markings on the saddles of 2000's Tribute saddle lock

I recently acquired a 2004 Tribute Invader XL. Great guitar! Tweaking it for a long and enjoyable ownership.

My questions:

Are numbers cast on the bottom side of the chrome plated zinc saddles which early Tributes are supposed to have been supplied?? Mine have either a "2" or "3" on them.

I just replaced those with G&L chrome plated brass saddles from G&L Shop online. No markings of any kind on them. Want to be sure I'm not comparing apples and apples, if you know what I mean. The new saddles fit perfectly on the old guitar. Plenty of room side-to-side. And they do tighten.

Will surface wear on the new saddles show as brass in color? The old ones do not show a brass color - so I assume they are zinc. They do have a some surface wear with plating worn away.

Next up - trying locate and decide on a new nut. I searched all over these forums for more info on the guitar, but it's slim. Previous owner had strung it with what I think were 12's! Majorly heavy. The slots are too big for my use. On some slots material has been scraped out with burrs extending up towards the headstock. My preference for a replacement - bone, 43mm/1-11/16", 12" radius. A compensated, bone nut (NOT E-vana) would be swell. But so far I've only found those available with a radiased bottom. Can you verify that the nut slot is FLAT before I go to replacing it??

Last thing - new Hipshot Locking Tuners are arriving this weekend. 2-pin, staggered, drop-in replacements - I checked the current tuners in advance of ordering.


Thanks for everything!
Kenny

I recently acquired a 2004 Tribute Invader XL. Great guitar! Tweaking it for a long and enjoyable ownership.

My questions:

Are numbers cast on the bottom side of the chrome plated zinc saddles which early Tributes are supposed to have been supplied?? Mine have either a "2" or "3" on them.

I just replaced those with G&L chrome plated brass saddles from G&L Shop online. No markings of any kind on them. Want to be sure I'm not comparing apples and apples, if you know what I mean. The new saddles fit perfectly on the old guitar. Plenty of room side-to-side. And they do tighten.

Will surface wear on the new saddles show as brass in color? The old ones do not show a brass color - so I assume they are zinc. They do have a some surface wear with plating worn away.

Next up - trying locate and decide on a new nut. I searched all over these forums for more info on the guitar, but it's slim. Previous owner had strung it with what I think were 12's! Majorly heavy. The slots are too big for my use. On some slots material has been scraped out with burrs extending up towards the headstock. My preference for a replacement - bone, 43mm/1-11/16", 12" radius. A compensated, bone nut (NOT E-vana) would be swell. But so far I've only found those available with a radiased bottom. Can you verify that the nut slot is FLAT before I go to replacing it??

Last thing - new Hipshot Locking Tuners are arriving this weekend. 2-pin, staggered, drop-in replacements - I checked the current tuners in advance of ordering.


Thanks for everything!
Kenny

Here are a couple of answers:

Saddle numbers?

Are G&L nuts curved or flat on the bottom?

I was talking about Saddle Lock saddles/bridge.

I was talking about Saddle Lock saddles/bridge.

The saddles for the Saddle-Lock bridge use similar tooling molds, each with a unique number.
The saddles are interchangeable.

Also, see these posts:
What is the new Tribute series which G&L announced in 2003?
Are the new ASAT Special Bridges made in the USA?

Hope this helps.

Thanks for your input! I’ll know for sure on the metal/alloy used when I get it all back together and give it a listen.