Hi all. I've just completed my 2nd Pitbull Kit, a TL-1. In setting it up, I found that I can't achieve intonation on the Bass E and A strings. The E is sharp and the A is flat. I really don't like the traditional 3x2 arrangement of the bridge plate and would prefer the modern 6x1 configuration. Can this type be swapped by Pitbull for the one that came with my kit so I can intonate each string separately or do I have to source one from elsewhere?
Elsewhere. I get a lot of basic stuff like this from Amazon. Probably cheaper than sending stuff back in the post.
I personally dislike six individual saddles on a Tele, they never seem to sound the same, but that’s just me. But I would push you to consider trying out some compensated saddles. Wilkinson do a decent set that are low cost. You’ll struggle to get 100% accurate intonation, you might end up 2 cents out on intonation, but certainly a lot better than standard barrel saddles. All
my Teles have compensated saddles.
If you really want a six saddle bridge, you need to consider several things when looking round for one.
1) Can you rear-string it? A lot are just for string-through. You can drill the holes through the body and fit string ferrules if you feel up to it. As long as you read up about it and understand what you are doing, it’s not that hard.
But to stick with rear stringing, I’d look for a bridge with six barrel saddles, rather than six solid cast saddles with a hole in the middle. The string path through these on a rear-strung Tele can often be tortuous and quite often, the rear of the saddle can be lifted up by the string, robbing sustain and often causing intonation issues. If you want solid cast saddles, then I’d look for ones where the intonation screw is offset, not central, allowing the underside of the saddle to have a notch in it for the string to pass through without catching the saddle.
2) Size and fixing screw positions.
Not all Tele bridges are the same size. The ‘ashtray’ ones tend to be a bit shorter than the flat plate ones, though they can vary slightly too. If you end up with a bridge plate that’s shorter, you may need to redrill the fixing screw holes and the edges of the old ones may be exposed. So make sure it’s the same size or longer (normally only a couple of mm in it, but they are important mm).
Some bridges have three main fixing screws, some have four. So be prepared to plug old holes and drill new ones. Some have a couple of small screws to hold the front of the bridge plate down. This is a good thing in my view. Though I haven't experienced it myself, the front edge of thinner bridge plates can sometimes vibrate at loud volumes, causing a form of microphony and squealing. This prevents that.
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