Marcus Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Hi Guys, just looking on ebay the other night and noticed you can buy Titanium bridge sadles for your Fender bridge...... Anyone tried these ? Cheers Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Usually you want high mass saddles don't you? The hardness might do some good, but I don't think thats usually a huge consideration, makes them a pain to file and possibly damage your strings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 [quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='381432' date='Jan 15 2009, 04:03 PM']Usually you want high mass saddles don't you? The hardness might do some good, but I don't think thats usually a huge consideration, makes them a pain to file and possibly damage your strings.[/quote] Sounds like a solution to a non-problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Titanium is somewhere in between steel and aluminium in density so would probably sound somewhere in between too. It's more difficult to machine and cast than either steel, ali or brass so I would expect the price to reflect that but the plus side is it doesn't rust or go green - it just stays a dull greyish colour, even if you scratch it. Since people started using ali for bridge parts it was only a matter of time before someone tried to cash in on the gear porn market with Titanium, but if it floats your boat.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 [quote name='henry norton' post='381624' date='Jan 15 2009, 07:13 PM']....Titanium is somewhere in between steel and aluminium in density....[/quote] So titanium is less dense than brass? That's going the wrong way on the higher density = better sustain/tone etc scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreeneKing Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 I think Ti in this application is just a 'fashion victim'. Great for some uses though. I've got a bike frame custom made from some. Doesn't rust either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clauster Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Should be saved for motorcycle parts and body jewelry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 [quote]So titanium is less dense than brass? That's going the wrong way on the higher density = better sustain/tone etc scale.[/quote] Yes and no if the recent appearance of aluminium bridges is anything to go by (and swamp ash bodies for that matter). I'm no expert but to minimise energy loss (in other words to maximise sustain) the string would need to be mounted as rigidly as possible. Dense materials like brass and maple tend to be inherently rigid although not always (lead). Titanium is about half the weight and stiffness of steel and ali is about a third but because they're lighter they can be made thicker and doubling the thickness makes it much more than double the stiffness. Does that make sense? Personally I'm waiting for a carbon fibre bridge for my old precision.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Thought part of the point of brass is it is slightly self lubricating also, or is that bronze? So the strings can slide over it better. Google says you get brass bearings so figures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 [quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='381941' date='Jan 16 2009, 12:25 AM']....Thought part of the point of brass is it is slightly self lubricating also, or is that bronze? So the strings can slide over it better. Google says you get brass bearings so figures....[/quote] I've seen graphite saddles on guitars. They are self lubricating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 [quote name='chris_b' post='381955' date='Jan 16 2009, 12:51 AM']I've seen graphite saddles on guitars. They are self lubricating.[/quote] I'm self lubricating right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 [quote name='chris_b' post='381955' date='Jan 16 2009, 12:51 AM']I've seen graphite saddles on guitars. They are self lubricating.[/quote] Yes, and I understand they're superb (certainly as far as trem use etc. is concerned). Wonder how they affect sustain & tone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnylager Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 [quote name='Rich' post='382008' date='Jan 16 2009, 08:10 AM']Yes, and I understand they're superb (certainly as far as trem use etc. is concerned). Wonder how they affect sustain & tone?[/quote] They reduce string breakages at the bridge. According to me guit mate, can't comment on the rest... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 'Graphite saddles' would probably mean graphite impregnated resin - not to be confused with carbon fibre impregnated resin. If it's made right it should work fine although it's probably asking a bit much of it to take two fine threads and quite alot of stress from the string on a P bass type saddle. Apparently the original Precision had phenolic (Bakelite) bridge saddles, just proving that there's no such thing as a truly original idea... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 [quote name='GreeneKing' post='381677' date='Jan 15 2009, 08:18 PM']I think Ti in this application is just a 'fashion victim'. Great for some uses though. I've got a bike frame custom made from some. Doesn't rust either.[/quote] I've had some crashes on my Ti bike that would have written off ali or steel. Not a scratch on it. No paint to get tatty, either :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh3184 Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 [quote name='bremen' post='382427' date='Jan 16 2009, 02:29 PM']I've had some crashes on my Ti bike that would have written off ali or steel. Not a scratch on it. No paint to get tatty, either :-)[/quote] But a scratch or two on yourself I'd guess? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_ferret Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Sounds like a solution looking for a problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BassKS Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Hey there guys, Im doing a PhD on Titanium (no joke) and someone mentioned that it has become something of a fashion victim. You sir are very right. Big boys like Jeremy Clarkson will buy anything that has Titanium lettering on it. Even if its a 9.99 squash racquet from LillyWhites (which by the way it has the colour of titanium, and Ti oxide is used for pigmenting). The only thing that titanium MAY contribute to the sound would be a higher frequencies sustain (Paul jackson's Tiptoe to the Ghetto will be a breeze) as it atoms would vibrate at higher frequencies due to its crystal structure. It is also being used on EBS tweeters I believe for more or less the same reason. Being light, and strong it will be fast acting and wont suck up the vibrations (or dampen them) like paper cones/plastic etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 [quote name='josh3184' post='384895' date='Jan 19 2009, 12:47 PM']But a scratch or two on yourself I'd guess?[/quote] Nah, landed on my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 (edited) [quote name='BassKS' post='386361' date='Jan 20 2009, 04:30 PM']It is also being used on EBS tweeters I believe for more or less the same reason. Being light, and strong it will be fast acting and wont suck up the vibrations (or dampen them) like paper cones/plastic etc.[/quote] Ti is sufficiently stiff that it pushes the point at which the tweeter (sonically) "breaks up" well beyond the hearing range of all humans. It's more reisilient than Al in this application. Al can weaken and ultimately fail under all that mad acceleration/deceleration that tweeters routinely undergo. With regard to saddles, it's worth remembering that although Ti is light, it by no means constitutes the mass of the entire bridge. It is very hard (as previously mentioned) and may well subtly alter the sonic characteristics of the instrument. Whether it's for better of worse will, as ever, be a matter of personal taste. It might resist sweat better than brass, mind you! Edited January 20, 2009 by Lfalex v1.1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 [quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='386433' date='Jan 20 2009, 05:20 PM']It might resist sweat better than brass, mind you![/quote] If its like aluminium in regards to reactivity (I thinkit is due to titanium oxide in pains and the whole protective oxide layer thing) it might get eaten by salty sweat really fast, but the alloy it will be might negate this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Heeley Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Not sure what this has to do with Titanium Dioxide in paints - this pigment has very little to do with any metal-like characteristics, its not llike Titanium is going to oxidise to TiO2, TiO2 takes a huge amount of energy to process from the raw ore ilmenite, Ti on its own is very stable. I think the cred for tone improvement is pants, to be honest. At one end of the scale: Brass nuts for added tone and sustain. Very soft metal. At the other end: titanium for erm, added tone and sustain. Hmm. the winner: a well-cut nut made from any reasonably solid and durable material. The holistics: a good instrument put together well from decent materials and set up nicely adds the best tone and sustain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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