Hi flywheel,
I’ve understood everything you’ve said.
>>> The grooves on my '91 are in the center of the saddle, so it has nothing to do with the bridge and everything to do with someone at the Ernie Ball factory placing the wrong saddles on my bridge IMO.
>>>My bridge should have had saddles with the groove on the left for sure.
Well, I’m not too sure about that but I could be wrong.
>>> I don't know how a '91 Ray got such an old style bridge with the REALLY old style saddles. This is strange!!!
That’s why I set out the Bridge evolution above. It may not be 100% accurate but, by checking pics and data I think it sets the general picture. The saddles for the Pre-EB string through body and the Pre-EB top load are both centre grooved. The same top load style bridge (with centre grooved saddles) was continued by EB. The centre grooved saddles on your Bass, IMO, are period correct. I’ve just checked another 1991 bridge and it too has centre grooved saddles and the angled strings. The way I see it, the latter saddles with the groove to the left (as on your 96 Bass) would probably have only been at the development stage when your Bass was made (?). IMO, by adding the latter saddles with the groove to the left would detract from the originality of your bridge....but may work.
The string angle, over all four saddles, seems to have been rectified when EB originally introduced the bridge on your 96 Bass…circa 1991-2 (?). By moving the saddle groves to the left, the bridge now had to be moved offset to the right of the pickup and is therefore not in direct alignment with it. This allowed for the strings to remain centred over the pole pieces on the pickup. This is the case with my 94 Ray…the bridge is definitely offset to the right.
I believe this is the possibly a partial fix for your 91, if all string anchor holes and intonation screw holes are the same:
Disassemble the D and G saddles.
The intonation screws for the D and G saddles should be moved into the D and G string anchor holes and the 2 strings moved to the void left by the intonation screw holes. D and G saddles need to be flipped over 180 degrees so that the string groves are now to the right of the intonation screws. As the saddle adjustment screws are now upside down, they would have to be removed and reinserted.
Although there will be an angle of the strings over all saddles, the D and G will be more symmetrical with the E and A strings as I believe they possibly should be (pic 2 above).
I could be wrong but, as I said in the post above, the D and G saddles may have been incorrectly assembled in the first place. If that is the case, then it’s hard to believe how it happened for so long? It could explain the difference in the two pics however, of which both bridges appear basically the same. It's possible also that pic 2 may be someone's latter mod.
Another 1991 Bridge:
http://a0.cpimg.com/image/D8/0F/23514840-113a-0200013C-L.jpg
Cheers.
P.S. I realise that the fix I suggest doesn't cure the overall angle on all four strings which was your original question. I don't think that can be rectified without changing originality. I have noticed though, with similar Basses, that the angle over the D and G is far more pronounced...eg compare the pic just above to pic 1. It should however add symmetry to the bridge as in pic 2.
