Yamaha saddle broke, what are my options?

Kokili

Kokili

Jan 9, 2020
11
10
2,551
#1
So today I came to practice, carried my bass in a bag on my back, and when I opened the bag I found out that the saddle for the A string broke practically in half, while I was carrying it (everything was OK when I left home). I didn`t bump it anywhere or drop it.
We have a gig coming up in about 2 weeks. I`ve had this Yamaha RBX170 for a little over 2 years (bought used), and I never had to do anything to it, except for changing out the strings and cleaning it a little bit.
Pictures:
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So, what are my options? Do I have to buy the whole bridge, or just 1 saddle and maybe an extra one in case this ever happens again? I have yet to take it to the local store to ask the guy if he has any of those parts. And do the parts have to be the same as the original ones, or will they do the job as long as they fit (I don`t care much for the aesthetics)? Is the repair something I could do on my own or would I have to take it to a shop? And if anybody has an idea, why this happened, so I could maybe avoid this in the future?
Hope you can help me out a bit, in the meantime I`ll visit the local shop and ask them if we can do anything.
Thanks in advance!
 
#5
Wow! Never seen that happen before. *Guess* the metal was cast imperfectly somehow and time / “one of those things” / maybe sweat from gigs over years did for it! Sucks with a gig coming up. I don’t think there’s any steps to follow to avoid a repeat… be surprised if this happens to you again!

I guess you just need “a saddle that fits”. So I would measure diameter, width of saddle, length of grub screws. Note the diameter of the hex wrench that fits the grub screw eg 4mm, 5mm etc. Given it’s a Yam your search should ignore imperial, metric only. And order something that’ll arrive in time! I hope you get things sorted in time…
 
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#6
If not buying an OEM replacement from Yamaha, you can find separate saddles, or in a last case, CAREULLY measure the dimensions of the base plate, and the location and spacing of the screw holes.

As this is a relatively inexpensive model in Yamaha's catalog, I'd think as a cost-saving measure that could have easily used a Fender-based bridge. If the numbers match, you're good, and easy enought to unscrew the old one and screw the new one on. Just be sure IF you see a ground wire sandwiched between the bridge and wood, it's also there in place when you put the new one on.

These all come in varying price ranges from very modest to pricey for top Gotoh or Schaller, and are a pretty common piece.
 
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