The Electra Forums

I have a replacement saddle on the way from a fine forum member but I am kicking around the idea of making some for resell. What would be a fair price? There is a lot of work involved for small quantities, and we will never require large quantites. I am working on it now. What did they charge on Westone when they used to be available? I was thinking $12 + shipping for a single saddle, but multiples would be cheaper. The idea is for those that need a saddle or two not to have to scrap a guitar or find an ill-fitted replacement bridge. I figure most people would only need one or two. I will have some chrome ones in a few days. They will be an excellent match, almost an exact match. They will fit the standard bendmaster, the fine tuner version, and the tekglide IIs. What do you think. There will be a bit of minor shaping on my behalf. Black ones will also follow.

Any interest? Would they sell? Or would people think the price too high and a ripoff. It is too much work and too low of a quantity to get them any cheaper. If I needed a 100 that would be different, but that probably won't happen. Most people needing more than a saddle or two will look for a replacement bridge or to find one pulled.

Also, I'd love to have some of those push/pull phoenix knobs too. I think someone is already making those but I don't know if they are still doing it or not. I live in an area with large plastic companies. I would think the knobs could have some appeal outside of just us electra and westone users. Black would be a given, but it may be possible to make other colors as well, clear, or tints. Knobs could be reproduced and sold in larger quantities. I think those would sell to non-electra and westone players. I am kicking around some more ideas too.

I just need a sanity check every now and then.

_________________
Thorny

you do mean those tapered Switchmaster knobs, right?? I'm in for some red and blue ones....

The saddles I'm not so sure about; there must be - somewhere out there - a source of saddles that is close enough to fit?! Surely...???

Otherwise, I think 12 dollars apiece is possibly a bit light for what is surely these days a boutique item?! Are you having them machined or cast? Does the $12 include the screw and spring?

The other thing that springs to mind is that when the Westone admin had stringlock parts and other bits and bobs made, he approached the forum to gauge interest which led him to having a fair whack of these things made at some considerable cost. The subsequent sales - once those who'd put their hands up had snaffled some - were less than inspiring and he remains out of pocket to this day, though he has thankfully passed them all on to another forum member free of charge to dole out as they're needed.

Just a word to the wise....

_________________
"... and on the eighth day, God created New Zealanders.

Because even the Australians need heroes."

Hmmm, maybe I shouldn't put any time into it then. I'll just finish the ones I started and not invest much time. It included the parts that go with it (screws and spring). I wanted it low enough to make it worth while, but high enough I won't lose on it.

_________________
Thorny

I think I read here on the forums that some Fender Squires used the same or "close-enough" saddles. But three of them were mirrored having the screw on the other side. Not sure this helps any, but it never hurts to share info.

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv24 ... e51bs2.gif

I wouldn't bother with the saddles. There are too many similar saddles that would work just as well I think.

Thanks for thinking of it though, seriously. Always great when we come up with aid for each other.

_________________
"GREAT Googiley moogilie Jack...jumpin jehosephat, hot dang and all".
- jdwhealton

You may want to get in touch with the member Prostheta on the Uncle Matt page. He has been working on replacement bridges and saddles for some Aria stuff. He may be able to advise on how he has gone about it. He is a good craftsman and and a good guy.

Well, if any of you guys start stamping out covers for phoenixs I need a set for a 175JB. 2 trem spring covers, 1 control cavity cover, 1 switch cover and last but not least, 7 pick up rings for the single coil pups (not the rectangle ones).Trying to find these on the bay just gets my blood pressure up.

_________________
SlmGuy

for back spring covers on the Westone ST series I used a generic back single ply strat cover - sound a cheap ebay link sent from China - two weeks later the plain black cover arrived and fit nearly perfectly. On that same model I also found a Jazz Bass back cover that was similarly shaped to the one on the Westone ST - kinda like a big "smile" shape. It required a bit of trimming with the dremel to fit, but it did an acceptable job. Both were CHEAP which for me is important. Again ordered it from China as well through ebay. Took about 2 weeks.

I looked for a source for the pickup rings for strats - GFS has some painted black that look close, but they are not matches. They may very well work though, and not look hideous (I don't know). They are not simple oval-like pickup shapes, they have a dip on one side. It may be "close enough for rock-n-roll" for you. Also, scour the chinese part makers on ebay. When you find a part I search for their ebay stores and page through them. You may very well find a part the same or very close to your needs.

These are not perfect answers, but they may get you going again and do so without much money on your part. When you buy one of these, it is important to keep the costs reasonable because you don't want to have way more in it than you can ever see out of it (unless you need one of every type and they just have to be perfect).

_________________
Thorny