Bluesbird: bridge/saddle setup

[gravydb]

I've owned my BB for about 4 months now. I am loving it!!!

I have some questions though... beings this is the first non-tremolo electric guitar that I've ever owned. So, I'm not too familiar with how to make sure the bridge is setup properly. Is there a general guide for this? I have simple questions like, should the bridge be tightened all the way down to the body? Should I be concerned about the break-angle of the strings over the saddle?

Also, when I received the guitar (I am not the original owner), the adjustable saddles were all centered in a pefect row. And of course the intonation was way off. I've since adjusted the intonation, but I am curious as to why someone would have had the saddles in a perfect row like that. Would the guitar have come from the factory like that?

And... when I adjusted the intonation of the low-E string, I had to adjust the saddle as far as it would go (away from the nut, to lengthen the string), but technically the intonation is still a hair sharp. I can live with it, but I'm just curious if this is typical.

Thanks!

 

[cjd-player]

I like the tone best with the stop bar tailpiece tightened all the way down to the body. Others may differ.
No right or wrong ... just personal taste ... like setting pickup height.

On my Blusebirds I had to turn the Low E saddle around to get the intonation correct. That is not uncommon on electric guitars with these types of bridges. Guild didn't put quite enough angle on the bridge when they designed the guitar. So just turn the low E string saddle around.

I replaced the original metal saddles with Graphtech String Savers. When I got my first Bluesbird I was breaking strings occasionally at the saddles. Since changing to the Graphtech String Savers, I have never broken a string.

With regard to them being lined up when you got it ... just means that the previous owner knew nothing about intonation.

 

[gravydb]

Thanks cjd! I hadn't thought of that, turning that saddle around. I'll give that a shot! Thanks!

Somewhere I read about being concerned about the break-angle of the strings at the saddle. Big deal or not?

Funny you mentioned the string breaking problem, I broke a string on this guitar almost immediately, and I doubt if I've broken more than a few strings in all my years of playing. But I haven't broken any more in almost 4 months, despite alot of playing. I'll keep those Graphtech saddles in mind though, in case it becomes a problem. Thanks for that tip!

 

[hideglue]

Depending on the neck angle, the bridge/saddle may be too high (at proper action) to tighten the tailpiece down to the top w/out
the string(s) resting on the back of the bridge -- from the saddle. The option is to raise the t.p