How To Defret A Bass Guitar
Part 15 - Bridge Saddles

15. Bridge Saddles:

Bridge Saddles could possibly be a problem.

On my Fullerton Bass defret (above), which is one of the bass guitars defretted for this instruction manual, that is exactly the problem I had! I discovered that the thickness of the saddle piece is just a little too much, so I needed to make one of two choices.

Possible choice one: File the "bottom" of each bridge saddle piece to a height slightly lower than what is needed. Then I could seat the saddle in place, adjust the string length, and use the allen screws to raise the saddle to the appropriate height. Assuming the truss rod was set for the correct neck relief, as the length and height adjustments reached their correct locations, the intonation for each string, respectively, would be correct. Dave had to use this method with his Kramer bass because it is a set neck.