Bone saddle for OM3R?

[stgeorge]

I posted this in the General Discussion area and then realized it is more of a technical discussion question, so here goes:

I have been a member for less than a year and this is my 1st post. Hence the famed 

I am interested in "boosting" the sound of an OM3R. Anything that will improve volume, resonance, sustain?

Any of you that can tell me what the addition of a bone saddle and upgraded pins will do to the sound?

Thanks in advance!

[kwakatak]

For $25 and a half-hour of sanding to fit it's one of the best bang for the buck upgrades. 

It's the first thing I did to my OM-03R. It definitely improved the clarity IMO.

BTW - I ordered mine from www.guitarsaddles.com though you can also get one from www.larriveewearables.com too.

[jeremy3220]

A good bone saddle will improve the clarity, sustain and make the guitar more responsive. The bone transfers sound from the strings and your fingers to the top better; you can hear the difference just running your hands over the strings. Get the saddle from www.guitarsaddles.com . They're higher quality and the last 2 or 3 I got from Larrivee had a flatter radius than the original tusq.

The pins probably won't make any significant difference but my general rule is 'the lighter the better'. Some people think the bone pins make the guitar brighter, what I think usually happens is some bass is lost in way so the the guitar sounds 'harder'. But, you probably won't hear any difference. I would go with plastic or whatever wood the bridge is made out of, ebony in this case.

Playing the guitar a lot will improve the resonance and volume. Try some bluegrass or medium strings also; though I think mediums (tuned to pitch) tend to sound compressed and overly fundamental on most OMs.

Also adding mass to the head stock may improve sustain; like adding heavier tuners. But you make not like the way that feels or sounds.

[bluesman67]

I recommend the bone saddle and have a luthier install and do a set up as well.  I put one in my OM-03R and there was a noticable difference in sustain, volume, and clarity.  I also added bone pins and they look good but I didn't notice a difference at all from the original.  I use Elixer phos/bronze light/meds (bluegrass on other brands) and love them.  My OM was sounding great, then after 4 months of playing, man it opened up and is sounding even better.

[greatgit]

      My experience was that installing a bone saddle did not make a significant difference in the sound.  What did help was using 80/20s instead of phosphor bronze or coated strings (my favorites now are the Curt Mangans) and what helped even more was eight months of playing it an hour a day or more.  I have the same model you do and I think it sounds much louder and richer than when I first got it.

[jimmyd]

A bone saddle won't transform an instrument's voice unless the original was improperly installed. It might even not sound as good to you. Pins are even less likely to do much. These are fairly inexpensive projects unless you buy fossilized teradactal doodadd tusks from Mesopotamia. The good news is these experiments are completly reversable things you can do yourself so why not try it. Experimenting with different picks, if you are a picker, and different strings is more likely to have an effect that you can hear. My .02

[AtlasHeating]

I have bone saddles and pins in both of my Larrivees. I can tell a difference in the sound. I also really like the look of the bone pins.
The stock pins on the L-03 were not my favorite looking pins.
The stock black pins on the OM-03R looked fine but they weren't bone.
When I have changed back to plastic, I can hear a difference and a harshness with them.