1/4" saddle directly on the top?

[Dave Abrahamson]

Hey Guys,
I'm removing all the metal and bolts from an old 70's Bentley adjustable bridge similar to the old Gibson's. My question is, After I removed all the offending material, the slot for the saddle is open on the bottom. I have no issue with the saddle width,(lots of room for intonation), but is it going to be a problem if the saddle sits squarely on the soundboard, or should I put an insert into the bridge?
Any and all advice is appreciated.
Thanks in advance

Dave
BTW its an old beater with 0 sentimental value

[John Arnold]

What you are proposing will work, but I think it sounds better with a hardwood insert. Even a thin layer of wood glued to the bottom of the saddle will suffice.

[Fathand]

The bottom of a bridge slot is typically rosewood or ebony which are 5-10X as hard as a spruce guitar top. Now you put a skinny sadlle directly on the spruce top with a lot of string pressure on top of it. Will it dig in and sink the saddle into or right through the top, maybe?

If I wanted to re-use the old adjustable Bridge for originality or sentimentality, I would be looking at an inserting a strip of similar wood rabetted in, then slotted for a conventional 1/8" bridge, so the pressure of the saddle is spread across the bridge.

It might be easier to use the old bridge as a template and make a new bridge.

[printer2]

Originally Posted by John Arnold

What you are proposing will work, but I think it sounds better with a hardwood insert. Even a thin layer of wood glued to the bottom of the saddle will suffice.

I did this on a cheap classical guitar with a silly metal bridge. Did other changes also to make it sound listenable.

[Dave Abrahamson]

Thanks guys. Food for thought.

[redir]

Do you want a 1/4in saddle for any particular reason? They are nice for intonation purposes but if you don't need it for that what I typically do with those is inlay a matching piece of wood and rout a 1/8th inch saddle slot in it. When done right you can hardly tell.

[redir]

Double post

[Dave Abrahamson]

Originally Posted by redir

Do you want a 1/4in saddle for any particular reason? They are nice for intonation purposes but if you don't need it for that what I typically do with those is inlay a matching piece of wood and rout a 1/8th inch saddle slot in it. When done right you can hardly tell.

I may go that route. I was just being lazy and figured I'd use a wide piece of bone to avoid routing a new saddle slot.

[printer2]

Originally Posted by Dave Abrahamson

I may go that route. I was just being lazy and figured I'd use a wide piece of bone to avoid routing a new saddle slot.

I just glued in strips of wood to make up where the metal was.

[PonchoFrancisco]

I bought a Guild D-55 back in 1972 that has the saddle going through the bridge and resting directly on the top. I've had no problem in all these years. Some people believe that the string energy going straight through the saddle to the top gives a 'better' sound, but I doubt it.

[Dave Abrahamson]

Originally Posted by PonchoFrancisco

I bought a Guild D-55 back in 1972 that has the saddle going through the bridge and resting directly on the top. I've had no problem in all these years. Some people believe that the string energy going straight through the saddle to the top gives a 'better' sound, but I doubt it.

Hmmm...interesting.

[RogerHaggstrom]

Having the saddle resting directly on the spruce top is a bad idea. Spruce is soft and springy and will absorb a lot of mechanical energy from the strings and saddle, giving a dull tone and lower volume.