I really like the science, math, and theory behind guitar work. I feel that it’s important to understand what’s happening with a guitar on a fundamental level, and this helps me analyze and fix complex problems. However, there are some jobs that require more art than science, and making a bone saddle is one of those jobs where I have to trade in my lab coat for an artist’s smock.
Contrary to what many people think, you can’t just buy a saddle off the shelf and have it fit perfectly. Every guitar is different, and each saddle should be made accordingly. I recently was brought a Taylor acoustic guitar with a missing saddle, which must have fallen out while it was being restrung. After explaining that I don’t sell off the shelf saddles, I offered to make one out of bone instead of the original synthetic (plastic) material.
First, I inspected the bridge route to make sure it was flat and true. Ascertaining this, I measured the saddle slot for length and width, and found a bone blank that was somewhat close in size.
String Bone Classical Guitar/bridge Saddle And Nut/replacement Parts 80mm 52mm
I usually make my saddles and nuts out of cow bone – it works well, looks good, is resistant to wear, and is more readily available than unicorn horn and dragon’s tooth. Since making a bone saddle involves making a lot of dust, I wear a dust mask throughout the process.
I mark my measurements to the bone blank, and rough it in to get it close to the right size on the bandsaw and belt sander. From this point on, things get tedious: a bone saddle should fit easily into the slot, but shouldn’t be so loose that it will fall out. There’s no quick way to get this kind of tight fit – this takes time, patience, and elbow grease. I attach sandpaper to a perfectly flat metal block, and sand away just enough material to get it to fit into the bridge slot perfectly.
I rough in the curves on the saddle’s ends using the above method, and then put a perfect round on it using a fret file loaded in to a vice. The fret file is shaped to put the crown back into a fret after it’s been leveled, and just so happens to work beautifully for this purpose as well. Again, this takes some time, but anything worth doing is worth doing right.
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The next step is to shape the top of the saddle. Here’s where the art really starts to come in. First I measure the fretboard’s radius using a radius gauge. This guitar’s radius measured at 38cm (14″):
I usually set my bridge radii to be slightly flatter than the fretboard radius. I find that this gives the impression of a lower, more comfortable action, where the player isn’t having to reach over the middle strings to reach the bass strings. Of course, I’ll make them anyway the player wants, but for the most part players seem to dig it the way I describe. I use the radius gauge to mark the top of the bone blank (in this case, 40cm (16″)), rough it in on the belt sander, and then use the appropriate radius block to sand it down to exactly the right curve.
Now it’s time to get fancy. I always compensate my saddles to help the guitar to intonate properly – the plain strings tend to run sharp if a straight saddle is used. Now, there are lots of ways to make a compensated saddle, but I’ve found that I’ve been favoring this method lately. I may shake things up and do things differently at some point – this part tends to be more about an artist’s discretion rather than a concrete way of doing things. I start by marking the saddle between the G and B strings, and then marking over the parts of the saddle that I want to carve away.
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Using a variety of files, I carve the saddle to a sort of Z pattern. This offsets the strings in such a way that will help them play more in tune with themselves up and down the neck (inasmuch any guitar could be considered “in tune”).
Once I’m satisfied with the shape, I round the corners and then sand and polish away all of the file marks and scratches until it gleams. There’s something deeply satisfying about this particular step – what was once just a square chunk of cow bone is now something beautiful to behold. I don’t remotely consider myself a sculptor or any visual artist of any kind, but I know what I like, and I think I do ok with stuff like this.
Lastly, I install the saddle, string it up, and make careful measurements to set the guitar’s action. I always start with the saddle way too tall, so I can cut it down to it’s proper height. In order to set the saddle to the right height for the kind of action I’m aiming for, I take twice as much off the bottom of the saddle that I want the action to come down at the 12th fret. So: if the action at the 12th fret is 3mm, and I want it to be 2mm, the difference is 1mm, which means that I remove 2mm from the saddle. Make sense?
Saddle Issue...replace Or Repair? Update 6/16
When removing material from the bottom of the saddle, it’s important to make sure that it’s DEAD flat, especially if there’s an undersaddle pickup involved. If the saddle’s bottom isn’t perfectly flat, it won’t be making complete contact with the bottom of the slot or with the pickup, and can cause tonal loss or dead strings if a pickup is used.
Installing a bone saddle into your acoustic guitar isn’t just something to consider if you’ve lost or broken your original saddle. Many people report a better tone, as bone tends to be harder than materials commonly used in many acoustic guitars, and it transfers the strings’ vibration into the guitar’s top more efficiently. It’s a great, inexpensive way to make a tonal change to your instrument.
I am a bassist, guitar tech, and founder of Strange Guitarworks. When not working on guitars, I create experimental music under the moniker of UFO Death Cult, utilizing microtonal instruments of my own design.An acoustic guitar’s saddle is one of the most important parts of the guitar. The guitar’s action, radius, intonation, and tone are directly directly influenced by the saddle, so it’s important that it’s perfect. Unfortunately, not every guitar enjoys this luxury:
How To Set Acoustic Guitar Saddle Height
This poor Ibanez had lost it’s original (most likely plastic) saddle somewhere along the way, and so somebody attempted a quick fix by buying an off the shelf replacement, which obviously doesn’t quite fit. It’s very tall, causing the action to be extremely high, and it’s leaning forward at a bizarre angle – which throws off the intonation, and can sometimes even cause the the bridge itself to crack. Clearly, a replacement is needed.
Much like making a bone nut, there’s much to making a saddle that is somewhat unquantifiable. I take measurements where I can (length, height, width, & radius), but much of the final shaping is akin to sculpture: file a bit away here, sand some there, and viola! A beautiful bone saddle!
It takes a great deal of patience and skill to carve a square piece of bone into a compound shape that fits exactly into a bridge slot. Somehow, I find this process ridiculously fun. I think the best part is shaping the top, and carving in a compensated angle to allow the strings to intonate properly. It’s not easy to see in these pictures, but it makes a zig zag between the wound and plain strings, which is just plain cool:
Hand Made Bone Saddles For Acoustic Guitars
I usually make acoustic guitar saddles out of bone (cow bone, but unicorn is available by request), which I I think is far superior to synthetics. Most manufacturers have largely abandoned using bone in favor of using corian, plastic, and other unpronounceable polymers – so a real good, inexpensive way to improve the tone of your instrument is simply having a new bone saddle made for it. You will generally experience more volume, more snappy low end, and extended treble response with a bone saddle over a synthetic. Plus, if your old saddle isn’t compensated, you’ll gain a bit more accurate intonation with a new compensated saddle on the plain strings. Better sound, better intonation, and cheap! What’s not to like?
I am a bassist, guitar tech, and founder of Strange Guitarworks. When not working on guitars, I create experimental music under the moniker of UFO Death Cult, utilizing microtonal instruments of my own design.The saddle is a vital part of an acoustic guitar. Protruding above the bridge, it is one of the primary action adjustment points for the instrument. Without a well made saddle, proper setup will not be possible. Though they can be made from many different materials, for this article, we will be focusing on the process of hand cutting a new acoustic guitar saddle out of a piece of
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