Saddle Lock Bridge: issue

After I recently purchased a fine '97 ASAT Deluxe, it was time last week to replace the store-installed barbed wire strings with my favorite, the Pyramid Pure Nickel-Wound Classics round core (.010-.046). But for the life of me, I could not pull the wrap end of the low E string (.046) or the A string through the hole in the Saddle Lock bridge.

I have/had 10 guitars, from both eras, with this bridge pass through my hands, and I've installed these strings on all but 1. Never had any issues.

So, I happened to travel the next day to the nearest town with a big-box guitar store, and bought D'Addario EXL110 nickel strings (same gauge). This brand installed without any resistance.

I looked closely at the bridge on this guitar, and the holes are sunken below the level of the inside portion (where the saddles reside). I'd estimate that about 20 to 25 percent of the hole is blocked. Imagine if you were onboard a passenger ship, looking out a row of portholes, and they were partly below the water line. I tried to take a photo:


The overall thicknesses of the .046 D'Addario wrap end and the Pyramid wrap end are nearly the same, to my naked eye. (I don't have a micrometer.) Nonetheless, the Pyramid clearly has the widest section at the end of the wrap. The Pyramid wrap does extend farther up the wind, but that doesn't matter. On my other guitars, that section passes through the hole and toward the saddle, and the ball fits snugly against the interior as it should. Here's a comparison photo, with D'Addario wrap end (left) and the Pyramid end (right):


Has anyone had similar issues? Any thoughts, ideas?

That's odd. You might contact G&L repairs to see if they have any ideas. Perhaps you or a luthier could use a very small file to slightly enlarge the hole. I think that flexible files made of wire are available. Probably overkill, but you could replace the bridge.

I've had a guitar or two over the years where I couldn't get a string through to the point where I had to use a pair of pliers to push the string through. But in my case that was because of some corrosion in the hole. It wasn't a saddlelock bridge or even a G&L guitar. But that kind of thing annoys me like an itch I can't scratch.

I'd try putting the .046 through one of the other string holes to see if the problem is in the string itself, or the hole you're putting it in.

If it is the string - it might just be a tolerance (i.e. quality control) issue in that one string. If another string of the same brand and size works - then it's likely just a bum string. But if another string of the same brand and size gives you the same grief - well then they probably changed something about the way the strings are made or wound.

Let us know if you come up with something.

That's odd. You might contact G&L repairs to see if they have any ideas. Perhaps you or a luthier could use a very small file to slightly enlarge the hole. I think that flexible files made of wire are available. Probably overkill, but you could replace the bridge.

I agree with this.

A 1997 ASAT Deluxe model stock strings would have been a set of 9's (.009 - .042), see:
What gauge & brand of strings does G&L use on their guitars?.

Contact Memo Romero [G&L Service Manager] at: repairs@glguitars.com.

Thanks, Tooslowhand, Dan, and Craig. I had wondered about filing, drilling, or tapping; I guess one downside would likely be the loss of shiny plating. Complete bridge replacement is always an option. Craig, thanks for the string gauge info and link: I should have looked for that when I wondered if .009s were still stock back then. (I've been putting .010s on my G&Ls forever, though the Broadcaster gets .009s. )

Now that I've installed D'Addarios, the guitar feels and sounds better than it already did (which was pretty awesome). The EXL110s are fine strings that I used for a long time before learning about and trying the Pyramids, so it's not much of a loss. This guitar will stick around for a while, so now I'm good on strings for the next couple of years. Certainly the cheapest and easiest option.

So it must have been the wider wrapping on the Pyramid strings getting in the way, right?

I don't recall seeing any photos of your ASAT Deluxe. We would love to see what you recently got.
Plus, I want to see what the actual color name of the finish it is (since it is listed as Red in the G&L Registry)

It's both the wider wrapping AND that the full circumference of each hole is partly blocked because the holes do not align with the inside level of the bridge.

Wait, I need to post photos of every G&L I obtain?!? Let me work on that...

Yes, I was uncertain whether to select Clear Red or Red. Awaiting your ruling...