Titanium, brass, nickel saddles for tune o matic

tabano

Hi all,
just wondering if anybody’s has swapped  a  tune o matic bridge for one with titanium saddles, or simply just swapped the saddles for titanium ones?
what’s the tone / sustain like when compared with zinc or brass?
any opinions much appreciated!

Jimbro66

My Gibson ES-335 has a Faber bridge that has titanium saddles under the E A D strings and nickel plated brass under the G B E strings. The theory is that the titanium saddles add a little brightness to the lower strings which can otherwise be a little woolly on a 335. Compared to the original Gibson bridge that had all brass saddles there is a subtle difference in the bass strings response. There is also greater sustain in all strings which I credit to the Faber bridge design more than to the saddle material. I think maybe on other guitar models the use of titanium saddles might make very little tonal difference and could even make string response too bright. Others may disagree

guitars4you

Jimbro66 said:

My Gibson ES-335 has a Faber bridge that has titanium saddles under the E A D strings and nickel plated brass under the G B E strings. The theory is that the titanium saddles add a little brightness to the lower strings which can otherwise be a little woolly on a 335. Compared to the original Gibson bridge that had all brass saddles there is a subtle difference in the bass strings response. There is also greater sustain in all strings which I credit to the Faber bridge design more than to the saddle material. I think maybe on other guitar models the use of titanium saddles might make very little tonal difference and could even make string response too bright. Others may disagree

Tend to endorse the Faber format - I think the difference between titanium or brass is certainly on the subtle side of life and I can certainly accept/live with either - But I think the whole tone and construction of the Faber bridge is superior 

tabano

That’s great to know guys,
I was considering  a Gotoh titanium Nashville type but I’ll check the Faber ones as well then,
thanks!

guitars4you

tabano said:

That’s great to know guys,
I was considering  a Gotoh titanium Nashville type but I’ll check the Faber ones as well then,
thanks!

I don't see anything wrong with the Gotoh models, but generally if I ever have to change such a bridge I'll go with Faber

They offer options for USA and Far Eastern bridge posts + ABR style to fit a modern Nashville bridge

Jimbro66

guitars4you said:

They offer options for USA and Far Eastern bridge posts + ABR style to fit a modern Nashville bridge

My 335 is one of that short run of 81-82 models that had the Schaller bridge. From about mid 82 onwards they had a Nashville bridge. The Schaller was actually a good bridge that offered more intonation adjustment than both the abr and Nashville but it looked quite clunky. Faber had all the parts to convert to an abr bridge and they were excellent quality. Having previously owned a ‘63 335 the abr type looked ‘right’ to me so I went with that rather than with the period-correct Nashville.

tabano

Good info !
thanks again!