What follows is broad overview of the work involved. Hopefully you will walk away with a better understanding of the meticulous work involved. If you enjoy this post, you might also like our article about making a bone string nut.
We begin with a suitable bone blank that is sufficiently oversized relative to the existing saddle slot. Using a caliper to measure the length of the saddle slot we then transfer this measurement to the saddle blank. Next we carefully sand both sides as well as the bottom of the blank to make sure that they are straight and true. A correct fit should be snug, but not excessively difficult to remove. Instruments with under saddle pickups require a slightly looser fit in order to ensure that it is able to make solid contact with the transducer.
Had we been making a traditional saddle, without string compensation, the top would be rounded over at this point to produce a crown before proceeding to set the final height. Since we are compensating this one, there is an extra step. Compensation is a term to describe adjustments made to the functional length of the string in order to fine-tune the intonation of the instrument. To accomplish this, we first mark the saddle between the second and third string since this marks the switch from plain to wound strings in a standard acoustic set.
Then we draw two lines diagonally across the length of the saddle. As a general rule, an uncompensated saddle is simply a straight saddle that goes all the way across. It has no grooves, raised edges, or angles. This is most commonly found on classical nylon-stringed guitars as these types of strings tend to hold tune better, and the guitar does not require compensation. Yes, saddles affect tone. This is primarily true of acoustic guitars as they rely on the natural, organic construction of the instrument.
The electric guitar tone is also affected by the saddle. Certain types of saddles can add clarity to electric guitars, which may or may not be perceived depending on the ancillary effects in use pedals, amp settings, etc. As your fingers press down on the fingerboard, the various thicknesses of the strings will affect the downward distance the string travels before hitting the fingered fret.
Since each of the six strings is different in thickness and pitch, their required length from the nut to the saddle for proper intonation will be different. Saddle compensation helps normalize effective string length. If a guitar player is mainly in a rhythm role and spends most of their time playing at the 5th fret and below, then it is usually okay to leave the saddle straight. For players that spend a lot of time in the upper frets and playing a lot of lead, the compensated saddle will help with the intonation.
Compensation tends to affect the intonation of the G string the most. This is just the nature of how the guitar is constructed and tuned. Generally speaking, if you have tuning issues that seem to revolve around this string, then it may be time to adjust the compensation at the bridge. When in doubt, you can always take your guitar to a qualified guitar repair tech or luthier. The saddle that has been installed will typically either be a three-piece saddle where two strings sit on each end of each piece, or each string will have its own individual saddle.
A player can then adjust the length of the strings by way of a screw at the end. String height can also be adjusted at the saddle via the little tiny screws on the top of the saddle.
But this only lasts a short time. Once this saddle has been played in a while that abrasive edge burns off and what remains is a glassy clarity that simply can't be found in saddles made from materials like Micarta or Tusq.
The wound strings on my OMVR have wonderful definition that give a detailed rendering of the fundamental note without compromising any of the smoky, Martin undertone. The unwound treble strings just make me smile and shake my head when I hear how beautifully pure they sound and how they stay that way as they hang there in the air until they slowly fade away. For my money any guitar made with a Sitka spruce top would be enhanced with the addition of a bone saddle.
A bone saddle may be good at making great guitars exude their full potential, but they make budget models sound so much better as well. Since my guitars already have bone saddles I took the saddle I recently acquired from Maury's Music and had it installed in an OM-sized Ibanez belonging to one of my best friends.
This laminated mahogany guitar benefited tremendously by the addition of bone. I had already installed a set of bone bridge pins that perked up the voice a lot.
But the bone saddle increased the volume, definition and sustain to the point that it sounded like a much better guitar than the one he walked out of the store with. Even if your guitar already has a saddle made of bone you might still benefit greatly if you exchanged it for a new, compensated bone saddle. Because a set of guitar strings is made with different thickness and each string breaks at different angles when fretting up and down the neck it is impossible to achieve perfect intonation on all strings at all positions.
It is designed to provide the most accurate intonation and ensure the guitar is in tune along the fretboard and produce the correctly pitched note. This type of saddle will have a raised end or grooves usually for the B string that provide the best intonation for the best tone and accurate pitch. The 12th fret of the guitar is halfway between the saddle and nut of the guitar. When the 12th fret is pressed the string is stretched causing the pitch to go sharp. Shortening the strings will sharpen the pitch whereas lengthening the strings will flatten the pitch.
For example, if the fretted note on the 12th fret is a sharper pitch to the harmonic note the intonation needs to be adjusted.
This is why most acoustic will vary in saddle design as a compensated saddle does not fit all guitars as each guitar have different playing conditions as the design is to accommodate for the variation in:.
This is why players modify their saddles by filing them down to adjust the height or grooves to fine-tune the intonation. People will also file underneath the saddle to lower the overall height of the strings. This means that you will have to have a custom saddle fitted to optimize the playability and intonation depending on the above factors.
An uncompensated or non-compensated is a straight saddle absent of any grooves or raised edges. This is typically found in classic style guitars the reason being that the guitar was set up in a way that a compensated saddle was not required.
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