Thanks for this - I never thought of looking at the neck block for a date! I will check this evening!
Pics of my D-50
- Thread starter toolie27
- Start date
That's weird - the guy I got it from was RH (I remember because he let me play the Taylor he bought as a replacement). I don't think there is any evidence of it being played upside down either, as scratch marks or evidence of a pick guard. Would there be any other reason to modify the saddle like that? I've been reluctant to get any work done on the guitar as I don't know how difficult it would be to repair and I don't want anyone to mess it up
wileypickett
Enlightened Member
There’d be no reason to switch the angle of the saddle other than to make it intonate properly for a left-handed player.
The reason for the angle is to compensate for the gauges of the strings, the heavier bass strings need to be slightly longer than the thinner treble strings in order for the guitar to play in tune.
Because the current angle is wrong, the guitar will sound more out-of-tune the higher up the neck you play.
I’m not necessarily encouraging you to get it fixed. If it doesn’t bother you, or if you tend to play mainly in first position where the problem will be less noticeable, you may be able to live with it.
As for the former owner being a right-handed player, perhaps it was modified for a lefty before that person got it?
The reason for the angle is to compensate for the gauges of the strings, the heavier bass strings need to be slightly longer than the thinner treble strings in order for the guitar to play in tune.
Because the current angle is wrong, the guitar will sound more out-of-tune the higher up the neck you play.
I’m not necessarily encouraging you to get it fixed. If it doesn’t bother you, or if you tend to play mainly in first position where the problem will be less noticeable, you may be able to live with it.
As for the former owner being a right-handed player, perhaps it was modified for a lefty before that person got it?
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wileypickett
Enlightened Member
Converting the guitar to a lefty would also have involved replacing the nut.
But the nut on there currently looks correct for a rightly, so if it had been replaced with a lefty nut, it was swicthed back.
But the nut on there currently looks correct for a rightly, so if it had been replaced with a lefty nut, it was swicthed back.
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PreacherBob
Member
Man, I just love a good mystery……..
fronobulax
Bassist, GAD and the Hot Mess Mods
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I agree that the pictures seem to show a LH saddle, and that there is something that could be a "shadow" of a RH saddle installation. But I have seen enough pictures that told a different story at different angles and lighting, I'd love to have a measurement to confirm the LH. The treble side of the saddle should be closer to the nut than the bass side of the saddle. For this, since the neck end of the bridge seems to be both straight and parallel to the nut, measuring from the saddle to the front edge of the bridge should suffice. I expect the treble side will be farther away but this moves the conversation from "probably" to "beyond a reasonable doubt". Bottom line does seem to be that something could be changed to improve intonation.
D30Man
Senior Member
That is a pretty D-50. Is the F-130 the rosewood or hog version? I just picked up the hog version on GC.Com for a steal and it is in great condition. Super fun to play. Hog or Rosewood, that is a great companion model to the D-50 dread.