Titanium Inserts for FR tremolos

We often get emails asking about our titanium FR block inserts designed to fit Floyd Rose tremolos. Guitarists tend to tighten the insert blocks to tight and eventually they will break making it more difficult to get a good fit. We decided to make the blocks out of titanium which makes them close to indestructible. You will also get better tone and more sustain, all for a mere 38.00 dollars! Please note this block is not usable for the other Floyd Rose® styles such as Lo Pro Edge for Ibanez®. For specs, please check this PDF >>>

To purchase, please visit kts-america.com >>> 

KTS Workshop at Sam Ash in NYC

Free KTS Workshop at Sam Ash in NYC! - KTS in cooperation with Sam Ash will be holding a free workshop at the Sam Ash store in New York City on 10/18 from 12:00 to 5:00 PM. Hear first hand how KTS' titanium saddles can improve your tone. There will be plenty on demonstrations and guests. We'll be looking forward to seeing you there.

Sam Ash Guitars & Technology 

156 W 48th Street. Ph: (212) 719-2625

Did you know???

What process is used in making KTS Tune-O-Matic saddles...

Most saddles in Tune-O-Matic bridges that we see on the market are made of a zinc alloy. They are made with a casting method of pouring molten metal into a mold. Because molten metal is exposed to atmospheric air during casting, the saddle made this way have many pores in its structure. Therefore, the quality is mediocre in terms of structural or metallic quality. If you look at it through a magnifying glass, you find the texture to be chinky or spongy. It looks so brittle and unattractive. Although this is the demerit, we know the merit as well; the casting method is suitable for making products of a complicated shape in large quantities at low cost. Using the die casting method of forming molten metal by applying pressure to it, which is a variant of the casting method, it is now possible to make a product of fine texture with the least gas entrainment thanks to the advance in technology. Tune-O-Matic bridges have very complicated shapes. To make them in quantities, the casting or die casting method is presently the only method we can use. If we cut Tune-O-Matic bridges out of a chunk of metal instead of using the casting method, the cost per bridge may be equal to the price of one inexpensive guitar. Though it may sound contradictory, how about spending more time and effort on making the saddle that is a key part in producing the guitar sound and directly receives the string vibration?

To craft a guitar body, nobody will use a particle board made by compressing a large amount of saw dust.

A large ingot smelted and formed in a vacuum arc melting furnace is used to make the Tune-O-Matic saddle of KTS. It is bloomed and rolled into wire rods called wrought products. These wire rods are cold-rolled several times, formed into a shape as viewed from the side of the saddle, and then annealed or heat-treated in a high-temperature argon gas atmosphere. Annealing is done to remove rolling stress from the metal and to repair the somewhat damaged crystal structure. The wire rods processed this way then go to the final machining process. You might say "So what?" We have mentioned this technicality because we hope the customer understands that our company considers the saddle a very important part as the point of support for string vibration.

TOM Saddles >>>

Krzysztof Wolinski

Polish guitarist extraordinaire Krzysztof Wolinski sent us this great demo of him playing "Greensleeves" on his custom Tele modified with KTS' saddles. 

Greensleeves >>>

Krzysztof Wolinski on the web >>>

Introducing our new Saddles for Epiphone Guitars

PR-01 EP Bridge Set made specifically for Epiphone guitars - As Epiphone uses several different factories to manufacture their bridges, it has been nearly impossible to give the proper suggestions for saddles for Epiphone users. Because of this, we have decided to simply manufacture our own pre-assembled bridge set. Our PR-01 EP titanium saddles are pre-assembled on a zinc die cast base. Problem solved! Check the spec sheet here >>>

AMERICA ON MY MIND

Hiroshi Masuda (center)

KTS' President Hiroshi Masuda talks about growing up

I was born in Tokyo in 1954. Soon after birth, my family move to Asaka-City in Saitama prefecture which was close to the center of Tokyo. I had been spending most of my life in this small city.

As long as I remember, there was huge camp where American troops were stationed called Camp Asaka in my city. We called them an occupation army or stationary troops. Big soldiers who have blue eyes were laughingly looking at us and chewing gum. Sometimes they gave us chocolates in which we had never seen the brand names. We could see America over the fence but could never enter over the fence. There were many bars which has fascia written in English aimed at American soldiers. At night, prostitutes called Pang-Pang Girls were wandering in the party town and picking up the soldiers.

The public moral was not good for education in our city. However there was a good atmosphere for listening Western music. Guys started putting together band to play The Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane.... Some modern girls were wearing similar clothes as Janis Joplin and some dudes had cut their hair like Brian Jones. We used to listen the trendy songs from FEN radio that was located in the base.

There was a small musical instrument shop at the west gate of the base. We used to drop by the shop on our way home from junior high school. The Japanese shopkeeper always talked in English with a black soldier. There were many guitars, amps, basses and drums in the shop. Unfortunately they were not Fender, Gibson, Marshall and Ludwig but Guyatone, Teisco and Gracy which are Japanese brands. However they were dream instruments for schoolboys. One day, our band asked the shopkeeper to sell us a drum set by monthly payment. Because ordinary music shops never accepted monthly payment without parents' consent. At that time, most of parents never recognized the Western (electric) music. My parents as well.... So we couldn't ask our Moms or Dads about that... Fortunately, the shopkeeper accepted our offer in the condition that we had to pay off the set within six months. Thus, we finally got the drum-set.

We were believing that we were the number one band in the city. We had copied Jumpin' Jack Flash completely when the seven-inch record has just released. I taught Grand Funk Railroad lines to senior high school students. One day we held a concert in our classroom. There were nearly one hundred people (including teachers ;-)) who could not even enter the classroom and had to watch through the window in the schoolyard. And just past the schoolyard....  we could always see ..

AMERICA surrounded by the fence....

Does Titanium Rust?

Q: My hands are super sweaty and my saddles are always rusting and smelly. Does titanium rust? My friends won't even play my guitar because the bridge looks so nasty. Will your saddles help?

A: Titanium is well known for its excellent corrosion resistance (almost as resistant as platinum), being able to withstand attack by acids, moist chlorine gas, and obviously hand sweat. It is a light, strong metal with low density (60% as dense as steel) that, when pure, is quite ductile (especially in an oxygen-free environment), easy to work, lustrous, and metallic-white in color. Titanium is as strong as steel, but 43% lighter; it is 60% heavier than aluminum, but twice as strong; however these numbers can vary a little because of the use of different alloys. These properties make titanium very resistant to the usual kinds of metal fatigue and hand sweat.

Are Titanium Saddles Worth the Cost?

Q & A with guitarist Chris Juergensen about KTS

Q: Are Titanium Saddles Worth the Cost? 

A: I would definitely answer yes to this question. Let me tell you a little about my guitar playing. You see, I generally would wear out steel saddles in about two months. What would happen after a few months is that I would have managed to dig a nice groove into the steel saddles and this groove would nip away at my strings when I would bend them or use vibrato. The result is that I would start breaking strings right at the saddle after about 90 minutes of serious playing. I would always get nervous in my second set because I knew that my E string was probably on the verge of annihilation.

I originally tried graphite saddles that were designed to prevent exactly that but I didn't like the tone. I eventually found the KTS saddles sitting on the rack at a little guitar shop in Tokyo. Now they didn't claim to prevent breakage or last a long time but I had heard that titanium was used in airplanes because it was a resilient material with a good balance of weight, elasticity and strength, so I gave them a shot regardless of the hundred dollar something price tag. I wanted to keep my highs and not break strings, not an unreasonable request.

I first tried the PR-11s on my 1960 Strat. What I wasn't expecting was the clear tone and sustain. It is sort of hard to describe but let's say I could hear more of what the guitar really sounded like. I found I could roll off gain from the amp and still get the same sustain. I realized that I had been making up for the lack of the steel saddle's tone by adding treble and gain to my amp settings. By being able to reduce both, I could now get a way more natural sound without losing sustain or highs and could get way more dynamics out of the instrument by simply controlling my picking.

On top of that, no more string breaking and I found that the saddles last me years rather than months so I imagine it's probably cheaper in the long run.  

Devilstone guitar with KTS PR-11 saddles played through a Marshall 100 watt amp run through an Xotic BB plus. All cables by Bullet Cable:

KTS and Kris Wolinski

Polish guitarist Kris Wolinski plays Autumn Leaves on his  D'Aspiranta arch-top with KTS saddles installed on an ABR-1 Gibson bridge.

David Hinds

Fun and informative video featuring David Hinds of Bounty Hunters

2012 Catalog

KTS' 2012 catalog is now available for download. Check out our wide selection of titanium saddles and other quality parts.


Download it here >>>

Introducing the PR-17 Saddles

KTS Tone-Resonant Titanium is proud to announce our newest product, PR-17 bridge saddles. The PR-17 is an ultra high-end block type Titanium saddle intended for Strat-style guitars including the current American Standard, PRS, Gotoh GTC101 and many others.

KTS Titanium upgrades for guitars and basses are the first choice of innovative musicians and quality guitar builders, worldwide. KTS Titanium precision-machined upgrades are unlike ordinary cast or pot metal bridge parts. Titanium delivers far more responsive note-to-note separation and a broader dynamic tonal range, freeing the experienced player to explore more of the instrument’s capabilities.

PR-17 is made by using KTS’s unique and proprietary metal processing technology. Unlike other manufacturers who use random surplus Titanium scrap, KTS utilizes only premium-grade, formula-specific metal. And KTS is the only manufacturer with the technology to remove rolling stress and repair the Titanium’s somewhat damaged crystal structure from the complex manufacturing process. The result is the ultimate tone-resonant material, ideal for bridge saddles and other components.

With PR-17 bridge saddles expect:

•       Longer sustain

•       Clearer note separation and string-to-string definition

•       Improved harmonic response and touch sensitivity

•       Greater tuning stability

•       Less string breakage

Specifications:

Material: Titanium Grade-2

Width: 10.5mm (.413”)

Height: 4.5mm (.17”)

Length: 19.0mm (.748”)

E-to-E Spacing: 52.5mm (2.067”)

Strategic Tie-up With AP International

AP INTERNATIONAL, a leader in the global distribution of musical products, announces the addition of Japanese precision guitar parts manufacturer KTS Musical Products Inc. to its family of products.  KTS' tone-resonant Titanium “SMALL PARTS” for guitars and basses will be exclusively distributed by AP International effective immediately.

“We are very excited to be working with KTS" said Andy Papiccio, President of API International. “Their line of high-quality Titanium guitar and bass components are second to none."
 

KTS Musical Products offer Titanium guitar and bass components that easily outshine all other bridge components. No other metal or material comes close to the tone-resonant qualities of Titanium. Since 1957 KTS has built products with passion and superb craftsmanship that will give your guitar more overall tone, natural harmonics, sustain, better response, more stable tuning and less string breakage!

For more information on AP International or KTS Musical Products please call 732-919-6200 or visit www.apintl.com or www.kts-america.com

About KTS Musical Products Inc:

Established in 1957 by Jinichi Masuda as Kyowa Technological Steel Ltd., KTS manufactured high-quality precision stainless steel parts for many top brands of watches, most notably the Seiko®,Citizen®, GUCCI®, BREITLING® and Baume & Mercier®. In 1997, The Titanium division of KTS was launched by Hiroshi Masuda. Hiroshi, an avid guitar player quickly realized the advantages of Titanium and its ability to transfer sound energy. Hiroshi enlisted Dr. Matsumi Suzuki, President of the Japan Acoustic Laboratory and together have created Titanium guitar and bass bridge parts that specifically utilize every advantage that Titanium has to offer.

About AP International:
AP International, headquartered in Wall, New Jersey is a leading global distributor of musical products and accessories. The company distributes industry leading brands including Floyd Rose, Brubaker Brute Series Basses and Pro RockGear Cases, Stands, Gig Bags, and, accessories.