Finding a replacement Fender Lead bridge?

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stevejamsecono
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Finding a replacement Fender Lead bridge?

Post by stevejamsecono » Wed Aug 21, 2019 12:52 pm

Another speedbump in this project.

Apparently the Leads had slightly different bridges to the vintage hardtails of the time, along with narrower saddles. I've been emailing makers to try to find something that fits but coming up a little short. Has anyone got any ideas? It seems like the actual measurements for these things are hard to come by...
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Larry Mal
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Re: Finding a replacement Fender Lead bridge?

Post by Larry Mal » Wed Aug 21, 2019 2:13 pm

The Callaham didn’t work?
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Re: Finding a replacement Fender Lead bridge?

Post by stevejamsecono » Wed Aug 21, 2019 3:13 pm

I emailed them to doublecheck on the normal hardtails they do and the reply was.... not encouraging. I guess I could still order it and see I just don't want to order something and have it not fit.
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Re: Finding a replacement Fender Lead bridge?

Post by Larry Mal » Wed Aug 21, 2019 3:22 pm

Well, I say skip the six saddles, why fight it? Three is better anyway.

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Re: Finding a replacement Fender Lead bridge?

Post by stevejamsecono » Wed Aug 21, 2019 8:02 pm

Larry Mal wrote:
Wed Aug 21, 2019 3:22 pm
Well, I say skip the six saddles, why fight it? Three is better anyway.

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That is very nice. It's the American Standard Hardtail they do with the 2 1/16" string spacing, right? And all the screw/string through holes lined up perfectly?
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Re: Finding a replacement Fender Lead bridge?

Post by Larry Mal » Thu Aug 22, 2019 3:52 am

As far as I remember, they only offered one bridge of this type at the time, I'll have to look at the website again.

But yeah, I didn't make any modification to it whatsoever, just unscrewed the one and then screwed the other one on there. You see that it's a perfect fit with the pickguard and such. But like I say, if you are doubtful about saddles lining up, just skip the whole six saddle thing entirely and you're done. The compensated saddles on the Callaham intonate just fine.
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Re: Finding a replacement Fender Lead bridge?

Post by stevejamsecono » Thu Aug 22, 2019 6:15 am

Larry Mal wrote:
Thu Aug 22, 2019 3:52 am
As far as I remember, they only offered one bridge of this type at the time, I'll have to look at the website again.

But yeah, I didn't make any modification to it whatsoever, just unscrewed the one and then screwed the other one on there. You see that it's a perfect fit with the pickguard and such. But like I say, if you are doubtful about saddles lining up, just skip the whole six saddle thing entirely and you're done. The compensated saddles on the Callaham intonate just fine.
Please do, that would help my part ordering anxiety greatly. It looks like it is, in which case the 6-saddle bridge should be exactly the same size. I'm just having a bit of a freakout because the neck I got for it took some doing to get on so now I'm like.. paranoid :ph34r:

And good to know, worse case scenario I can go for the bridge you got.
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Re: Finding a replacement Fender Lead bridge?

Post by Rgand » Thu Aug 22, 2019 7:21 am

I also find the Callaham American Standard replacement with the three saddles a good choice. I strung it up without the Bigsby before I installed it and it's a great bridge. This one has the Bigsby cutouts for the strings but either way, it's a great bridge.

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Re: Finding a replacement Fender Lead bridge?

Post by Larry Mal » Thu Aug 22, 2019 9:23 am

The steel saddles are where it’s at!
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Re: Finding a replacement Fender Lead bridge?

Post by stevejamsecono » Thu Aug 22, 2019 9:52 am

Also good to know...
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Re: Finding a replacement Fender Lead bridge?

Post by Larry Mal » Thu Aug 22, 2019 9:56 am

Yeah, I would have had those on all my guitars had I known. The brass is fine but the steel gave me a wonderful and ghostly sounding high end on a Telecaster I had. I loved it, but switched it out for a Mastery.

Mastery also make a bridge with this footprint, do they not?
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Re: Finding a replacement Fender Lead bridge?

Post by Rgand » Thu Aug 22, 2019 12:01 pm

Larry Mal wrote:
Thu Aug 22, 2019 9:56 am
Yeah, I would have had those on all my guitars had I known. The brass is fine but the steel gave me a wonderful and ghostly sounding high end on a Telecaster I had. I loved it, but switched it out for a Mastery.
I hadn't thought about it. I initially got them on a whim but they seem to lighten things up a bit, don't they?

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Re: Finding a replacement Fender Lead bridge?

Post by Larry Mal » Thu Aug 22, 2019 1:14 pm

I got it on a whim also, and I happened to have an American Standard with the brass saddles and have an AVRI Telecaster that I decided to put the steel saddles on in order to make them a little different.

Turned out to be quite a bit of difference, at least to a nitpicking guitar modder. No one who wasn't a guitar geek would ever know any difference but I would still prefer steel saddles moving forward.
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Re: Finding a replacement Fender Lead bridge?

Post by stevejamsecono » Thu Aug 22, 2019 2:05 pm

What would you say is the difference? I've heard Brass saddles tend to lend towards "warmer" tonality.
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Re: Finding a replacement Fender Lead bridge?

Post by Larry Mal » Thu Aug 22, 2019 3:18 pm

I'm going to use a bunch of non-audio specific terms here... the steel had a ghostly and otherworldly quality to it, cold and metallic sounding, brittle, bright and beautiful. Like a winter morning with fresh snow and sunshine.

I would say that the brass is in fact warmer.

It's not a huge difference either way, but I noticed it.
Back in those days, everyone knew that if you were talking about Destiny's Child, you were talking about Beyonce, LaTavia, LeToya, and Larry.

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