So I got my Stew Mac compensated saddles...

[69strat]

They improve the intonation a ton! Much better. Even with my same old strings. I just did a quick setup with the same strings because I wanted to hear how the tone would change.

I notice a difference in tone on my Nocaster. It's snappier and brighter, country twangers would prefer it. It doesn't sound bad at all, but my old ones had a warmer, fuller tone. They were meatier though. Saddles and screws. I even put one of the saddles back on for comparison!

I definitely am sold on the compensated saddles though. Big improvement.

So who makes beefier compensated saddles?

[jim in texas]

When you say beefier do you mean physically larger with more mass?

Callaham compensated brass saddles are pretty good size with flat bottoms and the Allparts compensated are the same size as Callahams but have round bottoms.

I haven't seen a Stew Mac saddle so I can't compare.

Hope this helps.

[69strat]

Yeah Jim, there's a little more mass to the saddles of my Nocaster. The Stew mac stuff is decent. But I don't like the thinner tone.

I want some of these:

http://www.hometown.aol.com/ujaxman/saddles.html

Anyone try these?

[Don]

Hmmm..
.
My major complaint about my USACG T-Style is thin tone and lack of warmth. It is nice and twangy though.

I have Stew Mac compensated saddles on it.

Sounds like it's time for a compensated saddle comparison.

[melody]

Yeah Jim, there's a little more mass to the saddles of my Nocaster. The Stew mac stuff is decent. But I don't like the thinner tone.

I want some of these:

http://www.hometown.aol.com/ujaxman/saddles.html

Anyone try these?

That dude from Giant guitars is kinda abrasive to deal with at times..And the site has a lot of Snake Oil claims;No saddel is going to do what he states..I do have a set of Callaham compensated saddels on my thin line, and like them a lot they do help with intonation.All the ones I've seen have the same mass to them..

[69strat]

That dude from Giant guitars is kinda abrasive to deal with at times..And the site has a lot of Snake Oil claims;No saddel is going to do what he states..I do have a set of Callaham compensated saddels on my thin line, and like them a lot they do help with intonation.All the ones I've seen have the same mass to them..

That sucks! Those looked good too. I like how he rounds the middle barrel to fit snug up to the outside ones. Plus the screws and height adjustments are flat head like on my Nocaster, so I thought it'd be closer to the tone, and maybe I could use my screws too.

The price is decent too. I think they'll work great, but I haven't heard back from him. Is he honest to deal with?

[69strat]

Hmmm..
.
My major complaint about my USACG T-Style is thin tone and lack of warmth. It is nice and twangy though.

I have Stew Mac compensated saddles on it.

Sounds like it's time for a compensated saddle comparison.

Yeah it's good to experiment. The saddles make quite a difference to me. I played with it some more today, the Stew Macs aren't bad at all, my guitar actually has more chime and harmonics now. It is a chick'n pickn machine. Very punchy and snappy and the intonation is SO much better.

The Nocaster's original saddles gave the tone a little more lows or low mids. Just a little. I especially notice it when I palm mute for chunky style rhythms. There was more beef and a bit less chime. With new strings, the original saddles gave perfect tone. I think with new strings the Stew Macs would be too much.

But...then there's that whole tuning thing.................

[jim in texas]

It's a never ending quest, eh?.

[Don]

It's a never ending quest, eh?.

Yes. And probably a complete waste of time. We should just play the damn things!

I'm game though! I'll probably try a set of Callaham saddles and maybe a set of original Fender saddles.
My lightweight, swamp ash, maple necked, USACG T-Style could use a little more bottom end.

[69strat]

LOL! Believe me I play the thing. About six-eight hours a day usually. I've played the snot out of this thing and the one thing I've loved about my tele is that chunky, woody tone that I've lost for the moment. Fortunately saddles are pretty inexpensive so experimenting is possible.

There's the option of bending my current saddle screws. That would solve all my issues (and create new ones!) Only problem is my original saddles have grooves where the string sits and might not allow the string to sit nice in it's new position after it's bent.

Jim, you are so right! It's never ending vicious circle. Fix one thing creates a new mess.

[SFK]

That sucks! Those looked good too. I like how he rounds the middle barrel to fit snug up to the outside ones. Plus the screws and height adjustments are flat head like on my Nocaster, so I thought it'd be closer to the tone, and maybe I could use my screws too.

The price is decent too. I think they'll work great, but I haven't heard back from him. Is he honest to deal with?

I ordered a set today after seeing your link the other day. They haven't struck me as abrasive at all. Maybe a bad day?

I'll post a report when I recieve them.

[auger]

Next set of compensated saddles i'll be getting will be from Giant Guitars, thanks for the link 69Strat. Those look a lot like the ones I have on my homebrew USACG Tele I got from a fella named Larry Fontana.
The girth of the height adjustment screws as well as the actual diameter of the barrel is greater on these than StewMac, but they were more money also.
I've shimmed my neck at the heel to raise the saddles, increasing the angle the strings break across the saddles, the main reason being that I was tired of catching my pick on the sides of the bridge plate, this gets the strings up out of there making life a bit easier for me.
If you decide to bend your screws, I noticed a post in the TDPRI Tech section about how to go about it, just a heads up incase like me you have not bent the screws before.

[NeoFauve]

I've had the Wilkinson adjustable compensated saddles. :yay A bit less mass, but with a fair bit of trial and error I was able to to get very good intonation. Tricky to get each string right, but once you get it, it's a damn cool widget.

I have the latest Callaham thick box bridge w/ fixed compensated saddles combo.:yay They look as a fat as any trad brass saddle from what I can tell. The height screw are larger dia than std. They aren't as jagged as the lil' buggers on a std Tele, but I'd be speculating if I said THAT meant more tone. Great tone, but not quite as one the money intonation-wise. Not to the point where it's a problem though.

On my current MIJ Tele I have a std Fender box bridge with straght brass saddles and it works and sounds great too. I just don't notice any intonation problem on this particular guitar. Go figure.:yay

I like/liked all 3 set-ups. None really more or less than another. They were ALL improvements over what each guitar had before. Too many variables in the 3 Teles to really say which is THE way to go.

The common link in all 3 cases?
I played 'em with my tastefully relic'd, toneful fingers. :rl :rl

[69strat]

Yeah I don't think any of the compensated barrels will be on the money intonation wise. But it's definite improvement. I notice it even down at the nut! Chords sound better. And this is with those very old, played out strings.

Stew Macs definitely give the tele a ton of harmonics. It is kinda cool, but they will go.

I passed on the Callahams because of the simple fact they use stainless steel screws for everything. Even the brass is super duper shiny. This is going on a relic.

Thanks for the input everyone.

Hey SFK and Auger, if you get those saddles, give us a little report please!!
I'm gonna try 'em too!