Surprising TUSQ saddle experiment on my Martin HD 28

[PatDie]

My Martin HD-28 has a bass to shake walls, but I didn't like how it fell behind in the mids and highs. Sure, the tone on any Rosewood Martin seems to be naturally scooped and not mid heavy - it's their DNA and makes sense for my band setting - but I was wondering how to gain a little more balance for a broader field of usage.

So I switched the saddle from bone to TUSQ - with the plain thought of bone not being a super consistent material when it comes to density and TUSQ being a very solid and consitent material in itself. I made sure to sand down the TUSQ saddle to the exact same height and fit and managed to restring with the exact same (maybe 3 week old) strings.

Long story short: I could certainly notice how the sound got a tad brighter with more clarity in the mid tones and more top end chime with overall increased harmonics. The bass still as rumbling as it has been. Considering the low investment I'd recommend anyone finding their Rosewood Martins a little too muddy and having tried out all possible strings available to experiment with their saddles.

Cheers,
Pat

[fazool]

I also prefer Tusq nuts and saddles.

Mostly - I prefer the tone of Tusq. I find bone to sound "brittle"


Its also a small bonus as I try to reduce my use of animal products when avoidable.

[Glennwillow]

Hi Pat,

My experience with Tusq relative to bone saddles is the same as yours. Tusq does add upper frequencies and tends to de-emphasize the bass. Glad you are happy with the result.

- Glenn

[jricc]

Hi Pat and thanks for your thoughts. I share the same like for Tusq as you, (and fazool). It is consistent and has great clarity.

[Moldstar]

Interesting, I'll have to give that a try on mine, I wouldn't mind a few more mids.

[rdeane]

Where did you get the saddle, and is there a size/model number I should look for. I have an HD28 as well, and I'd like to try it.

[Joseph Hanna]

Interestingly, the individual luthiers at Yamaha Japan feel tusq to be (a least somewhat) detrimental to the tone of the higher-end LL series. Instead, choose to use plastic as a better choice for that series. Go figure.

[Glennwillow]

I don't particularly like Tusq saddles on a guitar. I have replaced the Tusq saddles on just about every guitar I have ever purchased with bone from Bob Colosi. But I did agree with the OP that Tusq has more trebles and reduced bass. I tend to like more bass and less treble, but I realize we all have our own likes and dislikes.

- Glenn

[gmel555]

I've replaced several TUSQ/Micarta saddles with bone on multiple guitars and have preferred bone EXCEPT in one instance. My Larrivee dread (spruce over IRW) excels with the stock TUSQ saddle while the tone got quite brittle/harsh when I tried a bone saddle. I switched it back to TUSQ after 3 days. I guess you'll never know how a guitar will respond to a saddle change but I do know it can make a big difference (good or bad). It's an easy experiment and you can always put the original back.

[Wade Hampton]

I find that it depends on the instrument itself how well Tusq works. Most of my guitars have bone appointments, but on a few of them Tusq is absolutely the best choice.


Wade Hampton Miller

[catdaddy]

FWIW I much prefer a tusq to a bone saddle on my Martin J-15.

[abn556]

This thread has me wondering about trying a Tusq saddle on a 000-18. I wonder how mahogany would react to going from bone to tusq?

[Aspiring]

Each to their own of course but I have yet to change out a tusq saddle to bone and regret the choice.

I also have found that tusq saddles seem to wear a lot faster getting grooves carved in them that bone does not.

[jim1960]

My experience has been the exact opposite. I find Tusq saddles to make the highs more tinny than I like. The switch to bone has improved every guitar for which I've made the adjustment.

However, and this is not a dig at anyone, there's a reason why some folks may prefer the Tusq. As our hearing deteriorates, it's the high frequencies we usually lose first. So, a saddle the allows more highs to fill the sound space might be appealing to those folks.

Alternatively, I'm sure there are some folks with normal hearing who prefer a more treble-present guitar (although for the life of me I don't know why those folks would buy a dread). After all, whether a guitar sounds better or worse with a Tusq saddle is an entirely subjective opinion.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by abn556

This thread has me wondering about trying a Tusq saddle on a 000-18. I wonder how mahogany would react to going from bone to tusq?

You won’t know until you try. Hang onto the original saddle in case you don’t like the Tusq, of course.


whm