ISP Technologies Decimator

If you’ve never come across Graph Tech
saddles before, their secret lies in the
material used to cast the saddle block.
The jet-black composite contains Tefl on
that is released as a thin fi lm wherever
the string makes contact with the body.
In terms of sustain and tone, the
material has similar properties to steel,
with plenty of bite and top end and bags
of sustain. We’ve been waiting for the
Floyd Rose versions for some time now.
The construction is more involved than
it is with the Strat and Tele saddles
because it incorporates the string clamp
and that is refl ected in the price.
When you wiggle your whammy wider than the west you need String Saver saddles by Benji Bartlett
GraphTech Floyd Rose saddles £59.95
KEY INFO ❘ GRAPH TECH FLOYD ROSE SADDLES ❘ PRICE: £59.95 ❘ TYPE: FLOYD ROSE SADDLE UPGRADES ❘ TEL: ARIA UK LTD 0208 572 0033
MISCELLANEOUS GUITARIST INTERACTIVE
If you’ve ever had a quick go on your
mate’s guitar and then wished you
hadn’t as your fi ngers were sliced to
pieces by the rust encrusted lengths of
barbed wire that were once strings,
then you need to know about Elixir.
If, on the other hand, you’re the mate in
question, then you really, really need to
know about Elixir!
Using the very latest Gore Tex
polymer Nanoweb coating for the
wound strings, and introducing a
special alloy Anti Rust coating for the
plain strings, Elixir has raised the bar in
the ‘coated string’ market by ensuring
that their – up until now – unprotected
treble strings also benefi t from a life-
prolonging treatment. The Elixir
Elixir Anti-Rust plated steel strings from £11.40
Do you play hard and sweat like a pig? Fear not fi lthy fret botherer, Elixir is here! by Benji Bartlett
RATING
You’re paying out the same money as
two sets of regular strings for a set
that’ll last as long as three. We can’t
fault the feel, tone or playability this
time round. Without the
fl uffy coating feeling
going on and a slick –
but not waxy under
the digits –
experience, the
new Elixirs quite
simply rock.
They have
obviously
drunk deeply
from the
tankard of
tone and
had
more
than
a wee
snifter
from the goblet of
longevity. We rate ’em.
ELIXIR STRINGS TEST RESULTS
Build quality
Playability
Sound
Value for money
■ WE LIKED Great sound and feel;
impressive longevity
■ WE DISLIKED Many players will baulk
(albeit misguidedly) at the initial outlay
GRAPH TECH SADDLES TEST RESULTS
Build quality
Features
Sound
Value for money
■ WE LIKED Easy installation; superb
performance; great tone
■ WE DISLIKED Instructions about the
numbering would’ve been nice
Won’t somebody
think of the strings!?
Graph Tech has
SUMMER 2005 155
IN USE: Fitting the saddles involves
little more than a straight swap-over,
remembering to take note of the
numbers on the underside of each
saddle. The saddles vary ever so
slightly in height and must be
arranged with the tallest pair in the
middle for the D and G strings, the
lowest pair for the E strings and
the mid height pair for the A and B
strings. You can approximate intonation
placement by noting where the original
saddles were but it’s a good idea to
properly re-check and adjust intonation
after installation. Once installed, the
saddles offer a marked improvement
in tuning stability and a feeling of
complete confi dence. They also look
completely unobtrusive.
Verdict
When you weigh up just how much grief
and string changing these beauties are
gonna save you, £60 starts to look
reasonable. It is a skilled job to fi t them
KEY INFO ❘ ELIXIR ANTI-RUST PLATED STRINGS ❘ PRICE: (APPROX) £12 ❘ TYPE: NANOWEB GORE-COATED STRINGS ❘ TEL STRINGS & THINGS 01273 440442
promise is a string that outlasts
ordinary sets three to one, and that
feels and sounds just like a regular
string? Can these Anti-Rust Nanowebs
deliver? We put some through their
paces to fi nd out.
IN USE: The Gore coating of the fi rst
generation Elixirs tended to fl uff up
after a while, and make the strings feel
furry under your right hand fi ngers.
Thankfully this isn’t the case with these
newies. There’s a noticeably slicker feel,
rather like being the fi rst out on the ice
of a skating rink, only it’s there every
time you play. The coating reduces
fi nger noise wonderfully without
adversely affecting feel. We’ve severely
abused a set on an Ibanez RG guitar
regularly for over a month and not only
are they still rocking, but they’re still
retaining their tuning and feeling great
– even after two heavy-duty gigs.
Verdict
If you look at these new Elixirs purely
from the price perspective then of
course they make fi ne fi scal sense.
and one
that’s made
easier by using
‘The Key’ Floyd Rose
intonation tool from www.
axcessories.com. With genuine
replacement Floyd saddles at £12-
£15, the Graph Techs make a sensible
permanent addition to your rock guitar.
If you’re a serious whammy bar abuser
you need to check these out.
RATING
GIT266.rev_quick 155GIT266.rev_quick 155 24/6/05 2:15:29 pm24/6/05 2:15:29 pm