I never realized that the SB 300/400 pups and control section ...

[Pilgrim]

"... As such I must dispute your wonton use...."

Dang. Dave is serving Chinese food now?   

It probably doesn't count, but the two-saddle bridge on my Bronco intonates and plays very nicely. 

[Granny Gremlin]

The funny bit is where Dave argues that TDPRI is somehow representative of Tele players as a whole.

[Dave W]

The funny bit is where Dave argues that TDPRI is somehow representative of Tele players as a whole.

Just can't give it a rest, eh?

[Granny Gremlin]

I'm genuinely sorry it irritates you, Dave, but you have not given any indication as to how this bridge is better, but continue to put forth a tenuous argument of popularity = superior product, which you have explicitly argued against in other cases.  I know it doesn't win me many friends, but pointing this sort of thing out is my mission in life.  I believe it is far more important than many of us realise.

"... As such I must dispute your wonton use...."

Dang. Dave is serving Chinese food now?   

LOL. Damn you autocorrect? 

And yeah, the 2 saddle bass version of the bridge is much less problematic than the 3 saddle geetar one - due in large part to the lack of a B string. ... I just don't see them as superior to  3 point in any way (tonally or functionally); and they definitely don't work on an archtop.

[Dave W]

I didn't say that popularity makes it superior. The tone is different, whether it's better or worse is all a matter of personal preference. More Tele players prefer the vintage style bridge, whether it's for the tone, the look, or both. Maybe it's different in your neck of the woods. Not in the US.

[uwe]

Sometimes this forum reminds me of Japanese monster movies I devoured as a child:



Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, in- or outside of Minnesota or Toronto, is purely coincidental, but that is of course Jake on the right hand side, he has three heads (one is watchful to Germany and one to Russia, the middle one likes to have a drink and is concerned about veganism and homosexuality while the others do border patrol), one of those heads always strikes back when you think you are done with the other two. Godzilla, otoh, has a reputation for being flexible in argument and shunning away from being always adamant about things, hence it is also sometimes referred to as the "art of compromise-lizard". Minnesota does get cold in winter, so the reptiles there are hardy little critters.

[Granny Gremlin]

LOL

[Alanko]

Spend a few months at TDPRI. In the main section subforums where you can see what people buy and post pictures of. You'll see a lot more 3-saddle bridges than 6-saddle.

Nah, not buying it. There was that thread on TDPRI where a bunch of good ol' boys were talking about dousing for water. You link them to studies that proved conclusively that in scientific tests dousing doesn't perform any better than random chance, and they still dispute that because some family member found a spring in their back yard using two lengths of wood or copper wire. The mentality over there, on the whole, is to favour empirical 'feel good' noise over hard scientific fact, and I lost a bit of respect for TDPRI on the whole as a result. There are one or two guys over there that know their shit, especially in the amp and pedal forums. There are also a shit-tonne of hicks who favour woolly feel-good bullshit over hard fact, so will cling doggedly to piss-poor designed, over priced and obsolete technology because it hits them a little bit more centrally in 'the feels'. They will also mire down threads endlessly with the same rhetoric. Honestly there are predatory businessmen that can market any old shit to this crowd as long as you appeal to that fuzzy 'just like Leo did it' and 'things were better in the olden days' mentality and dress it up a certain way.

An argument about which atrocious, obsolete 50+ year old bridge design of impaired functionality happens to be the shittest looks a lot like a race to the bottom, honestly. The 3-point bridge is only useful if you feel that 'yaw' is a useful attribute to have some degree of control over on a bass bridge and you enjoy chasing saddles across the floor when a string breaks. The Tele bridge is only useful if you feel that the last couple of inches of guitar string should be kept safely out of reach by a metal barrier and that intonation is just some scientific bullshit. 

Come out from under your rocks. 

[uwe]

"The 3-point bridge is only useful if you feel that 'yaw' is a useful attribute to have some degree of control over on a bass bridge and you enjoy chasing saddles across the floor when a string breaks."

Brit villain, darned one!!!

[Granny Gremlin]

I feel pretty vindicated actually.  I DO actually think that the 'yaw' (very apt I must say) is useful.  But yes the saddles not being secured is a silly oversight.

[uwe]

I had to look up what that meant. I thought it was something limey colloquial!

[Dave W]

Nah, not buying it. There was that thread on TDPRI where a bunch of good ol' boys were talking about dousing for water. You link them to studies that proved conclusively that in scientific tests dousing doesn't perform any better than random chance, and they still dispute that because some family member found a spring in their back yard using two lengths of wood or copper wire. The mentality over there, on the whole, is to favour empirical 'feel good' noise over hard scientific fact, and I lost a bit of respect for TDPRI on the whole as a result. There are one or two guys over there that know their shit, especially in the amp and pedal forums. There are also a shit-tonne of hicks who favour woolly feel-good bullshit over hard fact, so will cling doggedly to piss-poor designed, over priced and obsolete technology because it hits them a little bit more centrally in 'the feels'. They will also mire down threads endlessly with the same rhetoric. Honestly there are predatory businessmen that can market any old shit to this crowd as long as you appeal to that fuzzy 'just like Leo did it' and 'things were better in the olden days' mentality and dress it up a certain way.

An argument about which atrocious, obsolete 50+ year old bridge design of impaired functionality happens to be the shittest looks a lot like a race to the bottom, honestly. The 3-point bridge is only useful if you feel that 'yaw' is a useful attribute to have some degree of control over on a bass bridge and you enjoy chasing saddles across the floor when a string breaks. The Tele bridge is only useful if you feel that the last couple of inches of guitar string should be kept safely out of reach by a metal barrier and that intonation is just some scientific bullshit. 

Come out from under your rocks. 

You're completely missing the point of this discussion. It's not about whether or not it's a better design, or whether or not it sounds better, it's about what's preferred by more Tele players -- for whatever reason. And while you don't have to like it, it most certainly sounds different.

Dissing a bridge design that's usable can be fun, but it's obviously usable, just as the Gibson 3-point is usable.

[uwe]

Hear, hear! 

It also comes complete, not like the two point which would be usable if it came with that pull-avoiding stringholder we're alsways promised!

[Alanko]

Dissing a bridge design that's usable can be fun, but it's obviously usable, just as the Gibson 3-point is usable.

A piece of string with a tin can on each end is usable... I still prefer an iPhone for communicating over distance. 

I think the preferences of the bulk of Tele players on the Internet is pretty simple, and I don't think there is really much of a point for me to be missing here. They are staunch traditionalists, and on TDPRI the demographic is largely white men in the 50s and 60s (if the mugshot thread is anything to go by), and therefore unrepresentative of all Tele players.

[uwe]

One cannot say "Telecaster" without saying "Rick" and "Francis" too. So what bridges do they prefer? That decided the case for me.





People always belittle how Quo are "always doing the same thing", but the truth of the matter is that I have never met a guitarist who could remotely emulate Parfitt's and Rossi's rhythm techniques (which are quite different, yet gel to the characteristic Quo rhythm wall of sound).

Granted, they have been, uhum, concentrating on it for so long they should be perfect at it by now!