spring on bridge saddle - important?

[nrs7six]

Hi all,

A little help with what is probably a stupid question!

I had a mishap at a gig last month, bust a string, and in my panic to get the string out, loosened the screw for the bridge saddle and saddle, screw and spring ended up on the floor. i managed to salvage the saddle but needless to say, the screw and spring are gone forever!

I have managed to get a replacement screw but not located a spring yet, how important is it to replace it?

Cheers Steve

[darkstorm]

Important. As the spring gives forward preassure on the saddle which serves two purposes imo. One to help saddle travel forward when adjusting it forward, and two, to provide additional tension to bridge saddle. Though the first is springs main purpose. Otherwise I think the screw for saddle adjustment could start sticking out the back of the bridge when trying to adjust saddle position.

[dmusic148]

Usually a spring from a cheap ballpoint pen will work.

[nrs7six]

Thanks for the information and great tip - what a great idea!!

Cheers fellas

[lug]

The spring helps when setting up intonation. Once the string is tightened to tension (or anywhere near tension), the string tension over the saddle plus the break angle won't allow the saddle to move. If it could move, it would be forced in the opposite direction the spring opposes. In other words, the spring is a convenience for intonation and doesn't really play any role other than that and to make sure the saddle is extended as you first tighten the string.

[INTP]

The springs on most of my instruments are so weak that I'd say they fail at their intended purpose. I'm not saying not to replace it, but I don't think it's a big deal, either. With or without the spring, I'd say it's important to make sure the screw head is flush with the bridge when you make any adjustments.

Any hardware store should have a selection of springs that would work. You might want to consider getting one for each saddle, if you cannot find an exact match, so it doesn't look hobbled together.

[J.D.B.]

I haven't seen any difference with or with out them with strings on. They might be helpful for holding the saddle in position while changing the strings.

Josh