Thinking of upgrading the saddle on my Acoustic Electric 12-string. Its currently plastic, and I'd like to upgrade to a pre-shaped compensated Tusq saddle.
The guitar has an under-saddle pickup installed.
Will the original saddle come out easily, and do I need to worry about distrubing the placement of the UST underneath?
this seems to be pretty straightforward, but I want to make sure I don't run into any unexpected obstacles.
I'd also lilke to upgrade the nut at some point as well, but that seems much more involved. Any comments on replacing a nut are welcome too.
thnaks!!
The original saddle should lift straight out, though you may need to wiggle it a bit or use pliers. The new one should be just snug enough that it will stay in when the guitar is turned face-down, but should lift out with only your fingers.
I've followed the instructions on this site, with both tusq and bone:
http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Musician/Guitar/Setup/MakeNewSaddle/newsaddle01.html
Tusq is very to easy to work with.
With the under-saddle pickup, you need to make sure the underside of the saddle is completely flat. Someone suggested placing it on a small mirror and shining a flashlight on it from behind; then you can see if there are any gaps.
You can gently push the under-saddle pickup up from underneath and clean any debris out of the slot, but be careful with it.
Nuts can be tricky; obviously a pre-slotted nut is easiest to work with, but you still need to get one sized properly for your guitar. I've done this on an electric, but I'd be very hesitant to try it on a 12-string acoustic.
Good luck!
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
Why not go with bone?
I did one of these on my Breedlove and it was pretty easy. The guy provides a saddle that's compensated for your guitar, it's just a little too big to fit. You touch it up with sandpaper to get a snug but not too snug fit. Takes about a half hour....
Why not go with bone?
I did one of these on my Breedlove and it was pretty easy. The guy provides a saddle that's compensated for your guitar, it's just a little too big to fit. You touch it up with sandpaper to get a snug but not too snug fit. Takes about a half hour....
The problem with bone is that its density can be inconsistent.
Be sure to follow the link that Sledghammer provided. I've removed and sanded saddles and reinstalled them to lower the action with no problem, even with an undersaddle pickup, but haven't replaced with a new one yet. Tusq is definately a big improvement over plastic, and it won't upset the animal rights folks.
As a follow up, I ordered the TUSQ saddle and I also ordered a bone blank. The TUSQ saddle was a little short on length, maybe by 1 or 2/32s on each end (but I dont think this would matter re: tone), so I decided to shape my own custom compensated bone saddle out of the blank.
Not sure what kind of bone it is (I asked for fossilized unicorn, but the vendor didn't offer). I also found it interesting that the TUSQ saddle was compensated at the B string, but E, A, D, & G were all equidistant from the nut. The one I shaped tapers back so that low E (the top string) is furthest from the nut.
Well, this was an interesting DIY project. All in all I think I spent a few hours filing this thing into shape. It is very dense and takes some time to get used to working with it, but I think it turned out as good as anything I could buy pre-shaped. I consulted the folowing link for information on how to shape the saddle http://www.lutherie.net/saddle_angle.html
I should post some pics of the final product when I am able.
Also during this project I made my first truss rod adjustment. I set the neck releif and checked the string height (at nut and at 12th fret) before taking out the plastic saddle. It set up nicely with the original saddle, so when I shaped the bone, I knew I could make it the same exact height as the plastic original.
The final step was to install new rosewood pins to replace plastic ones, but they seemd to be a bit small, so since this is a 12-string, I didn't want to run into issues stringing it up.
The tone of the guitar does seem warmer and rounder now. sounds really nice. Definitely worth the $4.95 and the 3 hours work.
Haven't checked intonation yet, but I'll let you know. The final step is to get those plastic pins out. MAybe I'll go with bone there too (I'll be buying those pre-shaped)
-B
