I am sorry for the cheesy video thumbnail with the guy with the surprised face. He is actually not a real person and is AI generated. I always see videos with thumbnails like this on RUclips and they always crack me up. This is my tribute to all of them I have seen and laughed at.
Smart, simple and inexpensive upgrade - my preference is for 6 saddle bridges because they can be intonated more accurately over the 3 barrel standard Telecaster bridge. Individual string height adjustments, as well. Sometimes inexpensive tuners work well - nothing wrong with keeping them - and I do prefer the split post vintage style tuners, as well. Good video!
I wasn't expecting to hear a difference but I did. The brass saddles did have a more ringing tone, but the stock saddles have a smoother tone which I preferred. I'm guessing the ringing tone is being produced where the mounting screws vibrate against the bridge plate. Thanks for doing this video.
Totally with you on the value of cheap guitars..! Regarding the saddles, the brass ones certainly sound different - brighter, but I prefer the warmer sound of the stock ones.. I have a 2020 Affinity Tele myself 😊
I have that exact same affinity tele 2020 myself-I call it “Butterscotch.” The stock saddle seem to slip while I play it, ruining the action. I was able to keep it from slipping by applying nail polish to the screws, but I will see if I can replace all the saddles. The pickups are hot , and paying even $800-900 more for the MIM Fender is silly when this really has a fine neck and smooth frets
@@ALKRANTZagreed. I’d rather mod a reasonably solid platform to what I want. I’m chucking a p-rails in bridge humbucker tele sonic, locking tuners and a control panel with a switch and it’s exactly what I wanted for $500aud ($320usd)
There's a video on YT where by slightly loosening the screws on a bolt on neck, tapping the bottom of the body on a soft surface, and retightening the neck screws sits the neck better into the pocket and enhances harmonics throughout the guitar. I tried that on an old cheap Squire and I noticed a difference.
i put brass saddles on a guitar, and i felt like it changed the feel of the string when strumming, and i didn't care for that. it didn't add any brightness to my ears, so i swapped in steel instead. but anyways, budget guitars are cool
I put those same brass saddles on my BS Sonic Tele with similar results. I also put brass barrels on my 50s CV. I just got a Mocha FMT Affinity Tele and will swap out those saddles on payday. Another change I've made is roller string trees. The FMT is my favourite one. It came with perfect set up out the box. That's never happended for me before.
@@markadams3047 on the older Affinity guitars not without a lot of work on the guitar that in my opinion would make it not worth it. On the brand new Affinity guitars - yes. I have replaced the factory bridge with a vintage 3 saddle bridge.
FYI I installed a USA Tele Yosemite bridge pickup right into my Affinity Telecaster but I had to sand down the edges with a finger nail file (emery board) and I did install a Mojotone solder less wiring kit.
The quality has improved wirh Squier. Having said that, what is affected by the cheaper brand is Def the setup. Although, the attention to detail makes a setup a lot harder as the adjustability of the guitar can be affected. I've only found one or 2 that I could set up well but the amount that couldn't be set up well was staggering to me. I gave up on afinity and moved to classic vibe for the versatility of the interchangeable parts. My afinity was nice though as I remodeled several for fun and they came out so nice. The quality of the craftsmanship does matter to me cause specs matter and Squier drops the ball a lot there.
@@guitarcollectorguy I had the experience of buying a new-old-stock Yamaha Pacifica 112V from a pawnshop. It was basically unplayable as I bought it, so I took it to a luthier for a setup, and it came back still unplayable. What I failed to understand was why the luthier didn't discuss the situation with me. He handed it back to me as if everything was fine. It turned out to be a truss rod issue, that I sorted out, with a bit of patience but so much for the idea that if you want a guitar set up properly you take it to an expert. 👎
I've been contemplating a set of those brass saddles for my Bullet Strat hardtail as sure as i love the tonal difference they make, even the compensated saddles for the vintage bridge make the most deepest difference for me but as for those modern Strat saddles... WOW! Speaking of modern, cheap guitars nowadays don't take much to improve their playability when you know how to do it yourself.
This was a great video, as like others, I have a 90’s affinity tele, I have a set of used graphite saddles in, not bad but lacking that edge, I will definitely look for those saddles and try them out!! A question please, how do the brass saddles sound with a little gain rilled on? Thanks again for the great video, well laid out 👍👍👍
There were a number of small improvements including a string-through body. They were well worth the small increase in price. These included a noticeably nicer body finish, a three-ply pickguard, a poly finish on the headstock, and the split barrel tuners which are noticeably smoother in operation than the older ones. The labelling on the headstock also changed so that now it's the same as on the classic vibe models.
i just installed a titanium alloy nut on my partscaster tele body/squire tele neck waiting on pots to get here and going to redo the pickups and electronics cant wait to hear how the titanium nut affects the sound
So what do you think ? I bought some titanium parts and it sounded awful . A saddle set I think . Sounded like metal pretending to be plastic. I was surprised, its super hard
@@guitarcollectorguy these are nice saddles but I'm looking for a vintage bridge to replace the modern one on my Affinity tele, one with the three brass saddles. Had me going for a minute...
Wish I would have seen this yesterday. Just ordered the same guitar and wanted the 3 brass bullet look and sound but didn’t see holes for 3 saddles so ordered the whole bridge assembly for $70. From Musicians Friend. The tone in all 3 positions added treble. So playing solos with distorted gain in bridge position should match most musicians recordings well. You said the original bridge didn’t match the quality Tele’ bridges or the classical look, not sure but it looked the same as my Ultra Tele’. Not sure about the reflection. Maybe your lighting but mine is chrome plated. That Tele’ didn’t appear chrome. Hope the metals match the control plate when it comes or I’ll return it and do what you did. Another guy used a radius checker for action adjustments on the strings between the E’s. Something else to buy. Lol
I have a Tele Affinity but the bridge is different, longer and does match any Tele after market bridges, it has 3 screws at the top not 4 and 2 extra screws at the pick up, is there anything I can do to upgrade?
That is the bridge, but it is very difficult to string, it does not have the holes through the back, just through the bridge, that is why I want to upgrade.
@@PantherJagger without drilling string holes and redrilling for a new bridge - not a lot. I wish they produced the Affinity Teles with a standard string through bridge. But they do not.
Max Ostro started on a Squier Strat and yeah he got exactly the same tone as Yngwie Malmsteen for Arpeggios from Hell and did a perfect cover s few years back and that made him very famous , So yeah only a Snob sneers at a Squier as they are not bad guitars
@guitarcollectorguy Yeah 👍 though I'm not a fan of the Cutaway they've added on the Affinity Telecaster , I have a 2012 Affinity Telecaster and it weighs over 8lbs and has a killer tone and the goods neck which I like better than Satin 👍
Excellent video.. I order sets of dopro,both brass and stainless steel if you haven't tried this yet you might want to use brass saddles for high E, b, and G, and stainless for low E,A and D... It sounds amazing. Stainless brings definition to low E,A, and D, while using brass on high E,B, and G softens up spikey upper mid transits and warmup highs a bit. The stock saddles are zinc and hollowed which cuts sustain.. IV E tried everything but aluminum saddles while likely hava softer or Mellow top end. But rhus so far stainless steel and brass sound the best IMHO, I was concerned that stainless would be overly bright but they actually sound warmer than the stock zinc saddles. They may have more top end overall but it also are more balanced across the entire frequency spectrum. The brass and stainless seem to compliment each other really well. I couldn't agree more with you regarding what an 😮improvement saddles make. The best way I can describe it is a lot More of everything, a more solid foundational tone, and more sustain overall. I also change bridge pickups, and put a tusq graphite string tree. All that runs around 70 bucks . And takes the tone to The next level on par with min and even some of the American made telecasters I've owned . The new sonic esquier is astounding and a jump in quality from the bullet's which are nice as well and what i usually gig with.. anyways thanks for the excellent video and cheers 👍👍
@@guitarcollectorguy right on, yeah you might actually like the tone of it.. a few players do this, I think Brad Paisley is one of them.. but yeah it definitely changes the fundamental tone..
Like you, I wanted to change the entire bridge plate a for box type traditional one, mainly because I actually use the “ashtray” bridge cover to rest my hand on. Why oh why did fender (Squier) decide to make a new bridge plate that is longer than the standard? All the holes are in the wrong places and basically you are stuck with this thing. The brass saddles make a big difference so I will get some, but the ones I see have a string groove that is offset to the side compared to the nasty chrome ones.
The new Affinity line does allow for the bridge plate to be swapped out. You can see a little of the monster size routing for the pickup on either side with a standard vintage bridge installed. I have one and did the swap out. Been toying with whether or not to put it out in a video.
One of the first things I check once I restring. I have already pulled the neck and replaced it with a really nice CV Squier Neck and it is cool too. May be a trick of the video.
@@neildourish9908I had the same issue so I bought a set but haven’t tried them yet as it looks like the height adjustment lugs would be sitting on the bridge plate screws. I’m going to swap the pickups soon so I might give the brass saddles a try while I’m doing that.
What you needed, in my opinion, is better steel saddles. Steel is the preference of Kenny Vaughan, Marty Stuart, Brent Mason, Jimmy Page w/The Yardbirds/early LZ, etc, as well. Fender only installed brass saddles on teles until 1953. From 1954 on, they used steel saddles instead of brass. My 1956 tele has threaded steel saddles, sounds beautiful. *All* 1960s teles use steel saddles. Most of the classic Tele tracks you've admired over the years were probably played with steel. Two of my 8 teles came stock with brass saddles, and I immediately changed over to Glendale steel. For the low E and A strings, I favor aluminum. Brass sounds dull to my ears.
I am sorry for the cheesy video thumbnail with the guy with the surprised face. He is actually not a real person and is AI generated. I always see videos with thumbnails like this on RUclips and they always crack me up. This is my tribute to all of them I have seen and laughed at.
@@contactusece7769 www.amazon.com/gp/product/B093SPPS5S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
10.5 mm size
Smart, simple and inexpensive upgrade - my preference is for 6 saddle bridges because they can be intonated more accurately over the 3 barrel standard Telecaster bridge. Individual string height adjustments, as well. Sometimes inexpensive tuners work well - nothing wrong with keeping them - and I do prefer the split post vintage style tuners, as well. Good video!
Thank you! Completely agree on the 6 saddle bridges. Watch your channel all the time!
I wasn't expecting to hear a difference but I did. The brass saddles did have a more ringing tone, but the stock saddles have a smoother tone which I preferred. I'm guessing the ringing tone is being produced where the mounting screws vibrate against the bridge plate. Thanks for doing this video.
You are welcome
Totally with you on the value of cheap guitars..! Regarding the saddles, the brass ones certainly sound different - brighter, but I prefer the warmer sound of the stock ones.. I have a 2020 Affinity Tele myself 😊
I have that exact same affinity tele 2020 myself-I call it “Butterscotch.” The stock saddle seem to slip while I play it, ruining the action. I was able to keep it from slipping by applying nail polish to the screws, but I will see if I can replace all the saddles. The pickups are hot , and paying even $800-900 more for the MIM Fender is silly when this really has a fine neck and smooth frets
Steel saddles would be brighter, and brass saddles would be warmer. Not sure why you think the opposite.
@@larryn2682 That is also what my hearing tells me here, the original sound brighter, the sample made with brass ones sound, to my ears, more muffled.
@@ALKRANTZagreed. I’d rather mod a reasonably solid platform to what I want. I’m chucking a p-rails in bridge humbucker tele sonic, locking tuners and a control panel with a switch and it’s exactly what I wanted for $500aud ($320usd)
There's a video on YT where by slightly loosening the screws on a bolt on neck, tapping the bottom of the body on a soft surface, and retightening the neck screws sits the neck better into the pocket and enhances harmonics throughout the guitar. I tried that on an old cheap Squire and I noticed a difference.
How can we find that clip? Thanks
@@BAsed_AFro ruclips.net/video/N5lTtDzR8eE/видео.htmlsi=Q_h8-ZdFFh7zk-2C
@@BAsed_AFro ruclips.net/video/5P802vhtccc/видео.htmlsi=GJgapZyQaxKCv6E6
@@BAsed_AFro ruclips.net/video/5P802vhtccc/видео.htmlsi=GJgapZyQaxKCv6E6
Thank you. Pretty wild.
i put brass saddles on a guitar, and i felt like it changed the feel of the string when strumming, and i didn't care for that. it didn't add any brightness to my ears, so i swapped in steel instead. but anyways, budget guitars are cool
I put those same brass saddles on my BS Sonic Tele with similar results. I also put brass barrels on my 50s CV. I just got a Mocha FMT Affinity Tele and will swap out those saddles on payday. Another change I've made is roller string trees. The FMT is my favourite one. It came with perfect set up out the box. That's never happended for me before.
I have 2 Squire Affinity Telecasters it looks like I am going to make the upgrade I can really hear the difference great job!!
I just picked up a new Affinity Tele and found the vintage bridge fits. Video coming soon.
@@guitarcollectorguy I want to replace my bridge also with the 3 brass saddles do you know if it would fit on squire?
@@markadams3047 on the older Affinity guitars not without a lot of work on the guitar that in my opinion would make it not worth it. On the brand new Affinity guitars - yes. I have replaced the factory bridge with a vintage 3 saddle bridge.
How do I know which brass saddles to purchase exactly? I had to put a shim(piece of a business card) in my affinity.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B093SPPS5S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
This is what I used.
10.5 mm correct? They have both 10.8 mm also
FYI I installed a USA Tele Yosemite bridge pickup right into my Affinity Telecaster but I had to sand down the edges with a finger nail file (emery board) and I did install a Mojotone solder less wiring kit.
I used the 10.5
I put a tusq nut on my player telecaster and it is much brighter......I'm thinking about the bridge
Tusq nuts are a great product. Make a big tonal difference.
The quality has improved wirh Squier. Having said that, what is affected by the cheaper brand is Def the setup. Although, the attention to detail makes a setup a lot harder as the adjustability of the guitar can be affected. I've only found one or 2 that I could set up well but the amount that couldn't be set up well was staggering to me. I gave up on afinity and moved to classic vibe for the versatility of the interchangeable parts. My afinity was nice though as I remodeled several for fun and they came out so nice. The quality of the craftsmanship does matter to me cause specs matter and Squier drops the ball a lot there.
Completely agree with Affinity vs CV.
@@guitarcollectorguy I had the experience of buying a new-old-stock Yamaha Pacifica 112V from a pawnshop. It was basically unplayable as I bought it, so I took it to a luthier for a setup, and it came back still unplayable. What I failed to understand was why the luthier didn't discuss the situation with me. He handed it back to me as if everything was fine. It turned out to be a truss rod issue, that I sorted out, with a bit of patience but so much for the idea that if you want a guitar set up properly you take it to an expert. 👎
Where'd you get the brass saddles ?
On Amazon
I've been contemplating a set of those brass saddles for my Bullet Strat hardtail as sure as i love the tonal difference they make, even the compensated saddles for the vintage bridge make the most deepest difference for me but as for those modern Strat saddles... WOW!
Speaking of modern, cheap guitars nowadays don't take much to improve their playability when you know how to do it yourself.
Great review as always. Thank you !
Thank you
This was a great video, as like others, I have a 90’s affinity tele, I have a set of used graphite saddles in, not bad but lacking that edge, I will definitely look for those saddles and try them out!! A question please, how do the brass saddles sound with a little gain rilled on?
Thanks again for the great video, well laid out 👍👍👍
Wow! Just bought a 2022, I dig it. Prob one of best teles I ever had believe it. But, what a difference! Huh?,! 🐝Great video, thanks.
The biggest change on these new Affinities is the 42mm standard width neck. The older Affinities, bith Teles and Strats had thin 40 mm necks.
There were a number of small improvements including a string-through body. They were well worth the small increase in price. These included a noticeably nicer body finish, a three-ply pickguard, a poly finish on the headstock, and the split barrel tuners which are noticeably smoother in operation than the older ones. The labelling on the headstock also changed so that now it's the same as on the classic vibe models.
I put Kaish brass bridge roller saddles on mine. They dropped right in. Also have roller string trees. I use brass roller bridges on all my guitars .
i just installed a titanium alloy nut on my partscaster tele body/squire tele neck waiting on pots to get here and going to redo the pickups and electronics cant wait to hear how the titanium nut affects the sound
So what do you think ? I bought some titanium parts and it sounded awful . A saddle set I think . Sounded like metal pretending to be plastic. I was surprised, its super hard
@@terryenglish7132 it made the guitar way too bright , i ended up putting in a graphtech nubone nut .
Nice video. Which brand saddles? That would be helpful.
Thank you. Here you go - www.amazon.com/gp/product/B093SPPS5S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
I put a vintage bridge on my squire affinity fit perfect it is a 2022
Interesting. Maybe they have changed.
Looked at the pictures close up. About dang time they made this change. I just ordered one.
Where o where have been looking for one since I got the guitar, link please...😮
@@roberthoover3805 Here you go - www.amazon.com/gp/product/B093SPPS5S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
@@guitarcollectorguy these are nice saddles but I'm looking for a vintage bridge to replace the modern one on my Affinity tele, one with the three brass saddles. Had me going for a minute...
Wish I would have seen this yesterday. Just ordered the same guitar and wanted the 3 brass bullet look and sound but didn’t see holes for 3 saddles so ordered the whole bridge assembly for $70. From Musicians Friend. The tone in all 3 positions added treble. So playing solos with distorted gain in bridge position should match most musicians recordings well. You said the original bridge didn’t match the quality Tele’ bridges or the classical look, not sure but it looked the same as my Ultra Tele’. Not sure about the reflection. Maybe your lighting but mine is chrome plated. That Tele’ didn’t appear chrome. Hope the metals match the control plate when it comes or I’ll return it and do what you did. Another guy used a radius checker for action adjustments on the strings between the E’s. Something else to buy. Lol
The newer affinity will take a vintage style bridge. This video is over a year old and the model changed.
I have a Tele Affinity but the bridge is different, longer and does match any Tele after market bridges, it has 3 screws at the top not 4 and 2 extra screws at the pick up, is there anything I can do to upgrade?
That is a standard affinity bridge. It should match the bridge in this video - ruclips.net/video/AqU8t62s36k/видео.html
The saddles will work on that bridge as well.
That is the bridge, but it is very difficult to string, it does not have the holes through the back, just through the bridge, that is why I want to upgrade.
@@PantherJagger without drilling string holes and redrilling for a new bridge - not a lot. I wish they produced the Affinity Teles with a standard string through bridge. But they do not.
Max Ostro started on a Squier Strat and yeah he got exactly the same tone as Yngwie Malmsteen for Arpeggios from Hell and did a perfect cover s few years back and that made him very famous , So yeah only a Snob sneers at a Squier as they are not bad guitars
Squiers are great guitars.
@guitarcollectorguy Yeah 👍 though I'm not a fan of the Cutaway they've added on the Affinity Telecaster , I have a 2012 Affinity Telecaster and it weighs over 8lbs and has a killer tone and the goods neck which I like better than Satin 👍
Excellent video.. I order sets of dopro,both brass and stainless steel if you haven't tried this yet you might want to use brass saddles for high E, b, and G, and stainless for low E,A and D... It sounds amazing. Stainless brings definition to low E,A, and D, while using brass on high E,B, and G softens up spikey upper mid transits and warmup highs a bit. The stock saddles are zinc and hollowed which cuts sustain.. IV E tried everything but aluminum saddles while likely hava softer or Mellow top end. But rhus so far stainless steel and brass sound the best IMHO, I was concerned that stainless would be overly bright but they actually sound warmer than the stock zinc saddles. They may have more top end overall but it also are more balanced across the entire frequency spectrum. The brass and stainless seem to compliment each other really well. I couldn't agree more with you regarding what an 😮improvement saddles make. The best way I can describe it is a lot More of everything, a more solid foundational tone, and more sustain overall. I also change bridge pickups, and put a tusq graphite string tree. All that runs around 70 bucks . And takes the tone to The next level on par with min and even some of the American made telecasters I've owned . The new sonic esquier is astounding and a jump in quality from the bullet's which are nice as well and what i usually gig with.. anyways thanks for the excellent video and cheers 👍👍
Thank you very much. I never would have thought of mixing metals in the saddles. I am going to have to try this idea.
@@guitarcollectorguy right on, yeah you might actually like the tone of it.. a few players do this, I think Brad Paisley is one of them.. but yeah it definitely changes the fundamental tone..
There are two different size brass saddles listed on Amazon....10.5mm and 10.8mm...which one do I order for my squier infininty telcaster?
I would go with the 10.5.
@@guitarcollectorguy okay thanks...
Like you, I wanted to change the entire bridge plate a for box type traditional one, mainly because I actually use the “ashtray” bridge cover to rest my hand on. Why oh why did fender (Squier) decide to make a new bridge plate that is longer than the standard? All the holes are in the wrong places and basically you are stuck with this thing. The brass saddles make a big difference so I will get some, but the ones I see have a string groove that is offset to the side compared to the nasty chrome ones.
The new Affinity line does allow for the bridge plate to be swapped out. You can see a little of the monster size routing for the pickup on either side with a standard vintage bridge installed. I have one and did the swap out. Been toying with whether or not to put it out in a video.
Very interested in the new bridge been looking for one so I can use the 3 barrels and all the original holes. (what & where?)@@guitarcollectorguy
@@roberthoover3805 Here you go - www.amazon.com/gp/product/B093SPPS5S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
Are they the 10.5 or 10.8?
@@toddwallace1277 I used the 10.5
Van Dyke Harms has several models of barrel saddles, and accessories. Might be overkill, but look really beefy, and a lil pricey.
I just did a video on their hybrid bridge. Very nicely made bridge.
It looks like the neck could have a heel adjust trussrod?
One of the first things I check once I restring. I have already pulled the neck and replaced it with a really nice CV Squier Neck and it is cool too. May be a trick of the video.
Whats the string spacing on these?
@@nickhutchinson9068 you can buy most string spring specs for the different saddles. These come in 10.5 mm and 10.8 mm. You can other sizes as well.
Hi. Nice upgrade.
Did you use 10.5 or 10.8 as both are available?
Thanks
Thank you. I used the 10.5 size.
@@guitarcollectorguyGreat. Thank you.
@@stevie-con67 you are very welcome
I can’t seem to find any 10.5s that are the same length as the ones on my affinity (24mm) only 20mm ones
@@neildourish9908I had the same issue so I bought a set but haven’t tried them yet as it looks like the height adjustment lugs would be sitting on the bridge plate screws.
I’m going to swap the pickups soon so I might give the brass saddles a try while I’m doing that.
No link or info which bridge you got and where ?
Just the saddles - no bridge - Here you go - www.amazon.com/gp/product/B093SPPS5S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
groovy, cheap guitars can sound great if setup
Yes, they can. :)
Yeah new strings make it brighter and more resonant. Doubt brass does anything that different.
Don't really know until you try.
@@guitarcollectorguy yeah I change strings and it’s better instantly.
Yea right, don't let AI do it. it's stupid and alot of rookies do it, it's bad!!!
What you needed, in my opinion, is better steel saddles. Steel is the preference of Kenny Vaughan, Marty Stuart, Brent Mason, Jimmy Page w/The Yardbirds/early LZ, etc, as well. Fender only installed brass saddles on teles until 1953. From 1954 on, they used steel saddles instead of brass. My 1956 tele has threaded steel saddles, sounds beautiful. *All* 1960s teles use steel saddles. Most of the classic Tele tracks you've admired over the years were probably played with steel.
Two of my 8 teles came stock with brass saddles, and I immediately changed over to Glendale steel. For the low E and A strings, I favor aluminum. Brass sounds dull to my ears.