FWI vs. Bone Saddles

[Blue in VT]

 

I';m starting to feel that the saddle on my BW will need replacing...the current on is a FWI saddle is very nice and sounds great...but it is sitting on shim that I think is causing a little buzzing.  What everyones feelings on the tona differences between Bone and FWI...is the Ivory worth the extra $25???

thanks for your input.



Blue

[tikabear]

I bought a FWI saddle for the SD50 that I had and I really couldn't tell a difference over bone.  I wouldn't invest the extra $ again.  YMMV.  I can tell a difference between bone and tusq so for me, that is a mandatory upgrade. 

[jeremy3220]

I couldn't tell a difference either.

[jimmyd]

I don't think so. A good piece of bone should give you good results and save you some money. Shimming saddles is considered to be a temporary fix. I've done a bit of experimenting and admit that a propery seated shim that allows good contact on the saddle slot base and the saddle works well.  I can't hear any sonic differences. It's not something you would expect a technician to do especially without telling you what he was attempting. You can try replacing that shim with another one that is well seated and gives you the proper action and spend nothing but a bit of your time. Those wooden stir sticks in coffee shops can easily be cut and sanded to proper size for your guitar.

[Blue in VT]

Great Thanks guys...I was hoping to just go with bone...

Whats the thickest a shim should be?  I'd bet this on is 3/16 of an inch or so...seemed large to me....but what do I know?!?!?!...



Blue

[jimmyd]

Great Thanks guys...I was hoping to just go with bone...

Whats the thickest a shim should be?  I'd bet this on is 3/16 of an inch or so...seemed large to me....but what do I know?!?!?!...

3/16 would be a terribly thick shim at about 90 thou thick and would leave very little room for the saddle to seat in the slot.  If the shim is much thicker than about 30 thou, about the thickness of a credit card, then you really should replace the saddle. BTW I'm not sure how a shim could cause buzzing unless maybe thae saddle is a real sloppy fit and is rocking side to side or end to end. It would have to be a pretty bad fit to do that. Your strings put a lot of downward pressure on the saddle. Might be worth it to have a tech take a look at that guitar. You might not need a saddle or shim to cure that buzz.

[Mr_LV19E]

Could someone please tell me what FWI is, excuse my ignorance but I'm pretty new to this stuff.
Thanks,
Roger

[12barBill]

Fossilized Walrus Ivory

[Mr_LV19E]

Thanks 12barBill, I just returned from Bob Colosi's site to say never mind but you beat me to it.

I appreciate it anyway, Thanks again,
Roger