Drilling the hole
Use a drill bit with a diameter that is large enough for the pickup to fit through but no larger than the width of the slot, usually between 3/32” and 1/8”. It is
recommended the hole be drilled on the bass side of the slot; this will allow for clean routing of wires to the preamp inside the guitar. Just before you begin, inspect
the inside of the guitar and note the position of the braces in relation to the saddle slot. Drill the hole in the extreme end of the slot at a slight angle being careful to
avoid all braces as the drill bit penetrates the top
(see figure 3)
. Using an exacto blade or a small jeweler’s screwdriver, round off the sharp edge of the hole where
the pickup bends to protect the pickup from being kinked or pinched. Clean all loose debris from the slot.
Saddle fit
Another very important consideration is the fit of the saddle. This is the single most
important factor in this installation! The saddle should fit loosely enough that you
could remove it using only your fingertips, but not so loose that it will fall out when
turned over.
A saddle that fits too tight won’t be able to seat firmly on the pickup and thus will not
function properly. The most common results of this are very poor string balance, low
output, low frequency microphonic response, boominess and bad tonality.
A loose fitting saddle will result in saddle tilt or lean while under pressure. This will
cause poor contact in a different way. When the strings are at full tension, the saddle
will pull forward and distribute pressure solely on the front edge of the pickup. This will
result in poor tonality and possible string balance problems. One way to compensate
for a loose fitting saddle is to sand an intentional angle on the bottom surface of the
saddle so that it will make even contact under full string tension
(see figure 4)
. This
is not an easy task to accomplish accurately, so we recommend that only the most
experienced installers attempt this. Another option is to create a new saddle.
Installing the pickup
Once you have the saddle prepared, feed the pickup into the slot from inside of the
guitar. Tip: insert a tooth pick, small Allen wrench or similar object through the hole
from outside the guitar to aid you in locating the hole inside the guitar. As you lay
the pickup in the slot, make sure the black dot at the end of the pickup is facing up.
This will insure proper pickup phase orientation. Place the saddle in the slot over the
pickup and temporarily secure it with a piece of tape. Secure the wire with a wire clip
as close to the exit hole as practical
(see figure 8)
. Failure to secure the pickup may
produce excess boominess and feedback.
Special considerations
Saddle material:
Undersaddle pickups respond differently to various saddle materials
and sometimes the differences can be startling. Variations in the saddle material effect
everything from output to string balance and tone. It’s sometimes a good idea to
experiment with a couple different types of saddles to get the best results.
Short saddle:
The last 1/8” of the Element is not active. If you do not have a minimum
of 3/16” of saddle beyond the high-E string, you may experience low output from that
string. To remedy this, you can drill a small horizontal hole into the wall of the bridge at
the end of the slot approximately 1/4” in length to extend the active area of the pickup
further under the saddle
(see figure 5)
.
To drill this hole without disturbing the floor of the slot, place a small jeweler’s
screwdriver under the tip of the bit as you drill. We advise that you drill the pickup exit
hole at the opposite end of the slot through the wall of the bridge as well
(see figures
6 & 7).
Preparing the saddle
You will need to compensate for the thickness of the pickup in the overall height of the
saddle by removing approximately .032” of saddle material. We recommend you do
this from the bottom of the saddle. This will allow you to make sure the bottom of the
saddle is absolutely flat while maintaining intonation/compensation on the topside.
Remove the majority of the material on a belt sander first. Finish it off by hand sanding
against a perfectly flat surface with semi fine sandpaper; 180 to 220 grit paper is good.
Finally, check the flatness of the saddle by shining a light behind it while it rests on the
flat surface.
fig. 4
fig. 5
fig. 6
fig. 7
fig. 3
This view depicts the bridge at an angle that is level with the guitar top
and perpendicular to the saddle slot. Note the rounded edge where the
hole has been drilled.
