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I have an old Guild classical on which I want to make another saddle because the old one is too loose in the slot. This particular guitar has a rather low string angle, perhaps 30 degrees or less as it passes over the saddle. It doesn't cause any problems however, but I was wondering about this and I am thinking of making the saddle so that the top of the saddle will protrude more to the rear towards the tie block by about 0.8 mm. I know the usual way to increase the angle would be to raise the saddle height, but I don't want to do that if possible. Any thoughts about this, effect on intonation, other problems, etc. Thanks!
I'm not really sure that there is a problem to fix here =)
If the saddle is too tight in the slot you will acually lose volume because the energy directed through from saddle into the diaphragm will be disrupted by the friction on the sides.
Unless the saddle is so loose that it's flopping around frequently and causing problems, you probably don't need to replace it.
You can do whatever you want with it though. And the saddle should not have a great affect on intonation, though some people will probably tell you otherwise
Practice is always good, are you cutting them all from raw materials or using blanks? I usually cut mine from cow bone, it is excellent. I have also made many wood saddles
I never heard of using a wooden saddle before. So what kind of difference should one expect if wood were used? I have been just using bone saddle blanks. I replaced a saddle (bone for synthetic?) on one guitar a couple weeks ago, and am satisfied with the result. The guild guitar is a 1964 Mark 2 spruce top. I bought it in rather tough shape cosmetically, and had the top refinished professionally. It is a fun guitar to play, has a scale length of 640 I believe and is loud! The high e at the 12th fret seems a bit weak, and maybe I should just live with it, but I keep thinking maybe something will help it. It's a bit odd in that the body depth seems more in line with a flamenco guitar, about 93.5 mm as I measure it near the heel. But it is louder, at least up close than my concert guitar.
No scientific observations here, just perhaps some conjecture and who knows maybe a dose of "black magic". As I mentioned I made a saddle for my spruce top Guild guitar in hopes of somehow increasing the high e at the twelth fret. I started with a 3.8 mm width bone saddle blank. The bridge slot is about 3 mm. I decided to "fashion" a lip on the rear portion of the top of the saddle to give more string contact (wider saddle), and to increase the break angle as with a lip to the rear the string must contact it sooner. The mass of the saddle thus is also increased. I am curious if anyone has any thoughts about this or has seen a saddle in such a configuration. I actually think it looks better to my eye than a traditional saddle. Whether there is any actual difference, probably very minimal as you mentioned Wiseguy493. Anyhow, I thought it interesting to express my idea, and see if there is any basis for my reasoning with those with more experience than I.
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