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#1
03-11-2019, 08:24 AM
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Sometimes a small change makes a big difference (Tusq)
I have a few Martin D-28 style guitars that I play out. Several months ago, I acquired an interesting one. A 2018 HD-28 with Adirondack top. I actually got it cheaper than you can buy a new HD-28 many places, so I was happy to find it.
It was made in the Martin custom shop. Besides tone, it's a very nice guitar in a number of ways. For instance, the wood that they made the neck from is so hard and stable that I have to use the truss rod to add relief to the neck even with medium gauge strings! I've never experienced that before. I assumed two way truss rods were unnecessary. Who would ever need to force the neck to curve forward under string tension? Me, I guess. Also, being a custom shop, the neck angle and geometry are dead on perfect. It's not a high grade top, or a pricey model, so it's not necessarily pretty. But, the wood is great, stiff and stable. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And, its tone is what you would expect. The only issue I had with its tone was that it was a bit too present in the mid range. That's great for flat picking, but it was a bit too strident for my folk/rock and rhythm playing. I tried some different strings, which made a difference. But, it was still a little too D-18ish for my liking. While I was doing a string change this weekend, it occurred to me that I should try a new saddle. I had ordered a Tusq compensated saddle for a different guitar with a Fishman pickup. It was still in the package. So, I sanded and matched the stock saddle and strung it up. Well, that Tusq saddle was just enough to really warm up the guitar nicely! Just like their advertisement suggests, it extended the bottom end and added a little shimmer to the top end - effectively scooping out the mids. It might be a little louder too. As an added bonus, it made the K&K passive pickup sound smoother and removed some harshness. I've tried Tusq is the past and the results were mixed, like everything in the world of wooden guitars. But, in this case, it made a big difference. Since it is a new guitar, I expect the tone to change over time. The stock bone saddle might be going back in when guitar opens up a little. But, it stays for now. I'm planning to hold onto this one for a long time.
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#2
03-11-2019, 10:22 AM
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Interesting Dave.
Maybe the formulation for making Tusq saddles has changed in recent years. My experience with Tusq saddles in the past is that they are too bright, almost strident. My method for getting more bass out of a guitar has been to use a bone saddle in place of Tusq. You went the opposite direction to get more bass. I wonder what the difference is? Maybe the same saddle in different guitars is going to affect the sound in different ways??? Or maybe the Tusq people have changed something in recent years to make their saddles better at emphasizing bass.(?) Then again bone saddles from one to another are not going to be identical and so one might emphasize bass and another one may not. Sometimes you just have to try something and see if it's better or worse.  - Glenn
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#4
03-11-2019, 10:55 AM
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Quote:
__________________
"Lift your head and smile at trouble. You'll find happiness someday."
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#5
03-11-2019, 10:56 AM
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Quote:
__________________
"Lift your head and smile at trouble. You'll find happiness someday."
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#6
03-11-2019, 11:12 AM
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Yes it was one of those.... ...Have a luthier setup with bone. Then as soon as I get it back I was shocked. I was then relieved to retrieve my accustomed large tone by putting back in the TUSQ.
Maybe it was a uneven bone density? But it was quite noticeable, and frightful, when it arrived back worse in tone than given. All is well now and it is a lifetime guitar. Paradoxically I have 3 Goodall's and I stick with bone on those.
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