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ORIGINAL: El Burdo Intuitively I can't help but think the bridge and saddle must have something to do with the sound, and maybe the feel. It's one of only two limits (ends) on the body where the strings directly impact the response of the top. But evidently not considered as being important.
The total mass of the bridge and saddle combination has effects. The stiffness of especially the wings has effects. The material of the saddle may have effects but it's hard to separate that from changes in mass.
String height at the bridge changes the leverage of the strings on the top. This definitely has effects on the balance of partials in the sound, and, counterintuitively, basically no audible change in sustain or attack, at least according to Alan Carruth's experiments, which occasionally come up here.
String leverage does have another interesting effect though, which is that it is a major factor in how stiff the soundboard needs to be to resist the rotational force on the bridge. Lower the leverage and you can have a more lightly built soundboard.
Another interesting factor is the way forces at the bridge change the static stress state of the top. I can't speak to how much of an effect this has in the small typical range of saddle adjustments, but it may parallel one possible mechanism by which increased string tension can awaken or stifle a given guitar.
Thanks Fawkes. I'll have a look at Carruth's work if I can find it. There was an old timey (with respect) maker on here a while ago who raised some exciting intentions to measure top responses but he disappeared after saying hi. Probably, no-one said hi back. I can't use Search any longer with any accuracy to find him. Not being particularly technically minded, I have come to see an instrument as responding to the actions of many butterflies flapping continents away and it's curious to see that significant measurable effects don't have predictable real-world effects. To me the tightly focussed vibration transmission of the saddle to the bridge and hence the top is undiscovered territory. Yet we still choose the same setup. I expect Michael Kasha had a look and decided it wasn't worth it.
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