A Tale of Two Saddles

[Christopher Cozad]

...the saddle. Never did I think about checking it for flatness, but I will as soon as we head up north the first of April.

Tom, I think the saddle is the unsung hero of the acoustic guitar. Saddle flatness, and corresponding saddle slot flatness are critical for your guitar to be “all it can be.” And proper saddle intonation, especially for those who venture up the fretboard, makes for a much more pleasant experience, as all your notes stay in pitch.

 

[chazmo]

Tom, I think the saddle is the unsung hero of the acoustic guitar. Saddle flatness, and corresponding saddle slot flatness are critical for your guitar to be “all it can be.” And proper saddle intonation, especially for those who venture up the fretboard, makes for a much more pleasant experience, as all your notes stay in pitch.

I remember once starting to re-string one of my axes without first having put the saddle back in. That was a "funny, but perhaps less scotch, Charlie" moment.

 

[Christopher Cozad]

I remember once starting to re-string one of my axes without first having put the saddle back in. That was a "funny, but perhaps less scotch, Charlie" moment.

Enough Scotch that, when that saddle-less guitar sounded so bad, you ordered a 5 am delivery of a set of new strings from Amazon, hoping that would fix it?

 

[chazmo]

Enough Scotch that, when that saddle-less guitar sounded so bad, you ordered a 5 am delivery of a set of new strings from Amazon, hoping that would fix it?

Hahahahaha!!!!!!

 

[geoguy]

No, Chazmo didn't do that.

At least not that time.

 

[geoguy]

I once found a shim that resembled white binding material, under the saddle of a recently-purchased used guitar.

The instrument's sound improved significantly by removing that shim. And the action was better, too.

 

[chazmo]

The shim thing is fairly common, Mark. We've seen that many times, and I'm dumbfounded why people would do that. I think perhaps the most common explanation is that someone pulled out a UST and didn't want to fashion a new saddle... But, it seems silly to me. Maybe I just don't get it.

 

[Christopher Cozad]

At least with a shim you have a chance at making reasonable contact with the slot. Two dried earwigs beneath a saddle is a whole ‘nother story!

 

[geoguy]

I understand that a shim might be reasonable in some circumstances.

In that case, there was also a UST beneath the flexible plastic shim. It seemed to be altogether just too much. The guitar sounded quite muted before I removed the shim

Earwigs?!?

 

[Christopher Cozad]

Here’s a tip regarding saddles, and is especially pertinent for shims (if you ever NEED to use them):

Beware of generic plastic(s) which, as geoguy mentioned, can negatively alter the tone of your guitar. Muted, muffled, even boomy, are terms often used to describe the presence of a plastic under the strings. While it stands to reason that, since your bridge is likely made of a hardwood like ebony or rosewood, you should be able to use those hardwoods for saddles (or at least for shims), in practice, bone or hard synthetic materials such as Micarta or TUSQ are going to contribute to a better overall sound from your guitar.

 

[davismanLV]

Christopher.... I know we haven't spoken in ages.... but this is amazing work.... I'm still working through it.

This is SUPER amazing and fun stuff.... now... I read. Okay?

 

[wileypickett]

Re: Saddle sanding:

I bought one of these from StewMac when they were first offered.

Nut and Saddle Sander - StewMac

Perfectly square nuts and saddles in seconds for solid contact and good tone in musical instruments.

www.stewmac.com

They’re sold out now and no longer available (from SM), I suspect because the device was so popular that copycat versions appeared for much cheaper.

I use this thing all the time (every used guitar I buy gets a new bone saddle), and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

You can find the new cheaper version (search: “guitar saddle sander”). I assume they work as well as the original.

Don’t leave home without it.

 

[Christopher Cozad]

Christopher.... I know we haven't spoken in ages.... but this is amazing work.... I'm still working through it.

This is SUPER amazing and fun stuff.... now... I read. Okay?

Hi ya Tom! Very fun stuff, indeed! And you’re right; it has been too long since we caught up.

 

[Boneman]

This is eye opening and seriously great information, thanks for posting. I might have that and an additional problem.

The saddle on my M120e is not original, the fella I bought it from said he put this compensated saddle in to correct intonation. I must say the intonation is perfectly spot on. However recently I plugged it in and man, it sounds terrible on the B and high E strings. So now after reading this I’m figuring the saddle slot or the saddle itself is not flat and perfectly mated.

The additional problem I note is this compensated saddle has raised the B string higher than all the other strings, and in fact, I don’t believe any of them are in alignment with the fretboard radius either. Clearly I can’t even whittle the top of the saddle to the same radius because it will lower the strings, when I would also need to square off the bottom too and so my thought is I just need to replace this one.

I have mostly noodled on this fingerstyle and it didn’t necessarily bother me or cause me to notice. When I flat picked is when my picking got hung up and thrown off by the slight difference in string height and I looked down and see the B string way out there which got me zooming in on things. Here look:



I have bone blank saddle, but whittling it down and keeping the perfect intonation seems daunting. Willing to try, but perhaps a new one close enough is better to start with? Secondly, how do you ensure the slot is flat, do you use a small router or some other scraper tool? Tight working area lol

Thanks

 

[Boneman]

You can find the new cheaper version (search: “guitar saddle sander”). I assume they work as well as the original.

Don’t leave home without it.

Just did, found one at Philly Luthier supply, got one on the way! , great tip, thanks!

 

[Nuuska]

While I have not noticed anybody else telling you - ( notice that I might be blind or . . .errr.... ) :

PLEASE - start a thread w your guitar repair

 

[wileypickett]

A quick and easy way to check the neck radius against the saddle radius: next time the strings are off your guitar, pull the saddle out and press it against the fretboard extension in front of the soundhole, resting on the top.

Trace the neck radius onto the saddle with a pencil and compare it to the actual radius of the top of the saddle. You'll be able to tell immediately if they match. Takes about 20 seconds.

 

[Christopher Cozad]

The additional problem I note is this compensated saddle has raised the B string higher than all the other strings

Just a note for those who may view this years from now...

If you look closely at the second photo you provided (excellent photo, btw) you will see that the saddle is chipped under the G (3rd) string, which has dropped its height. This is common for bone saddles, and especially for saddles compensated this particular way. The material is very thin and the steel is very strong and the string is wound (and abrasive) and… blah, blah, blah.

The point is, if that chip were not there, methinks your radius would likely be restored and the “height” of the B (2nd) string would not be so pronounced.

 

[Guildedagain]

A tale of two saddles here soon as I look at installing the saddle Chris made/sent for my F-113 OA-113, I received the saddle on the 13th, but I'm letting it acclimate for a day before looking at it.