'72 bridge issues...

[rhampshire]

Hey guys! It's been a while...

Some of you that have been around here for a while might remember the JG '72 I got off evilbay years back for $650-ish. It was full of holes and routed for a Jazz pickup (ick!) and needed a refret. I've got it all done! Well, cosmetically, anyway. Playability is another issue... The bridge saddle slots have been filed so deeply that the bass will not intonate - I've got the E string saddle all the way back and it's still sharp at the 12th fret. Not only that, but the whole bridge leans back because most of the saddles are over-center. I know I need new saddles, but I won't even bother posting in the marketplace because, well - I assume it'd be a fruitless effort. The other thing is that, say I had a set of brand new '72-era saddles, I'm not even sure that I could get the action low enough even with the bridge all the way down. Anybody ever had these issues with an old one?

[ken_j]

I had to sand the bottom of my bridge down on my '68 when it was new. It will sit lower in the tailpiece and be less likely to rock.