Bridge saddles won't "stay put"

[Epitaph04]

Hello all. I own an Ibanez Sr305. I've had it for about a half a year. I've done my own little set up on it already. Neck is pretty much straight, I get no fret buzz on open strings, etc etc.

Needless to say, every few days I have to keep re-adjusting the saddles on the bridge, mainly on the B string. It seems that after a day or two of playing, the saddle starts to "sink down" and I have to re-adjust to get rid of the massive amount of clank I get from the lowered string. (I don't mind a bit of clank, but I don't want a whole lot of it either)

Is this normal or something? If not, what do I do?

[Jazz Ad]

It's a common issue with low cost bridges. Vibrations make them go loose.
A typical cheapo fix is to put a drop of nail polish on the threading after you're finished setting up. It prevents it from moving.
A better fix on the long run if you really like your instrument otherwise is to replace the bridge of course.

[Zooberwerx]

This may sound extreme but a small amt. of blue Loctite will do the trick. When cured, the bond can be broken with a simple hex key. The residual Loctite (stuff dried / stuck in the threads) will provided some resistance to movement.

Don't use the green or red Loctite thread sealers...both require heat for removal and/or manipulation.

Riis

[rojo412]

+1 to Zooberwerx.

You can also MacGuyver some loctite blue with sugar water. It's essentially the same thing, a substance that makes thing resist turning on their own power, but won't prevent proper, tooled adjustments.

(FWIW, I've actually tasted blue Loctite... it's sugary and watery. Don't ask why I did it, though!)

[okcrum]

Originally Posted by Zooberwerx

This may sound extreme but a small amt. of blue Loctite will do the trick. When cured, the bond can be broken with a simple hex key. The residual Loctite (stuff dried / stuck in the threads) will provided some resistance to movement.

Don't use the green or red Loctite thread sealers...both require heat for removal and/or manipulation.

+1. Also make sure the saddle is level and not tilted in relation to the bridge base plate.

[JLS]

A better fix on the long run if you really like your instrument otherwise is to replace the bridge of course.

Why? Loctite/nail polish is a perfectly fine solution.

[Jazz Ad]

Because you need to do it again every time you adjust the bass?

[Zooberwerx]

Originally Posted by Jazz Ad

Because you need to do it again every time you adjust the bass?

Maybe, but not likely. The idea behind the Loctite is not to lock the threads but rather to "gum up the works"...so to speak. The hex screw will still turn (which is what we want) but not quite so freely.

Riis

[darkstorm]

The sr300 series seem to all have this common problem. Mfg used overly narrow bridge adjustment screws for them. My sr300 had that problem with a couple of the saddles. Fixed it by shoving little peice of paper and little bit of glue into the hole and on the adjustment screw. Adjusted action to desired lowest possible and left it alone over night to dry. No more problem after that.