Please Check My Saddle Height

[hearsedriver]

I have a Blueridge BR-160A that I use to play bluegrass rhythm with and often play very hard and loud. I like my action on the stout side to prevent buzzing,especially when capoing so, I raised the action by shaping a new bone saddle blank to where I now have 8/64" on the low E and 6/64" on the high E. I have the neck relief set at .010". For my style of playing, it plays very nice and is surprisingly comfortable to play. My concern is the amount of saddle that is above the bridge. The strings are between 1/2"-9/16" high at the bridge. As you can see, the break angle is around a little steep on the low E but seems OK on the rest of the strings. Is this something I should be concerned about? Thanks, Cliff

[Rodger Knox]

The rule of thumb is that there should be as much saddle below the bridge as there is above it. That looks a little tall to me, but it should be OK. The risk is that the bridge will split at the front of the saddle.

[hearsedriver]

Originally Posted by Rodger Knox

The rule of thumb is that there should be as much saddle below the bridge as there is above it. That looks a little tall to me, but it should be OK. The risk is that the bridge will split at the front of the saddle.

Oh ok. There is definitely more saddle above the bridge than below it. Maybe I should drop it 1/32" or so? That would put the action at 7/64 and 5/64".

[mercy]

Im not sure I am seeing it but it looks like the blank is skew cut so in my opinion the height of the saddle is safe. If it is quarter sawn then theres a risk. If its flatsawn then your ok. As has been said so many times, my opinion. Its your risk.

[Rodger Knox]

If the slot is 1/8" deep, I wouldn't worry about it.

[John Arnold]

The saddle should fit snugly in the slot. If it is loose, the chance of splitting the bridge is much greater.
As long as the break angle is around 45 degrees or less and the saddle slot is deep enough, I don't worry too much.
If you do decide to lower the saddle, you may be able to retain the desired action by loosening the truss rod, increasing relief. The telltale sign that you have too much relief is if buzzing starts around the 6th or 7th fret.

[Tony Done]

How much is that high saddle going to affect tone? The reason I ask is that my mate has his own importer line of Chinese made guitars, and on some of them the neck is slightly overset so that they have a lot of saddle showing, similar to the pic. I get the impression that they sound a bit harsh compared to the ones with a lower saddle. Is it just coincidence or maybe my imagination?

[Rodger Knox]

The height of the strings above the top can affect the tone, and a taller saddle usually means more height above he top, so it may not be your imagination.

[hearsedriver]

The new saddle does fit nice and snug. The slot is 1/8" deep. That was another reason I changed the saddle. The original one fit too loose and actually leaned a little under string tension. I cant hear any tone difference with the higher action but, it seems a little louder. I like the way it plays now so, unless its an issue, I'll leave it alone. At most, I would drop the low E to 7/64" and high E to 5/64". I really appreciate all of the comments. Its very informative. Keep 'em coming. Thanks!