paulm_80526

Just checked my settings. I set them by comparing the magnetic pickup volume to the equivalent Spank models. From low to high: .49, .53, .54, .56, .59, .56. The piezo-based models are still a bit hot relative to the mags with these settings, but that's OK - helps drive the front end of my amp a bit more. So... pretty close to where you ended up. Not distorting as far as I can tell, or if it is... it sounds good :-)

Wow - you're it for the US. Hats off to you - I'm sure you've seen some interesting... opportunities! Quick question then, and not sure if you can answer this or not. Have you seen a Graph Tech retrofit for the JTV-69 that worked well, after you got things straightened out? I know you can't recommend that or suggest that anybody do it, but I'd be interested to know if there is an existence proof, in your opinion. I'm pretty happy with mine now, but interested in your opinion as well.

About the same for the JTV-69, although I'm at Work, not Workbench right now :-) I'll check and respond with numbers tonight.

I think that might be the case for some of the middle saddles, but hard to see. I've adjusted the overall bridge height to keep the outside saddles as low to the bridge as possible to minimize the intonation screw angle. On the Low-E there is a measurable gap between the bridge and the exposed tail. But, the middle saddles have to be adjusted higher due to the curve of the fretboard, of course, and they could be touching. Now that I'm back at my guitar, though, I'm not sure I'm seeing a strong correlation of the ringiness to saddle height above the bridge. So that may not be it...

:-) Probably no welding required, and I don't think any grinding either! There is lateral separation between the GT saddles. I understand and respect your position on getting something known to work. Depends on your end game, of course. For me it's really fun to try new things and learn along the way. No one "really knows" what they're doing until they've done it, and usually more than once. E.g., Line6 seems to be continually updating released designs to make them better, as they seem to have done with JTV-69 bridge. The sound is actually pretty good now that I've adjusted a few things, BTW. As I mentioned in another reply, I'll post a comparison when I get the replacement bridge from Full Compass.

Hadn't adjusted the bridge for intonation when I made the video. Was mostly interested in demonstrating the clacking or ringing. Have done that since, though, so now a D chord is tolerable 12 frets up :-) The intonation adjustment had no effect on the clacking. Very good theory on the cause of clacking. Turns out, though, that there is a gap laterally between the GT saddles, Definite daylight. So I don't think it was a "floating screw" due to the saddles not being able to rotate due to lateral contact when the set screws weren't even. What I'm thinking is that the long tails of the GT saddles may be riding unevenly on the bridge plate, with one side being forced down by the screw. It's hard to see if this is what's going on as the ridge at the back of the bridge obscures the tails. The original saddles keep the screw pretty much parallel to the bridge plate. Anyway, as I said in the post above, the sounds is actually pretty good now that I've adjusted everything. I definitely happier than with my failing original bridge, and will play out with my JTV-69 again. There is still a tiny amount of piezo ring in some of the sounds, but certainly tolerable. I will do an A/B comparison for sure when I get the new LR Baggs bridge from Full Compass, and post the comparison.

Not looking for and tweak rectification at this point, but I appreciate the offer! What would be interesting to me would be some practical information about the JTV-69 piezo bridge. E.g., What changed between the original version of the JTV-69 Bridge (the one I have) and the current version (which I'll have soon, hopefully)? I know the PCB was moved to the backside of the block, but anything else? Do the saddles still have pointed adjustment screws and etched tracks? Also, I was wondering about your thoughts on "chassis ground" vs wired ground. Have you seen many instances where the LR Baggs "chassis" ground have become more-than-low-Z? What would one do to fix that? Also, what steps would you take to dial in a piezo saddle (either LR Baggs or Graph Tech Ghost) to get the best tone with minimal ringing? Just FYI, I have 4 Variaxes. (2) 700s, (1) JTV-69 and (1) JTV-59. Love 'em all! Also have a DT-50, Amplifi, POD XT, POD X3 Live, and multiple DL3s.. Built my first guitar amp at 15 using SWTPC preamp/amp and some custom circuitry (sadly... 40 years ago), and love experimenting. I appreciate robust design and information; less interested in cuddling :-)

Not sure a Line6 Service person would mess with my JTV now that I've swapped out the piezos. Plus I'm having fun experimenting at this point :-) I'm happy enough with the sound now, but will continue tweaking. On the piezo thing, there's some interesting stuff on the web. E.g., http://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/guitars/pickups.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piezoelectricity

In the case of my JTV with the Graph Techs, the entire saddle body is "ringy", not so much the string behind the saddle. I posted a video on YouTube. In the case of the Parker Nite Fly, it's definitely the string, though. Common problem. I have a friend with a Nite Fly that has the same issue.

I decided to stay with the flat-bottom screws for now. I was still getting significant high-freq ringing, though, so I put a piece of tape across the top of the GT saddles, behind where the string drops down, and things sound significantly better. Still not perfect, but definitely a usable sound now! Will be experimenting with tape thickness :-) I had to do a similar thing with my Parker NiteFly, BTW. There was significant ringing behind the bridge saddles so I wove a piece of fabric under/over the strings back there, and it killed the ringing. Will post some updated pics tonight.

I will check that spacing when I get home from work. If they are the same I can probably just use the LR Baggs screws. They are a bit shorter, but still plenty of height.

Actually, what I ended up doing was using the nylon screws and washers. The don't seem to bind at all. I am not that worried about stretching as much of the force associated with the string tension is down into the bridge. I'll keep an eye on it, though. I have gotten things adjusted pretty well (nylon screws, bridge angle relative to body, string height) , and it sounds much better, although certain saddles sound better than others still. Some still have some high frequency resonance or ringing. But... It turns out that adjusting the string height screws significantly affects the tone, even with very small rotations. Hypothesis is that the tips of the screws are riding in/out if the little tracks that Line6 etched into the bridge plate for the pointed LR Baggs screw tips, for lateral positioning. Anyway, at this point I can get pretty close on the tone by doing very small adjustments of one or both of the height adjustment screws. I am very interested to see the new version of the bridge and see if they retained the "tracks" etched in the surface of the bridge or not. As to the question "do the GT saddles sound better than the LR Baggs", the answer is clearly yes for me, but my stock saddles sounded really bad so my comparison may not be valid for you. I will do an A/B comparison when I get the updated bridge from Full Compass.

On the wiring - I did indeed solder both the hot and ground leads to the indicated pads on the mounted PC board. I was fairly careful about joint quality and polarity, so I don't think there's a problem there.

Indeed - not quite level. I did some experimenting and it didn't seem to make a huge difference in tone, but I will go back and get it leveled and re-test. The comment about the force was actually referring to the fact that the screw hole on the back of the GT saddles is higher off the plane of the top of the guitar than in the original LR Baggs saddles. Thus, the screw is a angled upward a bit in the hole and could be binding in the hole and/or coupling vibration from the bridge. I will try the nylon screws I mentioned above and see if that helps. When it doesn't (;-) I will drill the holes at a slight upward angle, as Iknowathingortwo suggests above.

I'd be interested to see a picture of your bridge at some point, if that's not too much trouble! I assume it will look very much like the one I will get from Full Compass in a few weeks.