Guitar Makers

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Comment by Greg Brandt / Maker of Guitars on September 20, 2011 at 2:20pm

If a saddle is good usually people let them go...until they're not good (grooves from the strings, change in action, etc). If you DO want to start over w/ a new saddle (and to do the work yourself) starting wider and sanding to fit is always the best way to go. I've had good luck w/ using shims on hard to fit slots or for a quick fix for someone on a budget. John is correct in saying that you want the bottom of the saddle to fit good on the bottom of the slot.

Comment by FloridaGull on September 20, 2011 at 2:02pm

Have you asked Seagull if they would either send you a saddle, or sell you one?  They might just send you one free of charge...you never know...

Comment by Jud Hair on September 20, 2011 at 1:56pm

Maybe I'll just put the original one back in.  I had no real reason to change it out other than it was 7 years old and I was putting on new strings.  It's TUSQ and there doesn't really seem to be anything wrong with it.  Do saddles normally need to be changed out if you're not experimenting with a different material??

Comment by John on September 20, 2011 at 1:28pm

I would really recommend getting a new saddle, StewMac or LMI.  They tend to be cut a bit thick (9/32 or so) so you can sand them down to something between a press and slip fit.  My experience has been that getting a shim to fit just right and not move or tilt is more work than just doing it right to begin with.  Also, a shim just adds another moving part in a system that needs to be rock solid.

Just my three cents

Comment by Jud Hair on September 20, 2011 at 11:41am

Sounds like a shim is the easiset way to go.  I should have measured better before I bought the thing yesterday.  I knew I had to sand it for length and height, but didn't consider thickness.  Just looked it up and Seagull specifies a 1/8 inch thickness.

 

Meanwhile, I just phoned Guitar Center and told the kid who answered that I was looking for a Graph Tech 1/8th inch Tusq fully compensated saddle and he thought it was some sort of electronic gear ... sigh.

 

After we talked a minute of two, he's checking their stock and is supposed to call me back.

Comment by Greg Brandt / Maker of Guitars on September 20, 2011 at 11:25am

A loose fitting saddle can often cause some of the issues that others have mentioned (change in intonation, bad break angle that might cause buzzing on the saddle itself, etc). Your original question was about the wood of the bridge. On a bridge where the saddle slot goes thru the bridge end to end (like on a classical guitar or an old steel string w/ a pyramid bridge) the wood CAN fail due to the extra forward pressure (I'm sadly speaking from experience) and maybe deflect the top a bit. I'm not thinking that would be the case on your bridge. The idea of a shim is the perfect solution ...and one used in my shop from time to time. Other than a paper or wood shim, I often use sheet mylar that has a paper backing and adhesive on it. It's often used as a clear tap plate on guitars and is .005" thick. It can easily be cut with a razor blade or knife. I get mine from an art supply shop (2' X 2' for about $6) and can be used as a shim to raise a nut or saddle too. Just an idea.

Comment by Jud Hair on September 20, 2011 at 10:56am

Antonio ... Hmmm ... a "shim", that would be easy enough. 

 

John --- thanks for the input.  It makes sense that "sonically" something would be impacted by changing the angle.

Comment by Antonio Cotichini on September 20, 2011 at 10:08am

Jud... why don't you try to put a very slim piece of wood in front of the saddle to fill the gap with the bridge slot and restore the right angle?

Comment by John on September 20, 2011 at 9:01am

I overhauled a Martin 000-18 (mid 60s vintage) a few years ago and the first saddle I made had this problem.  I didn't seem to put the bridge in jeopardy but it did cause problems with the way the instrument played.  It changed the geometry at the bridge and saddle (slightly) but the break angle was lowered and the intonation was marginally changed.  It also seemed to cause a whine in the high "E" string.  As it was not my guitar I re-worked it and got it right.

Comment by Jud Hair on September 20, 2011 at 7:36am

Question about replacing a saddle ...

 

Last night I replaced the 7-year-old saddle on my 2005 Seagull Artist Mosaic with a new Tusq saddle.  I sanded it to the correct length to fit snuggly into the slot and then I duplicated the height of the old saddle because the action was fine before.

 

However, the new saddle appears to be a little less "thick" than the old one. It appeared to fit nicely in the slot until the strings were tightened, then it tilted slightly forward in the bridge slot. 

 

Is this angle likely to cause any damage to the rosewood bridge?

 

The guitar sounds great and plays fine.  I feel sure the action is a bit lower as a result of the angle and that doesn't bother me. 

 

I Just want to make sure that the bridge isn't in any sort of jeopardy.

 

What do you think ??

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