Sawn-off bridge for Asat Classic

[NickHorne]

I'm enjoying the steady planning of a custom order; an Asat Classic for use with a Hipshot B-bender, plus a wide neck.
It'll cost a fair bit here in UK, but the quality and the pups and the heel-width do it for me way above what other makers offer.
BUT I'm stuck on one component, for lack of knowledge.
I want to "saw-off" the bridge on the treble side, to facilitate fingerpicking, in the manner of a Callaham bridge, for example.
And obviously, one solution could be to simply fit a Callaham bridge, after drilling it for the B-string to pass through. (I know Callaham do a B-Bender "notch, but that doesn't set the height of the string like a hole does, and so doesn't work with a Hipshot; I'd much rather just do the hole-and-teflon-tube method that Hipshot recommend, it works fine).
BUT I note that Callaham state that their bridge is made from thicker steel, and they claim that it reduces "harsh high end". Which would be fine except for the fact that the two Asat Classics that I've managed to try here in England didn't have any harsh high end! They had the best Tele snarl, but no icepicks. So I worry that the Callaham might leave me with a rather duller Classic than I want.
Does anyone have any experience of this?
Alternatively, I am thinking of cutting down a regular Classic bridge (from the G&L shop) and then getting it re-plated to protect the exposed edges. But whether it would survive this without getting distorted or the holes become small from the extra plating, I'm unsure.
I certainly don't want to use anything aluminum or stainless, they do things to the sound that are not for me.
Any thoughts, anyone?
Best,
Nick

[blargfromouterspace]

Callaham state that their bridge is made from thicker steel, and they claim that it reduces "harsh high end".

IMO, that's marketing spin.

I have drilled holes in a Glendale bridge (bought in a fit of stupidity - they're a waste of money, not better in any way than a standard G&L bridge) and it hasn't rusted. I'd suggest that you get a Wilkinson bridge while you're new to the Hipshot unit, make sure you like it. Wilkinson bridges have holes to facilitate top loading of strings as well as through the body - this means there is already a hole for the string to pass through to the Hipshot. They're also cheap so you don't need to feel bad about cutting it down, and would also be a neat experiment to see if it rusts.

Good luck!

[louis cyfer]

Callaham state that their bridge is made from thicker steel, and they claim that it reduces "harsh high end".

IMO, that's marketing spin.

I have drilled holes in a Glendale bridge (bought in a fit of stupidity - they're a waste of money, not better in any way than a standard G&L bridge) and it hasn't rusted. I'd suggest that you get a Wilkinson bridge while you're new to the Hipshot unit, make sure you like it. Wilkinson bridges have holes to facilitate top loading of strings as well as through the body - this means there is already a hole for the string to pass through to the Hipshot. They're also cheap so you don't need to feel bad about cutting it down, and would also be a neat experiment to see if it rusts.

Good luck!

i don't think the glendale is any better, but the callaham is definitely thicker steel and it changed the tone over both vintage fender and glendale bridges. it also has the holes in the front to screw the front of the bridge down, it really helps with the squealing issue.

[NickHorne]

Jamie & Louis, thank you both.
I've been using a Hipshot B-bender for years, so I don't feel any need to experiment; I just want to get this Classic right, preferably sooner rather than later. Buy the Asat, change the bridge, fit the Hipshot, couple of wiring tweaks, then just get on with music.
I would go straight for the Callaham if only I could get a mental handle on what Louis means by "changing" the tone.
I imagine the "change" to be a loss of highs, which I would welcome for a Fender pup, but not so sure about dulling-down the lovely snarly MFD, which I really like. But perhaps the "change" is not what I'm imagining - I just don't know.
A bit more mass, plus the extra screws Louis mentions, seem like nothing but good.
Best,
Nick

[sirmyghin]

Callaham state that their bridge is made from thicker steel, and they claim that it reduces "harsh high end".

IMO, that's marketing spin.

I have drilled holes in a Glendale bridge (bought in a fit of stupidity - they're a waste of money, not better in any way than a standard G&L bridge) and it hasn't rusted. I'd suggest that you get a Wilkinson bridge while you're new to the Hipshot unit, make sure you like it. Wilkinson bridges have holes to facilitate top loading of strings as well as through the body - this means there is already a hole for the string to pass through to the Hipshot. They're also cheap so you don't need to feel bad about cutting it down, and would also be a neat experiment to see if it rusts.

Good luck!

Then again from a magnetic field perspective, the thicker steel will have a greater effect, and may also 'tune' the resonant frequency of the system (which the pickup is part of, paired with the bridge) to a lower frequency, which will cause less highs in some regions and may just pull it off, for the same reasons that more wind = darker pickup. The question is really, what is the thickness difference and will you actually notice.

[louis cyfer]

Callaham state that their bridge is made from thicker steel, and they claim that it reduces "harsh high end".

IMO, that's marketing spin.

I have drilled holes in a Glendale bridge (bought in a fit of stupidity - they're a waste of money, not better in any way than a standard G&L bridge) and it hasn't rusted. I'd suggest that you get a Wilkinson bridge while you're new to the Hipshot unit, make sure you like it. Wilkinson bridges have holes to facilitate top loading of strings as well as through the body - this means there is already a hole for the string to pass through to the Hipshot. They're also cheap so you don't need to feel bad about cutting it down, and would also be a neat experiment to see if it rusts.

Good luck!

Then again from a magnetic field perspective, the thicker steel will have a greater effect, and may also 'tune' the resonant frequency of the system (which the pickup is part of, paired with the bridge) to a lower frequency, which will cause less highs in some regions and may just pull it off, for the same reasons that more wind = darker pickup. The question is really, what is the thickness difference and will you actually notice.

the more wind= darker pup is because of inductance. a thicker bridge may have a lower resonant frequency (although it would effect it acoustically), but being a different quality steel (cold rolled), can offset that.

[NickHorne]

Thanks Louis!
I'm also grateful for your comments, in your recent post re your Bluesboy, where you write how the Callaham does change the tone so that it becomes "beefier" but without actually losing top.
This seems nothing but benign, and in fact I don't think I could have described my hoped-for change any better than "beefier".
So I feel confident about the Callaham going on the new Classic; it's now just a matter of how best to get through it to the Hipshot. I'm keen to try a DIY of a 5mm hole, with a stainless allen bolt through it, drilled through the centre and contoured nice and smooth. This would make a durable, replaceable, low-friction guide-hole (the mechanically-similar, simple hole that G&L drilled in the SaddleLock for the Hipshot on my WR has lasted years of active bending use without any issues and works great).
I sense enhanced picking fun coming on in days to come. Thanks again!