steel replacement saddles for an Affinity Strat

[samsunight]

Hi, Sam here.

I stumbled upon this site as I was researching a question that I had. This board seems quite friendly and knowledgeable. Perhaps you can help me.

I apologize if this question has been answered in an older thread. I did do a preliminary search in hopes of avoiding burdening you with the same old questions. Some boards get very upset at this sort of thing.

I have a Squier Affinity Strat that I purchased at a local Guitar Center for the expressed purpose of trying out some of the things that I've heard will improve the tone of a Strat on a budget. To date, I have replaced the tremolo block with a steel one, replaced the pots with CTS ones, swapped the original tone cap with an orange drop, and removed the ceramic magnets and replaced them with AlNiCo IIIs. Next on my list was replacing the saddles with steel ones.

After some research, I found that most string spacings for Strats are either 2 1/16" or 2 7/32". Laying a ruler on my bridge tells me that my string spacing is 2" exactly. Clearly, most after market saddles will not work.

Does anyone have any experience with this that can help? Is it even worth trying? My experiences so far have led me to believe that while these changes can alter the tone of the instrument, these changes are subtle at best. The instrument with its modifications will not outshine an American made Fender. (Though the American Fender isn't thirteen hundred dollars better either.)

Again, I apologize if this question has been asked ad nauseum, and I appreciate your time and consideration.

[cynical1]

Greetings and welcome to the nutzhouse.

And don't worry about not finding you answer in the search. We all suffer from the same search-fu here.

As long as you're going to rip out the original saddles, with the express intention of improving the tone and performance, then I would suggest taking a look at the Graph Tech string saver saddles.

Granted, they aren't cheap, but if your intention is to improve the tone and performance then they really are the ticket.

This is their sizing criteria.



They have a 2-1/16" spacing replacement set. If yours is 2" on the head, you're only about 6 thousandths per side off of that. I can't imagine that would cause the planets to re-align, but a quick e-mail to them should get you a definitive answer.

Happy Trails

Cynical One

[samsunight]

Hi Cynical, thank you for your thoughtful reply. I see by your information that you are located in the frozen 8th circle of hell. May you be one who gnaws, not one who is gnawed.

I appreciate your suggestion, but I'm a bit leery of Graph Tech. I bought a set of them some years ago for a Tele project that was constantly snapping strings. It took care of the problem, but I felt that I lost some high end in the process. I was thinking something more vintage, say Calaham, but the smallest set that they have is 2-1/16".

So you don't believe that the sixteenth of an inch will make much difference? I only worry because the neck on the Affinity is more narrow than a standard Strat neck.

Upon reviewing your reply, I had never considered emailing the company and getting their response. Why didn't I think of that?

Thanks again.

[reTrEaD]

Dec 28, 2011 10:08:07 GMT -5 samsunight said:

So you don't believe that the sixteenth of an inch will make much difference? I only worry because the neck on the Affinity is more narrow than a standard Strat neck.

Hi Sam.

The spacing on the screws at the end of your bridge determines the string spread.



You aren't replacing the bridgeplate, just the saddles, right?

So the real question is whether the saddles are narrow enough to be placed more closely together.

As long as the gap between the new saddles is more than zero, you'll be okay. More info from the vendor about the dimensions of the saddles you might buy, will help.

[lpf3]

Sam-

I only worry because the neck on the Affinity is more narrow than a standard Strat neck.

The heel of the Affinity is still 2 3/16ths just like any other Strat (at least mine is) , so your neck width won't be an issue here. The narrower width is down at the nut end.

Remember that the 1/16 of an inch difference in the string spread is 1/16 divided by 5. EDIT: Ok, there are 6 saddles, but only 5 spaces between 'em that need attention. The outer edges won't matter.
End of edit

It's too early for me to do any more math than that. ;D - you should be able to use a file or a sanding block with some coarse paper, (say 100 grit ? ) and remove enough material from the sides of the Graph Techs, or whatever saddles you choose, to get 'em close enough together for your needs.

I appreciate your suggestion, but I'm a bit leery of Graph Tech. I bought a set of them some years ago for a Tele project that was constantly snapping strings. It took care of the problem, but I felt that I lost some high end in the process..

You're being too nice. Others have described them as downright muddy.




-lpf3

[sumgai]

Sam,

Hi, and to the NutzHouse!

The whole thing about saddles is that they aren't the only factor in play here. When mounting new saddles, particularly if they're not factory-exact units, you should use the saddle-maker's recommended adjustment screws.

That said, Graphtech does, or at least they used to, have a small proviso in their literature that warned the might be a change in the overall tonality, but that it was usually for the better. I had a set of piezo saddles (the Ghost system) on an '98 Strat American Standard, and I thought they sounded great. Of course, to me, they took out a certain harshness, but to others, they may have been introducing mud, for all I know. Beauty, ear, beholder, please to meet each other. ;D

The point being, it's all a package, and since some of it is wildly variable (the body wood being first on that list), there's no hard and fast rule that says "using X will result in Y, everytime". It's pretty much a given that if you're gonna do down to the crossroads (in search of that Mojo^™ tone), then you better pack more than a lunch, because it ain't a cheap trip. Which is to say, most players/experimenters/perhaps Nutz too, have a good experience the first time they "upgrade", and they feel good about the whole thing. But there are those that can't desist, and keep going and going and..... (witness Ozboomer's Simple Mods threads, on this Forum ). For them, and maybe for you too, it's a matter of 'damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead'.

While the wallet is the final arbiter, I do strongly suggest that you not let fear get in the way of your quest. Unless you 'need it tonight for that big gig', then take your time, or more correctly, take your wallet's time.   Trust me, eventually you'll hit upon the right combo for your ears/needs/desires.

And for the record, I am not a paid representative of Graphtech, but I do like their products, and the way they do business. As usual, YMMV.

HTH



sumgai

[samsunight]

Thanks to all for the good info.

@ retread & Lpf3: Right! The saddle screws! Why didn't I think of that? Mr. Oversized Saddle? Meet Mr. Flatfile. Done.

@ sumgai: Thank you for the kind welcome. I've been modding my gear for some time now, originally because I couldn't find a reputable luthier in my area, but now, I just love doing it. I agree, no one thing will dictate final tone (though I'm more in the pickup rather than tone wood camp). I find the chase for tone fascinating, so I'm willing to try many different things. That was, in a way, the whole point of me buying this guitar: how far can I push a bottom-of-the-barrel instrument toward a professional grade player with a minimal financial investment? What makes a dramatic difference? What makes a subtle difference? What is said to make a difference, yet seems to make no difference at all when it is applied? I've rewired and swapped parts on several guitars, repainted a few, and did one refret. (Let us never speak of the refret again) Graphtech didn't speak to me, but then again, I only tried one model on one guitar.

When I landed upon this forum, I found the fellow who did the jazz guitar with the hex pickup, Gibson humbucker, and transducer, complete with the myriad of tone modding circuits, AND with each entry accompanied by a shot of the evening sky, or local surf. I knew that I wanted to hang out in a place like that.

I'll ordering Calaham saddles tonight, and I'll let you know how it works out.

Thanks again,
Sam

[thetragichero]

i can tell you things that do not make a cheap affinity strat sound better (to my ears!): stripping off the poly and repainting with nitro lacquer (although it made it look a lot better!), using a graphtech nut in place of the plastic one, graphtech string trees (although they did help it go back to pitch)

things that certainly helped: changed the trem for one with a beefy sustain block, changing the saddles (i used graphtech because i break tons of strings), replacing the 2x4 of a neck with a thinner, all maple neck, replacing the tuners with heavier, locking tuners, lace pickups

one of the things i get a kick out of is buying a beater strat off craigslist for like 40 bucks and turning it into something you'd actually want to play

[samsunight]

Yep, that's where I'm at. The trem block change was a slight improvement for me. The AlNiCo III swap was better, though if I ever do it again, I think I'll try IIs. I replaced the original tuners with Sperzels, though I did that just because I didn't like the feel of the originals. After the saddles, I'm probably going to replace the pickups altogether (I've got a lead on three American Strat Pickups that I can get if I rewire one of my student's guitars with Seymour Duncans), finishing the Faraday Cage, and then I'm going to try my hand at shaping a bone nut. I've been doing some ascetic changes too. I just replaced the faux-pearloid position markers with clay ones. It's a little thing, but I think that it makes it slightly less cheesy.

[thetragichero]

i actually scalloped the neck of my affinity strat, before i put it on a plywood aria pro body, just for the hell of it
best thing about these cheap guitars is that you can try things on it without fear of ruining an expensive axe
enjoy!

[samsunight]

Scalloped the fretboard? That could be interesting. Just you, the neck and a rasp?

[cynical1]

Dec 29, 2011 6:25:13 GMT -5 samsunight said:

...Just you, the neck and a rasp?

Well, it's a bit more involved then that...but there is a lot of hand work involved. Realistically, the scalloping is most effective above the octave.

And I had to go look it up. The string spacing is 52mm on a Squier Affinity Strat, or 2.04724". A 2-1/16" set of saddles equals 2.0625". The difference is .01526", or a very small hair over 1/64", or .3876 mm.

I don't think you'll even need sandpaper to make it work.

HTC1

[thetragichero]

i sorta followed this but did not use the power tool... just the file, various grits of sandpaper, elbow grease, and a full day off in front of the tv (day after we came back from tour, so this was about all thwat i felt like doing)
www.projectguitar.com/tut/scal1.htm


came out like this:




did 12-21st frets here, although eventually i did up to the 7th
definitely an interesting change of pace from my other guitars






(EDITed by sumgai to reduce the amount of horizontal scrolling.... )

[samsunight]

@ Mr. Cynical, Thank you. I appreciate your time and effort. I feel better about ordering them.
@ Mr. TragicH That looks so cool! AND I never knew about the Dremel sander! New Power Tool! My next project is a Danelectro Hearsay that I'm planning to make simply ridiculous. I think that would be a great addition to it!

[reTrEaD]

Dec 29, 2011 8:41:15 GMT -5 cynical1 said:

Realistically, the scalloping is most effective above the octave.

I had the opportunity to play a strat that had the entire board scalloped. It took a bit of getting used to. The natural tendency is to press your finger all the way down to the board. In addition to being somewhat painful, that causes the strings to bend sharp. But after while, I began to play with a lighter touch.