You could put shorter Allen screws in, so the head are lost inside the barrels. I have done that on almost all my Fender style bridges. They are all modern so take M3 screws.
1 Like
I used those on my “George Harrison” rosewood Tele - that way, I had the vintage appearance but with better intonation.
1 Like
Yes, that’s probably what I’d do if I ever had a Tele with a vintage bridge. (As if I can hear the errors in intonation with a conventional Tele bridge in any case!)
1 Like
Thanks for your reply. I should have posted a later picture. I did actually push the top barrel more towards the centre, so it’s not as off as it looks in this picture. The barrels don’t touch by the way. It was easy to slide the top barrel slightly towards the centre after releasing string tension. I did look at compensated barrels, but it looks like all three are the same offsets and, besides, the intonation is not so bad after I’d spent a couple of hours setting it up, together with bridge height.
One thing which is interesting is the difference between the positions of the holes in the bridge plate and those in the body.
The best thing about changing the barrels was that I got to clean all the crud out of the bridge!
2 Likes
Thanks for the feedback. I’m not so sure they’re all the same thread. I looked it up in some Fender chat room, where it said that at least three different threads have been used. I don’t imagine mine would have been metric. Still, as I said in my earlier post, I will try these screws in the original barrels next time I do a string change.
I think a vintage Fender bridge will be an Imperial size. I can only say that all of my Squier/OEM bridges are M3. But… the screws are not expensive to buy to try… 
1 Like
Thanks, Ian. Do you know where I could buy different thread type screws with Allen key heads?
1 Like
Oh yes… 
eBay. That’s where mine come from. Various lengths available. Not expensive.
Remove one of yours and measure it. I think I have found the longest to be 12 mm and the shortest I have used have been 6 or 8mm.
I vary them across the Bridge. Shortest being the highest strings.
1 Like
Thanks, Ian.
IMO, its well worth the effort to fix this. Stops the screws catching your picking hand.
These 2 show promise…
3 Likes
I could never get my head around a normal 325. This really helps. LOL
I found Robert at 4guitars on eBay who was really helpful. After extensive measurement it seems the screws on my original bridge saddles are imperial. So I ordered a selection of 5/16” and 3/8”. These I have now installed and reverted to the original USA bridge saddles. I now have no protruding screws and certainly not a slotted screw head in sight.
Aside from the approximated intonation across pairs of strings, this arrangement is much more versatile than the ABR-1 bridge on Gibsons. However, that versatility makes bridge height much more of a challenge to set up.
I know I need to push the B/E saddle over a bit!
3 Likes
I thought they might be. Well done… That was easy… 
For anyone wanted to do a similar trick on a ‘cheap’ guitar (like mine…), the screws are likely to be M3. All mine are… 
Its a relatively simple thing to do, once you know the size. I have spares in my box of guitar bits, of M3 screws, in various length.
He sold it too me today. I’m chuffed. I still haven’t seen it in person, but the price was too good to pass up. I’m expecting a little bit of work to get it playing well, but it looks in the best condition of any Pre-CBS Jag I’ve seen online, modifications notwithstanding.
3 Likes
Excellent! I’m sure you can improve its playability.
Result - !!
Dare we ask…? How much - roughly…?
Yamaha THR. Brilliant amp, Robert Fripp uses one for his Sunday lunch sessions and they look stylish.
4 Likes
If it’s good enough for Robert Fripp . . . right?? (Not discounting that he may be a paid spokesperson.)
1 Like
I don’t believe I’ve ever seen him promote it.
1 Like