Last Minute Advice?...

Tintin
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Wed Jul 22, 2009 11:40 am

quincy451 wrote:
But looking at the saddle which in this case is cheap plastic. It is bevealed this way and that at the second and third string. Versus the other strings. So if I did mine I would take this piece out and remove material from the bottom to maintain the angles on top. Did yours work anything like that or was yours more uniform across the top. I have heard this is helpful with bar chords.
Always take material from the bottom. All saddle's tops have a radius (a curve) and are often compensated (like for the second and third strings on your guitar).

I would make sure that adjusting the saddle height is something your guitar needs. If it is, it is a fairly simple do-it-yourself job. If the action is too high you may also want to look at nut height, neck bow, and any warping in addition to saddle height.


goldleaf
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Thu Aug 27, 2009 4:18 pm

I have a Little Martin LX-1 it's a 3/4 size with a solid spruce top. It actually sounds pretty good for a 3/4 size guitar, but I wanted to get a little more sound and sustain out of it. I went to Muarys on-line, he has a large assortment of different types of saddles, pins and nuts. I got a bone saddle and ebony pins at his suggestion and since this is not one of my more costly guitars I felt comfortable trying this myself. The saddle came with basic instructions and the pins come as a set w/ and xtra I guess they figure you might bugger or lose one and the total cost was $45. Just match up the existing saddle and however much you want to lower it ,say 1/32", make a line double that amount 1/16" and sand to that line. I used 200 grit on a flat small cutting board or any flat surface. Switch direction periodically as you usually take more off one end if you don't. I loosen up the strings enough so there is no tension on the pins, put a capo on the first fret and use a cheap string winder that has a "U" shaped cut out on the bottom to slide under the pins so you don't have to use plyers or scratch or otherwise bugger the pins. Pry the pins out and remove the saddle, hopefully you can do it with your fingers. If plyers are necessary use clothover the saddle to avoid damage. Put in new sanded saddle and reverse process and you should be good to go for under $50. Unless you want Walrus or Mammoth saddle material.
I would say it improved my Little Martin by 20 to 25% in loudness and sustain. I would feel comfortable doing it on any of my guitars now. Gary


BigBear
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Fri Aug 28, 2009 1:23 am

Gary--It's nice to be able to do your own repair work. My local guy is good but expensive. He probably would have charged me an hour shop time to sand down my saddle ($35 I think). I actually had to do it again since my first post. I went down a whole 1/32" just to reach Martin's set up max (7/64" high E at 12th fret, 5/64" low E 12th fret). It plays great now!

Greg


AndyT
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Fri Aug 28, 2009 2:17 am

That is great news Greg!


goldleaf
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Sat Aug 29, 2009 10:20 pm

Greg, it is nice to be able to do your own work and feel confident doing it and having it come out like you want. I forgot, besides getting a better sound on my LX1, it made the fingering and barre cords easier. I do wish I knew a little more about intonating my guitar, which I believe is done by filing the front or back of your saddle on usually the B string or whatever string in not in tune as you go up the scale. I'd think you would have to have a tuner that was accurate up and down the whole guitar scale. It may be simpler than I'm making it out to be but I still go to my Luthier if I think a guitar, (usually new) is not intonated correctly. Gary


quincy451
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Sun Aug 30, 2009 3:16 am

Intonation issues:
Intonation is a function of string length. My first move and last move when I had this problem was to replace some old strings I was using. Fixed the problem.

The compensated saddle is supposed to be for intonation. Don't know much about it...just matched up what was on it, compensated so I bought a compensated saddle. The seem to match up ok. Yea if the intonation is badly messed up that can mean moving the bridge. Which is definately something for a pro in my opinion. You have to heat up the old glue so you can get it loose and get the old bridge off then saddle off the reside and apply the new bridge...a basic explanation. Definately not something to try and mess up...I can imagine if you try something like that...mess up and don't get to together right or cause damage breaking it apart and then take it to a pro...hehehe...

I have been in that sitation...not with a guitar but with a motorcycle when I was a kid. They don't even want to give an estimate. Just x per hour and we will call you when done. You are prepared right??? hehehe


wrench
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Sun Aug 30, 2009 7:11 am

goldleaf wrote:
Greg, it is nice to be able to do your own work and feel confident doing it and having it come out like you want. I forgot, besides getting a better sound on my LX1, it made the fingering and barre cords easier. I do wish I knew a little more about intonating my guitar, which I believe is done by filing the front or back of your saddle on usually the B string or whatever string in not in tune as you go up the scale. I'd think you would have to have a tuner that was accurate up and down the whole guitar scale. It may be simpler than I'm making it out to be but I still go to my Luthier if I think a guitar, (usually new) is not intonated correctly. Gary
Gary,

You can check your intonation with an inexpensive electronic chromatic tuner, by checking the pitch of the string open and then at the 12th fret. They will be equal if your intonation is correct.

Oddly enough, I find that both of my guitars have better intonation with non-compensated saddles than the compensated saddles they shipped with. These are hardly high-end guitars, though.

wrench


cabro
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Sun Aug 30, 2009 4:07 pm

IS there such thing as perfect intonation? It's really a matter of getting it as close as you can. Compensating an acoustic's saddle may help a bit but you're never going to have perfect intonation. Most decent acoustic guitars are built with an angled saddle so it should be accurate sounding enough for most ears. BTW: I did not notice appreciable difference in my 000-28EC's intonation after sanding the saddle down over 1/32".


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