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The Allen wrenches you will always need at some point

There are two standards when it comes to Allen wrench measurements. Statute and metric. Where guitars and the electric bass is concerned, most of you know statute measurements as inches and feet and metric as millimeters and centimeters.

Traditional luthiery uses statute measurements. For example, to this day the Fender standard long neck for electric bass has a scale length of 34 inches, and this is universally recognized (34in is 864mm, by the way).

Where things get weird however is when it comes to bridges and string saddles. You will see a mish-mash of statute and metric measurements and at times it can be very difficult to determine what wrench fits which screw.

The image above shows four very specific Allen wrench sizes that covers most saddle height screws. If you didn’t read the sides of each wrench, the tips of each look identical to the naked eye, so labeled wrenches are required here.

The two outside wrenches are for most statute/English saddle height screws. The two inner wrenches are for most metric/Asian saddle height screws.

If you ever wanted the answer to the question of, “Which Allen wrenches should I get that will fit ALL the screws used for saddle height adjustment?”, having these specific four covers almost all of them.

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