Resonator Guitar Saddle

L20A · #1 03-29-2011, 02:47 PM

I have a resonator round neck that has a split wood saddle in it.
How would changing it out for bone affect to tone of the guitar?

I want to compensate the saddle so bone would be a likely materia.
I don't see bone used in resonators though.
Anyone know why?

Dan Carey · #2 03-29-2011, 03:36 PM

What kind of reso? Biscuit bridge? Spyder bridge? Tricone?

Makes a big difference.

devellis · #3 03-29-2011, 04:09 PM

I suspect that there's a reason that you don't see bone on resonator guitars. I'm not sure exactly how it would sound but I suspect that if it made a big improvement, you'd see it more often. If you're playing slide, I'm not sure that a compensated saddle (or even an angled saddle) would be such a good thing, but it may depend on what you learn on. For fretting, a compensated saddle would seem like a good idea, although you don't see them. On a biscuit bridge, I'm not sure the biscuit could accommodate a wide enough saddle for full compensation. Likewise on a spider bridge, actually. I guess a bridge could have a narrow footprint and be wider at the top but that seems like a recipe for instability.

L20A · #4 03-29-2011, 06:53 PM

I have a Flinthill with a spider cone.
I don't use slide and just play cowboy chords on it.
The intonation goes off when I capo up the neck.
The wooden saddle can't be compensated so I was thinking about bone.

blue · #5 03-29-2011, 07:44 PM

Don't know about spider bridges, but certainly with maple national style, both single and tricone, you can sort of compensate by glueing additional wood to the saddle and filing. For less extreme needs you can just start with a fresh one, and by carefully filing you can get the lows longer than the highs, but you are limited by the width of the material.

Edited to add that National lore states that many materials were tried, including of course the classics, and maple won out as the best material.

L20A · #6 03-29-2011, 07:48 PM

Thanks for the feed back.
It sounds like staying with a wooden saddle is the best.
I'll look into compensating a wood saddle for now.

I did rotate the cone slightly, which put the low E string back a little farther from the nut. This helped a little.

ThaddeusA · #7 03-30-2011, 04:35 AM

I have put bone saddles in my resonators. It sounds terrific. It adds clarity to the tone. I highly recommend it.

Kelly · #8 03-30-2011, 06:23 AM

Resophonic Outfitters sells the spider bridge saddle inserts that you need. Both slotted or unslotted.
Ebony capped maple seems to be the most prevalent combination. I've tried bone with poor results, but I'm a square neck slide player.

https://www.beardguitars.com/Merchan...tegory_Code=BI

Gypsyblue · #9 03-30-2011, 06:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L20A

Thanks for the feed back.
It sounds like staying with a wooden saddle is the best.
I'll look into compensating a wood saddle for now.

I did rotate the cone slightly, which put the low E string back a little farther from the nut. This helped a little.

That's the usual way to set the intonation on a well made single cone.

ThaddeusA · #10 03-30-2011, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kelly

Resophonic Outfitters sells the spider bridge saddle inserts that you need. Both slotted or unslotted.
Ebony capped maple seems to be the most prevalent combination. I've tried bone with poor results, but I'm a square neck slide player.

https://www.beardguitars.com/Merchan...tegory_Code=BI

What did it do? Too harsh? I know lap players like a smoother, more rounded tone. I like the growly-mean-nasty thing myself when I'm hollering to the slide.

Kelly · #11 03-31-2011, 06:32 AM

yes.... the bone saddle inserts made my reso sound harsh and brittle and seemed to shift the sound too much towards the treble. I found that the wooden inserts seem to smooth out the sound and bring out the strong mid-range tones that I like to hear in a resophonic instrument. The biggest improvement that you can make in a spider bridge resophonic is to consider a cone upgrade. Quarterman, Beard and Scheerhorn all offer excellent replacement cones. A good setup is also essential, including making sure the spider bridge legs are all flat, level and have good contact with the lip of the cone.

Kelly

Dan Carey · #12 03-31-2011, 08:19 AM

I replaced the original cone in my Regal Duolian a couple of years back with a Quarterman cone and installed a Paul Norman carbon fiber biscuit bridge at the same time. WOW! LOUD! Too loud, actually. I wound up putting a maple bridge back on.
I still have that carbon bridge and am looking at a wood bodied reso to try it on. Now all I need is a little more cash...

blue · #13 03-31-2011, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThaddeusA

What did it do? Too harsh? I know lap players like a smoother, more rounded tone. I like the growly-mean-nasty thing myself when I'm hollering to the slide.

Nationals new biscuit models include one with an Ebony nut. It's fun to listen to the difference between the ebony and bone nut if you get the chance. extrapolating that to the differences between wood and bone saddles may not be 100% dead on, but it's in the ballpark.