Question to McPherson Sable owners about saddle height.

gerardo1000 · #1 10-23-2022, 06:28 AM

My recently acquired 2018 McPherson Sable comes with two saddles, one for "low" action, one for "medium" action. I tried both and even with the low action saddle there is no strings buzz. Which is great. But I am just curious: I noticed that, compared to my other guitars, both Sable saddles sit quite low on the bridge, especially on the treble side. I am posting the links to two pictures, both are of the "Tall" saddle which is the one I have currently installed. The other saddle sits even lower, with the high e string just a couple of millimeters over the bridge. I wonder if this is by design ? Can other McPherson Sable owners tell me if their Sable has the same low saddle height? Thank you! (PS with the tall saddle the action at the 12th fret is 3/32 for the low E and 2.5/32 for the high e, with the low saddle is 2.5/32 and 2/32).
https://photos.app.goo.gl/rESi1GhQhRuhZ6qJ9
https://photos.app.goo.gl/usPR1rmhqyqMUzEk8

jdinco · #2 10-24-2022, 09:24 PM

Sorry, I mean to look at mine today and was too busy....tomorrow for sure.

BlueStarfish · #3 10-24-2022, 11:25 PM

Hi Gerardo,

The saddle on my Sable sits in the bridge in the same way as you have described.

I wouldn’t describe it as “low” in the sense of the neck moved (as sometimes happens on nice wood guitars). I think it’s just the way McPherson designed it. The action is spot-on, and the neck and bridge are never going to move, so the bridge geometry and saddle will always be just as it is now.

gerardo1000 · #4 10-25-2022, 07:53 AM

BlueStarfish, thank you for your comment. On my Sable the action at the 12th fret is 3/32 for the low E, and 2.5/32 for the high e. So it is a bit high on the trebles. However, I am afraid to lower the bottom of the saddle in order to bring the high e string's action down to a standard 2/32, because I am afraid that in doing so the treble side of the saddle will sit too low on the bridge, affecting the break angle of the treble strings. So, I will keep the saddle and the action as it is...

BlueStarfish · #5 10-25-2022, 11:32 AM

Hi Gerardo, I understand your point.

I usually measure actions in 100's of an inch as that's how I know the reference points ... my calculator helped me learn that the 3/32 and 2.5/32 measures you gave are 0.094" on the 6th string and 0.078" on the 1st string.

Here's well known luthier Bryan Kimsey's suggestions on action height. He gives a range of 6 different possible target action heights depending on your playing style.

http://www.bryankimsey.com/setup/actions.htm

The measurement you gave matches pretty well to the second-lowest action on Bryan's list. He gives measurements for one potentially lower set-up height, but also lists lots of caveats on why that's probably too low for most situations.

Anyways ... you like what you like. it's possible that McPherson's design and low saddle height assumes that the 0.094" / 0.078" action is about as low as any player should go, and designed their bridge geometry around that assumption. You may want to give them a call to see if they have a suggestion for you.

Frettingflyer · #6 10-25-2022, 11:34 AM

I am sure we will here from the member here I am referring to but I know at least one member lowered the nut slots slightly to get his preferred action on a Sable(or 2?). I will try to look at mine tonight and see where it sits, I know I use the “low” saddle.

jdinco · #7 10-25-2022, 03:16 PM

Mine is VERY low, lower than yours, way too low, so I actually need to raise it a bit. Intonation is good, but it sure looks like the high e string could easily hit the bridge. But it doesn't. Thanks for bringing this up, otherwise I could of just kept playing it and been happy.

KevinH · #8 10-25-2022, 04:09 PM

Have you checked the neck angle by laying a straight-edge on the frets to see if it lands at (near) the top of the bridge?

Or, does the neck perhaps have an excessive amount of relief?

Quote:

Originally Posted by gerardo1000

BlueStarfish, thank you for your comment. On my Sable the action at the 12th fret is 3/32 for the low E, and 2.5/32 for the high e. So it is a bit high on the trebles. However, I am afraid to lower the bottom of the saddle in order to bring the high e string's action down to a standard 2/32, because I am afraid that in doing so the treble side of the saddle will sit too low on the bridge, affecting the break angle of the treble strings. So, I will keep the saddle and the action as it is...

gerardo1000 · #9 10-25-2022, 09:52 PM

KevinH, the neck is very straight with minimal relief. Yes I checked with a straight edge and it touches the bridge, it doesn't land over it. But only for 1.5 millimeter. I wrote to McPherson and they told me that they consider my set up OK... they say that there could be a slight difference with the neck angle from one guitar to another, and that is the reason why they sell each Sable with two custom made saddles that are specifically cut for that specific guitar...

KennyEC · #10 01-11-2023, 11:45 AM

Gerardo,

My Sable saddle sits the same as you described.

BTW, I am not the person that Dave was referring to in post #6.

I want to preface the rest of my response with this: 1) I only play fingerstyle and I have a light touch and mostly play ballad type songs. 2) I only use D’Addario Phosphor Bronze medium gauge strings (EJ17). These strings gave me the best results after trying various brands and compositions. So bear these factors in mind as your mileage may vary.

I use the low saddle that came with my Sable. While the low saddle did help a lot over the factory installed medium in playing fingerstyle up the neck, barring for example a F chord at the first fret position was still a little on the stiff side. So, I took my time and used my Stew-Mac nut files and a feeler gauge and made the Sable mine, so to speak. It did not take much at all to make a major change. None of the slots took over six gentle strokes. Now the barred F at the first fret is a breeze, and again, it was a very small change the yielded major results.

As far as string height goes at the 12th fret, all six strings are right at 1.75 mm measured from bottom of the string to top of fret at the 12th fret. That would convert to 0.0688976378 of an inch. This set up is perfect for me and the Sable became a different guitar in which I can play for hours.

L3stat · #11 01-11-2023, 12:50 PM

Hi, I posted about my setup here, and there are pics that show how low the saddle sits. I did slot the bridge to increase the break angle, but you can see from that thread as well that maybe that is unnecessary. YMMV, but I don't get any fret buzz unless I strum quite hard. I play mostly fingerstyle.