Installing vintage strat saddles on an ASS?

[Rufedges]

Anyone installed vintage stratocaster-type saddles on their Axis SS? I actually swapped out the neck and bridge pup in my Silo Special, put an Area 58 in the neck and a EJDP212 in the bridge, .........big difference......much more personality and life to the Silo, so much that my ASS doesn't get much playtime anymore, but,.....I have Graphtech saddles on my ASS, and tried to install some on the Silo Spec when I first got it, and I could not believe how much of a difference the big blocky ASS type saddles made on the sound, even with the single coils and alder body compared to the basswood/maple, in fact, they sounded nearly identical, nothing like before. Needless to say, I put the stock saddles back on the Silo Spec.

Anyway, I have a PDN Axis SS coming, and now kind of wished I had ordered a Silo Special PDN instead, but, almost zero chance of one being available at this point, or someone wanting to trade a Silo Spec PDN for an ASS PDN, so I was thinking of getting some titanium strat saddles and put them on the ASS and maybe get the reverse effect and get some more single-coil type sounds with the ASS buckers? Anyone tried anything like this? Thanks.

 

[threeminutesboy]

the Reflex and 25th come with vintage type saddles, and they are great I think you can give it a try

 

[DrKev]

Just call customer service and order a set of vintage saddles (the bent steel ones that come as standard on the Silo Special). Yes, they do have brighter tone.

 

[RocketRalf]

What do you think of the EJ custom? Did you have the stock virtual paf before? Whats the difference?

 

[Rufedges]

Actually, IMHO I like it a lot, and would say it was a defininte improvement over the stock virtual paf. You have to get the F-spaced (fender spaced) pick-up though, I didn't, and my high and low E string don't sit directly over the poles on the pup......however, I am not Eric Johnson, and I can't tell any difference. Differences between stock Paf and DP212,.........EJ DP212 is definintely a little bit brighter, seems less muddy, has a crsiper attack, and handles lots of gain yet still retains a bell-like clarity, as well as cleans. Downside: I installed an Area 58 in the neck as well,.if position 1 is neck and 5 is bridge, position 3 and 4 have definitely changed some, less output, and position 4 is definitely brighter than before, but actually increases the diverse sounds available on the Silo Special. The actual wiring for the positions is not what I originally thought it was, but the guitar is still rocks. Really happy with the swap of both pups,..........I regretted purchasing the Silo before the swap, it just seemed pretty lifeless, but now I actually wish I had a PDN Silo Special coming instead of a PDN ASS.

What do you think of the EJ custom? Did you have the stock virtual paf before? Whats the difference?

 

[beej]

I much prefer the vintage saddles myself- gives a lot more "zing". An easy swap.

 

[Rufedges]

Aren't the ASS saddles a little bit wider than the vintage strat saddles on the Silo Special though? Originally, the graphtech saddles I put on the ASS are 2 3/16" e to e spacing, and this fixed the high e being to close to the edge of the fretboard. However, these saddles were too wide to fit on my Silo Special.......I had to get the 2 1/16", which fit, but I didn't like the way it changed the sound.

I much prefer the vintage saddles myself- gives a lot more "zing". An easy swap.

 

[beej]

MM has a few different styles of the vintage saddles, but I had thought they were all the same width. But shoot the customer service guys a line- they can hook you up with what you'll need.

 

[Rufedges]

Just a question, it looks like the Silo Special saddles will not be able to adjust high enought to fit on the Axis SS........like I will probably run out of height trying to adjust vertically. It has a pro setup right now, I don't mess with the neck myself, I have had zero luck with that, but I can intonnate and change saddles no problem if the neck is good to go. Anyone?

 

[beej]

They should work fine. You might need different length screws for the height adjustments, but when you order a set of saddles they should come with the right sizes. (Any tech should have a selection of them handy.)