JBE Pickups

collapse expand iconDescription

Joe Barden American Standard Tele Bridgeplate and Saddle Kit for Telecasters solves all of the structural problems and intonation issues inherent in the original parts. The heavily plated Bridgeplate is made of the same material as the original, but slightly thicker, making the plate less prone to unwanted squeal.

Using the originally spec'd material ensures that the vintage tone and slightly microphonic nature of your Telecaster will not be lost. In addition, the Bridgeplate features a Danny Gatton-inspired scoop at the front of the treble sidewall, a tremendous aid to fingerpickers who find the sidewall obtrusive.

The Bridgeplate has two additional mounting holes at the front edge to provide secure fastening at all four corners. Use of these mounting holes is optional.

Which one do I need, the Vintage or American Standard bridgeplate?
Two models of the Joe Barden Telecaster bridgeplate are available; Vintage Style or American Standard Style (see our SKU# H71203). The two bridgeplates are NOT interchangable and selection of which one to use is dependent on where the mounting and string thru holes are on your particular instrument.

Both Joe Barden bridgeplates have 4 mounting holes at the rear. On the American Standard bridgeplate, just IN FRONT of the 4 mouting holes are 6 string-thru holes where the strings come thru the body. In contrast, on the Vintage bridgeplate the string-thru holes are just BEHIND the 4 mounting holes and closest to the rear wall of the bridgeplate.

The Saddles
The Joe Barden saddles (3 come with the Bridgeplate Assembly) are also made to vintage specs, using the brass material, but have their adjustment holes drilled at three different angles to provide correct intonation for all six strings, each of which requires a different saddle position.

As an added feature, the outside saddles are notched under the "E" strings, like the vintage '53 saddles. This notch helps correct the "loud outside string" problem common to many Telecasters, and adds additional height adjustment capability, while retaining an important and authentic vintage design spec.

Like Joe Barden pickups, these components are direct retrofits for vintage, or American Standard styled Telecasters and similarly made guitars. Installation requires no modification to vintage instruments that would otherwise alter their unique vintage character.
JBE Pickups (Barden) Vintage Tele Bridgeplate and Saddle Kit Nickel

collapse expand iconFeatures

  • Original material for vintage tone
  • Scooped for easier fingerpicking
  • Thicker for less squeal

Featured Articles

collapse expand iconReviews

4.8

5 Reviews

0%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend

  • Easy installation!

    5

    Verified BuyerVerified Buyer

    submitted7 years ago

    byMARK

    fromundisclosed

    Easy installation! Much to my surprise all I had to do was adjust the string height on a couple of barrels...the intonation was right on. Looks good,sounds good,is good!

  • Definately worth the money

    5

    Verified BuyerVerified Buyer

    submitted8 years ago

    byHarold

    fromundisclosed

    ....added tone to my telecaster and also tuning is better.

  • It's pretty cool, I guess.

    4

    submitted11 years ago

    byJohn

    fromNashville, TN

    The Joe Barden vintage bridge kit is a fine looking and beefy bride for any telecaster, really top of the line. It's made with solid materials, and has a good price tag for a bridge of this quality. The construction of the plate with the little finger notch is excellent as I always seem to hit that area, this feature eases playability for many of us. The only thing I didn't like about this bridge is the lack of string grooves on the saddles. The top two strings, and sometimes the G string, wouldn't stay in place and wanted to slide and walk over and rest on top of the adjustment holes which impeded saddle adjustment and caused some unwanted pinginess while playing at times. I tried filing mini grooves in the saddle for my top 2 strings and it didn't really help. To correct the issues I ultimately had to remove the stock JB brass saddles and install a set of Graph Tech 3 piece saddles and that solved my string issues completely. The Graph Techs fit in nicely with no issues. The JB Vintage Bridge is a crazy good upgrade for your Tele but I can only give it 4 stars. Any less than 4 stars would just be hatin'. You may not experience the issue that I had with this bridge at all give this product a higher rating. Thanks Guitar Center.

  • Highly worth the dough!

    5

    submitted11 years ago

    byShawn Murphy

    fromConnecticut

    Ordered the Barden bridge for my American Special Tele. What a difference. Sounds so much better. You'd think that I upgraded to an American Deluxe or something. Probably a little longer sustain, never timed the sustain with the original, but the sustain just feels longer. The luthier that installed it for me told me that the intonation was easily set and is smack dab on. The barden bridge is so nice and looks great. The bridge has such a nice chrome polish, whereas the stock original is dull and lackluster. The only downside is that when people take pictures of you playing on stage, the shiny chrome polish might cause glare in the picture. (oh darn) The barden bridge is so much more heavy duty, it probably weighs twice what the original bridge weighed. The factory original bridge feels like a cheap piece of tin in comparison to the barden bridge. The cutout in way of the high E string which they say makes it easier to fingerpick, I won't vouch for that because I do very little finger picking. Another thing, the barden bridge is ever so slightly larger and hides the routing in the wood for the bridge pickup better than the original factory bridge. So.......... Don't feel like shelling out $120 to $150 for a new set of pickups, not to forget the $100 to have the pickups installed; well try out the barden bridge for a quick bolt on immediate improvement in sound. You could probably install this thing by yourself, but might be better to just have a pro install it for you so they can get the intonation and saddle heights perfect. PS: Thanks to Zach at Frets in Westerly RI for the great work with installing the Barden Bridge or me.

  • Great product, great price (Sweet Tele)

    5

    submitted12 years ago

    byMike Boyer

    fromHope Mills, NC

    I bought an FSR Vintage Telecaster recently. I wanted that vintage tele sound. Love the guitar but did not like the intonation problem acustom to the vintage brass saddles. Installed the Joe Barden tailpiece. Unit dropped in, no problems. Intonation was about perfect out of the box, just adjusted the string height and was ready to go. I Still have that tele sound with no intonation problems. Added locking tuners, now I have a Sweet Sounding Vintage Tele.

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collapse expand iconQ&A

Have a question about this product? Our expert Gear Advisers have the answers.

  • asked byandrew h

    fromundisclosed

    does the Fender Replacement Vintage Telecaster Bridge Cover still fit/stay on this bridge

    does the Fender Replacement Vintage Telecaster Bridge Cover still fit/stay on this bridge

    Open Reply - Thomas
    It hasn’t been tested but it probably will