dustandbarley Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 (edited) Hello, Cute as they are, I think I have come to the end of tolerating the out-of-tuneness on my telecaster bass 2 saddle bridge. I play enough wrong notes as it is, and when I do happen upon some correct ones, its bothersome[sup]1[/sup] that they are out of tune as I can't set the string intonation individually. As the bass is oldish, I would prefer not to have to make new holes in the body, and as I understand it, the bridges in current USA through the body strung Fenders will drop right in. Also the bridges on earlier USA Deluxe models might drop straight in. If anyone knows of other bridges that will fit, please let me know, or if you happen to know that what I'm asking for will not work, please chime in below, or PM me. Here are some pics of what I want Bridge from a 1999 USA Deluxe Jazz Bridge from a 2010 USA Standard Jazz Higgie has one that looks like it will fit, and I have PM'd him, but I see he is away for 9 weeks, and more than seeing if anyone else has 1, I would appreciate anyone's gems of wisdom. Thanks in advance, and well done for getting this far through the advert..... _______________________ [sup]1 [/sup]Use of bothersome inspired by Oldmans excellent use of botheration in his advert in the FX Forsale Forum to be found here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/181992-its-the-botheration-of-it-all/"]http://basschat.co.u...tion-of-it-all/[/url] Edited July 27, 2012 by dustandbarley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 The intonation is quite easy to set on these if you have a decent tuner. What are you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustandbarley Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 (edited) Hello Ou7shined - thanks for chipping in. I have a rack mount tuner, which is good enough. As the E and A string share the same saddle at the moment, the intonation is set up so when the bass is in tune, the E string is still in tune at the 12th fret (or higher etc) but the A string will always be slightly flat at the twelfth (or higher etc) fret. Same with the D and G string. I prefer this compromise other than having the E and D strings go sharp the higher up the neck its played and the A and G strings will be less flat, as I can at least put more pressure on/slightly bend the A and G stings if I notice I'm flat. If I can work out how to attach a picture of what is on there at the moment, I will as it might help. Disco Otherwise, what do you suggest? Cheers Edited July 25, 2012 by dustandbarley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 (edited) Yeah I feel your pain. It can take a while but I've never been defeated by a twin saddle yet. What you need to do is try and introduce a slant to the saddles. Most times there is enough leeway in the bridge and it can be achieved... but often this then subsequently draws your strings away from dead centre over the pole pieces of your pickup. Fortunately there is a nice bridge on the market from Wilkinson which has pivoting saddles. Here's one on my standard tuning gigging bass, Betty.... It is a 5 screw fixer which isn't much cop for you but maybe you could get a hold of one of these bridges and just swap out the saddles. The more accurate the tuner the better for setting the intonation... especially on "difficult" basses. I use a TC Electronics Polytune. I don't know which model you have but an older rack-mount might not cut the mustard. The knack with setting these bridges is to extend the long intonation screws to their fullest, then tweak your intonation back and forth using the string tension to hold the saddle in place until you are as close as you can get, then tighten your intonation screws so they are nipped up against the back of the bridge... then check and reset them. Hope this helps. Edited July 24, 2012 by Ou7shined Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustandbarley Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 Ou7sined - thanks for your reply. The tuner I use is a Korg Toneworks - possibly 12 years old - I should have said that previously. I understand what you say about slanting the saddles, and will give it a go, and thanks for the advice about getting the saddle in the right place using the string tension then tweaking the screw up to the back plate. Fortunately the pick up on my Tele is right by the neck, so the string (mis)alignment will be less noticeable than on 51 p bass single coil pickup location just south of the pick guard. I also like the picture of the Wilkinson bridge. Keeping my bridge's bass plate and swapping the saddles (if it works) could well be the best bet as I don't know if other 3 screw strung through body bridges really are a direct replacement and all the string and screw holes actually line up. Of course I may run into trouble fitting the Wilkinson saddles, but the fit looks the same as far as I can tell. Cheers again for your advice - I'll google Wilkinson now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustandbarley Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 I found this, [url="http://www.allparts.uk.com/online-shop/guitar-bass-parts/bridges-parts-tailpieces/bridges/bass-bridges/bass-bridges-4-string-singles/wilkinson-vintage-bass-bridge-loads-through-body-p-1722.html"]http://www.allparts.uk.com/online-shop/guitar-bass-parts/bridges-parts-tailpieces/bridges/bass-bridges/bass-bridges-4-string-singles/wilkinson-vintage-bass-bridge-loads-through-body-p-1722.html[/url] but at £70 its not the cheapest, but looks like it will do the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustandbarley Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 (edited) [b]Ou7shined, thanks for the advice - here is the result of some twiddling: The slanted saddles worked good enough.... BEFORE - Bad[/b] [b]AFTER - Good[/b] .. and the strings aren't noticably out of alignment over the pickup. [b]Nice one Sir![/b] Edited July 25, 2012 by dustandbarley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 You're welcome. Looking good. Sheesh those Wilkinson bridges have nearly doubled in price since I bought mine a few years back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikegatward Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 [sup][size=4]I have the original 3 hole bridge from my 2004 ish USA precision knocking about. I replaced it with a black badass III[/size][/sup] [sup][size=4]Let me know if you want a pic [/size][/sup] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustandbarley Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 Hi Mikegatward, Thanks for posting. If you can send a pic, that will be great. Also if you want to sell it, let me know how much you want for it. I'm happy with the new set up for my existing bridge (see above), but there is something comforting about having ice cream boxes bestrew around the place full of bass oddments, and your bridge would be handy to have as a backup. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustandbarley Posted July 27, 2012 Author Share Posted July 27, 2012 I'm no longer looking for a replacement Fender [i]stings through body[/i] bridge as it looks like Mikegatward and I have had a transaction, and I intend use his old bridge if I find I'm still struggling with the intonation challenge of the 2 saddle type. Having said that, what Ou7shined said about slanting the saddles gave great results, and I am happy with the results so far using the twin saddler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Can we have a shot of the bass itself? Never seen one in that colour before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustandbarley Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 (edited) Hello Cosmo Valdemar, Here's a pic: The jazz pickup route was already there when I bought the bass, but I swapped out the DiMarzio [i]'with added hiss' [/i] jazz pickup for a custom hand wound humbucker by Aaron (Kent) Armstrong which matches the output of the neck pickup and makes the bass a lot more usable. It's just red !! Edited July 30, 2012 by dustandbarley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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