KISS MY STRINGS

JAM Offset and Telecaster Bridges

- DAVE HUNTER

FOR ABOUT FIVE decades, the original Fender Jazzmaster and Jaguar suffered a distinct lack of alternatives for their bridges, the components that many players consider the weak links in their sonic chains. But functional replacements have roared forth in the past several years, the latest of which comes from German maker Kiss My Strings (KMS). Their JAM Advanced Offset Bridge partners a unique saddle design with a sturdy approach to mounting, making it a viable alternative to anything on the market.

What's more, the company has applied a similar approach to a range of compensated Telecaster saddles, for an impressive solution in a field that's far more crowded. On first blush, the results are encouraging. KMS boasts cutting-edge CNC machining and advanced plating and coating technologies to form high-quality materials. Let's put them on a couple guitars and have at it.

JAM ADVANCED OFFSET BRIDGE

The original bridge Fender partnered with the Jazzmaster's and Jaguar's floating vibrato system is designed to rock with gentle whammy action, ideally returning to an accurate zero point. Set up just right, and usually using heavy-gauge strings, they often work fine, though rarely perfectly. Tonally, they can be a sustain-squelching rattletrap.