New Telecaster bridge plate not sitting flat

nonesuch

I'm busy trying to fit a Gotoh Ti-TC1S 3-Saddle bridge to my Telecaster Thinline 69. Got it all on, but when I tighten up the four mounting screws, the front end of the plate lifts up slightly so that it isn't properly flush against the body. I've tried the screws from the original bridge, and the new screws that came with the Gotoh, but it doesn't make a difference.

I decided to try and make a narrow shim out of a thin strip of business card, and I've slid that in between the four mounting screws and the string holes. This does seem to have helped, but obviously the back end is now ever so slightly raised.

I'm guessing the original screw holes must be positioned slightly differently to the Gotoh bridge plate.

Does the shim seem like a good idea or is there a better way of fixing this?

andy_k

I have had a similar problem, which tends to go away under string tension, the Gotoh is probably better quality than the stock Fender, so try it with string tension, probably caused by the earth wire acting as a shim in front of the screws, with the string tension it should crush into the body.

Funkfingers

For a traditional single coil Telecaster bridge, the grounding path is via the pickup screws, the pickup baseplate,  the black pickup output conductor, the chassis of one of the control pots and to the output jack socket. 

There is no need for a wire trapped under the bridge itself.

nonesuch

Funkfingers said:

For a traditional single coil Telecaster bridge, the grounding path is via the pickup screws, the pickup baseplate,  the black pickup output conductor, the chassis of one of the control pots and to the output jack socket. 

There is no need for a wire trapped under the bridge itself.

Yeah, the earth wire is attached to the pickup screw, so that shouldn't be causing the problem.

ICBM

Vintage-type Tele bridges do tend to float slightly clear of the body at the front - that's one of the things that gives the classic Tele sound. (Really!)

Sometimes it can make them too microphonic - some people put a little silicone sealant or similar under the front of it to damp out the vibration.

nonesuch

Okay, I've taken the paper shim out from the back - the string tension doesn't quite pull it flat, but I'll see how it goes.

Headphones

Might be that the surface isn't flat.  A thinner plate would conform easily under string tension, while the thicker one wouldn't.

Possibly also burrs around the screw holes, either on the plate, or the wood itself - which should have a little countersink, if only to minimise finish cracking potential.

barnstorm

Over-tightening the mounting screws can cause the front to lift, but I assume that's not the case here. It's a common issue, but usually only a problem if it causes the microphonic nastiness that ICBM mentioned. Some people add two small screws to the front corners, and Callaham does a pre-drilled bridge.

Funkfingers

barnstorm said:

the microphonic nastiness that ICBM mentioned. 

Some people WANT those resonant overtones.