Help with new SE. high E saddle can’t go down any further.

[Ticojpunk]

Just got an SE Standard 24-08 from Sweetwater. I put 9.5-46 strings in it, checked neck relief and tightened the trem springs to being the bridge back to parallel. Action was a little higher with the slightly heavier strings. But I noticed that out of the box my high E saddle was all the way down so I’ve no room to adjust it lower. Could it be I need to lower my 6 bridge screws? I’m new to these bridges so understanding how they work. My bridge is pretty much dead on 1/16” above the body. Any thoughts on what to do here?

For now, I’ve tightened the truss rod. Relief is on the lower side, .006 about. That brings action to a playable level but I prefer to have some more proper neck relief and I still have no way to lower that E if I need to.

 

[Veetwin]

Don't lower the bridge screws, something else is not right. I would run the neck straight to get some adjustment. Just looked at my 2 guitars, my necks are to the eye straight and I can go lower on the strings. I already have them way lower than what is factory recommended.

 

[deepender]

I’d be tempted to return that one.

 

[JasonE]

That neck relieve is in the zone of where I like mine. I run my necks almost straight. I tend to put about .005" relieve in them. I have had to lower the trem a little bit on a couple of mine. The one I bought in the fall I had to lower it 1/4 turn on each screw to get it where I wanted it. You have to be very careful if you adjust those screws. There is a knife edge that runs in the groove of the screws. You don't want to mess that up.

If you do adjust the bridge screws, put something under the back of the bridge to protect the top of the guitar then loosen the strings. With the strings loose, push the bridge a little toward the back of the guitar to get the knife edge out of the slots a bit. Only turn them 1/4 turn at a time. Try going down 1/4 turn on each then seat the bridge back in the slots and tune it up. That will probably be enough. You don't even have to take it that far. They are coarse threads so they move up and down fast with small turn amounts. Make sure the trem does not contact the body on the front when you use it. If it does, you heed to raise it back up a tiny bit.

 

[deathworlder]

Pic of saddle sitting on top of tremolo plate?