"The devil really is in the details. In fact, there are no truer words when it comes to getting more tone from your guitar, and KTS Titanium saddles are proof. More often than not, we spend our time weighing the tonal benefits of all the big stuff: maple versus rosewood, Duncan versus Dimarzio, active versus passive and so on. Rarely do we actually worry about the quality of the metal. Metal is metal, right? As it turns out, hardly.
And KTS knows this all too well. So when I had the chance to swap out my stainless steel saddles for some KTS Titanium saddles, I thought, why not? I hardly expected the tonal difference that I was about to hear. These little babies literally gave me an extra 2 db boost, I swear. Even without plugging in my guitar, I could hear the difference in volume right off the bat. And it didn’t make sense, either. These saddles barely weigh a thing. Doesn’t weight equate sustain? Isn’t that why Les Pauls are supposedly “beefier”than Strats? Well, not exactly. In the world of nano-particles, density is what matters, not weight. And titanium is the densest metal on earth. It was only a matter of time before someone realized that this could translate into sonic gold for guitar players.
So how can something so small make such a big difference? Well, you need an electron-powered microscope to really understand what’s a play. In a nutshell, the same principal that applies to wood also applies when it comes to choosing your metal -- only it’s far more critical at the bridge stage. Why? Because the cheaper (more porous) the metal, the more volume and tone you lose even before the wood has a chance to resonate or the pickup has a chance to actually pick anything up. With KTS Titanium saddles, the sound stays on the strings, allowing the wood and pickups to really do their job. It’s pretty simple, really. And if you play with a vibrato system, a titanium block is the real bomb, with even more tonal difference. If the difference is this demonstrable compared to a good Fender, stainless steel block, you’ll be even happier if you play something cheaper.
When you buy a cheap Strat, for example, the first dead giveaway of low quality isn’t necessarily the electronics. The innards of my expensive Japanese Strat are identical to my MIM Strat which is the same as my Squier Strat. No, the first place they cheap out is the metal. All cheap Chinese guitars share one trademark: crap bridges made of cheap alloy. The tone block is hardly a block. And just because the saddles look nice and shiny, they are major tone suckers. So the next step up is to swap these parts out for stainless steel. You’ll notice a tone difference immediately. Especially with a bigger block. But my suggestion, is to skip this interim step, and go straight to the top - with KTS Titanium parts.
Granted, I can’t say these parts are for those folks who are novices or just learning how to play. These are parts for “tone chasers.” They are an investment in all the time you’ve put into your chops, and there’s no better way to replay yourself than by going with titanium on those guitars you love, regardless of how much they cost. For me, it means deciding which guitars I really want to put the extra effort into. It can’t be all of them; I have 23, all with vibratos. And I’m about to build a custom Strat, from the ground up, for a lucky 24. You can bet that I’ll be outfitting it with KTS Titanium parts wherever possible. My ears can hardly wait. And that’s a big thing."
