So many thing affect how a guitar sounds. For the most part the shape of the guitar and the woods used on the guitar affect the sound the most. The saddle, strings, picks, playing style, bridge pins and the nut all play a part in the sound of the guitar. Most of my guitars sound good to me already, which is why I bought them, but none of them sound perfect. So in an effort to make the most dramatic sound change I'm starting with saddle changes.
There are a lot of saddle materials out there and most guitars use plastic, Tusq, and bone. Most of the time you'll see some sort of plastic or Tusq being used. Only the really high-end guitars come with bone saddles.
As densities go plastic is the least dense then comes Tusq, soft ivory, bone, and then hard ivory. You want dense material because it transfers more vibration of the strings to the top of the guitar (the sound board).
I bought a guitar once that was beautiful and had a plastic saddle. I heard that a Tusq saddle would be better and once installed I had a brand new guitar. That is how drastic the sound change was from plastic to Tusq. This should be the first thing you do if you have a plastic saddle or bridge pins is to change them to a more dense material. IMMEDIATELY!!!
Here is the list of my acoustic guitars that are getting saddle changes. The only acoustic guitar that is not on this list is my Seagull S6+ Performer. It is my brightest guitar and has a cedar top with wild cherry back and sides. The saddle is Tusq. I really like the way it sounds. Actually right now it is my favorite sounding guitar and I have at least 4 guitars that cost more.
What you get when you go to a denser material is better string separation, better overtones because of the better transfer of vibration to the sound board, and longer sustain.
Larrivee D03e (sitka/sapele, dread) - Sounds kinda dull/muddy/dark though more even than my spruce/rosewood guitars. I'm replacing the Tusq saddle with a bone saddle in hopes that I'll get more string clarity.
Taylor 712ce (engalmann/indian rosewood, concert) - Very bright, but not too bright and not a lot of low end. I'm replacing a Tusq saddle with an elephant ivory saddle in hopes that it will tame the high-end and boost the low-end.
Breedlove AC250-SM12 (sitka/mahogany, concert) - Sounds good, but would like to even out the jangle of the higher strings. I'm replacing the saddle (not sure of material) with an elephant ivory saddle to even out the sound of the strings.
Martin 00-15 (all mahogany, concert) - Has great sound already, but it is a small guitar and doesn't project as well as I think it should. I'm replacing the saddle (not sure of material, though it looks like Tusq) with a bone saddle to give it a little more punch.
Fender GDO-500SE (cedar/ovangkol, concert) - Sounds like someone put a pillow over it. I'm replacing a urea (plastic) saddle with a bone saddle to give it more punch and string clarity.
Dean Exotica RSE SP GN (spruce/rosewood, grand auditorium) - Sounds a little abrasive right now. I'm replacing the plastic saddle with a bone saddle to take away the abrasive sound and give it more balance between the strings.
Yamaha CGX171CCA (cedar/rosewood, concert) - I do like the sound of this guitar though it has a plastic saddle and I'm sure it can sound better. I'm replacing the plastic saddle with a bone saddle just to hear the difference.
I will do sound tests with the guitars before and after so both you and I can hear the difference.
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2 comments:
Greetings from Tallahassee.
Regarding your experience with the Larrivee: I had the same experience with a sitka/sapele 2000 Taylor 310 dread. Very muddy tone, fairly smooth but little punch or separation. I play bluegrass, so I sold it because it just couldn't compete with the punch and volume of the banjo and fiddle -- my flatpicking leads were washed out. I've played other dreads with sapele back and sides, and honestly, I just don't like the wood for that purpose. Now I hear about a Larrivee with the same issue and I'm all but totally convinced. I think sapele is a fine replacement for mahogany *necks*, but fails to replace mahogany for the rich warmth and brightness as a sound reflector. Same with nato, great for necks, terrible for back and sides. I'll happily replace mahogany with rosewood, though.
Regarding the Taylor 712ce: This guitar is a concert size. Maybe someone else has had a different experience, but I have played or "test drove" probably fifty different concert sizes over the years, and I've never found one with a pronounced low end. I don't think they're supposed to have a pronounced bass response. Rather, the mid ranges and high ranges are pronounced to be balanced with a diminished bass response. It's my understanding that the body design of a concert size, specifically the shape, is intended to encourage the high and mid-ranges to really pop out, so theoretically a performer go unmiked and be heard beyond the stage. The tone is carried intact because the "boom" that is characteristic of a dread will not wash out or cloud up those important middle range frequencies.
I agree 100% about replacing plastic hardware, but I can't say that bone is superior to Tusq for increasing string clarity is true as a blanket statement; Tusq was designed and tested to accomplish string separation and clarity in a way that is acoustically superior to bone or ivory. On the other hand, given the inconsistencies found in bone and even ivory, swapping out Tusq for bone or ivory will definitely change the tone in some recognizable way.. I guess it depends on what someone might call string clarity, because either way you're hearing something different when the change is made. You never know -- woods and construction designs are idiosyncratic from model to model and what works great for one guitar might be a problem for the next.
Nice blog, btw. I found it while searching the internet for some information about the saddle on my new D46S12... some weird resin-cast thing by the sound it makes when I drop in on the table. Made by Farida. Know anything about those? I'm replacing it.
Regards.
Chris
I did the drop test with the Urea saddle I found on my Fender acoustic and it sounded like bone. I tested with bone, plastic, and tusq. I'm not familiar with the resin saddle you have in your guitar.
The bone saddles are not that big of an investment but could have a significant impact on the tone of my guitars so I'm willing to experiment. I know some people go back to tusq because they don't like the bone. We will see.
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