string spacing, again

[identity71]

hello
i’ve a wonderful martion om41 custom but i can’t stand its string spacing (54 mm at the bridge), a liuther told me he can change string spacing to 57 mm making a new saddle at the bridge, what do you think?

[NotveryGood]

Depends really. Is it just the spacing at the bridge that bothers you, or at the nut too? If so is there space to widen the full length without strings slipping over the edge as you play? . Personally Id move it on (as indeed I have many times) and find something I "can stand". Plenty of choice out there .

[Russ C]

That just equates to 3/4mm closer to the edge each side of your fretboard at half way - assuming you leave the nut alone - so I doubt that would be an issue if it’s not already too close for some reason.

[Andyrondack]

Go for it, why not . You'll still have the old saddle to put back if you need to.
I did that myself on a guitar, moved the bass E relatively closer to the edge than the high E and that worked fine, no problems pulling the 1st string off the edge.

[Howard Emerson]

Originally Posted by identity71

hello
i’ve a wonderful martion om41 custom but i can’t stand its string spacing (54 mm at the bridge), a liuther told me he can change string spacing to 57 mm making a new saddle at the bridge, what do you think?

You should be able to "try before you buy" if you're handy at all.

3mm is basically 1/8", or 1/16" outward on either E string, and then even up the rest of them.

So.......You can simply loosen your E strings and pull them over 1/16", and hold them there while you're tightening back to pitch. They may well stay there for the time being.

Then just eyeball the inner 4 and move as needed.

Now sit with it and play it for a while to make sure it's what you think you need. The luthier is only going to be able to make you a notched saddle to accommodate your request. Norman Blake actually does this to valuable vintage Martins to suit his tastes, so it's not unheard of.

If you want it any fancier than that, of course, it's a far more involved process with filling in the bridge holes at the very least, and then re-drilling them, but of course the bridge plate will now have oversized holes which is no good........see where this is going?

A notched saddle done well should be satisfactory if you can't adjust your picking hand to the existing spacing. I'd suggest doing that first and foremost, but you may not have enough experience to be able to roll with that sort of thing.

Best regards,
Howard Emerson

[egordon99]

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=644790

[identity71]

thanks to all. this tim i’ll try

[zombywoof]

Personally, I would prefer going with plugging the holes and going with a new bridge and bridge plate rather than replacing the saddle and ramping the bridge so the strings went in the direction they needed to go. But I also prefer a 2 3/8" string spacing at the bridge which would be quite a jump from a 2 1/8" spread.