Guitar Makers

Comment

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 ??

Comment by Jud Hair on September 19, 2011 at 2:07pm

John ... though it's hard to see, there are some places right around the sound hole that are down to bare wood surface. 

Comment by John on September 19, 2011 at 1:41pm

Just a thought.  Although I cannot see the amount of "damage" it does not look so bad from the picture.  It may be possible to hand rub the top out (gently) restoring a sheen and minimizing the effect of the scratches.  I personally like rottenstone.  It tends to give a nice soft shine.  You could even do the entire guitar for continuity. If the scratches are through the finish in places this may not be a great idea as exposed wood may be stained in the process.

Comment by Jud Hair on September 19, 2011 at 1:23pm

Edward ... I'm convinced.  Honestly, this is what I love so much about this entire Acoustic Guitar Magazine community ... just a tremendous pool of experience and knowledge from passionate people wo are willing to share!

Comment by Edward Sparks on September 19, 2011 at 1:09pm

Jud, the worse part is that if you do a "refin" (collector's word) on the top, the sound will change forever!  i would leave it alone too!  Beautiful guitar!  Edward

Comment by Jud Hair on September 19, 2011 at 11:46am

Greg ... Thanks!  I think you just conviced me to leave it alone and just enjoy the lovely "character" of the wood ... :-)

 

No way I could do without playing it for a month!!  Plus all that sounds very expensive.  I got the guitar for $300 ... new ones are around $1,000 or so.  I guess I should be happy to have found such a bargain and just enjoy it!

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