#1
|
|||
|
|||
Saddle/Nut Material Reaction
I stumbled across this guy playing an Erik Mongrain cover of Aftermath (which he absolutely nailed to perfection), and saw he had made a video with Pellerin guitars on different saddle and nut materials. He played the same tunes back to back, same strings, just changing the materials.
I know this has been discussed on the forum before, but I just thought it was a well-made and informative video, plus I had never watched anything on it myself. Also, my favorite sound was graphite, which I didn't expect. What's yours? Also, his Aftermath cover, because it was stupendous: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMFAFOaZclo
__________________
My YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@rileydaleguitar |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Interesting. Thanks for sharing. In this case, on this guitar I preferred: Bone, Fossilized Ivory, Tusque.
__________________
Don't get upset, it's just my experienced opinion, Steve |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Nice! Bone was my second favorite, than fossilized ivory. I didn't even know what tusque was, before this.
__________________
My YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@rileydaleguitar |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Natural bone for saddles and nuts.
I tried the rest, settled on the best. |
#5
|
||||
|
||||
I like bone for its tonal quality and of course tradition. But since making and fitting my own, I have to admit Tusq is indistinguishable tonally, is easier to work with, and has self-lubricating material, which is very nice for tuning and string life. And the least of my concerns listed, is it seems to be more tolerant of changes of string gauges.
Those are just my opinions based on my experience. Its also my opinion that most bone, tusq, and other quality synthetics probably have minuscule differences in tone, and proper fitting and grooving probably trump material all seven days of the week.
__________________
Dave F ************* Martins Guilds Gibsons A few others 2020 macbook pro i5 8GB Scarlett 18i20 Reaper 7 |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
I am getting my new J-45 set up now. It came with a Tusq saddle. I am getting the luthier to setup and bone and the tusq saddle the same way so I can decide for myself which sounds better in that application. All my other acoustics have bone saddles. I expect to prefer the bone saddle on the J-45, but we’ll see what sounds best in a week or so.
__________________
Gibson J-45 Koa Gibson LG-0 Larrivee OM-40R Martin D-41 Martin 000-18 |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
__________________
My YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@rileydaleguitar |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Whenever I hear these saddle material comparisons, both my own and others, my ears always hear the sound coming from bone as more pleasing. Recently replaced the Tusq saddle on my J-45 and it made a very significant difference...almost too much. The previous Tusq saddle sat kind of loosely in the saddle slot (maybe to insure maximum downward pressure on the under saddle pickup?). I took my time making a new bone saddle to make sure it was nice and snug in the slot. I was never really satisfied with the sound of the J-45. While the sound itself was ok, it just felt kind of subdued with very little projection (I don't use the pickup). With the bone saddle the J-45 literally came alive. While in this case I can't honestly contribute the change to the saddle material alone, to some degree my ears always hear the same thing when I replace a saddle with bone. Could be a perceptual bias, but regardless, my ears seem to like it.
__________________
2022 Martin 000-18 2022 Martin HD12-28 2022 Martin HD-28 2022 Gibson J-45 Standard 2022 Taylor American Dream AD27 Mahogany 2007 Breedlove AC250/SM-12 2006 Breedlove AD20/SR Plus 2003 Martin 000C-16SGTNE 2000 Taylor 410ce 1990 Martin Shenandoah (< 1990 a bunch of great old Yamahas I lost track of) My music: https://pro.soundclick.com/dannybowman |
#9
|
||||
|
||||
The guitar was plugged using a magnetic pickup, so the test is pretty meaningless AFAIC. I’d much prefer to hear it with the guitar unplugged and recorded using good-quality mics.
__________________
John Brook ‘Lamorna’ OM (European Spruce/EIR) (2019) Lowden F-23 (Red Cedar/Claro Walnut) (2017) Martin D-18 (2012) Martin HD-28V (2010) Fender Standard Strat (2017-MIM) |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
That is a great point that I hadn't considered, as I assumed while different it would still point to the differences. hmm
__________________
My YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@rileydaleguitar |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
__________________
Music: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyM...Ek2LconK-gQDFg |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
__________________
'47 000-18 '49 00-17 '91ish Deering Tele prototype '02 Goodall GC '20 Gibson Southern Jumbo Deering Maple Blossom '62 Danectro Longhorn Bass UAD Apollo x8p, Apollo Twin Genelec 8351B's Studio Monitors Genelec 7370A Sub Lauten Audio LT-386 |
#13
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
Also, it's a small quibble .. however good the playing, if he's trying to put small tonal differences on display, the percussives aren't helping. |
#14
|
||||
|
||||
Hi Riles
What we as players hear behind the instrument, and what others hear in front of it often differ…sometimes a lot. When we play, we not only hear, but feel, the guitar vibrating. I hold the body in contact with my chest/stomach (standing or sitting). This negates tests like the one you posted from being useful IF: I set my guitars up for
I think that's what most players do. If the only time I played was in a studio, only hearing my instrument via over-the-ear cans (headphones), I might make different choices and/or carry multiple saddles. But I don't live there. To my hands, ears, chest/stomach - bone sounds and feels best when I play. I don't care about audiences, because they don't care. And frankly I don't care about anyone on this forum, my gigging partners, or the sound techs. I'm the player/creator/artist. They just want to hear music, and I'm happy to provide it for them.
__________________
Baby #1.1 Baby #1.2 Baby #02 Baby #03 Baby #04 Baby #05 Larry's songs... …Just because you've argued someone into silence doesn't mean you have convinced them… Last edited by ljguitar; 05-04-2024 at 07:15 AM. Reason: subsequent thoughts…which often don't end when I hit 'Save'… |
#15
|
|||
|
|||
I've found that many of the guitars I've owned would benefit from a nut & saddle material harder and more consistent in density than bone, so I replaced them with legally-sourced West African Hard Ivory (WAHI). The difference is admittedly slight, but noticeable enough to my ears to make it worthwhile.
In one guitar, I found that I preferred the sound of bone, so I took the WAHI off and put the bone back on, but on every other guitar I tried it on, it was an improvement and well worth the trouble and expense. In general, WAHI increases volume slightly and adds a bit of crisp clarity across the guitar's entire dynamic range. It's like removing a layer from the sound you never noticed was there until it was gone. .
__________________
Jim Magill Director, The Swannanoa Gathering Guitars:'07 Circa OM, '09 Bashkin 00-12fret, '10 Circa 00 12-fret, '17 Buendia Jumbo, '17 Robbins R.1, '19 Doerr Legacy Select, '12 Collings 000-28H Koa. Pre-War guitars: '20 0-28, '22 00-28, '22 000-28. Mandolins: '09 Heiden Heritage F5, '08 Poe F5 , 1919 Gibson F-4, '80 Monteleone Grand Artist mandolin, '83 Monteleone GA (oval),'85 Sobell cittern. Last edited by jmagill; 05-04-2024 at 08:00 AM. |