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GraphTech String Saver saddles go a long way towards jazzifying a Stratocaster or a Telecaster. They knock down that high-end ping quite a bit; they are standard equipment on all of my guitars in this family.
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09-27-2022 06:37 PM
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I agree that it seems to be a combination of the pickup (neck), action, and the amp.
There's no other explanation for why a friend of mine called me up, and told me to go down to the local music store, and play a bunch of Hondo Strats and find the one that sounds great for jazz.
I was able to pick the one out from about seven other Hondo Strats, and it sounded great through my orange Roland Cube 60. I bought it for 90 hard-earned dollars.
Once they go, they're hard to replace. Some of them have a freak pickup that for some reason gets that solid sound you need for jazz.
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Mr. Lage in action!
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GraphTech String Saver saddles.They are made of a very fragile material .
Originally Posted by Cunamara
...but they are great sounding saddles.
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I just got back from a jam session a little while ago. Played my strat using settings as described above. It sounded nice and fat - definitely a viable jazz guitar.
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I played jam session a week ago also on the Stratocaster.I played also with the distortion and with the chorus effects-Stratocaster sounded brilliant on a tube amplifier. Originally Posted by John A.
But my Telecaster is still better.
I like both Stratocaster and Telecastr...what to say i love guitars.
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You can ask this player by the name of Francis DelaBlancherie, who plays and apparently composed (?) the tune in this old clip. There aren't any details about setup or amp used but it's the best "classic" jazz tone I've personally heard out of a Strat. I'd probably start with flatwounds and tone around the middle...
Last edited by Peter C; 09-28-2022 at 05:09 AM.
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He play over Bluesette chords...nice sound.
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My Hammertone Special has 0.009"s and an old-guy with arthritiic hands set up. Position 2 (neck + middle) gives an eerily jazz-like tone. Horn-like, with sustain. Both pups flush with PG on the bass side, maybe 1/32" on the treble side. Middle + Neck is in psycho-billy banjo territory, so there's that. But P2 has a definite beatnik vibe.
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Hats are useful for outdoor gigs. Here is a picture from the last wedding I played: Originally Posted by lammie200
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I think most Strat players lower their volume knob onto the pot shaft so that "10" registers full volume either straight up on a line parallel to the bridge, or rotated counter clockwise a little so "10" registers full volume when adjacent to the bottom screw of the bridge pickup. And then most of them also register the two tone knobs likewise. Originally Posted by Peter C
If this player did that setting his volume registration straight up, his two vertical "Tone" labels on the knob tops would mean the numbers are reading "3" or "6" (I can't see the "Tone" labels well enough to be sure, maybe someone can?) If he is using the registration to the pickup screw those readings are "3 1/2" or "6 1/2".
He's on the neck PU so probably "6 - 6 1/2". Definitely has a nice touch.
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Put flats, switch to the neck pickup. Done.
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I'm really tempted to put flats on my Strat... my roller nut is enclosed and won't pass strings bigger than a 10-46 gauge set (but Curt Mangan makes a set of flats that are 10-46). I put large gauge flats on my arch top once and I couldn't feel the frets - felt like a violin. Maybe with very light gauge flats on the Strat I won't notice that. Yup, I'm going to do it. Thanks for the push! Originally Posted by blille
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Any Strat can become a jazz guitar if you add a smidge of George Benson:
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Now where did I put that bottle of Benson sauce? ... Originally Posted by wzpgsr
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i've had them on three guitars over the last decade and so far I've had no failures. Originally Posted by kris
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Stringsaver Classics are metal with Stringsaver material only as an insert at the string break. I haven't found them to be fragile. Originally Posted by Cunamara
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Imagine going into a guitar store, standing in front of the wall of Strats, and asking the assistant, "Do you have one set up for jazz?"
You would then be able to hear a pin drop.
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If you do put on light flats, stainless steel (eg Chromes) may give you better G string response than other types. Originally Posted by pauln
Btw, Graph Tech saddles are tough 'nuff IME.
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"So why do want 11s for a Strat?" Originally Posted by Litterick
"Yeah, I know, they used to come shipped with 12s back in the day. Modern times, you know..."Last edited by Peter C; 10-02-2022 at 05:49 PM.
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When putting on thick strings, I had two cases. Originally Posted by Cunamara
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I used "teflon" stringsavers with out any metal. Originally Posted by lammie200
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Thanks, but even the extra light set of Chromes won't fit. My nut is the fully enclosed version that uses two roller bearing for each string, but the maximum allowable gauges are the same. Originally Posted by Peter C
The lightest Chrome set exceeds the 18 max for the third string
D'Addario ECG23
10 14 20w 28 38 48
This is what I have on it now
D'Addario EXL110
10 13 17 26 36 46
I need to verify, but the nut is supposed to allow maximum string gauges of
11 14 18 28 38 49
I bought a test set of
D'Addario EXL115 (nickel wound)
11 14 18 28 38 49
which will allow me to confirm and determine how they go through the rollers and behave. I have a performance this evening, so I will plan to put on the test set after that.
There are three additional versions of the EXL110 I could use
D'Addario EXL110bt (balanced tension)
10 13.5 17 25 34 46
D'Addario EXL110w (wound third)
10 13 18w 26 36 46
D'Addario EXL110+ (plus)
10.5 13.5 18 28 38 48
And Pure Nickel
D'Addario EPN115 (but smaller wound gauges)
11 14 18 27 37 48
And Half-Round
D'Addario EHR370 (max gauge for all strings)
11 14 18 28 38 49
Looks like if the test goes well I will try the half-rounds at maximum fit gauge.
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I have those types on a couple of Teles and a JM. I have had no problems strung with TI and Pyramid flat 12s with a 13 & 17 substituted for the higher strings. When you say "failure" what specifically fails? Originally Posted by kris
FWIW, one thing that you have to do with those types of saddles is to be sure your strings are grounded because the saddles material is nonconductive. So with Teles the strings need to contact the string thru hole in the bridge plate and the bridge plate needs to be grounded. With a JM the strings need to contact the tailpiece and the tailpiece needs to be grounded. TIs will work on a Tele because the silk wrap is short enough to allow bare metal to still touch the string thru hole. TIs don't as work well in JMs because the silk wrap can prevent the string metal from touching the bridge plate if the ball end doesn't seat well against the metal of the tailpiece. YMMV.
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Test set results:
EXL115 11 14 18 28 38 49
Everything passed through except the high E 11... I tried for three hours but the 11 just won't go through, so I put on a 10.
After adjusting action, radius, and intonation I'm real pleased; these are the largest strings I have ever had on this guitar and I like it. The nickel winding has a calmer tone, the fatter strings sound "confident", if that makes sense - the tones sound "loud" without sounding loud. The overall balance (tone and feel) is great even with the 10 on top.
All the other choices beyond
D'Addario EXL110 10 13 17 26 36 46
are now eliminated except
D'Addario EXL110bt 10 13.5 17 25 34 46
D'Addario EXL110W 10 13 18w 26 36 46
I might try the wound 3rd set, but the bottom three wound strings would not be as fat as what I have now, and I'n not sure how I would like a wound 3rd... I really like these EXL115 with the 10 on top.
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