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- Country of Manufacture: USA
When the Telecaster (Broadcaster) was first designed and built in 1950, the bridge system was crude at best. It served the purpose of positioning the strings, but allowed for only coarse intonation adjustment. Callaham's bridge saddles use superior materials and design that deliver a wider frequency response, increased sustain, and perfect intonation.
CALLAHAM SADDLE IMPROVEMENTS
It is extremely important that an instrument intonate correctly, and Callaham guarantees this with their saddles. It's equally important that the strings don't touch the height adjustment screws, which can be a problem on Fender bridges and their copies. Callaham ensures that this won't be a problem with their saddles by using smaller-diameter set screws, and moving them out closer to the ends of the saddles. Additionally, they are the only manufacturer that buffs every saddle, by hand, to a high luster. This allows the string to rest on a perfectly smooth surface. They also install height-adjustment screws of the correct length, preventing the screws from protruding up above the saddles and causing discomfort to the picking hand.
Callaham's saddles are available in either brass or stainless steel. The brass has a warmer tone and the steel has more punch and sustain. Two methods of compensation (intonation adjustment) are available: original "slant" compensation, or "enhanced vintage" compensation. The enhanced vintage saddles were introduced for those who want to maintain a complete vintage look and have perfect intonation. They offer the same benefits of Callaham's original slant-compensated saddles, but with the 90° (right-angle) look of original '50s saddles.
A problem with some saddles that are currently available is that they touch each other firmly. Some manufacturers state this as having been an intended design consideration, but their logic is flawed, since this design has the consequence of allowing sympathetic vibrations from one string to influence the vibrations of another string, causing dissonant overtones that can drive players crazy (especially at high volume). It's this type of vibration that occurs on acoustic guitars, with their single saddle, and that causes beating tones when certain chords are played, and phasing problems on other chords. Callaham purposely avoids firm contact between their saddles for this reason.