How much to install nut and saddle?
 

Just got this nut and saddle from Bob Colossi. Good quality pieces, by the way.

The 2 places I asked around me quoted north of $200 to install. Is that about what it costs? When I asked Bob, he said it should be under $100. I happen to be in NY Metro so maybe that’s what it is?

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...06b52ae968.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...d767d2e423.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...3871949195.jpg

That seems quite high. Really no reason you can't do the saddle yourself.

To do the final fit on the nut really shouldn't cost much.

Ok, maybe not "quite high," but high. It does look like the nut still needs to be slotted, too.

My guess would be, in NYC $125 to $150 if the saddle is properly compensated already. If not then $200 is a bit hight but not out of the ball park. Try NY guitar repair - Evan Gluck on the upper west side. Does good work and reasonable prices https://www.newyorkguitarrepair.com/

Yes. The saddle is contoured and compensated so I could do the final shaving myself. So the bulk of the work will be with the nut. Slotting and shaping. $200+ doesn’t seem exorbitant but hoping someone here can recommend a good place in NY Metro that will do a good job and save me few bucks.

I edited my prior post to suggest
https://www.newyorkguitarrepair.com/

I'm not sure why you bought the nut and saddle from Bob if you were going to have a shop install them?

As someone else said, you should be able to fit the saddle yourself. Nuts? I don't touch them, but to have one of the local techs make a bone nut from scratch, including the nut material itself is under $100. [I don't touch nuts myself as I don't want to invest in the tools as infrequently as I would need them.] I'm in Chicago. So while not as crazy expensive a place as NYC is, the work in NY Metro shouldn't cost that much more.

Guitar Repair Services... Bartle Avenue in a Scotch Plains NJ.

I do not understand why anyone would purchase a half finished bone nut or saddle.

A luthier typically can supply the piece of bone and shape it for the same price your buying it for.

Example - Nut, i supply the bone, cut / shape and file slots to height for 70 dollars, if a customer brings a piece of bone along it will cost them 60 dollars provided the bone they supply is adequate for the job, same with a saddle.

Steve

Yeah I never really understand that either. If you buy them 'premade' they require work to fit them properly anyway so you may as well just have a tech do it and do it right. I imagine NYC is substantially higher cost of living then where I live but $200 does seem high. I charge $50 for a nut plus materials and a new set of strings. $40 for a saddle and materials.

I had a local luthier (yes, he builds guitars) make me 2 new bone nuts for a guitar.
One nut for normal gauge strings and the other nut for Nashville tuning strings I supplied.
He supplied the nuts.
During set up the original bone saddle snapped in half so he made a new saddle as well.

Total cost US$138.00

That´s fair or even cheap. Particularily for being in a big city like NY. The costs of PLEK setup in my Little home Town is approx. ~220 US$.

Yeh, plek setup is a scam IMO, the cost you pay for the setup is reflective of the obscene crazy price of the cnc machine and its ongoing lets call it "franchise" cost.
Steve