#1
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Adjustable saddle.
I have a Harmony Sovereign H1266, which I purchased in 1969. I love the guitar, even though it suffered through neglect in my youth. I have noticed that some people claim that the adjustable saddle is a tone-killer, recommending that it be replaced with a fixed one. I am very happy with the tone and volume of the guitar, even though I am using silk and steel strings out of respect for its age. I would love to hear any views on the matter
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#2
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''I am very happy with the tone and volume of the guitar''
Yes, ''they'' do say that you have to get rid of your adjustable saddle. Sometimes ''they'' are wrong. You answered the question with the sentence above. |
#3
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I've always appreciated the old ceramic saddle adjustable plastic bridges of Gibsons from the early '60s. I'm in a very small minority though.
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#4
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I would play on! There are so many other guitars to be had, if you ever want a different sound. Leave this one alone.
The lighter strings do take some of the load off the neck.
__________________
Respectfully, Mike Taylor 415 --- Epiphone Texan --- Collings D1A --- Martin 5-15 --- etc Take a sad song and make it better. |
#5
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Quote:
The Gibson rosewood saddle adjustable bridges, though, have no redeeming qualities whatsoever. (In my opinion.) I know I've never heard a good-sounding one. Rodgers, the reason that Gibson's adjustable saddle bridges (and similar adjustable bridge saddles by other manufacturers) are unpopular with many acoustic guitar aficionados is that the metal in the mechanism that allows the saddle to be raised or lowered adds a significant amount of mass to the single most sensitive part of the top, namely the bridge. So that metal being right there does have an impact on the ability of the bridge to vibrate to its fullest extent. But some folks swap out the stock bridge pins with brass bridge pins, which also add weight to the bridge and inhibit its ability to vibrate to its fullest extent, so it's at least partly a matter of personal taste. Harmony adjustable bridge If you're happy with the sound the guitar produces, then that's all there is to it. Wade Hampton Miller |
#6
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My 70s Epi has an adjustable saddle, it's my 'campfire' guitar these days, and I see no reason to do anything with it.
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Mike My music: https://mikebirchmusic.bandcamp.com 2020 Taylor 324ceBE 2017 Taylor 114ce-N 2012 Taylor 310ce 2011 Fender CD140SCE Ibanez 12 string a/e 73(?) Epiphone 6830E 6 string 72 Fender Telecaster Epiphone Dot Studio Epiphone LP Jr Chinese Strat clone Kala baritone ukulele Seagull 'Merlin' Washburn Mandolin Luna 'tatoo' a/e ukulele antique banjolin Squire J bass |
#7
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The limited points of contact of two washers when the saddle is raised is similar, in a limited way, to an archtop bridge. Why such a heavy saddle holder on the flattop is a mystery to me. I've spent some tinkering time with three of them, and they're ok, due to the guitars themselves being well made, I think, rather than the adjustable saddle's contributions.
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#8
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Adj bridges
I had a 1965 J-45 NAT ADJ. I replaced the adjustable section with a hardwood insert That filled the oversized slot. It had a groove in it for a normal saddle. Improvement in tone was dramatic.
It also allowed me to keep the old adjustable section and a collector could put that back in if he wanted to.
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1995 Taylor 412 1995 Taylor 612C Custom, Spruce over Flamed Maple 1997 Taylor 710 1968 Aria 6815 12 String, bought new |
#9
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Rodgers, just so you have a better idea of why some guitarists really dislike adjustable saddle bridges on acoustic guitars, I thought I'd put a few photos from Frank Ford's Frets.com website into this post.
Here's a Gibson Hummingbird's adjustable saddle bridge: Gibson adjustable saddle bridge Here's the same bridge disassembled to show all the metal parts it uses: Yikes!! Here's the adjustable saddle bridge assembly on a scale: Weight = 65 grams Compare that to the weight of the conventional replacement bridge that Frank then put on the guitar: Weight = 23.3 grams So there's a weight difference of 41.7 grams on those. I don't know precisely how much additional weight the Harmony's adjustable bridge saddle mechanism adds to the top of your guitar, but it's safe to assume that it's similar. Here's the link to that page at Frank Ford's website: http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luth.../hbirdbr1.html Hope that makes sense. whm |
#10
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Adj bridge
Just a bit more on the matter.
The adjustable pieces raise the saddle so the only energy transferred to the sound board is through the two adjustment screws.
__________________
1995 Taylor 412 1995 Taylor 612C Custom, Spruce over Flamed Maple 1997 Taylor 710 1968 Aria 6815 12 String, bought new |
#11
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Everyone who has played or heard my 1965 Epiphone Texan has really liked it. It has a voice that works very well for a singer, and is plenty loud. A friend borrowed it at an open mic and fingerpicked it. Sounded great.
Now this was not Gibson's finest hour. I played six or seven J 45s that either had the adj bridge or an insert for a bone saddle that were fair to horrible, and two more that were pretty good, all 60s vintages. Counting my Texan, that was 3 of ten that were good guitars, more indicative of Gibson QC at the time than the bridge IMHO. Now weather you would like my Epi or not is up to you. Did some recording with a mandolin last weekend and it was a perfect match, better than three other guitars I brought. So they have their place as just one more option to try on your tone quest.
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2007 Martin D 35 Custom 1970 Guild D 35 1965 Epiphone Texan 2011 Santa Cruz D P/W Pono OP 30 D parlor Pono OP12-30 Pono MT uke Goldtone Paul Beard squareneck resophonic Fluke tenor ukulele Boatload of home rolled telecasters "Shut up and play ur guitar" Frank Zappa |
#12
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I've owned 9 different 60s Gibsons with ADJ bridges and played dozens more.
I had a '65 J-50 ADJ with ceramic saddle converted by a great luthier to a standard type bridge/bone saddle. The guitar lost a lot of volume and didn't sound nearly as good afterward. Got rid of it. It's interesting how many people absolutely hate the ADJ Gibsons, without having much experience with them. I will say this, the wooden saddles generally don't produce great tone, like Wade said. The best sounding J-45 I've ever played (includes a couple of banners) was a '63 model with the plastic hollow bridge and ceramic saddle. That thing ROARED. I still kick myself for not buying it.
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1964 Epiphone FT-79 "Texan" (Kalamazoo, MI) 1965 Guild D-40 (Hoboken, NJ) 1966 Martin D12-20 (Nazareth, PA) 1967 Guild D-50 (Hoboken, NJ) 1975 Guild D-25 M (Westerly, RI) 2001 Tacoma DM9 (Tacoma, WA) 2003 Martin D-18GE (Nazareth, PA) "Oh, What a life a mess can be!" - Uncle Tupelo |
#13
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Adjustable Saddles w/Shims
Once I have have the height of the saddle to my playing style I pencil mark the saddle then take out the metal plate it sits on & the screws... set it up with shims and I have rosewood , bone & Tusq saddles (set up) depending on the sound I'm going for. There are so many variables , strings , pick or finger style , same model guitars can sound so different ..... sound is subjective , if you like it play it.
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