Fender Elite Thinline Telecaster 'Suspension' bridge

bacchanalian

Has anyone owned a Thinline Telecaster Elite?
The bridge is a screwless mount with compensated saddles.

Wondering if it is any good and, if it is, why only on the Thinline and no others.

ICBM

Because it needs the body routing from the inside to make the recess, so it can only be done on a semi-hollow.

It's a solution in search of a problem - it looks awful, it's very difficult to restring without chewing up the finish on the back edge of the hole, and when have you ever heard of a standard Tele bridge lacking tone or sustain?

Even worse, it's going to be quite difficult to replace it with a proper bridge when people get fed up with restringing them.

It's the Freeflyte of the 21st century, and will completely kill the resale value of the guitar in the long run.

bacchanalian

Wise words.  My thoughts were that it would be difficult to change to a standard 3 saddle if desired.
 
The rest of the guitar appeals, but the bridge might make a bit of a white elephant. (No disrespect to any other colour of elephants)

Would have to be very cheap to be worthwhile considering

Epsilon

I have one. It's basically fine. I'd probably prefer a standard bridge but I wouldn't go as far as to say that it's a problem, or will "kill" the resale value.

JezWynd

Love to have been at the meeting where they passed that one through...

Teyeplayer

JezWynd said:

Love to have been at the meeting where they passed that one through...

Never noticed that before, what a ridiculous design. The exec responsible needs his pay docking.

Kittyfrisk

@ICBM ; "It's a solution in search of a problem..."
That's all that needs to be said about it.

bacchanalian

Thanks all.  That has put the final nail in that coffin.

Any other recommendations for a Thinline with single coils, preferably Fender?

paulnb57

Guitarbuild will make you a Fender spec Custom body....just a thought....

meltedbuzzbox

bacchanalian said:

Thanks all.  That has put the final nail in that coffin.

Any other recommendations for a Thinline with single coils, preferably Fender?

If you like that guitar why don't you go and try it?
Its your opinion that matters

Epsilon

meltedbuzzbox said:

bacchanalian said:

Thanks all.  That has put the final nail in that coffin.

Any other recommendations for a Thinline with single coils, preferably Fender?

If you like that guitar why don't you go and try it?
Its your opinion that matters

Agreed. I can't help but feel this thread has blown this way out of proportion. In terms of playing I honestly haven't noticed any difference at all against my standard tele.

stickyfiddle

I could maybe understand the concept if you're trying not to put screw holes in the top of a semi hollow guitar. But then they've put a plate round the bridge pickup with 4 screws, so it's obviously not that. Why not just use a top-loading normal Tele bridge?

ICBM

Epsilon said:

In terms of playing I honestly haven't noticed any difference at all against my standard tele.

How do you find string changes? I admit I haven't actually physically tried it, but I've looked at one and it looks like a nightmare - you can't get at the ball ends properly, and dragging the strings in and out is bound to chew up the lip of the recess.

And if it's exactly the same in terms of playing, what's the point at all? The original bridge design is a masterpiece of simplicity, reliability and ease of use. This new one solves no problems - because there aren't any to solve - but causes them.

bacchanalian said:

Any other recommendations for a Thinline with single coils, preferably Fender?

Fender '69 Thinline reissue.

bacchanalian

meltedbuzzbox said:

bacchanalian said:

Thanks all.  That has put the final nail in that coffin.

Any other recommendations for a Thinline with single coils, preferably Fender?

If you like that guitar why don't you go and try it?
Its your opinion that matters

I am in Northern Ireland so very limited choice of guitars generally.

bacchanalian said:

Any other recommendations for a Thinline with single coils, preferably Fender?

Fender '69 Thinline reissue.

The AVRI Thinlines seem to be reasonably rare but there is one on eBay now.

Epsilon

ICBM said:

Epsilon said:

In terms of playing I honestly haven't noticed any difference at all against my standard tele.

How do you find string changes? I admit I haven't actually physically tried it, but I've looked at one and it looks like a nightmare - you can't get at the ball ends properly, and dragging the strings in and out is bound to chew up the lip of the recess.

And if it's exactly the same in terms of playing, what's the point at all? The original bridge design is a masterpiece of simplicity, reliability and ease of use. This new one solves no problems - because there aren't any to solve - but causes them.

When changing strings you just pull the suspension bit off the body, string it through, and slot it back in. Admittedly not as easy as top loading, but probably no more annoying than the fact that Tune-o-matics fall off when you take the strings off, or dealing with the frustration of trying to guide a string through a backplate when it doesn't want to go through (I'm sure we've all been there).

With regards to the second point I'm not saying that this bridge needed to exist, simply that it doesn't detract from the performance of the guitar (and I don't think it really causes any problems either). I do prefer a standard tele bridge  but there's absolutely no way I'd let such a small thing put me off a guitar I otherwise like. I actually prefer it to the ashtray bridge I had on my Highway One, which I did find quite offputting as my hand would occasionally whack the bridge. At least the suspension is low profile.

In summary I don't think it's an issue, but I also don't think it's a necessary innovation.

ICBM

Epsilon said:

When changing strings you just pull the suspension bit off the body, string it through, and slot it back in.

What do you do when you just need to change one string, if you've broken one?

Epsilon

You can just push it through like a top loader. If you're changing all strings it is easier to just take the bridge off though.

Just gave it a try on mine and it took about 5 seconds.

ICBM

Epsilon said:

You can just push it through like a top loader. If you're changing all strings it is easier to just take the bridge off though.

Just gave it a try on mine and it took about 5 seconds.

So the edge of that recess is going to look a mess if you do it more than a couple of times... the string is clearly dragging against the finish.

Sorry, I just don't see this as a 'small thing' at all, I see it as a complete deal-breaker. It's just a really pointless, unnecessary design change which achieves exactly nothing other than making it harder to use and easier to damage the guitar. It does not improve the tone or sustain as claimed - there's nothing wrong with either of those on a standard Tele bridge, as you said yourself it's no different to play.

The really big problem is that if you do decide you don't like it, it's going to need extensive woodwork and probably refinishing to fit a conventional Tele bridge.

Epsilon

Not really, you just hold the string by the other end as you pull it through and there's no contact with the recess.



Right I think I've spent enough of my day defending a bridge! OP I suggest you try one out for yourself. 

meltedbuzzbox

ICBM said:

Epsilon said:

You can just push it through like a top loader. If you're changing all strings it is easier to just take the bridge off though.

Just gave it a try on mine and it took about 5 seconds.

So the edge of that recess is going to look a mess if you do it more than a couple of times... the string is clearly dragging against the finish.

Sorry, I just don't see this as a 'small thing' at all, I see it as a complete deal-breaker. It's just a really pointless, unnecessary design change which achieves exactly nothing other than making it harder to use and easier to damage the guitar. It does not improve the tone or sustain as claimed - there's nothing wrong with either of those on a standard Tele bridge, as you said yourself it's no different to play.

The really big problem is that if you do decide you don't like it, it's going to need extensive woodwork and probably refinishing to fit a conventional Tele bridge.

In the next episode, ICBM goes outside to yell at clouds

So much moaning over something you don't even own

ICBM

meltedbuzzbox said:

So much moaning over something you don't even own

But will one day have to work on, most likely. And probably have to find a way of removing the damn thing and patching the hole without refinishing the whole guitar.

I agree with JezWynd, I'd love to have seen how Fender not only came up with this dreadful piece of design but actually tooled up for it and put it into production...

On the bright side, I have found something to rant about that's even more stupid than Gibson's robot tuners . At least they do have a useful purpose for some people, even if they don't always work properly .