Shitty string saddle responsible?

[mburton21]

Hey guys, how's it going?

I'm having a bit of trouble with the large string on my Gibson Gothic II Explorer. We tune in C-Standard and use 13-59 gauge strings; I tried out 14-68 baritone gauge strings before but they proved too dull and large.

Anyways, I know it's a 24.75" scale guitar, but I don't think that's the problem as my LTD EX400 (also 24.75) can handle lower, even down to B standard/drop A with a bit of intonation wizardry.

The only difference between them at this point are the bridge saddles (since I installed Grover locking tuners and an Earvana on the Gibby when I bought it). The bridge saddles on the Gothic's bridge look crappy, they're barely even cut into and the strings basically sit on top of a nick in the metal. The bridge saddles on the EX400, however, have nice large grooves where the string can sit in comfortably.

All the other strings are perfect, but the C string sounds garbly and is a little bitchy on the intonation.

Thoughts?



Thanks!

 

[SethTheGreat]

I've never had that problem before so I can't say for sure, but that sounds like a reasonable diagnosis.

A replacement bridge isn't too expensive.

 

[Robert W]

I've never had that problem before so I can't say for sure, but that sounds like a reasonable diagnosis.

A replacement bridge isn't too expensive.

+1

Sounds like getting a new bridge would certainly solve your problem.

 

[22km Tombstone]

Couldn't you just bring it to a tech and get the saddles filed down? A new bridge won't really solve your problem; it'll have the saddles without slots in them as well. They assume that you'll get them cut to the right size depending on the gauge string you use.

 

[mburton21]

Yeah, I think i might just have to take it to a tech and get him to file them out. I tried just switching the saddles from the EX to the Gothic but no luck, the saddles are a bit different and are off by about half a millimeter >.<

 

[Sloan]

Ideally you do want the strings to almost sit 'on top' of the saddles and nut, often times the slots are too deep which can cause the string to hang. This leads to tuning instability, breakage, and dampening.