Just installed the new Babicz Full Contact Hardware Tele bridge on my chibacaster

[Bobby D]

dig it! i endorse Babicz acoustic guitars, but the guys came up with a new line of hardware, and i am testing one of the bridges out.

these saddles are VERY cool. one of my friends said it reminded him of a ferrari engine!

http://www.fullcontacthardware.com/fch-telecaster-bridge-specs.htm

here's the pics from the install.

will give more of a report after i gig it this weekend :D

so far, i REALLY like it.

http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae333/bobbydevito/t2.jpg

http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae333/bobbydevito/t3.jpg

http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae333/bobbydevito/t4.jpg

http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae333/bobbydevito/t5.jpg

[Bobby D]

oh MAN......i jut did the setup and intonation, and NOW i know why the Babicz guys are SO EXCITED about this.

look at the eCam saddle.

on the left side facing rear of saddle, there is a set screw, you loosen THAT.

once it is LOOSE, you go to RIGHT SIDE screw....this one moves the CAM up and down for your action, EASY as pie.

once you set the right side screw where you want it, you go back and lock the left side screw and you are LOCKED DOWN and READY!

i set up and intonated my tele in less than 10 minutes!

those saddles are a HUGE improvement -- the sCam saddles are going to be put into other bridges.

but i already LOVE this bridge. the callaham is a FINE bridge, i had no issues with it, other than fine tuning the intonation with only 3 saddles.

but i like this FULL CONTACT bridge a LOT.:bow

[Bryan T]

The cam idea is pretty cool. Having said that, I tend to think the fewer moving parts on a bridge, the better.

[Bobby D]

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[Bobby D]

all i know is, over 30 years of tweaking bridges, this is the most elegant design i have ever seen.

and the people from Gibson Guitars R&D were at Babicz yesterday installing the eCam saddles on a Les Paul ;)

[Bobby D]

my bass players 72 jazz with new bridge:


http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae333/bobbydevito/j2-2.jpg

[GM Reszel]

Dumb question,,,are you having any interference with palm muting,,,I see the break point being hindered a bit?
That's my only question,,Jeff is brilliant.

[Bobby D]

Dumb question,,,are you having any interference with palm muting,,,I see the break point being hindered a bit?
That's my only question,,Jeff is brilliant.


i am gonna find out tonite. and i will give my honest opinion on the bridge. i don't endorse ANYTHING i don't use or don't like, there's no point in that :rotflmao

it's REALLY well made.

i know they are busy making the eCam saddles so that people can retrofit JUST THE SADDLES onto a variety of bridges.

but so far, speaking as a guitar tech, i LOVE how easy it is to set up and intonate the bridge, and how it works, so simple and elegant!

[walterw]

Dumb question,,,are you having any interference with palm muting,,,I see the break point being hindered a bit?

that was my reaction as well; the contact point is recessed, which might compromise palm muting.



http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae333/bobbydevito/t2.jpg


i think i'm more interested in the old bridge in the photo!

what is that? 3 brass saddles on a thick flat plate; is the plate steel?

[gassyndrome]

How does it affect the tone, if at all?

[Old Tele man]

...I like the idea of solid, mechanical, contact with the base plate; but I also wonder how it'd affect palm-muting the strings.

...are the "cam" surfaces (where the string contacts the 'bridge' point) bare metal or are they coated with something?

[Bobby D]

hey guys!

well, all the tech specs are at the Babicz Full Contact Hardware website.

i went straight to the gig with it last nite, and as some of you remarked, it did feel "different" when it comes to palm muting.

the other bridge shown in my pics is a Callaham Tele Bridge, the model made for modern and MIM versions of Teles.

tonally, i LOVE the sound of this bridge. it is clearer and more articulate sounding to my ears, and the intonation is set SPOT ON, i got it more in tune than it has ever been. i really enjoy being IN TUNE :love:

the saddles feel different under my palm, and i kind of wish they were a little bit shorter. there is a small gap between the top of the saddle, and the string, so palm muting is a little different.

overall, i am VERY happy with the bridge, and i'm glad i installed it. it's going to take a little while to get used to the feel of it, but i think the advantages of the bridge are important enough to adjust my playing style a little bit.

it will be interesting to see where this new technology leads...

[Ronsonic]

that was my reaction as well; the contact point is recessed, which might compromise palm muting.


i think i'm more interested in the old bridge in the photo!

what is that? 3 brass saddles on a thick flat plate; is the plate steel?

It's sorta funny, I look at those at two great flavors of awesome. I really like the looks of both in different ways. Have to hear the fancy one first and see how the muting is. It's gotta force your hand forward a bit for the mute. Then again, it won't tear up my hand the way some of the vintage bridges can.

Anyway, interesting piece of hardware worth a listen and a try.

[Bobby D]

played a MARATHON gig tonite, 5 sets :bonk

starting to get comfortable with the bridge.

muting isn't hard at all, it's just a matter of getting used to the feel of the bridge.

since both my bass player and i replaced our bridges at the same time and got our intonation SOPT on, we are more IN TUNE than we ever have been, which is REALLY nice :love:

the callaham is a lot heavier, and has a darker tonality to it, which might be a big PLUS for some teles.

this particular Tele is a bit darker than most i have owned, and the Babicz bridge kind of sounds a bit clearer and more distinct and articulate. NOT just "brighter".....it's more complex than that.

the metalwork and design is ARTFUL, looks like something that would not be out of place in the museum of design.

the eCam saddles seem to be the main focus.

my bass player is LOVING his on the '72 jazz bass.

it will be interesting to see if Gibson licenses or uses some of this technology.

the STRAT style trem bridge looks AMAZING. i should get one of those sent to me, and stick it on my old strat that Scott Auld owns. maybe the bearded one will dig it!

[T.Wesley]

i think i'm more interested in the old bridge in the photo!

what is that? 3 brass saddles on a thick flat plate; is the plate steel?
AFAIK the plate is steel. Callaham makes pretty simple, "classic" hardware.

I put that bridge on the guitar for a few reasons:

1. It fit. It's a modern (American Standard) Tele body, but I don't like the American Standard bridge (too thin) or saddles (too... not good). There aren't a lot of hardware builders out there making vintage-style bridges for modern-cut bodies.

2. Callaham is (basically) local to me. I rode out to his place one day & picked up the parts. Easy peasy. Paid sales tax instead of shipping AND sales tax :)

3. The compensated saddles were a "must" for me - I knew I wasn't going to be using this guitar to do a lot of critical recording work, but my ears are sensitive enough to be irritated by the intonation weaknesses of "standard" 3-barrel Tele bridges. I thought this setup would be a good compromise between intonation & the look I was going for with the guitar.

I dig the concept behind the Babicz bridge. Very innovative, without being intrusive on how the guitar works. Looks a bit funky though :)

--chiba

[Scott Auld]

Dude, I didn't know you rode out to Bill's to get that stuff. Cool.

He was awesome to me when I ordered my Strat bridge parts, he answered all my dumb questions and didn't give me a hard time for the idiotic questions. ;)

S

[Scott Auld]

the STRAT style trem bridge looks AMAZING. i should get one of those sent to me, and stick it on my old strat that Scott Auld owns. maybe the bearded one will dig it!

I dunno, it kind of reminds me of a solution in search of a problem. The Strat bridge is pretty much perfect ... if we could only get Fender to make it out of good, cold-rolled steel. Which is what Bill Callaham is for.

[frankencat]

Looks cool. I would love to try one on my old Jazz bass. And I would also be interested to see those Start retro-fit saddles you were talking about.

[walterw]

Looks cool. I would love to try one on my old Jazz bass.
except that it isn't spaced right for jazz basses, as the strings don't line up between the magnets like they're supposed to. not a big deal, but it would bug me (and i do hear a difference in the attack.)


http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae333/bobbydevito/j2-2.jpg

[Bobby D]

well, i have been DIGGING the bridge on the Chiba caster.

HAVE NOT broken a string YET......and i broke them a bit more easily on the callaham saddles. the FCH eCam saddles are VERY smooth.

the intonation is spot on, and the radius of the strings matches the neck radius splendidly.

i am REALLY digging Tele's again......might be a while before i go back to strats. i have one of Mike Sawarows T style geetars coming my way soon to try out. and i may end up with one of those, and i got another FHC Tele bridge waiting on it :love:

i wish the saddles were a LITTLE BIT lower to the strings, but with a slight adjustment to my wrist technique, have no issues with palm muting.

LOVE the eCam saddles. these guys are onto something. i dig it.

[mjm59]

Hey Bobby D!,
I'm curious to know if you feel less tension on the strings now that you have a top loader?

Mike

[Bobby D]

Hey Bobby D!,
I'm curious to know if you feel less tension on the strings now that you have a top loader?

Mike

not really.....it does have a bit different "feel"......but i am liking th efact i can do multi-string bends and NOT go out of tune, like on the strat bridge :love:

[Jim Cobb]

yo bobby, sorry to revive such an old thread, but i'm thinking about putting one of their strat tremolos in a parts caster project and was wondering if you're still digging the FCH stuff as hard after a year and a half of use...

[PhilF]

yo bobby, sorry to revive such an old thread, but i'm thinking about putting one of their strat tremolos in a parts caster project and was wondering if you're still digging the FCH stuff as hard after a year and a half of use...

I realize I'm not the OP, but i just built a bass using their bass bridge from a recommendation of a co worker. It is a really nice piece of hardware, and the cam saddle design is so much better of a design than what is standard.

[pfflam]

Do the saddles sit high enough that this would work with a bigsby?

[socalscott]

Wondering what inertia block material is on the Strat trem?

[Chris Scott]

I dunno, it kind of reminds me of a solution in search of a problem. The Strat bridge is pretty much perfect ... if we could only get Fender to make it out of good, cold-rolled steel. Which is what Bill Callaham is for.


I feel the same way.


edit; had no idea how old this thread was. Feel the same about it though (:>)

[splatt]

Wondering what inertia block material is on the Strat trem?

it seems to be hardened steel; ask the builder, maybe?

[socalscott]

it seems to be hardened steel; ask the builder, maybe?

In a couple picks there's enough detail to see pits actually.