Saddle screws keep backing themselves out

kselbee

New Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2012
Messages
68
I have a 2015 Custom 22 and every week or so I notice at least 1 of the screws that hold the saddles to the bridge are starting to come out and I need to tighten them which I'm sure is throwing off the intonation. Anyone experience this? Is this a known issue?
 
I have a 2015 Custom 22 and every week or so I notice at least 1 of the screws that hold the saddles to the bridge are starting to come out and I need to tighten them which I'm sure is throwing off the intonation. Anyone experience this? Is this a known issue?

It's never happened on any of mine, even my 24 year old Custom 22. Also, I don't believe I've ever seen anyone else post about having this issue.
 
I have a 2015 Custom 22 and every week or so I notice at least 1 of the screws that hold the saddles to the bridge are starting to come out and I need to tighten them which I'm sure is throwing off the intonation. Anyone experience this? Is this a known issue?
Fascinating. Never heard of this. From a hardware standpoint, this could mean the threads on the screw or saddle are degrading. Screws back out from vibration, but the problem is exacerbated if the socket is loose.
 
None of my PRSi have individual saddles but I've had this happen on non-PRS guitars. When it's happened to me it has always been the low E saddle. I'm fairly sure it happens partly because I rest my hand there and the constant on /off of the hand on the part of the screw that sticks out from the saddle gradually "adjusts" the screw. That screw sticking out is also very uncomfortable. I usually end up replacing the saddles with ones where the screw doesn't stick up out of the saddle. If the screw on your saddle is sticking out you could try grinding some length off of the screw (from the bottom end of the screw) to get it flush or recessed into the saddle. The nail polish may also help but I imagine you would need to occasionally reapply the nail polish.
 
What Bodia said. When I need to keep a screw from moving, I use Sally Hanson’s “Hard as nails.” Back the screw out and leave it on your Allen wrench. You only need a little bit on the threads of the screw. It takes about 5 minutes to hard, so you have plenty of time to reset the intonation if necessary.
 
Check your screws for mismatched threading, wrong spec. I've never seen that on any guitar I've owned. Ever. Not even a Mexican Squier.
 
Thanks for the feedback. Just for clarity, these are not the height adjustment screws on the saddles that take an allen wrench, but the actual screw that goes in the back of the saddle that attaches it to the bridge and adjusts intonation. This is an American Core PRS and it's all original so not sure why this is happening. I'll try to post a pic next time I notice it.
 
Thanks for the feedback. Just for clarity, these are not the height adjustment screws on the saddles that take an allen wrench, but the actual screw that goes in the back of the saddle that attaches it to the bridge and adjusts intonation. This is an American Core PRS and it's all original so not sure why this is happening. I'll try to post a pic next time I notice it.

I have never seen this on a PRS guitar and I have owned a number of them and still have a good collection of them. Contact PRS. It is very unusual to have an intonation screw move on it's own. They have springs over them to keep tension on them. If the springs are there something is out of speck.
 
Back
Top