Gibson SG bass - String length?

[Freuds_Cat]

Is it my eyes or are Gibson suggesting (visualy) on their website that its an OK thing to have the string binding or tie off run up and over the top of your bridge saddles?

[clankenstein]

why cant they make the bridge a bit longer at the back?

[Basvarken]

Use the modbar and you're safe.

[uwe]

It's a myth that it has any audible effect. And it doesn't hamper intonation either. Otherwise, taperwound bassstrings with just the core running across the saddle would be non-intonateable. In fact they are probably more accurately intonateable than regular strings.

[doombass]

I've never minded the extra wrapping on the saddles since I never expwrienced a problem with intonation nor sound. Like Rob said, the mod bar is the easiest solution if needed.

[Chris P.]

Longs scale strings won't fit on my 32" Burns and I couldn't find medium strings, so I fitted a set of shortscales. At the nut, the wrapping is like an inch over the fretboard. No sound difference.

[Freuds_Cat]

I'm not suggesting there is a tonal or physical minus to doing it, simply that its seems bad form for Gibson not to supply a ModBar or similar bridge modification so that it doesn't do it.   It looks amateurish. 

[Dave W]

It's just one of those things that's done that way because it's always been that way, too short a distance between the saddles and the anchor point of the strings. Others can manage to have a combination bridge-tailpiece without this. Gibson is just special. It's a special design feature.

[Freuds_Cat]

Heh, indeed 

[uwe]

When the three point came out and was stuck onto those long scale SG basses like the EB 4 there wasn't enough room for removing the anchoring farther from the saddle. Unless you would have anchored at the other side of the bass that is.  Then again, Gibson has experience with wrap around bridges ...

Any comments of Dave on the immaculate three point should be taken with a pinch of salt though: After all this man favors the two point. 

Uwe

[Basvarken]

Or maybe the three point bridge is only half of the configuration. It should come with either a tailstop or string through body ferrules.

[uwe]

3 point and stringholder = crowded mess (visually)

They work well with string-thru-body setup though like Ripper and RD had. I always wonder why they never did that for the TBird. Additional production costs are minimal and those who prefer anchoring just behind the saddle could still do that.

[Pilgrim]

I don't see where it matters - I rather like the look, and I'm confident that the point of any saddle is going to either compress the silk or work its way through the wrappings and make solid contact with the metal part of the string as soon as the instrument is played for a few minutes.

So to me, both sides of it are a non-issue. 

[Basvarken]

3 point and stringholder = crowded mess (visually)

Oh it's not that bad Uwe:

[uwe]

Gr(eco)uesome looking ...