[Earl49]

Originally Posted by tommypaton

.....I had not considered that the close proximity of the saddle to the bridge pin holes did not necessitate slots.....

Notches can eventually wear in the saddle surface, but they are not normally put there on purpose. Some folks have deliberately filed notches to encourage wider string spacing at the nut than would passively happen. For example, if they wanted 2-5/16" spacing for fingerpicking but the manufacturer's standard was 2-1/4".