Odd MK5 on eBay

[effclef]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4713&item=3741466724&rd=1
 
Five string Mark King - note the pickups have the block style ALEMBIC name in them. Aren't those the wrong vintage for a '99?
 
EffClef

[smokin_dave]

Is it me or does it look like the saddles in the bridge from low B to D are off in some way?They are pulling the strings over to the G string which looks like it is aligned right to me.Somethings not quite right with that.Very odd.  
 
(Message edited by smokin dave on August 15, 2004)

[bsee]

My Persuader five is similar, with the outside strings going over the saddles toward the middle of the neck.  I suppose it's what they need to do to accomodate different neck widths and string spacings.

[bob]

Looks like someone wanted the B really far in from the edge of the fingerboard - so then you've gotta ask yourself how bad it would look if the tailpiece were that far off-center?
 
This one is pretty extreme, my guess is it didn't start out that way, but that someone eventually replaced the bridge saddles to shift the strings over.

[bsee]

Look at the pics of my Persuader in the showcase.  The string positions over the bridge saddles are layed out almost exactly the same.  I really believe that this is a very typical thing.

[adriaan]

My Spoiler 4 has the same 'misalignment', especially on the E string. And a similar thing happens on cone headstocks, where the tuners are supposed to be aligned with the slots in the nut, but still you see that the string doesn't bridge the gap in a straight line. I think it doesn't matter too much, as long as there is no extreme deviation - if you look at the crown headstock you know it can't really be a problem.
 
Another alignment puzzle is the positioning of  the oval inlays on the fingerboard, which appear to be a little off-centre, biased to the lower strings - but I suppose that's what you get from not using a machine to do that kind of work.