Dirty little saddles

JBlakey · Post by **JBlakey** » Sat Jun 30, 2001 3:32 pm

I absolutely love my 75 4001....and recently got a 90 4003 that is a dream to play. However...one thing I would change is the saddle finish... purely for cosmetic reasons. I find that it is very difficult if not impossible to keep them clean due to the matte finish that grabs and holds sweat and dirt.
Is there a reason that the saddles are made with this type of finish and are not chromed? Are the guitars the same?

rob · Post by **rob** » Sun Jul 01, 2001 1:23 am

I've never had a problem with my saddles being dirty. Ever try Silicone spray? I've heard it works wonders.

Headbanger · Post by **Headbanger** » Sun Jul 01, 2001 4:31 am

Don't let Mark hear you say that, you'll get him started on the evils of silicone.

JBlakey · Post by **JBlakey** » Sun Jul 01, 2001 6:48 am

well yeah I've thought of coating them with something.. clear nail polish, silicone etc. but never have.
I play out quite a bit and don't get to cleaning too often... but when I do..usually when I change strings.. I go over the whole bass pretty well and it looks great for a week or so. But, the saddles never come clean. Am I the only one? I know my sweat took the paint off the door of my truck... maybe it's dietary.

JBlakey · Post by **JBlakey** » Sun Jul 01, 2001 4:32 pm

OK, I am not the only one... if you go to ARTICLES (from HOME) and look up 4000 series... there is a link to a photo of the 4003 modified bridge... with the saddle problem I am describing.
Why the (grime magnet) aluminum saddles?
It seems that a more dense metal (like chromed or anodized steel) would allow for more sustain anyway. Am I wrong about that?

rob · Post by **rob** » Mon Jul 02, 2001 7:04 am

It's possible that it would add a LITTLE more sustain, maybe. If it does, it probably wouldn't be too noticible. So, with that said, maybe you should buy them only to avoid dirty looking saddles. That is, if you can find them.

rick12dr · Post by **rick12dr** » Mon Jul 02, 2001 9:16 am

John Hall has said that they have experimented
with various different materials for their bridges
in the shop, and for their purposes,aluminum is still the preferred one .If you have "dirty" bass saddles, remove the bridge section off the baseplate, and either remove the saddles or leave them on the bridge, and use masking tape to protect the chrome,while you use a metal polish like Simichrome to clean the dirty saddles. A Dremel tool with a hard felt buffing wheel is really good for this.

markthemd · Post by **markthemd** » Wed Jul 04, 2001 9:32 pm

I use a buffing wheel chucked into my drill press and some rouge polish.

I have a jig for holding the saddles (you could use vice grips ) and just polish them .Doing this will out last any other polishing.

SILICONE !!!!!ARE YOU INSANE??????????

Go spray that on yerself and polish your cancer .

GAG me with a saws-all!

NO WAY TO SILICONE ....SORRY!

I now return you to my normal attitude.

bails · Post by **bails** » Thu Jul 05, 2001 1:22 am

I don't know why aluminum is used for the saddles in the first place, but as it is, the reason they cannot be chromed is because aluminum does not electroplate very well. Any chroming would simply wear off too easily, especially with the strings rubbing.

Headbanger · Post by **Headbanger** » Thu Jul 05, 2001 3:05 am

admin · Post by **admin** » Thu Jul 05, 2001 3:38 am

Onion: I can live with the aluminum saddles but have always wondered why the soft metal intonation screws were used. They are certainly prone to deterioration should one intonate without realizing that the string first needs to be slacked off almost completely. Mark Arnquist's suggestion about modifying the bridge to correct for this is an interesting one.

rob · Post by **rob** » Thu Jul 05, 2001 5:59 am

Well, I figure silicone is a good choice because that is what I use to clean the molds at work. Each mold can cost anywhere from 5 to 6 figures. If silicone works on these, why not saddles?

gregson1 · Post by **gregson1** » Fri Jul 06, 2001 8:15 am

Peter: With regards to bass intonation (machine) screws, I have ordered a bunch recently and they have all been stainless steel. As little as a year ago, I was still getting nickel plated screws from Rickenbacker, which are much softer as a result of the plating process. Mark did his magic bridge/ tailpiece modification to a newer 4003 bridge that is mounted on my 4002. Because of an easily corrected vibrating string mute spring, I had to adjust the intonation on this bass and it went A LOT smoother with Mark's modification in place. Thanks Mark!

markthemd · Post by **markthemd** » Fri Jul 06, 2001 8:05 pm

Thank you ...so now that you have had the 4002 back for some time ...how is it and do you like what I did for you?

markthemd · Post by **markthemd** » Fri Jul 06, 2001 8:05 pm

Does the neck seem stiffer at all to you?