In praise of Stainless Steel Saddles

Many of the Matsumoku models were made with brass nuts and saddles, which according to Tom Presley, was done mainly because it was available rather than being based on any particular sonic qualities.  

Happily, many of us like the quality of the sound it generates. So all is good.
But if you're in the position of having to replace a saddle(s) you quickly learn that the cost can be steep, assuming you can find a matching part in the first place.

A few years ago I acquired a Thunder IA in need of some help. One of the things missing was a brass saddle. (How does that even happen?)  Unable to find one and having to buy a full new set for a high price, I decided instead to use Stainless Steel.
It worked out very nicely. LINK

I also got an Aria Pro II Urchin some years back which was a major resto . Long story short, I had removed the original black bridge in favour of a cheap Chinese chrome trem because the saddles were all chewed up from heavy metal playing by the previous owner. But it was too light and unbalanced the guitar to the point where it became neck heavy.

I finally replaced the saddles with a set of SS's and reinstalled the original bridge. Sounds and looks great!



Highly recommended. And they won't break the Bank!

Very Nice

I agree that the SS on black looks great  

I have a Spectrum II which I have replaced the saddles on. The originals were really low quality anyway and had corroded badly. It's easy to find ones that will work

I'm talking about SS saddles here as a replacement for the original brass or to get better sustain.
Is that what you used on your Spectrum II? Pix would be nice.