I just bought the new american special strat, love it sounds great, plays great. Then I went to put new strings on. Darn, the high E string saddle is super loose. Actually the only thing that was holding it down/in place was the String! So I see it was sent from the factory with the intonation adjustment screw only holding the saddle by a turn or two, so there is basically zero tension on the spring. This has me very concerned as if the only way to get guitars intonation to be correct was to set the saddle to such an extreme I have to be concerned that the quality of this guitar just isn't right.

If the strings are intonated, I cant see a problem. The string pressure is going to hold the saddle in place ok. You could always return it or just buy a longer screw if it's that much of a worry.

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No no and no

I pretty much agree with Nick there but I would like to add a couple of things...

First, have you checked the intonation to make sure it's actually correct? Do -NOT- assume that just because the guitar is "new" that the intonation is actually set right! Yes, it is set at the factory but chances are that unless you went directly to the factory to pick the guitar up, it probably needs to be checked/reset. Brand new guitars sit in warehouses for a long time and are often subjected to "various abuses" during shipping (and sometimes reshipping), various temperature extremes, etc and these days most guitar shops don't bother setting up a brand new instrument...they come out of the box and go right on the display.

Now -if- you've checked the intonation and it really is set correctly with the screw that far backed out and you really believe that something is wrong with the guitar itself, you can return it and get the situation dealt with under warranty. However if the guitar otherwise plays and sounds good and you're otherwise happy with it, I'd do as Nick suggested and just get a slightly longer screw. That ten to twenty pennies your going to pay for that screw (maybe $.50 if you use stainless steel) isn't really all that much for a guitar that you're otherwise happy with

Just my $.02 worth,
Jim

With my highway one is about the same. To get precise intonation on the high E, i must screwdown all the saddle until it it gets over the sixth bridge screw. And when the strings began to get old, its impossible to get the intonation right on the high E. I think the whole bridge is not that good quality, and maybe that 22th extra fret helps on that issue. Anyways when i get some 100 bucks, ill go for a higher quality bridge.


J.Korb, Brazil
Fender Stratocaster Highway One
2009, Sunburst, Maple

I heard Carl Verheyen say he winds a piece of wire around his Strat saddles to keep them together. Anybody else hear this?

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-Kirk

GUITARS
'12 Sonoran Acoustic - black (dated 10/31/12)
'13 Standard Strat
AMP
Vox ac4c1-bl
PEDALS
Compressor
Big Muff
Vox Stomplab 1G
Carbon Copy Delay

Yeah I heard him say that on a trem setup video interview. Its to keep all the saddles butted up to each other, side to side. Havent tried it myself.

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No no and no

No problem there at all. Nothing to worry about.

Good luck with the Strat Special - I'd love one myself but have too many guitars already.. (and i wouldn't be able to choose between the Candy Apple Red or the 2 colour Sunburst)..

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Fender Highway & Classic 60s Strats, Fender Toronado, Telecaster, Gretsch Projet, Charvel 3, PRS SE Soapbar II & Custom 24, Burns Batwing and many others!

I've changed the strings recently and appeared to have solved the saddle intonation problem, now my low B and E doesnt get that far over the bridge screws, its seams just to be on the right position with right intonation. I'm using now nanowebs 0.09 strings.