Cost of saddle/nut

[NY Deadhead]

I'm going to change out my plastic saddle / nut and a set up. I was quoted $140. to do everything. The nut and saddle are pre purchased. So the cost of them is not in the quote. No strings as they are new. I feel they charge $70. per saddle and same for nut. Is that high? The problem is I don't have many options where I live.

[LakewoodM32Fan]

The vast majority of the charge is for the labor, as blank bone saddles and nuts are relatively cheap. That labor charge for, I'm assuming top notch set up work and shaping and forming of both the nut and saddle seems reasonable to me. Again, assuming high quality of work.

I'll put it this way: I'm fortunate enough to live in L.A. where a fantastic luthier, Dave Neely, does repair and set up work. He'd likely charge something similar for that work, and I wouldn't hesitate for a moment given my first hand experience of his work on three of my guitars.

Conversely, I've had a back experience at a different guitar shop, and that price would be highway robbery given the poor experience at had at this other shop.

[Deliberate1]

I paid the Bourgeois shop $125 to replace the saddle, reset the neck and do a standard setup. Money well spent. Hope this helps.
David

[KevinH]

Originally Posted by LakewoodM32Fan

The vast majority of the charge is for the labor, as blank bone saddles and nuts are relatively cheap. That labor charge for, I'm assuming top notch set up work and shaping and forming of both the nut and saddle seems reasonable to me. Again, assuming high quality of work....

Agreed - if its done well. For comparison, Bryan Kimsey has his price list online. He charges $50 each for a new nut and saddle. I'm sure rates vary a lot, but $140 doesn't seem wildly out whack.

[YamahaGuy]

$30 DIY. I'd never pay that much, but I'm a tinkerer. And for that price, it ought to include a string change with a premium set of your choice. The way I do it, the strings take a beating with the trial and error of getting things (saddle height, shape, and nut slot depths) just right.

[Dut4907]

There’s no way I would pay that.

The most I would pay for that kind of work would be around $80.

I’m sure you could get it done cheaper if you call around.

[JERZEY]

If you are in NY thats pretty par the coarse. I find Most shops charge 20-50% more then the rest of the country.

[RoyBoy]

If you're looking to conserve funds, the saddle you can do yourself. Bob Colosi can make you a beautiful intonated saddle and all you'll have to do is adjust the height. Easy, especially if you have a belt sander.

The nut you'll want to leave to a professional. There's $70 worth of nut slot files + feeler gauges involved. And you REALLY need to know what you're doing.

[NY Deadhead]

Thanks for the reply's. Like I said, I don't have the luxury of going somewhere else. I wish I did. It's not the end of the world money, so... I wish I had a little more confidence to do it myself. I will probably get to a point where I have to bring it to someone to fix my "mistake". I wonder what that will cost. Thanks again

[mawmow]

That is quite the price I was used to pay :70-100$
That is why I came to craft my own nuts and saddles
from bold bone pieces I paid some 5$ each...

[phcorrigan]

Originally Posted by NY Deadhead

Thanks for the reply's. Like I said, I don't have the luxury of going somewhere else. I wish I did. It's not the end of the world money, so... I wish I had a little more confidence to do it myself. I will probably get to a point where I have to bring it to someone to fix my "mistake". I wonder what that will cost. Thanks again

As guitar maintenance and repair tasks go, this one has perhaps the least chance of causing damage, other than the the saddle and nut, so you might consider doing it yourself.

The saddle is typically not glued, and the nut is usually glued with a small drop of adhesive, so a light tap on the side with a mallet and punch will usually remove it. There a numerous YouTube videos on setting these up. If you bought a saddle and nut that are already properly shaped instead of blanks, you'll primarily be adjusting the height and maybe the width. This is easily done with sandpaper on a flat surface, such as a piece of glass.

Worst case, if you screw it up, you put the plastic parts back and take it to a luthier.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by NY Deadhead

I'm going to change out my plastic saddle / nut and a set up. I was quoted $140. to do everything.

The price depends upon where you live, how in demand is the repair person and the quality of his or her work/how long he or she has been doing it.

In my experience, the price you were quoted for a setup and replacement of nut and saddle is about average for a professional providing quality work. You can find cheaper and more expensive, depending on where you live and who's doing the work.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by phcorrigan

As guitar maintenance and repair tasks go, this one has perhaps the least chance of causing damage, other than the the saddle and nut, so you might consider doing it yourself.

Ask any busy professional shop how many botched do-it-yourself repairs and adjustments they see in a week. You might be surprised at just how easy it is for the inexperienced to cause damage.

If one is really interested in learning to do one's own setup work, I'm all for it. However, be aware that it does require some investment in tools and some learning to use those tools.

For those that want to learn to do their own setups, I've provided fairly detailed instruction on setup here: https://www.charlestauber.com/luthie...May%202015.pdf

...the nut is usually glued with a small drop of adhesive, so a light tap on the side with a mallet and punch will usually remove it.

Some are, some aren't. Fender-style nuts are very difficult to remove in one piece - i.e. they are ruined in removal.

As a first step in nut removal, examine whether or not the nut was installed prior to the finish being applied. If it was, you'll need to score through the finish around the nut or risk chipping the finish upon removal of the nut.

None of it is rocket surgery, but there are lots of little things to know to result in a good quality job. My experience has been that the average player has no idea what a "good" setup is. Many do-it-yourselfers don't either and have no basis for determining if their work results in a well setup instrument.

[phcorrigan]

Originally Posted by charles Tauber

Ask any busy professional shop how many botched do-it-yourself repairs and adjustments they see in a week. You might be surprised at just how easy it is for the inexperienced to cause damage.

If one is really interested in learning to do one's own setup work, I'm all for it. However, be aware that it does require some investment in tools and some learning to use those tools.

For those that want to learn to do their own setups, I've provided fairly detailed instruction on setup here: https://www.charlestauber.com/luthie...May%202015.pdf



Some are, some aren't. Fender-style nuts are very difficult to remove in one piece - i.e. they are ruined in removal.

As a first step in nut removal, examine whether or not the nut was installed prior to the finish being applied. If it was, you'll need to score through the finish around the nut or risk chipping the finish upon removal of the nut.

None of it is rocket surgery, but there are lots of little things to know to result in a good quality job. My experience has been that the average player has no idea what a "good" setup is. Many do-it-yourselfers don't either and have no basis for determining if their work results in a well setup instrument.

I used to own an auto repair shop in a college town. One of my biggest sources of business was repairs by boyfriends trying to impress girls with their mechanical prowess, so I do understand your first comment.

I also agree there are lots of little things to learn and know, but if the OP doesn't want to pay what seems to me to be a reasonable cost, then DIY is likely better than finding someone who will do the job "cheaper." Another source of my auto repair business was shops who would do it "cheaper." Of course, there is an investment in tools that will offset any cost savings.

I think, when making a DIY decision, the value of the guitar has to be a factor in that decision. I have done all the work myself on my old Yamaha 12-string and my Martin Shenandoah, but I would not attempt to replace the glued-in saddle on my HD-28V, or any other major repair. I will leave those to a qualified luthier.

[EZYPIKINS]

You could always buy the tools and learn to do it yourself. But the $140.00 is much cheaper than the tools to do it right.