Babicz FCH Tele Z-Series SingleCoil C

Recently added this as a mod to my Mexican Telecaster '72 to replace the factory issue bridge.

Summary - if you currently have a Fender 3 saddle bridge, this is the best money you can spend to improve the feel and tone of your guitar.

Build and finish - well made, solid construction, all parts accurately machined and polished. Good quality fixings and springs.

Assembly - Not 'just slap it on' bridge as you need to remove the saddles to expose the mounting screw holes when fixing to the body. Can be done in about 20 minutes without the need for specialist tools. The ability to adjust intonation and height of individual strings is the main sell here and it does this perfectly,

Playability and sound - Noticeable difference in sustain right away. Notes hold well across the range and with more more punch and 'spank'. Saddles feel like a hot new world under the hand - like going from a bed of nails to absolute luxury. Ergonomic, comfortable and look good, too.

Couple of helpful things to know about:
- There are tiny plastic/silicon washers that sit between the spring and the inside of the bridge plate, some come free easily and other stick to either the spring of the plate and can be easy to miss/lose.
- Pickups with square bobbins (hotrails, etc) will not fit in this bridge without widening the pickup slot with a dremmel. Standard single coils will fit perfectly with no issues.

What a fantastic piece of gear!

I have a high end Korean made (Samick) Tradition Jimmy Reid Tele. It is truly a fantastic Tele by any standard (and yes I have owned MIM and MIA Teles too). These guys retailed for 1000 USD back in 2003 when I bought it new. It is a string-trough body with a modern bridge that has a thick plate (like the Babicz Bridge). The saddles ( modern Strat style saddles) were the problem. When I set the action to my preference (low and jangly) the studs poked through. Then I saw this here on Thomann and decided to try.

COMFORT and FUNCTIONALITY: There are no cons, only pros! Setting intonation and action is very easy.
The saddles are sturdy, smooth and well machined. Perfect for resting the hands on when palm muting.

TONE: This improves tone. If you have a good and resonant your Tele is unplugged, the more difference in clarity and sustain you are going to hear after installing this. If you have some dull brick of a guitar you might not get much benefit in the tone department.

NOTE ON INSTALLATION: In my case there was no need to install the plate, I just installed the Babicz saddles, the plate on my guitar is the same kind of metal and thickness as the Babicz. And to change the plate I would have had to drill three holes. That would not have been very easy, but there was no need to in this case. And to honest I prefer using the old plate instead of the one from Babicz because they have a logo. I don't like that sort of thing, so if I were pressed to name a "con" than that would be it.

CONCLUSION: I recommend this for any Telecaster. The better the tele, the more reason to do it.

I'm very pleased with this product.

I purchased a Harley Benton Tele style guitar - felt I needed to add single coils to my collection. But I have always felt the "ashtray" bridge and brass saddles a bit crude. So looking for a slicker solution, mainly for cosmetic reasons, I found this bridge to order with the guitar.

Nicely made and finished. The cam system for adjusting string height is ingenious and works well and gives a very smart and uncluttered appearance. Fitting was straightforward, though I had to drill out the three pick up mount holes slightly. Maybe the H.B. uses slightly larger screws than a real Fender ? But this was straightforward and didn't spoil the chrome finish which was a concern.

As for tone, my ear is not good enough to tell any difference. Short of recording before and after under Lab conditions, I couldn't tell. The guitar sounded great before and and certainly does after (because you are going to put fresh strings on and in my case a change of brand and gauge ? ). But ergonomically, aesthetically and functionally speaking, I couldn't be happier.