Bone saddle for UST?

Rockin'Robin · #1 05-24-2020, 03:10 PM

Hello guys

I have a wonderful Martin D35e Retro as my stage guitar. It's the best amplified sound i've ever had and is plug-and-play, no extra gear required etc...

The acoustic sound is also great, but I feel something missing, a plastic-ness in the attack and a the sustain could be improved.

I feel like these could be fixed with a new bone saddle vs the current tusq one. That has been my experience on a Gibson CL50 supreme where the bone saddle also enhanced the harmonics in the sound, and balanced it big time.

The D35e retro has a UST pickup combined with aura F1+ technology. Would you recommend against a change to a bone saddle? Anybody tried this change?

Thanks

Marty C · #2 05-24-2020, 03:59 PM

Less than $20.00 to give it a trial. If you have a chance to improve your guitar tone for les than $20.00, I would try this without thinking.

phcorrigan · #3 05-24-2020, 04:35 PM

This an inexpensive, easily reversed operation, so why not?

BTW, I just replaced the UST on my Martin D2832 Shenandoah with a JJB bridgeplate pickup, and in the process replaced the original saddle with bone. the combination of removing the UST and installing the new saddle improved the acoustic tone significantly.

GuitarLuva · #4 05-26-2020, 08:38 AM

I've used bone saddles with UST's in the past with no issues, just not with the particular combination you mention. Just get a good quality bone saddle from Bob Colosi or McNichol guitars and you will be fine. Don't buy a cheap one from eBay. Same disclaimers apply, you may like the change for the better or worse but it's a relatively cheap and reversible experiment.

jseth · #5 05-26-2020, 09:33 AM

Certainly you can use a bone saddle with a UST... the biggest potential problem wouod be IF the bottom of the saddle isn't perfectly flat against the UST. That will result in some weird sounds... like string-to-string balance or perhaps very little treble with a LOT of bass...

So, make sure that it's flat. Buying one from a reputable source should insure that aspect, but not always...

If you have to take material off the saddle to get the height you desire, that material is taken off the bottom of the saddle; that's when you need to make sure it is flat...