Tusq saddle vs Bone saddle...what's on your's ?

[Johnny Canso]

I've had my Larrivee D-40 for a lil' over a month now & this week a bone saddle showed up that i ordered from Larrivee. To me, the guitar sounded really open & loud even with the month old John Pearse 700 M's. Today i swapped out the Tusq saddle & after some sanding to get the right height for the bone saddle i strung it up with the same month old strings to see if i could pick up on any different tones & i was amazed at the difference. Very sharp & clear tones, greater definition between strings with a sharper bass tone, clearer mids & ringing crystal clear trebles....Bone saddle eh.....well worth the $15.00 & Larrivee put 2 cool stickers with it to boot!!!!

[knowspicker]

I immediately switched to bone saddle and pins.... Then I switched back to ebony pins. Now, last string change I switched back to Tusq and I find that I am liking the Tusq more than the bone. Maybe it's just lest the all Sapele sound come out more or compliments it more. It just seems to sound richer. Darn, now I may have wasted 40 bucks on "improvements" that I didn't really need.

For me I'm back to all stock just like Bass-Ackwards 

[Danny]

Bone saddle and nut.

[Michael T]

Fossilized mammoth nut, FWI saddle and pins. Looks good, sounds good, is good  on my guitar anyway.

[jeremy3220]

Bone - even if I couldn't hear a difference. Strings wear grooves in the top of the Tusq saddles very quickly.

[Danny]

Besides tusq looks like... tusq. And bone looks.....COOL!

[eighthnote]

Fossilized mammoth nut, FWI saddle and pins. Looks good, sounds good, is good  on my guitar anyway.

Michael...I'm so glad, I stumbled on this thread, since I've been meaning to tell you, that your upgrades look awesome, on your DV-09!  Lutehole did a fabulous job, and I fell in love w/ your pins!!!  I want those pins!! LOL

*Bone nuts & saddles...all the way!*

[pacoima4]

I recently replaced the stock Tusq nut and saddle on my JV-05 and to me the bone sounds "dead".  The guitar seems to have lost its "shimmer", even on the low strings.  The low E srting now sounds kind of like a Hofner bass.  High-end seems to have disappeared a bit, too.  The guitar plays the same, but is sure sounds more dull...

[flatlander]

Every guitar can definitly be different but losing highs seems odd. Sure it was flat on bottom and seated well?
Bone on all mine, nut and saddle.

[Dale_I]

Bone...

[Danny]

I recently replaced the stock Tusq nut and saddle on my JV-05 and to me the bone sounds "dead".  The guitar seems to have lost its "shimmer", even on the low strings.  The low E srting now sounds kind of like a Hofner bass.  High-end seems to have disappeared a bit, too.  The guitar plays the same, but is sure sounds more dull...

Every guitar can definitly be different but losing highs seems odd. Sure it was flat on bottom and seated well?
Bone on all mine, nut and saddle.

Flatlanders right, the bone is not flat on the bottom, or you may
                                               have wound the strings improperly. Those two seem to occur when a change out
                                              doesn't sound right. Of course it could be something else. But bone is better.  Danny

[Michael T]

Michael...I'm so glad, I stumbled on this thread, since I've been meaning to tell you, that your upgrades look awesome, on your DV-09!  Lutehole did a fabulous job, and I fell in love w/ your pins!!!  I want those pins!! LOL

*Bone nuts & saddles...all the way!*

Well THANKS Sharon! BTW Bob can likely hook you up (Colosi).

Insert Quote
Quote from: pacoima4 on Today at 05:18:55 PM
"I recently replaced the stock Tusq nut and saddle on my JV-05 and to me the bone sounds "dead".  The guitar seems to have lost its "shimmer", even on the low strings.  The low E srting now sounds kind of like a Hofner bass.  High-end seems to have disappeared a bit, too.  The guitar plays the same, but is sure sounds more dull..."


Lower volume isn't usually a material issue regardless of the type, likely set your action lower and possibly the saddle my be too loose or not fully seated. Odd response to the switch?

[ducktrapper]

Some bone, some tusq and maybe even some other things. S'all good! 

[pacoima4]

During my next string change I will check tp make sure the saddle is seated properly...If there is no change, I will put back in the Tusq saddle and see how that sounds now.

Thanks!

[jeremy3220]

During my next string change I will check tp make sure the saddle is seated properly...If there is no change, I will put back in the Tusq saddle and see how that sounds now.

Thanks!

Try holding the bottom of the bone saddle to a straight edge. It may help to hold it to a light also.

[gary0319]

Thanks to all that responded to pacoima4 on the "dead" sound after the switch to bone. I recently put a bone saddle in my OMV-03 and, although not "dead" the sound did seem diminished. I just pulled the saddle out and checked it against a steel straight edge. Yup, not quite true flat, ends were up a bit. A little sand paper and some "middle" pressure on the saddle while sanding and it came into true. Back into the slot, and retuned.........much better.  Happy picker, now.

One more question, though. I've been sanding some "forward" lean into the saddles as I adjust them. I think I read somewhere this was desirable and in fact the stock Tusq saddle I took out had some lean to it. I tried to match the stock configuration and think I got pretty close. Does any one have a spec on how much, if any, forward lean to try to get and how to measure it accurately?

Again thanks for the great hint on the "dead" saddle.

Gary

[eighthnote]

One more question, though. I've been sanding some "forward" lean into the saddles as I adjust them. I think I read somewhere this was desirable and in fact the stock Tusq saddle I took out had some lean to it. I tried to match the stock configuration and think I got pretty close. Does any one have a spec on how much, if any, forward lean to try to get and how to measure it accurately?
Gary

Gary...One must be very careful here, as any saddle angling, directly affects intonation.  I found the link below, to be very comprehensive, [including diagrams].  I hope this info helps, as only you can see, how your saddle is angled now.

http://www.lutherie.net/saddle_angle.html

[jeremy3220]

If anything you'd want a back tilt like some builders design into the guitar. But this is accomplished by tilting the saddle slot not the saddle in the slot.

If you can get the saddle to lean forward in the slot then the top back(tail block end) and bottom front of the saddle isn't making good contact with the slot. Think about it - two objects with paralllel sides not in the same plane. |\\| This will also result in a weaker break angle and more pressure on the front of the bridge. There's a good chance it will hurt the intonation also, especially if your action isn't very low.

[jeremy3220]

Lower volume isn't usually a material issue regardless of the type, likely set your action lower and possibly the saddle my be too loose or not fully seated. Odd response to the switch?

I disagree, the softer the material the more dampening you'll get.

[Danny]

    Tusq will definitely cause some trouble on the nut end as the strings cut down through the softer material and
begins to change the angle to the tuner post. It will eventually cut down to the point of resting the string on the 1st fret. So will bone but maybe in 20 or 30 years.