Starfire III Bridge adjustment

Roger49

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OK--- I'm dumb but what is the best way to locate the bridge on a Starfire III in order to get the length from the nut correct?

By the way what does "NOS" mean?
 

dklsplace

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NOS means New Old Stock.

Simplest method for floating bridge placement is to measure from the inside of the nut to 12th fret (right down the middle between the D & G strings). Should be the same distance to the bridge, then adjust for intonation from there.
 

northbayj

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Roger, just to elaborate a bit on Don's response - new old stock gets used when someone is selling an instrument or part (amp tubes is a big one) that is old, but has never been used. For example, a guy was selling a starfire on eBay recently that was a mid 90s model, but was new in the box. The cellophane was still on the pick ups. So it was 10 years old, but basically brand new.

John
 

Squawk

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dklsplace said:
NOS means New Old Stock.

Simplest method for floating bridge placement is to measure from the inside of the nut to 12th fret (right down the middle between the D & G strings). Should be the same distance to the bridge, then adjust for intonation from there.

Roger -

Once you've done that, I'd suggest intoning both E strings - go back and forth tuning and checking intonation 2 or 3 times until perfect (most likely you will have to angle the bridge) - then tune the other 4 strings and you should be fine. I assume your Starfire III has a Bigsby.
 

Roger49

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Yes, I have a Bigsby. Thank you for the additional information. I am having a bit of dfficulty getting it right.
 

rwmol

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Roger

One other important tip. Be sure to do this with new strings. Install your new strings, wait 24 hours and then do your adjustments.
 

Squawk

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Assuming your SF3 Bigsby bridge is like mine, it is not compensated - meaning your strings should have a plain (rather than wound) G string. If the set has a wound G, this could be why you're having trouble.
 

Roger49

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Squawk said:
Assuming your SF3 Bigsby bridge is like mine, it is not compensated - meaning your strings should have a plain (rather than wound) G string. If the set has a wound G, this could be why you're having trouble.

Thank you for telling me this; however,I do not understand. I've used wound 3rd's--- always. Why would that make a difference? And what does "compensated" mean?
 

teleharmonium

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Roger49, I suspect your guitar has a Bigsby tailpiece, and an adjustable bridge, not a Bigsby bridge (which is an aluminum, non intonation adjustable design).

Bridges that aren't intonation adjustable are intended either for wound G strings, if they are old school, or unwound Gs, in a few cases. But those bridges are basically old fashioned, and as such they tend to be set for wound Gs.

You can tell by looking at the top of the bridge - if the part under the G string is closer to the fingerboard than the D (shorter scale length), it is for a wound G. If it is further away from the fingerboard, it is for an unwound G. The unwound strings require a little more scale length to intonate correctly, so you can look at a glance and tell whether the G on a fixed bridge is grouped with the unwound strings, or the wound strings.

Naturally if your bridge is adjustable, you can just move the G saddle where you need it for your preferred set of strings.
 
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