Opinions Please...

[Strat Avenger]

Which Fender bridge saddles produce a better tone; the American Standard, or the vintage rolled steel?

 

[Jumble Jumble]

No noticeable difference and I have had both on the same guitar. It's vintage Callaham ones on there at the moment but I'm seriously considering switching back - while the vintage ones look nice, they don't have a natural center for the string and so it makes stringing up a slightly more stressful experience.

 

[Strat Avenger]

No noticeable difference and I have had both on the same guitar. It's vintage Callaham ones on there at the moment but I'm seriously considering switching back - while the vintage ones look nice, they don't have a natural center for the string and so it makes stringing up a slightly more stressful experience.

I noticed that Warmoth offers one vintage style that has "V" cuts in the center of the saddles for centering the strings.

I am just curious because it's been well over 20 years since I had a vintage Strat bridge and I just don't remember. I currently have a American Standard, and I like the feel, but noticed that a lot of famous players insist on the vintage style, and I'd like to know if it's a tone-related preference.

 

[dudesweet157]

Some folks claim the bent saddles "chime" better or produce those Fender "bell tones".  All I know is that the height adjustment screws dig into to my hand when palm muting and it hurts.  The saddles on my Wilkinson do not.

Point --> Non-vintage saddles

 

[Patrick from Davis]

I'm not sure you are going to have enough there to get much of an audible effect.  I would imagine that the springs in the bridge would cover most small effects like that.  Just a guess.  I would go with what you think looks the best to you.  You can always add a notch in the vintage style ones with a triangle file to get the strings to sit where you'd like them to if that is a prob.  If it is a small effect, if any, on the sound, I'd go for whatever puts you in the best mood about the guitar.  That has a large effect on my playing and overall sound that I do notice.
Patrick

 

[pabloman]

There's a large contingent that feel the bent saddles sound better. The Custom Shop designed Classic Player Strats were the first to feature a 2pt. trem with bent saddles. These were so well received they are now on the American Standard. We had a Classic Player 60's Strat that was one of the best sounding Strats we had ever in the store. I can't say how much the bridge contributed to this but it had some chime that an Am. Deluxe just couldn't match. I would definately build a guitar with this setup.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

Anyone else had both on the same guitar then?

 

[Cagey]

Which Fender bridge saddles produce a better tone; the American Standard, or the vintage rolled steel?

If those were my only choices, I'd use the AmStd saddles. Those cheap stamped roll-formed saddles are mechanically deficient tone suckers designed to a price point, not performance. But, if you're going to go custom on the saddles, I highly recommend the Graphtech parts...

Very clean tone, longer sustain, no hang-ups, and supposedly less string breakage (hence the name "string savers") although I don't know that that's a big problem anymore. I've had one string break in about the last 15 years, and it was because I let some animal play my guitar.

They're one of the few aftermarket parts where the hype more or less matches reality. That composite material really works well.

Problem is they want about a million dollars a set for the damn things.

Edit: incidentally, they're making picks out of the stuff these days. I bought several examples each of the 3 thicknesses they're making, and they are pretty nice. I like 'em. But, they're brittle. They don't wear, they snap and become immediately useless. Those, like the bridges, saddles and nuts sound like shards of glass when you drop them on a hard surface. Very hard.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

Yeah the graph tech stuff is expensive but worth it. I'm going to get the chrome "String Saver Classics" on my two Strats I think.

 

[Cagey]

I've only got them on a few guitars at the moment, but I've been more than pleased with the result. I'll get to the rest of them eventually. Tough to spend the money when you've got perfectly serviceable parts in place already. It's like repainting the ceiling. You know you'll be happier, but it's easy enough to live with, it costs time and money to do and it's fine as it is.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

Oh, the picture I meant to post with the post above was this:

They look like the regular Fender saddles but they have a teflon insert.

 

[MikeW]

Some folks claim the bent saddles "chime" better or produce those Fender "bell tones".  All I know is that the height adjustment screws dig into to my hand when palm muting and it hurts.  The saddles on my Wilkinson do not.

Point --> Non-vintage saddles

This: +1

I've never been able to tell the difference tone-wise from the shape of the saddle. The composition of the saddle is a totally different game though. I think that's similar to the difference between a bone and brass and TUSQ nut.

 

[JaySwear]

Big +1 on the Graphtech. I have them on multiple guitars. I love the look, and even better you won't break strings any more! I haven't. Plus I did notice a very slight increase in sustain, and I'm very skeptical of tone changes claimed by most companies.

 

[Strat Avenger]

All I know is that the height adjustment screws dig into to my hand when palm muting and it hurts.

I certainly would not like that. Are shorter height-adjustment screws available to alleviate such a problem?

 

[Cagey]

All I know is that the height adjustment screws dig into to my hand when palm muting and it hurts.

I certainly would not like that. Are shorter height-adjustment screws available to alleviate such a problem?

Absolutely. I get them from here.

Scroll down a bit to see them. Don't ask which ones I ordered, though; I don't remember. I think I took a chance and lucked out.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

At one point, the Am Standard, after switching to the rolled saddles, swapped what the bridge plate and saddles were made of.  Like brass plate, steel saddles to steel plate, brass saddles.  I forget the order or reasoning, but tonally, their marketing claimed no difference because it was still the same materials, but it had to be cost related.  It could've also been BNG, or bold new graphics.  Something motorcycle manufacturers do when model years introduce no new changes but you have to make this year's seem better than last year's, even if it's just to sell a graphics kit; retrofit newer saddles on an older guitar that sound the same, only look different.  It's like the co-worker we all work with that found out you play and talks your ear off about a Squier he bought for his son, spent some money, and now it's a "real Fender."

 

[Strat Avenger]

I'm really starting to like the idea of the String Saver Classic saddles.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

Me too, but I'm having the devil's job deciding between the chrome and the regular stainless finishes.