David Gilmour frequently uses his tremolo to give the notes more "space" to dwell in. It is a key factor in obtaining his signature tone and it is also key to have what he has on the Tremolo Bridge to do so. Being that his strat is from 1969, they come with the famous "Pat. Pend." stamps on the Saddles. It is surprising that Fender has not replicated this piece, yet went ahead and made the beveled Block? Strange, but true. But knowing myself, this IS important, and so my search leads me all the way to Germany...
It's surprising what you can find on the Internet! After some time digging through sites and parts inventory, I discovered a company based in Germany called Crazy Parts (www.crazyparts.de). And what I have here is a genuine Fender "Pat. Pend." stamped Nickel-plated Bridge Saddles!!!
I know what you're thinking, why do these Saddles matter? What's so different from the ones that are found on Strat's today? Well my friends, much like everything else, parts go through change either for its production costs to its placement in the archetype of importance. This one significant part went through many changes, and for one reason I see is the fact that the Saddles patent went through! So what is the need to state that they are "pending?" Well that is not the ONLY thing that changed on the Saddle. The hole has been shifted on the new "FENDER FENDER" stamped saddles to allow the string to rest on the Saddle NOT the Block like the original ones had done.
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| L: "Pat. Pend." Saddle ; R: "FENDER FENDER" Saddle |
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| L: Original "Pat. Pend." Saddle ; R: New "FENDER FENDER" Saddle |
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| L: Crazy Parts "Pat. Pend." Saddle ; R: Fender "FENDER FENDER" Saddle |
Now that you see the difference, you can understand the importance of having these Saddles included on "Jewel". Much like everything else on this build, these Saddles don't come cheap! (as well as the time it takes to get here from Germany!) In the end, it is this that really sums up this entire build to be the Ultimate Black Strat, and I'm glad that there are those who still produce wonderfully accurate components for those who are into putting all their best to their guitars!
Well, I'm sure that's that, aside from all other components that are critical too on this build. On my next post, we'll go over the essential bits and pieces used to put all this together to finalize the components on this Black Strat build!
David Sarmiento
