Hey, Boneheads! Saddle Blank Suggestions?

[jedzep]

Howdy, guitar brothers and sisters! I have to cut and shape a few bone saddles, and wonder if you'd share a source you like for density consistency and general quality.

Big thanks! Dave

 

[wileypickett]

I often make my own saddles using inexpensive bone blanks, and I especially like the ones from this guy:

10 PCS GUITAR BONE SADDLE BLANKS INLAY MATERIAL 89mm x 19mm x 3mm #T-662 | eBay

SIZE: 89mm length x 19mm width x 3mm thickness. BONE SADDLE. It is 10 pieces in a bag.

www.ebay.com

His prices are reasonable and he's in the U.S., so you don't have to wait weeks or months for delivery.

I prefer this size, because you can modify them to fit virtually any saddle slot, and often you can get two saddles from each blank. But he offers all sorts of sizes -- see his other ads.

I've also bought a number of pre-made saddles from MacNichol Guitars. If you know exactly what you want, whether for a specific brand of guitar, or if you know exactly the thickness, length and height you need for a particular guitar, MacNichol does outstanding work.

home

We provide compensated acoustic guitar bone saddles to fit many brands, including Martin, Taylor, Eastman, Gibson, Guild, Yamaha, and more.

macnichol.com

Glenn

 

[Guildedagain]

Tons out of China, floods of it.

If you're adventurous, go find a bone and cut your own, not to be humerus ;]

 

[wileypickett]

Bob Colosi is another maker that many LTGers recommend. I've never used him myself, but he gets high marks here, mainly for his bone bridge pins, but he makes bone saddle and nut blanks too.

I'm not finding a website for him, but he has numerous items for sale on eBay and Reverb.

 

[SFIV1967]

I'm not finding a website for him, but he has numerous items for sale on eBay and Reverb.

Here you go:

Welcome to Custom Guitar Saddles - About Bob!

Ralf

 

[Canard]

I am quite fond of Graph Tech Tusq bridge saddles:

Acoustic Saddles

A guitar saddle is designed to transfer the vibrations through the bridge into the top wood of the guitar. This quick and simple upgrade will have an amazing affect on your instruments tone, harmonic content, and playability. Graph Tech has created specific materials so you can get the most our...

graphtech.com

There might be a situation where I would prefer bone for a less bright sound, but I haven't found it yet.

I was always a bit sceptical that their bridge pins would make much difference, but I was ever so wrong:

TUSQ Bridge & End Pins

Graph Tech Guitar Labs offers Presentation, Traditional Bridge Pins, as well as End Pins for Acoustic Guitars. Each bridge pin is consistent from piece and within each piece. TUSQ pins are light and extremely reactive to vibration, this lets the top of acoustic guitars move and flex more...

graphtech.com

Both of these upgrades can wake up a guitar that doesn't seem to have much of a voice. They can take a guitar with a voice into new territory.

I haven't noticed such a great change with their nuts, perhaps because I don't use a lot of open strings.

Graph Tech TUSQ Nuts | Graph Tech Guitar Labs

Guitars come alive with TUSQ man-made ivory. Shop the TUSQ nuts for your guitar, bass, ukulele, or mandolin. 100% organic polymers. No oil or animal by-products.

graphtech.com

 

[wileypickett]

Not into Tusq myself. (I tried 'em on several guitars, but switched back to bone.)

But as with guitar strings, everyone swears by their own preferences. Experiment!

 

[Guildedagain]

I don't trust anything manmade.

 

[GardMan]

I have had pretty good success with blanks from StewMac (Stewart McDonald). Most commonly, I buy their bleached bone blanks. Tried their unbleached bone once... but the blanks I rec'd still had a lot of animal grease/oil in them. Enough to seep out of the bone into the surrounding wood. Talked to their tech people, and they said that was not unheard of with their unbleached bone, and the "cure" was to soak the blanks in naphtha (I used camp stove white gas) for a couple weeks. After that the blanks were fine... but the soak also removed much of the color of the unbleached blank. I think one of those unbleached but soaked blanks got used for my DV-72MK...

 

[Guildedagain]

I usually go for unbleached for aged look/character, never noticed any oiliness, just as dry, hard and tough as the others.

 

[Canard]

I don't trust anything manmade.

Like .. I totally get it.

That's why I play lute - with um ... hide glue, solid woods, beeswax finish, bone/ivory nuts, wooden friction pegs, gut frets, and gut strings.

 

[Guildedagain]

I want a lute, or maybe rather an Oud, get my Hamsa El Din on ;]

 

[Guildedagain]

 

[Canard]

I want a lute, or maybe rather an Oud, get my Hamsa El Din on ;]

A playable oud will be much cheaper than a playable lute.

The oud is still a mass market instrument. It has fewer strings and no frets. Lots of them about and lots used. Godin even makes a highly non-traditional electric oud.

Multi Oud Ambiance Nylon Natural HG | Godin Guitars

Based on the ancient Middle-Eastern Oud, the Godin MultiOud Ambiance innovates by eliminating tuning and amplification issues that countless musicians face with the more traditional version of the instrument. This addition to the Godin Multiac Series will allow Oud players to be amplified in...

godinguitars.com

A playable student lute is in the $1,500 to $2,000 range. Great ones seem start around $5,000 new.

 

[Guildedagain]

I have a buddy local that makes them, plays them, also a very good luthier and amp tech. Lost touch about ten years. He's also in some famous local bands, with names like Ten Ton Banjo or something like that ;]

 

[Guildedagain]

I wonder how hard it wood be to sneak that one into the house?

Hmmmm.... ;]

 

[Canard]

I wonder how hard it wood be to sneak that one into the house?

Hmmmm.... ;]

If it's a partner you are worried about (say as opposed to actual physical space), hide the lute in the garage, and then woodshed this tune for a bit.




Then bring the tune out with the lute. There isn't enough time to get it together for Valentines day, but ... there will be other occasions coming up, no doubt. And your undying love inspired the purchase of the lute, after all, didn't it?

I can scan the modern tab for you. It is much easier to read than the original.

The song is a pretty standard "Oh, Baby, Baby, Please, Please, Please!" song, thematically pretty much identical to Keith Richard's Beast of Burden, as well as to a lot of Soul music.

The word die in its first instance is used as a metaphorical euphemism as in the French, la petite mort. The other instances are literal if very dramatically and desperately hyperbolic.

Come again
Sweet love doth now invite
Thy graces that refrain
To do me due delight
To see, to hear
To touch, to kiss
To die with thee again
In sweetest sympathy
To see, to hear
To touch, to kiss
To die with thee again
In sweetest sympathy

Come again
That I may cease to mourn
Through thy unkind disdain
For now left and forlorn
I sit, I sigh
I weep, I faint
I die, in deadly pain
And endless misery
I sit, I sigh
I weep, I faint
I die, in deadly pain
And endless misery

All the day
The sun that lends me shine
By frowns do cause me pine
And feeds me with delay;
Her smiles, my springs
That makes my joys
To grow, Her frowns, her frowns
The Winters of my woe
Her smiles, my springs
That makes my joys
To grow, Her frowns, her frowns
The Winters of my woe

All the night
My sleeps are full of dreams
My eyes are full of streams
My heart takes no delight
To see the fruits
And joys that some
Do find and mark the storms
Are me assign'd
To see the fruits
And joys that some
Do find And mark the storms
Are me assign'd

 

[jedzep]

Wow! Now this is high quality veering! Love it!

I appreciate all the suggestions, boys. I need a little thicker than 3mm, so the Ebay guy is out, but I use Ebay parts vendors a lot. Forgot about Colosi, and never heard of MacNichol but they look good too.

 

[Guildedagain]

A whole lotta dyin ;]

 

[Canard]

A whole lotta dyin ;]

I think that is what Dowland's lyricist had in mind.