Saddle has litteraly fallen down into the bridge ! (pics)
 

Hi,

(sorry for my english it's not my primary language)

My B and high E strings are buzzing on my taylor 310, that's normal when you see the saddle, it has litteraly fallen down in the bridge !
Here are some pics, do you know how it happened? and what can I do to fix it? Thank you very much

https://i.gyazo.com/9dea91cdc7253232...fee813f5e7.png
https://i.gyazo.com/7394d3536ec2c63e...2ce04e68b9.png
https://i.gyazo.com/050aa509d819892e...4e4caa3b6c.png

Well, you are saying that it somehow collapsed into the bridge?

Just take the strings away, and pull the saddle out. Does it look normal in there? Is there a bottom to it? Is it holding the saddle?

And assuming it all is there, then the next step is getting a new saddle and then a neck reset. That's not expensive with Taylors, so get it to a technician, and they'll put a shim in there. Once the shim is in, then the new saddle will give you better height and sound- and action- than your current setup.

And while you’tire sorting out the saddle, It looks as though a new set of strings wouldn’t go amiss! :eek::eek:

The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc.

I agree with what Larry said. But DON"T WORRY. It is fixable.

Thanks Larry :)

I didn't remove the saddle yet to see what happened, I'm going to do it.
I think it has fallen progressively, I didn't notice until my strings start buzzing more and more with time.
I am really wondering how this can happen. I didn't touch the saddle, nor filed it, that's weird.
Maybe it has consumed itself from the bottom :)

Well that's a mystery. I'm going to order a new one...

edit : thank you jklotz & JayBee. Yep i am going to replace the strings as well, they still sound good though, those elixir strings are wonderful really, they are 6 or 7 years old and still sound great

Hi pac man- first off welcome to the forum!

Get some new Elixirs if you like em', but get some new strings whatever you choose. Based on your statement you have no idea what that Taylor can sound like with fresh strings. For a couple days you will be shocked regardless of what you choose, but then those strings will hit a sweet spot that will last a very long time and take your enjoyment and appreciation of that guitar to a new level!

Just my dos centavos.

Thanks steelvibe :)
Yep I know how they sound when they are new, I own the guitar since 15 years now and changed the strings 3 or 4 times. Great guitar !

Well, I'm a little skeptical that it consumed itself from the bottom, it's more likely that the neck shifted in some way, less likely that the top expanded and enveloped the saddle.

Hard to diagnose from here- but, I can say that almost certainly nothing is broken, and a visit to a luthier and about a hundred dollars or so will have your guitar playing better than you've had it playing in some time.

Where are you located? Is it very dry presently?

3 or 4 string changes in 15 years, huh...That’s got to be some sort record.

Unless there are termites under your saddle that are eating ebony, or a decomposing shim, there’s very little, if any, chance that the saddle is sinking.

HE

In fact you are pointing something very interesting ! I didn't think of this. The guitar was stored in a high humidity environment, so maybe the top has inflated and envelopped the saddle, that makes sense. But then the guitar should be huge :D

The neck shift hypothesis... well I don't see how the neck can have a incidence on the bridge saddle but I'm not an expert :)

ahaha I laughed hard reading the termite explanation, good one :)

yep those elixir strings don't require to change them very often, but I'm not playing everyday (maybe 1 hour per 3 days). They still sound great even if they look messy

edit : I'm in France, in a very wet place

Yep. Better chance that quicksand got under the saddle, which I hear can be a by-product of decomposing string ball-ends.

I want it to be known that I don't think very highly of my own hypothesis that the top expanded and consumed the saddle.

Swollen Bridge Syndrome just hasn't been verified yet so be patient.

haha I was a bit optimistic about the top expanding :)

Thanks again guys to help me solve this mystery. Still no explanation...

I will probably add a shim under it