[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Melt in the Sun

After reading GuitarLuva's description of the tone difference with/without the Anthem system in their Emerald X30, I decided to do a quick comparison of the element in/out of the X20 while I still have it. I figured this would be better not buried in my other thread.

I was putting a new set of strings on it since the ones on it were of unknown age - probably not too old, but as they didn't look perfectly new I wanted to hear the guitar with known fresh ones. Since I had the strings off I pulled the saddle to take a gander at the UST...and it is thicker and mushier than I expected. I mean, it's braided wire so isn't soft and fluffy, but has some give to it. I don't have much experience with different systems, having installed a b-band 12 years ago and never looked back. That UST is almost as thin as a sheet of paper and is hard. This is when I got curious about the sound impact. I lifted it out of the slot and pushed it into the guitar body, then strung it up. Sounds different, I think...so I decided to record it.

First is with the element removed, and second is the element installed under the saddle. This is recorded on the voice notes app on my phone, so is not intended to sound good (and it doesn't!), it's just to demonstrate the difference. It is audible on the recording...not night and day, but it does sound different.

You'll have to excuse the sloppy play! I recorded this by doing the first take and pausing the recording, then loosening strings, pulling the saddle, installing UST, re-tuning, then playing the second part. So, no do-overs, and since I knew that I naturally screwed it up.

Both parts sound about the same but the first part without the saddle sounds a bit fuller and louder than the second part with the Element in place. This may be partly due to recording parameters? Also, once the Element has been removed, and then replaced, it'll likely take some time for it to compress a bit, under string pressure, and better reseat and conform itself to the saddle slot. Maybe a day or two max. This will bring a bit more tone back to the sound. Something else to consider is that if you shim the saddle or make a new one to compensate for the lack of the Element's thickness, you'll likely find your guitar sounds even fuller and louder than with the saddle in the slot without the Element as in the first part of your demo.