Skidd - Posted - 03/01/2010:  16:26:49

Ive been toying with the idea of throwing a bone bridge my on guitar. I was wondering what your experiences are with changing out synthetic parts for bone parts.

I have Blueridge Br-40. I used to have a Martin D-40 but had to sell it to pay something off. So I was trying to see if theres a way I can help open it up a little bit more.

Wheres a good place to buy pre-cut saddles?

Thanks All

MitchellB - Posted - 03/01/2010:  19:41:07

I like bone saddles. First thing I done to my new Martin when I got it was toss the micarta saddle and replace it with bone. I got an ivory saddle in it now that is just a little brighter sounding than the bone. They are pretty easy to shape with sandpaper and/or a file. Just take your time.

ccravens - Posted - 03/01/2010:  20:26:34

quote:

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Originally posted by Skidd



Wheres a good place to buy pre-cut saddles?

Thanks All

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banjotech - Posted - 03/03/2010:  08:55:05

The bone will make a noticeable improvement. Installing a bone nut will too.

Rumor is the unbleached bone is harder/better than bleached. If you're handy, you can do it yourself. When I first started, I'd average 1 or 2 throw aways to get the final. Taking your time will work best.

Stew Mac or Luthers Mercantile is the place to go. You will also need a dial caliper, nut files and some sandpaper going to the finest grit micro finish paper and buffing pads to bring out the shine.

Go to Frank Ford's website frets.com to see how to do this. A lot of info there, and I even learned how to intonate the saddle...worked great.

Might seem like a lot of time and money, but you can figure double that to have a luthier do it.

ccravens - Posted - 03/03/2010:  10:06:15

Using all of those tools as banjotech suggested is certainly the way to go. But if buying all that stuff intimidates you, I've done many with just a dremel, some sand paper and one jewler's file. A full set of files can get expensive.

Another thought is that there's no sure way to tell if it will improve the sound of your guitar greatly or not. Different guitars react differently to new nuts, saddles, bridge pins, plate-mates, etc. I've had some guitars that it really helped, and others that you couldn't even hear a difference. It will never sound better than the box's materials and workmanship allow.

In my experience, there's no one-size-fits-all approach to whether these things will make a difference. But if you have the time and are inclined, I say go for it. Half the fun is messing around with your guitar to try to bring out more sound.