Saddle-swap talk

What's shown in the pic above?

It's a saddle swap; only the bridge saddles were replaced, not the entire bridge. In this case non-metal saddles (graphite) were chosen.

Any effect to this swap?

Yes.

1. Non-metal bridge saddles do not feature potential sharp edges so they don't cut the strings during tuning & breakages could be avoided
2. Non-metal so they won't rust
3. The screws in the non-metal saddles here are not protruding out so they won't jab the picking hand while playing
4. Non-metal material manifests a mellower tone (makes perfect sense to counter those bright single coils) but unless you are monitoring this closely through headphones, you won't hear the real difference

Do you need a tech to do this?

No, if you have any experiences with a screwdriver at all, it's a DIY thing. However, you need to re-intonate your guitar thereafter.

How much, where & what are the brand names to look out for?

The saddles are sold in a set, so a set of 6 would be about $40/-, available at guitar stores offering replacement parts. I've had good experiences with Allparts/ Graphtech.

Smash it again (2)!

I've decided to not whammy with my Smash S2 Lite, so 2 more vibrato bridge springs were installed. Is this necessary? The 2 added springs prevent the bridge from jerking up during bends, if the bridge moves, the pitch would run.

I've also installed a set of graphite string saddles (this time it's the Graph Tech version) not because it's addressing a pertinent string breakage issue but rather a tone enhancement move (adding a little more brightness in the output) & the fact that these saddles do not feature protruding action adjustment screws which are murderous to the picking hand.

The brass experience...

The default Highway1 Telecaster string saddles aren't bad, I just want to try some brass units & do away with those action adjustment screws which are too protrusive for the good of anyone's picking hand.

So they made way for a brass set (GOTOH) & the added zing is bliss- not recommended for dweebs who can't handle bright top end responses. I don't mind added clarity, I can effectively tame them down via EQ but having a muddy tone to start with & trying to inject some sizzle in the mix is unnecessary labour & quite ineffective too.

Do note:

• the Gotoh saddle length are naroower so they don't come into contact with each other as this can induce buzzing at this end if your instrument (& sometimes you wonder where that darn buzzing's from...)
• the action adjustment screws are much shorter, they don't stab your picking hand palm