Anyone have experience with the PRS Locking Saddles?

[eugeneelgr]

Dude! Thanks for that video! OMG! That's EPIC! Holy crap...Ya know I was thinking about getting a Warmoth Tele...That's out the window now. Definitely going to order a Suhr and request that bridge when it's available. And OFC I would need it recess routed.
That's another thing I've always wondered about -- why doesn't Paul at least have the option to recess mount his trem bridges, so you can bend up more and flutter more effectively?
I know I've seen a few PRS that actually do have a small cutout in the back but I've never actually seen one for sale, outside of one Tremonti model.

Because they intended to enter that market who needs a recessed cavity with the Custom 24 floyd model. While they build some of the best guitars, I feel they do need to get up to date with market trends like stainless frets, flatter radiuses etc. Take a look at Ibanez with the AZ model. It was a step towards the conservative when compared with their current fare but it was what the market wanted.

If they offered a custom 24/ce 24 with a flatter radius and stainless frets, I think Suhr and Anderson might have a problem on their hands.

 

[Nique K]

Paul did SS frets for Neal Schon, but not for anyone else as far as I know.
Most of his signature models should have them, IIRC.
I too would love to see a CU24 (or even CE) PRS with stainless frets, or at least have it as an option for some core models, or even an artist package option. Same with a compound radius option.

"who needs a recessed cavity with the Custom 24 floyd mode"

Well, Mark Tremonti, for one...and me, and probably a bunch of other people too :O

There's a few reasons why I would never buy the Floyd model -- first, I don't like how the OFR bridge has the fine tuners that stick up in the back.
Floyd Rose solved this problem nearly 2 decades ago with their low profile (the "Pro") model, but Paul doesn't offer that.

But even with that, the locking nut is just not my thing. Can't change tunings on the fly and it's a pain to change strings as well.
Also can't do behind the nut bends, and if your hand gets caught on that metal nut piece, it hurts :[

As demonstrated by Pete Thorn, Guthrie Govan, and even Paul himself, you don't need a locking nut to get that near perfect tuning stability -- locking saddles and locking tuners will get you there just fine.

 

[Tone-y]

Well I've had chance to play a little with the phantom locking saddles now. I've given the high E saddle a little file and I haven't broken a string since so fingers crossed that's solved it. And I've got to say, even though they look and feel a bit crap, they do really work. Now my strings have stretched out I can really abuse the trem and a lot of the time it comes back in tune perfectly. Certainly capable of any Hendrix/Blackmore level of abuse.

Bearing in mind these are on an Eric Johnson Strat - with a vintage 6 screw bridge (in this case a Callaham) and vintage non-locking machine heads and a bone nut. Before the locking saddles were fitted I only had average Strat tuning stability. Light trem use was OK, but any kind of dive would make the g-string go sharp. These locking saddles have totally solved that proving that it was at the bridge end where the problem was. It also shows that you can get good tuning stability without locking machine heads.

What you can take away from this - if you have a PRS with a trem and you can't get the tuning stability that you want, the problem is probably where the strings break over the block towards the saddles. Locking saddles will almost definitely solve the issues and give you tuning stability approaching double locking levels. It is just a shame that the locking saddles themselves are hard to get in any kind of quality.

 

[Nique K]

Thanks for the details man. I hope they last well, they did not last for me at all. I think they're made out of a very cheap brass. Eventually the saddles developed deep cuts / grooves in them and the strings sounded like a sitar. Maybe that's because I use NYXL's though, IDK. I do know brass is kind of a soft metal, but it can be mitigated if using higher quality brass and cold rolling it, ie. probably what PRS does with their brass stuff. But there's a reason why a set of their non-locking saddles goes for over 100$ USD lol, and these Phantom ones are so inexpensive :[

 

[Tone-y]

Thanks for the details man. I hope they last well, they did not last for me at all. I think they're made out of a very cheap brass. Eventually the saddles developed deep cuts / grooves in them and the strings sounded like a sitar. Maybe that's because I use NYXL's though, IDK. I do know brass is kind of a soft metal, but it can be mitigated if using higher quality brass and cold rolling it, ie. probably what PRS does with their brass stuff. But there's a reason why a set of their non-locking saddles goes for over 100$ USD lol, and these Phantom ones are so inexpensive :[

I don't think I'll keep them on long enough for them to wear out. I'm not sure I like how they sound. But it has been a very interesting exercise. I'd go as far as saying locking saddles are more important and make a bigger difference that locking machine heads. I'll keep an eye on those Wilkinson/Suhr saddles and maybe get a set of those in the future