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I randomly took a closer look at the bridge of my electric guitar and noticed that the brass saddles have some weird, flat, slanted surfaces where the strings run over them.

Interestingly, these surfaces are facing in the opposite direction, so not every string runs over them in the same way - some lie flat on the surface, others run right across the sharp edge. Also, the middle saddle is a completely different part (meaning you can't rotate it to look like the other two). Nothing of this seems random, and I suppose it must have a clear purpose of some kind. Anybody knows what it could be?

Pic 1

Pic 2

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  • I don't know if someone will find this is a duplicate question, but you might add whether the saddles are actual brass and if that matters in some way.
    – Michael Curtis
    Commented Jan 26 at 17:39
  • @MichaelCurtis Product description says brass, so I guess that's what they'll be. Also, duplicate of what, if I may ask?
    – MaxD
    Commented Jan 26 at 17:40
  • your question may be a duplicate of an existing question. I don't know if it is. Many times people spot dups when they themselves have answered the question before.
    – Michael Curtis
    Commented Jan 26 at 17:54
  • It has to be a dup, might be interesting to look at compensated bridges
    – Tom
    Commented Jan 26 at 17:55

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Since the saddles are in three pairs like an old Telecaster bridge it looks like the different angles are there so the lower string will automatically have a longer string length. However, like you said, the middle pair is backwards, the D string is shorter than the G. This is intentional. As @ojs said in comments if you use a wound D and an unwound G this would probably work but if you use heavier strings with a wound G this will give you problems so try to stick with unwound G strings. You probably will have to compromise when intonating each pair. Individual saddles are much better for accurate intonation.

This bridge looks like it was designed to improve intonation of the old Tele bridge while still maintaining the three double saddles the original has. The fact that one string goes over the curved part and the other goes over the straight part has no real bearing, the important thing is the location of the high point where the string crosses.

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    The middle one has different orientation than others, because the wound D string needs less compensation than unwound G. With wound G, the orientation would be same as the other two.
    – ojs
    Commented Jan 26 at 18:03
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    @ojs Noted. I checked my guitars with unwound G’s. The D’s and G’s are either the same length or the G’s are slightly longer. I corrected my answer.
    – John Belzaguy
    Commented Jan 26 at 18:10
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    Thanks, great answer, short and to the point and covers every aspect.
    – MaxD
    Commented Jan 26 at 18:36
  • @MaxD my pleasure. It looks to be a well made bridge and the through body stringing is a nice option. I’m sure with a little patience and effort you can get it intonated pretty well.
    – John Belzaguy
    Commented Jan 26 at 18:42
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    @Tim The G saddle is longer than the B on both of my electrics and in general in my experience. The G saddle can be placed closer than the B if necessary in this case but that would also affect the D string.
    – John Belzaguy
    Commented Jan 27 at 0:32

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