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Guitar chord forum - chordie → Electric → FENDER Bridge Spaceing
Is there a difference in the string spaceing on the Fender USA bridges -vs- others ? So many are unmarked, I suppose the only way to tell is by measuring the string hole spacing, and is the difference enough to matter. I love building Tele's and have heard this is something to be careful about, any help or advise would be greatly apreciated, Thanks, FiveO.
Tele's are usually top mounted and not string through bodies like the strats. There is a difference in the american strat string hole dims. o to the fender website and check the dims on there.
Bootlegger.
I dare to differ, Bootleger. Teles CAN have the strings top-loaded if the bridge has the string holes drilled in the back of the metal bridge frame. But Leo Fender designed the Tele to have a string-through body. There is (at least in my experience) a noticeable difference in tone. I got both and when the strings are fed all the way through the body, I get less twang but more sustain and "body". Since a lot of non-Fender bridges are exact copies with either 3- and 6-barrel saddles, the string spacing should be very similar. Anyway: when you build Teles, always place the bridge precisely, screw it down, and then actually mark the string holes that way. You do have to remove the saddles to put these marks on the Tele body. through the bridge holes.
I was also having big problems with drilling for the string holes (and the ferrules on the back). I was perfectly spaced on top of the guitar, but once I drilled through, the holes were not lining up evenly in the back of the guitar. Somehow I didn't drill exactly straight. I now have a pre-drilled hardwood "jig" with the holes exactly 90 degrees perpendicular to the top. This makes drilling straight string holes all the way through the body easy, and they're spaced right. I made the jig on my drillpress. Unfortunately I don't have a radial drill press, where the chuck/drill reaches all the way to the center of the guitar. There is nothing more aggravating then having built a perfect Tele and then the stupid ferrules don't line up correctly on the back!
Play on!
Thanks, T Strat, great tip, I was about to attempt to drill the string holes in a couple of bodies and have seen the results of not drilling straight and it's not pretty, been wondering and dreading attempting this , since I don't have a drill press either.....Thanks, FiveO
I dare to differ, Bootleger. Teles CAN have the strings top-loaded if the bridge has the string holes drilled in the back of the metal bridge frame. But Leo Fender designed the Tele to have a string-through body. There is (at least in my experience) a noticeable difference in tone. I got both and when the strings are fed all the way through the body, I get less twang but more sustain and "body". Since a lot of non-Fender bridges are exact copies with either 3- and 6-barrel saddles, the string spacing should be very similar. Anyway: when you build Teles, always place the bridge precisely, screw it down, and then actually mark the string holes that way. You do have to remove the saddles to put these marks on the Tele body. through the bridge holes.
I was also having big problems with drilling for the string holes (and the ferrules on the back). I was perfectly spaced on top of the guitar, but once I drilled through, the holes were not lining up evenly in the back of the guitar. Somehow I didn't drill exactly straight. I now have a pre-drilled hardwood "jig" with the holes exactly 90 degrees perpendicular to the top. This makes drilling straight string holes all the way through the body easy, and they're spaced right. I made the jig on my drillpress. Unfortunately I don't have a radial drill press, where the chuck/drill reaches all the way to the center of the guitar. There is nothing more aggravating then having built a perfect Tele and then the stupid ferrules don't line up correctly on the back!
Play on!
TS,
As mentioned in my first posting I was refering to the 3 barrel saddle type bridge with the string holes drilled on the back lip of the bridge. The six saddle bridge are like the strat type hard tail bridges and require the string thru body holes. If you use the top mount predrilled bridge the string spacing does not come in to play since it is already predetermined. What is important is the neck to bridge placement (25.5" on a strat) I have not built any teles so I don't know if the dim is the same. You are correct as far as the tone goes you get more sustain on the string thru bodies. Good pull on making a bridge hole guide jig.
Bootlegger.
Thanks for the kind words, Bootleger!
Teles come with three barrel bridges (old style) and six barrel bridges (contained in the typical Tele bridge) and some even have the string holes drilled in the back "lip" of the metal bridge assembly.
I do agree however, that some builders even use 6-saddle Strat hardtail bridges. I even own one of those as well. Probably because these simple Strat-type bridges are a little cheaper and easier to place, I've seen them now on many Asian imports. Measuring the original Fender 3-barrel bridge on a Tele and a Strat-type hard-tail bridge on another Tele, shows that the string spacing between the two outer strings (low E and high E) is 2-3/16" on both guitars.
But, my American 40th Anniversary Strat measures 2 1/16", just to confuse you all a little more. In general, I still believe that when building a guitar, you should mark the bridge holes -forget the numbers you read somewhere as specs. You want your bridge to fit right and you must space/drill holes to fit the bridge. At the moment, I am building a Tele Thinline (Semi-hollow), these guitars have two humbuckers and a Strat bridge as well. It is my opinion that a heavy original Tele bridge connects with a solid body better and conducts the string vibrations better than the much smaller Strat-type bridge. The difference is minute, unless you get a custom bridge for $100+
It doesn't seem easy for me to properly locate the original Tele bridge on the body -it's got to be exactly straight before being screwed down. In order to find that location, I string up the lower E-string and the higher E and then observe how these strings line up with the fretboard. A tiny mistake in placing the bridge, leads to the strings being too close to the edge of the fretboard! The distance to the nut is just as Bootleger states above: 25.5". You may adjust that precisely with the intonation screws later.
Hey this is fun! I'll go back my other pet project, a copy of a Gibson ES-175...
Play on!
Check out some of my projects: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23752184@N04/
Hey T. Strat, excellant advice on lineing up that bridge by stringing those two E strings, I had that very problem of one string being too close to the edge, on a recent build and this idea fixes that...Thanks again, FiveO
FiveO, I'm glad to be of a little help.
Currently I'm building an ES175 look-alike. I've always liked that guitar, but wasn't real happy with Gibsons pricing/quality, so I'm building my own. Since I'm using the moveable bridge type for hollowbodies (together with a tailpiece), lining up these bridges is a lot less problematic, since they're not screwed down... what a relief! But of course every type of guitar has its own challenges. Glued-in (or set) necks are tricky to line up vertically with the bridge: once you glue that neck in its cavity you don't ever want it to come unglued again -and the neck better be vertically angled and lined up correctly with the nut+bridge, or you just made a nice doorstop.
Play on!
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Electric → FENDER Bridge Spaceing
