Strings hitting back of TOM bridge

[Thanatopsis]

I have an SLSMG and the strings hit the back of the bridge. The action is as low as it can be without issues and intonation is spot on. Has anyone else had this problem? Only solution I can really think of is seeing if there's another bridge I can put on that won't do this.

[Chad]

Unless you are having tuning issues or some other problem, I wouldn't worry about it.

[Mudlark]

Both my SL2HT and DKMGT have the same issue if I'm understanding you correctly. If the saddle is positioned near the front of the bridge in order to be properly intonated it causes the string to push quite forcefully onto the back of the bridge after leaving the saddle. The saddles positioned in the center and back of the bridge for proper intonation allow the string to miss the bridge or barely touch it after leaving the saddle. It seems to be normal, I've had no problems.

[Thanatopsis]

For me with the strings I use(11-50 in standard and occasional drop-D). Every string does it when properly intonated. Here it is.

[Mudlark]

Same as mine. I'd prefer if it wasn't that way, but it seems harmless. No tuning or string breaking issues for me.

[straycat]

You might try flipping the E,B and G saddles around.
That may work and may not.
If you aren't having problems leave it as is.

[shreddermon]

You could try adding a washer underneath the string ferrule, which will raise up the height a bit. I have this on one of my Kellys. But, yeah, it's mostly harmless anyway.

[Chad]

If there aren't any issues, then you are actually gaining what might be considered a benefit to some: the strings behind the bridge will be dampened. Some pros have been known to stick foam or other things against the string lengths outside the scale length to cut down on noise.

With that said, if you're action is really low and the bridge still has that much room to go lower, then Jackson probably needs to tweak the neck angle a bit on those guitars in manufacturing.

[Thanatopsis]

There don't seem to be any issues. It plays amazing. I was just wondering if I was maybe hurting my sustain a little. I found plenty of posts on other sites related to guitars with a tailpiece too and they all talk about making sure the strings don't hit the back of the bridge.

[Newc]

Actually, with the bridge up that high, it's much easier to pick if you're already used to a Gibson-style stopbar/TOM setup. As well, I'd rather have more room to go down and not be able to than to not have enough room to go as low as I wanted to.

As for the strings touching the body of the bridge, there are people on both sides of this discussion: one side swears they (and therefore everyone else) get better/fuller tone since the strings are pulling the bridge tighter against the posts (though it's never adequately explained how the force is any different than with the strings only touching the saddles and not the body of the bridge), and those who believe you get no difference in tone. Some say they hear resonance behind the saddle, while an equal number of others say they don't hear it. Either side could be true, depending on the guitar they have, which may or may not be representative of every instance of that model. i.e. My DX7 doesn't, but someone else's DX7 might.

[Thanatopsis]

one side swears they (and therefore everyone else) get better/fuller tone since the strings are pulling the bridge tighter against the posts (though it's never adequately explained how the force is any different than with the strings only touching the saddles and not the body of the bridge)

I know a lot more about science than guitars and just from a physics perspective that side is definitely incorrect. At a given tuning with a given string gauge and all other things being equal, the overall downforce on the bridge will remain the same. With more than one contact point it's technically split between the two but they're part of the same object so that renders it moot.

[JACKSONFREAK]

+1

[sully]

Neck angle, saddle location when intonated, and ferrule placement are generally what will cause that sort of thing. For example, if the neck angle was more shallow, the bridge would be lower to the face of the body, which could then lift the strings off of the back of the bridge (as long as the ferrules are far enough away so that the break angle isn't drastic). That situation isn't ideal, but it's not necessarily the worst thing in the world.

Sully

[Thanatopsis]

I realized those potential causes/solutions. Unfortunately for me it's already intonated properly, and that's the only thing I can do anything about since it's string-thru and neck-thru. I guess technically the locations where the strings go through the body could be moved but that's way more of a project I care to undertake myself or pay for where everyone says it's not too much of an issue having them touch the bridge in the first place.

[sully]

I'm with ya. I wasn't suggesting modding it, just sharing some potential causes.