How do I keep my bridge saddles from moving?

[DJ Bebop]

I've definitely swapped bridges before, and I'd be open to doing it again. I do like how this bass looks with the original bridge, but it is also not necessarily the greatest piece of kit Leo ever invented. Even if I lock down the action, the saddles also migrate side-to-side a bit.

If it’s a Fender traditional bridge. To keep it stable and from migrating side to side you need to lower the outside part of the saddle on the E and G string. This puts them at an angle causes the saddles to push together keeping them from moving.

I don’t know if this picture is clear enough, but this is how to set them…

 

[96tbird]

If it’s a Fender traditional bridge. To keep it stable and from migrating side to side you need to lower the outside part of the saddle on the E and G string. This puts them at an angle causes the saddles to push together keeping them from moving.

I don’t know if this picture is clear enough, but this is how to set them…

View attachment 7450077

That’s how I does it. Works great.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Just cinch 'em together with an electrical zip-tie threaded around the intonation screws. Picked that one up from @walterw . Low-dough solution to a low-tech issue.

If somebody asks, screw with their heads and tell them it embellishes sustain via coupling. After 2.5 decades on the site, I've learned people will believe anything.

Riis

 

[walterw]

Just cinch 'em together with an electrical zip-tie threaded around the intonation screws. Picked that one up from @walterw . Low-dough solution to a low-tech issue.

oh no, that wasn't me

makes sense but it would be too ugly-looking for me to be happy with it

If you can find purple loctite, it’s more forgiving than blue

purple only, please; anything stronger risks stripping the screws when it's time to adjust. stuff like nail polish can work OK too, it dries hard but doesn't grab like loctite

Even if I lock down the action, the saddles also migrate side-to-side a bit.

are these the threaded saddles from the 50s and '60s? you're supposed to spread the string spacing out a little bit, just enough to line up each string between the pickup magnet pairs. this has the knock-on effect of the string tension pulling the outer saddles in against the inner ones, holding everything together nicely

are these the single groove saddles from the '70s and on? hate those things for just this reason, the string tension pulls them apart instead of pressing them together, allowing them to drift around. were it me i'd replace them with genuine threaded saddles

 

[micguy]

Hello All,

I am 6' 5" tall and cant seem to find a strap for my bass the fits? I am from Vancouver Canada, so it would seem my options are limited. I have looked up custom guitar straps, but most of them look like old men playing acoustic guitar around a fire...lol ( no offence, I am 56 years old so i think its okay for me to say that) looking for a 3 inch wide, padded shoulder guitar strap that's 60 inch's long!!
I have already looked up the following: OCHRE Handcrafted, Memories Made, Custom Leather Canada, Levy's Leather

Any help would be appreciated.

oh no, that wasn't me

makes sense but it would be too ugly-looking for me to be happy with it

purple only, please; anything stronger risks stripping the screws when it's time to adjust. stuff like nail polish can work OK too, it dries hard but doesn't grab like loctite

are these the threaded saddles from the 50s and '60s? you're supposed to spread the string spacing out a little bit, just enough to line up each string between the pickup magnet pairs. this has the knock-on effect of the string tension pulling the outer saddles in against the inner ones, holding everything together nicely

are these the single groove saddles from the '70s and on? hate those things for just this reason, the string tension pulls them apart instead of pressing them together, allowing them to drift around. were it me i'd replace them with genuine threaded saddles

A bridge with grooves or side walks that keep your saddles from moving avoids the hassles of the original design. Leo didn’t get everything right the first time.

 

[walterw]

A bridge with grooves or side walks that keep your saddles from moving avoids the hassles of the original design. Leo didn’t get everything right the first time.

i think he got that bridge "right" when you include the constraints of his manufacturing at the time, i.e., working with nothing but a bent steel plate, threaded rod stock and screws

these days yeah, plenty of ways to make a similar low mass bridge that fixes those issues without the specific string spreading technique, and grooves in the plate and/or side stops work well

it's oddly hard to find one made for 20mm spacing that lines the strings up between jazz bass magnets and drops into the original 5 hole pattern, but hipshot makes one

4 String Vintage Bass Bridge

Description Our 4 String Vintage Bass Bridge gives you the vibe of the classic bent-plate design with much needed improvements where it counts. The use of premium materials and precision laser and CNC production techniques ensure that you’ll have a lifetime of stable, buzz free tone. It’s the...

hipshotproducts.com

 

[DanGouge]

oh no, that wasn't me

makes sense but it would be too ugly-looking for me to be happy with it

purple only, please; anything stronger risks stripping the screws when it's time to adjust. stuff like nail polish can work OK too, it dries hard but doesn't grab like loctite

are these the threaded saddles from the 50s and '60s? you're supposed to spread the string spacing out a little bit, just enough to line up each string between the pickup magnet pairs. this has the knock-on effect of the string tension pulling the outer saddles in against the inner ones, holding everything together nicely

are these the single groove saddles from the '70s and on? hate those things for just this reason, the string tension pulls them apart instead of pressing them together, allowing them to drift around. were it me i'd replace them with genuine threaded saddles

I do indeed have the threaded saddles. Sounds like angling them would work once I have the threads locked with nail polish or loctite or what have you.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I'd replace the bridge with one that isn't going to move.

 

[DJ Bebop]

oh no, that wasn't me

makes sense but it would be too ugly-looking for me to be happy with it

purple only, please; anything stronger risks stripping the screws when it's time to adjust. stuff like nail polish can work OK too, it dries hard but doesn't grab like loctite

are these the threaded saddles from the 50s and '60s? you're supposed to spread the string spacing out a little bit, just enough to line up each string between the pickup magnet pairs. this has the knock-on effect of the string tension pulling the outer saddles in against the inner ones, holding everything together nicely

are these the single groove saddles from the '70s and on? hate those things for just this reason, the string tension pulls them apart instead of pressing them together, allowing them to drift around. were it me i'd replace them with genuine threaded saddles

Not if you do like I said. Lean the E and G saddles lower on the outside edge. That will cause them to pull together. The strings will ride up on the high side pulling it all together. It works well on the 70s or single groove saddles as well as the 60s or multi groove saddles. I know as I have several basses with both. Works fine

 

[walterw]

Not if you do like I said. Lean the E and G saddles lower on the outside edge. That will cause them to pull together. The strings will ride up on the high side pulling it all together

i see that and it makes sense, i just hate it aesthetically

also, one could argue that uneven saddle screw heights can cause more string pressure on one screw than the other, causing the more unloaded screw to drift, but that's probably splitting hairs

 

[DJ Bebop]

i see that and it makes sense, i just hate it aesthetically

also, one could argue that uneven saddle screw heights can cause more string pressure on one screw than the other, causing the more unloaded screw to drift, but that's probably splitting hairs

You would think that but it hasn't been a problem for me across 5 basses using that type of bridge. Two with vintage three with the 70s style

And if it ever does, I'll just use Loctite, Elmer’s glue, or nail polish

 

[walterw]

I do indeed have the threaded saddles. Sounds like angling them would work once I have the threads locked with nail polish or loctite or what have you.

you should be able to just spread the strings out a little and have that hold everything together

 

[DanGouge]

i think he got that bridge "right" when you include the constraints of his manufacturing at the time, i.e., working with nothing but a bent steel plate, threaded rod stock and screws

these days yeah, plenty of ways to make a similar low mass bridge that fixes those issues without the specific string spreading technique, and grooves in the plate and/or side stops work well

it's oddly hard to find one made for 20mm spacing that lines the strings up between jazz bass magnets and drops into the original 5 hole pattern, but hipshot makes one

4 String Vintage Bass Bridge

Description Our 4 String Vintage Bass Bridge gives you the vibe of the classic bent-plate design with much needed improvements where it counts. The use of premium materials and precision laser and CNC production techniques ensure that you’ll have a lifetime of stable, buzz free tone. It’s the...

hipshotproducts.com

The Hipshot vintage style bridge would certainly be on my short list of replacement bridges. I have one installed on another bass I own.

 

[micguy]

i think he got that bridge "right" when you include the constraints of his manufacturing at the time, i.e., working with nothing but a bent steel plate, threaded rod stock and screws

these days yeah, plenty of ways to make a similar low mass bridge that fixes those issues without the specific string spreading technique, and grooves in the plate and/or side stops work well

it's oddly hard to find one made for 20mm spacing that lines the strings up between jazz bass magnets and drops into the original 5 hole pattern, but hipshot makes one

4 String Vintage Bass Bridge

Description Our 4 String Vintage Bass Bridge gives you the vibe of the classic bent-plate design with much needed improvements where it counts. The use of premium materials and precision laser and CNC production techniques ensure that you’ll have a lifetime of stable, buzz free tone. It’s the...

hipshotproducts.com

That Hipshot bridge (plus a Gotoh model, and a few others I’vs seen) are examples of bridges that solve the problem, without invoking any tech that was beyond what existed when Leo was doing his work.
The grooves that hold saddles in place are a simple stamped feature that can be made by the same tool that forms the bridge. The fact that the original bridge design doesn’t have them is not a technical limitation, it’s a lack of imagination on Leo’s part.

Threaded rod is actually tougher to produce than a single groove part. Again, Leo wasn’t held back by available tech.

I’ve designed enough things to recognize that the first thing of a type is almost never the ultimate embodiment. Progress is made in steps, and nobody has a perfect vision that outdoes what a good creative engineer can subsequently improve. I’ve improved a bunch of things designed by creative people before me, and I’ve seen my inventions improved by folks who came after me.

Leo was a good Engineer. Nobody is arguing that. But he, like any Engineer, didn’t get everything perfect - there was, and still is room for improvement.

 

[gln1955]

If it’s a Fender traditional bridge. To keep it stable and from migrating side to side you need to lower the outside part of the saddle on the E and G string. This puts them at an angle causes the saddles to push together keeping them from moving.

I don’t know if this picture is clear enough, but this is how to set them…

View attachment 7450077

This is a revelation! I always wondered why you wouldn't want the saddles straight and always set them that way. Never had a problem with them moving though.

 

[Zooberwerx]

For those who scoffed at my earlier electrical-tie suggestion. No more noticeable than a typical headstock tuner.



Riis

 

[DJ Bebop]

This is a revelation! I always wondered why you wouldn't want the saddles straight and always set them that way. Never had a problem with them moving though.

You don't have to slant the D and A string saddles, just the G and E

 

[96tbird]

That Hipshot bridge (plus a Gotoh model, and a few others I’vs seen) are examples of bridges that solve the problem, without invoking any tech that was beyond what existed when Leo was doing his work.
The grooves that hold saddles in place are a simple stamped feature that can be made by the same tool that forms the bridge. The fact that the original bridge design doesn’t have them is not a technical limitation, it’s a lack of imagination on Leo’s part.

Threaded rod is actually tougher to produce than a single groove part. Again, Leo wasn’t held back by available tech.

I’ve designed enough things to recognize that the first thing of a type is almost never the ultimate embodiment. Progress is made in steps, and nobody has a perfect vision that outdoes what a good creative engineer can subsequently improve. I’ve improved a bunch of things designed by creative people before me, and I’ve seen my inventions improved by folks who came after me.

Leo was a good Engineer. Nobody is arguing that. But he, like any Engineer, didn’t get everything perfect - there was, and still is room for improvement.

How is threaded rod more difficult to produce? It’s not even plated, and you can buy threaded rod in bulk anywhere. Single grooves must be custom turned then plated. Threaded is much simpler, less steps, cheaper, and allows string width adjustments.

Considering Leo wasn’t even a player, it’s pretty easy to see why he didn’t pick up on saddles slipping around, and he was working with basically an entirely new invention with his basses. He had lots of pro guitar advisors, how many pro bas players were in his orbit? Likely none, especially when they were all coming from SUB and had never seen an electric bass. I can guarantee they weren’t banging on their basses back then 70 years ago, like many do these days either.

People have to put some thought of the conditions Leo was working under into their personal opinions.

 

[micguy]

How is threaded rod more difficult to produce? It’s not even plated, and you can buy threaded rod in bulk anywhere. Single grooves must be custom turned then plated. Threaded is much simpler, less steps, cheaper, and allows string width adjustments.

People have to put some thought of the conditions Leo was working under into their personal opinions.

A bridge saddle with a single groove is a simple screw machine part (I have, many decades ago, actually operated a screw machine, I know about such things) - there's nothing fancy about making that part. Threaded rod, (while common) actually requires a more sophisticated machine to produce, as it has to move and rotate the stock precisely along it's axis while cutting a groove that's very precise. Yes, threaded rod is "simple", and common nowadays, but (from someone who actually knows how such things are made) a single groove is even simpler. If either one of them needs plating, that has to be done after the thing is machined - no difference there. Threaded rod is typically made of steel, which is harder to cut, and more difficult to plate without messing up the threads. A single groove part allows you to use brass, which is much easier to machine and to plate.

I spent over 40 years designing gear, and understanding the conditions that stuff is/was designed and manufactured in was a huge part of my job. The company I worked all those years for started 2 and a half decades before Leo got his start, so I know a lot about manufacturing capabilities over the last century, having been exposed to products designed along that entire timeline. Many of the products I worked on maintaining/mproving were designed in Leo's time frame, and a few were designed decades before he started. I've put in decades of thought about such things, including long chats with engineers that designed things in those time frames, and as such, what I said was not "personal" opinion. it was very much an educated, professional one.

 

[96tbird]

Great for you. Leo had himself, and a gaggle of guitar players as advisors. And apparently a threaded rod order at the supplier. Leo had no formal electronic or post secondary training.