Acoustic Guitar Bone Saddle Upgrade

When it comes to making a bespoke bone saddle for an acoustic guitar there are lots of factors that are all really important.

I make my saddles from a rectangular blanks especially for your guitar's bridge which means that it's 100% tailor made to be spot-on for the best playability, sound, looks and performance.

If you don't have a bone saddle in your acoustic guitar you are missing out big time, it really is my favourite tonal upgrade for acoustics

Bs 0243 Radiused Bone Saddle For Acoustic — Allparts Music

Some guitars have a saddle in that's too thin. Not only is that terrible for string-to-soundboard transfer but they can lean and give a poor string contact point resulting in a fuzzy tone. I make mine to be snug so that theres just the right amount of pressure holding it in

Your guitar's fingerboard (unless it's a classical guitar) has a curvature and the saddle has to mirror this radius perfectly so that the strings may be held at the right height from E to e string.

Although the guitar's string height is dependant on other factors too, one of my new bridge saddles with be set perfectly for your playing style

Hand Made Bone Saddles For Acoustic Guitars

For those who have Piezo transducers hiding under their bridges, bone is great for those too. It carries all the same tonal advantages straight to the pickup itself. String to string balance is carefully monitored too so that when plugged in, each string has the same output volume as the next.

Although many acoustic guitars are designed with an offset bridge saddle angle, the intonation pattern needs to be fine tuned for optimum intonation string to string. My bone saddles are intonation compensated with the use of a B-Bump on the B string. Also available in a straight intonation pattern if required

A saddle blank is selected from my stock and the thickness measured, I'm looking for one that will fit snugly into the rosewood saddle slot of the guitar's bridge

Musicianatheart Compensated Bone Saddle Made For Guild Acoustic Guitar

The saddle blank is sanded to the perfect thickness and then the ends are trimmed and rounded so that they fit inside the saddle slot perfectly

The saddle is now rough sanded to the correct radius. The curve in this fingerboard is 14 so it's important for the bridge saddle to match it

Here's the saddle with the correct radius sanded onto it. Of course it's way too high at the moment, the top also need some attention

Acoustic Guitar Saddle Bone 76mm & 72mm Lengths

This is the intonation compensation pattern needed for each independent string to play in tune. This curve affects the intonation of each string which is responsible for the string playing in tune as you fret higher notes. The 12-string version is extra complex whn compared to the 6 string version.

During the process of setting the saddle height you have to de-string the guitar a few times and yes, I broke the damn G string again!The saddle is a vital part of an acoustic guitar. Protruding above the bridge, it is one of the primary action adjustment points for the instrument. Without a well made saddle,  proper setup will not be possible. Though they can be made from many different materials, for this article, we will be focusing on the process of hand cutting a new acoustic guitar saddle out of a piece of bone.

Using a measuring tool called a caliper, we measure the length of the saddle slot then mark the desired length on our saddle blank.

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We carefully shape the blank, adjusting the length, width, and rounding the edges,  until the piece is properly seated in the saddle slot. A poorly fit saddle can eventually cause the wooden saddle slot to crack. A correct fit should be snug, but not excessively difficult to remove.

Instruments with under-saddle pickups may require some extra finesse to ensure that the  bottom of the saddle rests firmly against the pickup  that is installed on the bottom of the saddle slot.

After measuring the fingerboard’s radius (curvature), we use our radius gauge to draw the profile of the fingerboard onto the saddle blank. Then it’s over to a disc sander to remove material, sanding a matching contour on the saddle’s top. 

How To Make A Bone Acoustic Guitar Saddle

“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 string set.

Then we draw two lines diagonally across the length of the saddle. These will serve as a guide of where to file. We then shape the top of the saddle, removing material on either side, until the desired compensation has been achieved.

Diagonal Compensation Bone Guitar Saddle

Had we been making a traditional saddle, without string compensation, the top would simply have been rounded over to produce a crown across the length of the saddle. Compensation is a bit more work but yields better intonation in the instruments upper register.

Back over to the guitar, we install the outer two strings to take an action measurement. If needed, we will perform additional sanding to achieve the desired string height we are seeking. 

Once the action and intonation have been set, we use sandpaper to remove any rough tooling marks before switching to a dedicated buffing wheel to polish the saddle to a high shine. Besides aesthetic appeal, thisprovides a smooth surface for the string to rest against.

Blade Compensation Bone Guitar Saddle

Many of the parts mentioned in our blogs are available for purchase at GuitarRepairParts.com Enter the code TechTalk10 at checkout for 10% off your first order.

Calico Guitarworks is the area’s premier destination for fretted musical instrument care and maintenance. Owned and managed by Erik Salomon, the shop is dedicated to providing quick, honest and reliable service. The staff at Calico Guitarworks has a combined 25+ years of professional guitar repair experience. Sharing the knowledge that we accumulate in this focused pursuit is at the core of what we do. Contact us with any questions or book your appointment today.

Posted by zodaries14

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