA Standard 6 saddle bridges and much lighter. I haven't put it through it's paces but the tone is lighter and airier. With the 6 saddle bridge I was changing my picking technique and went to a thinner pick to get the twang out - with the 3 saddle, the twang is omnipresent. Acoustically there is more top end and less mids with the 3 saddle. And the plate on the 3 saddle is much coarser than the smooth 6 saddle plate - quite a few bumps and ridges.

Here's photos of the axe with the two bridges on. If I had more Tele experience I'd say the 3 saddle sounds more like the Teles I hear on recordings, and the 6 saddle gives a beefier sound.
 

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