Tele 6-saddle, what do you think?

[terrapin]

In my experience the 3-saddle system intonates just as well as the 6-saddle. The guitar is an instrument that is NEVER going to be perfectly intonated up and down the neck. I have found that good intonation is as much (if not more) in your touch and playing finessee than in saddles. Get the intonation as close as you can with the saddles, and adjust your touch/pick attack for the rest. I prefer brass saddles because they give better tone, sustain and note bloom, but as far as intonation.........I think it is all the same.

[s2y]

I didn't have a choice with my B-Bender bridge by Hipshot. Fussin' over the really small details takes up too much time.

[Pnewsom]

I have a 1993 Fender Tele 52RI that came with both bridges, the 3 saddle brass and the six saddle steel one . I swapped them back and forth a few times, but to my ear, the brass three saddle job sounded quite different and better.
Still have the six saddle bridge tucked away, but after twenty one years I don't think it's going back in.
To improve the intonation of the three saddle rig, I just put a little bend into the adjusting screw of the middle saddle to accommodate the G string a bit. Seems to have worked fine.

Neither would be a deal breaker in the big picture.

[TjthePhD]

Originally Posted by terrapin

In my experience the 3-saddle system intonates just as well as the 6-saddle. ... I have found that good intonation is as much (if not more) in your touch and playing finessee than in saddles. ... Get the intonation as close as you can with the saddles, and adjust your touch/pick attack for the rest.

+1 for this. There is no strong reason to go from 3 to 6, other than aesthetics ... and frankly, to me the 3-saddle system looks cooler.

[pieterh]

Thanks for all the input!

I put on the Fender 6-saddle vintage bridge today. My first reaction is positive: the guitar does seem to intone better though I forgot to get new strings so the definitive test will have to wait until next week.

Sound wise I do not feel there is less sustain, if anything notes ring out longer. Of course, this could be because the classic 60 saddles may not be the ideal - they look and feel less sturdy than brass ones or the steel ones that come on the 6-saddle bridge.

It could also be due to the string groove - the 6-saddle version has a proper string groove whereas the 60s classic has several and the ideal one sits right next to the height screws.

Finally amplified sound - again, I need new strings but briefly through my little Vox AC4 I found the tone to be sharper, more treble twang than before.

So, I think I'll stick with this bridge for a while and see how it goes. So far so good!

[good_hillbilly]

Originally Posted by alnico5

I bought an American Standard Telecaster about a year ago. One reason was the ability to intonate each string. The original style is definitely a step in the wrong direction for me. YMMV.

I don't think the American Standard Telecasters sound like real Teles for exactly this reason. The unique twang and pop of a Tele has everything to do with that $5 chrome plated steel bridge and the barrel saddles. I can't for the life of me figure out why they went with the new design which pasteurizes that crazy twang that we all grew up with right out of existence. I mean they sound good, they just don't have That Sound. Thankfully places like Glendale make old-style bridges that screw into the wierd American Standard hole pattern.