Gibson Tune-a-matics (ABR-1) orientation

[lpdeluxe]

Here's a question I can't find an answer to: which way do the saddle adjusting screws point on a Gibson ABR-1? I have a Les Paul Deluxe goldtop with the screws pointing toward the stop tailpiece, and several strings are hitting the screw heads. Before I undertake to disassemble the whole shootin match and put it back the other way, I thought I'd check with the experts.

And while we are at it, which way for the saddles? Slant side front or back? Mine has the bass saddles one way and the trebles the other.

[Trey]

The intonation screws should face the pickups and, generally, the bass side saddles are angles towards the pickups and the treble side saddles are angled towards the tailpeice. I say generally because sometimes it's nessacary to turn a saddle around to get the string to intonate, on my Ibanez 335 the D string saddle is backwards for this very reason.


By the way, I'm no expert so if someone disagrees with me listen to them instead. I'm just going off of how my current guitars are setup and most other tuneomatics I've seen look like...

[lpdeluxe]

Thank you: I was going by my single Gibson axe and the photos I see in various books, as well as doing some research online. Making the strings break over the screw heads is not the way a good guitar ought to be set up, IMO.

[lpdeluxe]

Well, I was looking at the stewmac.com website in case I needed to buy some parts for Lester and there it is, bigger'n life and twicet as ugly:
Adjustment screws face the neck
The intonation adjustment screws on a Tune-o-matic bridge should face the neck and pickups, not the tailpiece. If they’re reversed, the adjustment screw heads may interfere with the strings coming off the saddles. When this happens, it alters the string angle and can cause rattling or other problems. TEXT

[lpdeluxe]

Well, my suspicions were confirmed: when I took the bridge apart, reassembled it right way to, and strung it up, the G string buzzed...the saddle notch had been filed down too low. So THAT's why it was turned around! New saddle from stewmac comin' up.