Replacement Bone Saddle Source?

[-CM-]

Does anyone know of a source for replacement bone saddles to fit Larrivee guitars? I was lowering the action of my LV05-MTE, and ended up making the saddle too short. It was a bone saddle that looked like the Tusq saddles in my other Larrivees. I'd like to go ahead and replace them all with bone, but haven't been able to locate a definite source. I know StewMac sells the Tusq saddles, but I'd like bone.

Any ideas?

-CM-

Edit note: I removed the comments regarding the email problems I was having with Larrivee. See post below for details.

[Roman]

FQMS (FQMS.COM) sells them for $2.95 part no. GA3W - non-compensated blank.
or for $5.98 you can get pre-compensated - part no. GA3WPC

[guitaradoptions]

Feel free to email me anytime with questions!
I will do my best to get you answers immediately!
Sorry to hear you've had trouble getting them directly.
-Dave
dave@guitaradoptions.com

[sneaky]

you can get a genuine Larrivee clan member to answer your questions right here. Martin answered mine the day after I posted it at this site.

[sully]

Tons of people over on the TGF have used this person:   rcolosi@tds.net

He gets raves on the TGF. No affiliation.

[JasonA]

I just bought a couple from Bob the TGF forum guy. I've used the FQMS ones in the past, and Bob's are definitely better quality and closer to the actual finished size you will need. He charges more for them, but if you do want to go with the compensated ones, I think it's a good way to go.

[Roman]

Get a couple of files, sandpaper and steel wool and you can make one as good as the best of them in about 15 minutes . . .

[-CM-]

Thanks for all the input. I ordered some from FQMS this morning. I'll post the results.

-CM-

[Matthew Larrivee]

- CM -

I'm not sure why you did not receive a response... That is quite unusual. I know that our E-mail server employs a number of filters for blocking spam. It could be that the server from which your E-mail comes from is on a blacklist somewhere..

If you do require any assistance, please don't hesitate to call us.

Just for the sake of a test, e-mail me at matthew@larrivee.com and i'll respond to you if I get it. Put the words "Test", and the Current Time & Date in the subject. In the message body just put "Test".

Matthew

[sneaky]

personally I think door to door used vacuum salesman bone is the best.
Extremely dense.... the bone I mean.

[-CM-]

I sent a test message to Mathew Larrivee per his request above, and he discovered that there is some technical glitch with my ISP that disallows email from them. He went the extra mile and responded to me through this forum to tell me the results.

I edited my original post to remove the negative comments I made regarding Larrivee's lack of response to emails I've sent. I'll pursue the matter with my ISP.

Thanks, Mathew.


-CM-

[-CM-]

I got the saddles from FQMS today. They are obviously machined saddles, with some shard edges that I rounded off slightly. I had to adjust them a bit to fit into each of my Larrivees. They were all just a little too long, so I sanded off a bit of each end. For my D-09FM and LV-05, I had to reduce the saddle thickness a bit, but not for the OMV-10K. After getting the proper fit, I took a bit off the bottom of each saddle to make the action as low as possible. The saddles are now just tall enough to keep the high E string off the bridge.

Soundwise, the results are just as expected - each string rings clearer, sustain slightly longer, and chords seem to have more chorus to them. It's not a night-and-day difference, but well worth the $6 and a few minutes of effort. The part number again is GA3WPC, and they're $5.98 each from FQMS. You can't order them from the website, though - you have to call.

-CM-