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Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A
grooves in saddle
i tried to do a search but couldn't really find anything.
all my guitars eventually developed grooves in the saddle from the strings. how deep is too deep? does it affect anything? should i replace the saddle at some point?
Dude.... I've never seen anything like that before. Do you change your strings really often? I've been playing my guitar for 2 years changing the basses average every 3 weeks and I have no grooves. Very interesting. I will make you more saddles. If you can measure that one pretty precisely that would be great. I will look into harder alternatives to bone. Maybe diamond would do the trick
It also makes me curious if the grooves in the nut have become deeper.. do you get excessive buzz on the open strings?
i still have that extra saddle you gave me but i was trying to get as many miles as i can out of the one that came with the guitar. i change basses about once a month but after about two weeks, i take the basses off and reverse them. do you think that's what is doing it? oh crap.
the grooves in the nut seem to be doing okay. my guitar is getting just the right amount of buzz. btw, i like the "flare" you shape into the slots. the strings never catch at the nut.
I too have grooves in my saddle. Just noticed it last string replacement. I assumed it was a "feature" by the luthier Fracisco Navaro which allowed one to adjust the action depending on the strings (normal vs. high tension). Guess not :) Seems like a cool idea though.
Is yours a bone saddle? Not sure if mine is bone or that composite who's name eludes me.
I make grooves for the treble strings on purpose so that they dont slip and also to correct placement. In order to make the grooves smooth, I "sand" them with wound strings to make them round.
..but Ive never seen such deep grooves as yours. Are you using barb wire strings?
Soft bone is the only thing that makes sense. Black Buffalo horn tends to do this over time, but it is much softer than bone. Too high a break angle would more likely cause the problem than too low, but break angle looks fine to me on your photo. If the bone is dense and hard, then I think it would take several weeks of 24 hour days of constantly pulling the string back and forth over the saddle to make a groove like this one. Just one thing to say Antonio is
It might be a soft piece of bone. If the action is OK I'd say just use it until it's too low and then use the other one. When you change your strings it's a good idea to push the loop on the saddle side of the tie block down so it's not holding the string up, but Sam is correct a higher break angle will make the groove problem worse.
Is yours a bone saddle? Not sure if mine is bone or that composite who's name eludes me.
yup, mine is bone. im 90% sure yours is too. i thought about getting tusq but did some research and found that some people felt it was even softer than bone.
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Is that the original saddle?
it came with the guitar. and i've had it for almost a year now.
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Are you using barb wire strings?
well... sometimes... when i really need that bright, clean, "sharp" tone.
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It doesn't have a negative effect on the sound, unless it starts buzzing too much for you don't sweat it.
ok, that's good to know. but can the string vibrate freely if it's stuck in a crack?
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it may be the photo but the break angle of the 1st and 2nd strings looks a little flat which may be the result of the deep grooves.
it's the angle. it was the only spot where i could get my phone to focus so i just took the shot.
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Just one thing to say
thanks sam! i haven't heard that song in awhile. now it's going to be stuck in my head for all day.
It might be a soft piece of bone. If the action is OK I'd say just use it until it's too low and then use the other one. When you change your strings it's a good idea to push the loop on the saddle side of the tie block down so it's not holding the string up, but Sam is correct a higher break angle will make the groove problem worse.
okay. i think i'll go through a few more string changes before using the other one. the weird thing is i've had this happen to all my guitars so i'm wondering if it's something i'm doing.
if this keeps happening, what do you think of have an extra long saddle where i can just slide it up a bit each time i develop grooves so it doesn't just keep digging deeper and deeper in one place?
This is quite normal man. Folks that are confused simply don't play and change out strings any where near as often as you do and others with this thing happening to their guitars. OR they have so many different guitars they work with the mileage is spread out.
i recommend you change it immediately. It does lower the action but if you like it, then make the new bone a hair lower then the old one. It will feel and sound the same that way. The danger if you don't is that the grooves can weaken the wound strings there and encourge them to break, and also if your bone is low already, the string can start to rub into the bridge itself.
i recommend you change it immediately. It does lower the action but if you like it, then make the new bone a hair lower then the old one. It will feel and sound the same that way. The danger if you don't is that the grooves can weaken the wound strings there and encourge them to break, and also if your bone is low already, the string can start to rub into the bridge itself.
If you like the action lower, just file the bone flat and go on. There´s still some bone to eat before you start eating the bridge. Unless you play 5 - 8 hours a day, I have a feeling that the bone piece is poor quality.
I just got the saddle in the mail from Anthony. The grooves are not as dramatic as they look in that picture. I'd guess about .25 to maybe .5 mm deep. But I'm going to make him a few more
you should be getting the bodies in the mail soon. please use the thigh bone for the saddle. the rest can be used for broth.
LOL ... actually in addition to Spanish Royal Cypress I am now offering genuine pieces of Javier Molina's skull for saddles. I had to pay a pretty penny but the dude had a seriously hard head.. and full of duende....
Send me a set of strings you've been curious about and I will try, break in, evaluate, and return them to you. I offer this for free. This is my gift to the music world. You just pay for strings/shipping.
LOL ... actually in addition to Spanish Royal Cypress I am now offering genuine pieces of Javier Molina's skull for saddles. I had to pay a pretty penny but the dude had a seriously hard head.. and full of duende....
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btw, i like the "flare" you shape into the slots. the strings never catch at the nut. 
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