My first build: DTL-1

[McCreed]

I agree with Simon that the bridge is skew-whiff.
I reckon if you rotate the bridge clockwise about 1-2 degrees, those strings will line up just fine.

You may still need to shift the neck a little too. The E6 and fretboard edge aren't really visible in the 4th fret photo.
Neck alignment has less noticeable effect the closer to the bridge you get, but every little bit can make a difference.


Ok... NOW... I'm going to say something that I will probably get flogged for but...

Perfect alignment of strings over pole pieces is not absolutely necessary beyond "looking better".
The magnetic field in which the string vibrates within extends well beyond the little circular area of the top of the pole piece.

You'd be surprised how many strats there are out in the world without perfect alignment.
And I would wager you couldn't hear the difference between one that is perfectly aligned and one that is not. If both guitars are properly set up and pickup heights are also adjusted properly, they'll sound just fine.

[Simon Barden]

I agree.

But sometimes the visual things are just as important and if a guitar doesn't look quite right, you'll probably end up not playing it that often and it will 'sound' wrong. even though it's fine.

[gpjt]

Thanks, guys! I agree, it does look like the bridge is a bit skewed from the photos, now that you mention it. I've disassembled it again now, but here's another photo I took when checking that it still hangs OK in my guitar hangers:



Maybe just a couple of mil closer on the treble side than it is on the bass. Now that I see it, I think it would be annoying, even if I could get a good sound by adjusting the pickup height or changing the saddles

I'll reassemble it this evening to double-check that it's not an optical illusion from the camera angles.

So, to redrill, I should get some dowel to fill the existing ones (opening them up a bit first if necessary to get a snug fit) -- is that right?

[Simon Barden]

Yes. But you might want to leave the centre hole as-is, so that when you come to re-drill the other two holes, you can rotate the plate around the centre screw until it's all square, then mark and drill. Of course before drilling anything, first check that with just the centre screw in, that the plate is centred properly. If not, you may need to plug and drill all three holes. But two is easier than three if you can make it work.

[gpjt]

Thanks, Simon -- I'll do that.

Off to Lisbon for a week now, so this build will have to wait until I get back. But I have a cheapo Squier Bullet Strat there and am planning to set up a Raspberry Pi as a basic modelling amp for it -- if anyone is interested in that, let me know and I'll start a thread somewhere (maybe in the home-built pedals forum?) and post anything interesting that happens with that :-)

[rjmc]

Greetings from Portugal...

It'd be very interesting to see how you turn a Raspberry Pi into a modeling amp...
Enjoy Lisbon....

Cheers

[gpjt]

Cool, I'll start a thread on the PiAmp if there's anything interesting to report

Simon, one question about the compensated saddles (which do look like a good investment, especially at that price) -- do they have a slot for the string in them? The stock saddles do, but as far as I can do from the photos, the ones you linked to don't. If they don't, do you need to file one? Or do you just let the string lie naturally across them along the line from the hole in the bank of the bridge (I'm planning to topload) to the nut?

[gpjt]

@rjmc, where do you live in Portugal? My girlfriend is from Évora I can sort-of, kind-of speak Portuguese but your English is a million times better so I doubt that that will help much...

(I was very pleased for a while that I was no longer the worst speaker of Portuguese in our gang of friends in Lisbon, but sadly the person who spoke it worse than me is now two years old, so she's overtaken me rather rapidly.)

[rjmc]

@rjmc, where do you live in Portugal? My girlfriend is from Évora I can sort-of, kind-of speak Portuguese but your English is a million times better so I doubt that that will help much...

(I was very pleased for a while that I was no longer the worst speaker of Portuguese in our gang of friends in Lisbon, but sadly the person who spoke it worse than me is now two years old, so she's overtaken me rather rapidly.)

Currently in Lisbon. Is there any particular word or sentence that you would like to learn in Portuguese?

[Simon Barden]

Simon, one question about the compensated saddles (which do look like a good investment, especially at that price) -- do they have a slot for the string in them? The stock saddles do, but as far as I can do from the photos, the ones you linked to don't. If they don't, do you need to file one? Or do you just let the string lie naturally across them along the line from the hole in the bank of the bridge (I'm planning to topload) to the nut?

No, the strings just lie across the top of them. I've got a set on one of my Teles and they are fine. The original Fender Tele round brass saddles didn't have any slots either.

If you find there are string spacing issues with them and want to move the strings slightly from where they naturally want to sit, you can of course cut a small notch with a V-shaped needle file. But you should find you don't need to as the string-through holes on the bridge will be evenly spaced.