N00bish question: Gibson-style bridge setup

[Nuclear Vampire]

This is a severely n00bish question, but I've never actually known - which direction should the saddles on a Gibson-style bridge face? Most times they seem to be set up like this:

http://www.guitarattack.com/repair/gibsonbrg.jpg

...with the saddles for the top 3 strings angled one way and the bottom 3 the other way.

Does it matter depending on string guage and tuning? I'm putting my KVX10 back together and was curious. The way it is now is the same as the pic above (except my screws face the neck).

Any input / opinions would be appreciated.

[Burn]

screws always face the back. I just had to go look.....

[Carbuff]

Ive seen them face both ways. But Im guessing that someone took off the strings turned the guitar over and said woops after the bridge fell off, and thats how the front facing ones got that way. My dinky hx has them facing up towards the neck. As well as my agile LP.:ROTF:

[kelly user]

if they are facing towards the stop tail piece you can't intonate the the guitar, but if they face the neck it is a lot easier.

[Nuclear Vampire]

Actually, the positioning of the screws is not the question. The question is: which way should the saddles face? The saddles are angled on one side and the saddle groove tapers off towards the angle.

Here's a pic of the bridge:

[SeventhSon]

The intonation screw heads should face the nut for easy access to intonating the guitar. So your first arrow on the left is correct.

The taper part of the saddle is flip flopped between the bass side and the treble side because the flat side gives you more room to adjust the intonation in the direction of the flat side.

[fett]

I always wondered about that myself. I'm not really sure which is better adjustmentwise. It just seems to me if the heads are on the top, you have to adjust the saddles backwards. And that confuses me. That being said, I like the heads on the stop piece end.

[Nuclear Vampire]

The intonation screw heads should face the nut for easy access to intonating the guitar. So your first arrow on the left is correct.

The taper part of the saddle is flip flopped between the bass side and the treble side because the flat side gives you more room to adjust the intonation in the direction of the flat side.

So the way my pics shows it, the angled part of the saddles should face the neck on the top 3 strings and vice versa?

[SeventhSon]

So the way my pics shows it, the angled part of the saddles should face the neck on the top 3 strings and vice versa?

yes.

but i think of it this way. on the bass strings, the flat part should face towards the rear (longer scale length). and on the treble side, the flat part should face the nut (shorter scale length).

[Carbuff]

The way his picture shows it it wont matter which way the bridge is installed as the saddles will end up the same direction either way. Now, if you remove the saddles then they have to be put on correctly like the pic shows. And like I said earlier my string through jackson has the heads towards the nut.

[toejam]

The way his picture shows it it wont matter which way the bridge is installed as the saddles will end up the same direction either way. Now, if you remove the saddles then they have to be put on correctly like the pic shows. And like I said earlier my string through jackson has the heads towards the nut.

What he said.

My Dinky HX also had the adjustment screws towards the nut, but I changed the bridge on it and put it the other way. It doesn't make a difference. Some guitars come with the screws facing the nut, others facing the tail.

[SeventhSon]

The way his picture shows it it wont matter which way the bridge is installed as the saddles will end up the same direction either way. Now, if you remove the saddles then they have to be put on correctly like the pic shows. And like I said earlier my string through jackson has the heads towards the nut.

LMAO!!! I was never good at Rubik's cube either!

Yep, the only decision he has to make is whether the screw heads face the nut or the stop tail.

[Nuclear Vampire]

Thanks guys! I will leave the screws pointing at the neck, as the saddles are pretty much in the right position from when I last intonated her.

Cheers!