Hey Blackhearts Fan!
I bought a MIM Strat and it came with a GFS brass block and saddles uninstalled. I swapped out the old one for the GFS brass and saddles, and I honestly could not tell the difference. I ended up breaking off the tremolo arm in the brass block pretty quickly, rendering it useless. I put the OG MIM block and saddles back on, and again, could not tell the difference. I also have a Fender Lead III. Dont see too many folks that own those. I swapped out the stock pickups for Invaders many years ago. Great guitar! Cheers.

Bing bing bing bing bing bing bing bing bong!

Yes, the channel in the center is too narrow to accept the machine screw that adjusts intonation. However, it is only a little too narrow. I was able to advance the machine screw by forcing it with a screwdriver. This made grooves in the walls of the channel but the machine screw remained intact and functioning. I had to do this with each of the six saddles, but it did not take long. I used a wrench to hold the saddle, with a piece of rubber between saddle and wrench to prevent marring the saddle.

There is a slight amount of spread of the saddles over the six strings. It is visible but subtle. The rollers work well, I have seen no binding. With previous saddles that were too wide and caused fanning I was able to narrow the saddles (mostly at the end nearer the intonation machine screw) by using a rotary sanding attachment on a moto-tool. This method worked well. Time will tell if I need to do this with these new roller saddles, but I expect it will not be needed.

I completed installation yesterday and I am enjoying these new roller saddles. In a few days I should come to a clear opinion about how well the guitar stays in tune, as compared its function with the previous non-rolling saddles.

The Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com

Last edited: Apr 23, 2018 11:03:02

Today this guitar shows clarity and sustain superior to my many other guitars. It must be the new roller bridge. In slow songs such as Geronimo (as recorded by The Shadows) I sometimes strike strings very hard and then bend them. In doing this I heard obviously improved clarity and sustain, with more twang.

The jury is still out on tuning stability and string breakage.

The Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com

jovima69 wrote:

Hey Blackhearts Fan!
I bought a MIM Strat and it came with a GFS brass block and saddles uninstalled. I swapped out the old one for the GFS brass and saddles, and I honestly could not tell the difference. I ended up breaking off the tremolo arm in the brass block pretty quickly, rendering it useless. I put the OG MIM block and saddles back on, and again, could not tell the difference. I also have a Fender Lead III. Dont see too many folks that own those. I swapped out the stock pickups for Invaders many years ago. Great guitar!

Cheers.

Thanks for the feedback on the GFS brass block.

What the hell is wrong with tremolo bars these days as yours is not the only one I've heard of breaking as of late.

As for the Fender Lead III, they are great guitars and it's my second, I bought one in 1987 (black w/maple fretboard) and like an idiot sold it four years later when I got my fretting hand mashed up in the bus garage (I should've used it for rehab). The coworker I sold it to, a fellow mechanic and weekend musician, sold it off a few years later, I saw him in 2009 at Guitar Center asked him whether he still had it, he didn't, like me he was still kicking himself for parting with it.

My current Lead III like the original has it's factory case in this instance a first generation plastic Fender one, the first one had a Tolex case. I also have a Lead II, it needs the frets replaced so at the moment it has an early Squier II Strat maple neck w/maple fretboard on it. The Lead II has it's original Fender Tolex case.

The early Squier II Strat necks are the closest in neck profile to the Lead Series necks (which are unique among Fender guitars), the nut width may be a fraction of an inch wider but they are a suitable substitute for those who have grown accustomed to the Lead Series neck but have a worn original neck and can't afford a refret (in my case it's finding someone competent/I may try Rob DeStefano/Fret-Tech here in Northern N.J.).

Now if I could find one of the Fender Lead Series bodies with a Fender factory tremolo rout I would be set (I have an extra Fender Seth Lover humbucker), I have only seen two (2) of those in my life though I've seen at least three with Floyd Rose trems.

Last edited: Apr 26, 2018 00:26:55

Squid wrote:

Over the time since I installed them these "Surf" brand roller saddles have now proven superiority to all previous saddles for strat guitars I have used. There has been no string breakage despite many hours of use; this has not happened before.

The strings have stayed in tune well since I lubricated the rollers with ordinary "3-in-1" oil. Before lubricating them I had to retune frequently, but there was no string breakage.

Sustain and tone are excellent. I just ordered a second set for another guitar. I see that several different vendors sell them on Ebay for $12.99 including shipping, and on Amazon for less than that plus shipping (or Amazon prime membership).

Thanks for the update, happy that you are satisfied with the rollers.

As for the 3-in-1 oil, isn't that "vegetable-based"? If I remember correctly the "vegetable-based" oils get "sticky" over time it's one reason we don't use them in firearms, toy trains, or other finely-tuned "mechanical" devices (for things like door hinges it's fine).

Last edited: May 15, 2018 20:49:16

Here's what the vibrato block looks like with lead weights attached by epoxy glue to both sides of the block. I coated the lead weights with epoxy besides gluing them, fully enclosing all the lead on the vibrato block.

The Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com

I installed another "surf brand" set of roller bridge saddles on a second guitar. It is a lot more fun to perform with a guitar when I am free of worry about breaking strings.

Regarding your weather, rehearsing in front of a blowing box fan is not a great solution, but it is a possible one. Those $17 box fans can blow a lot of air without making a huge racket.

The Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com

Last edited: May 30, 2018 15:24:50