saddle slot thickness variations

[peter havriluk]

These are a few observations and questions arising from the observing: I have four guitar bridges on the bench, one came with a kit project, one was made by a luthier in West Virginia, and two were purchased online from different sources in China. The luthier-made bridge has a saddle slot 3/32" wide, one of the others is 7/64", and two saddle slots are 1/8" wide. I hadn't thought about saddle width or thought to measure the bridges until today. Inferring from Stew-Mac's catalog, the narrower saddle slot follows a 'Martin' standard of 3/32" and the 1/8" wide ones follow a 'Gibson' width. I suspect the 7/64" opening is a wide 3/32", as I didn't see any saddles in the catalog that were 7/64" thick. Is one width preferable over another? My first guess is the wider the saddle, the more range of adjustment available while setting intonation. Does that make sense? Any reasons I shouldn't use them all? Does the 'Martin' saddle slot width reflect the assembly precision possible in a factory environment?

Thanks, folks.

[ken cierp]

Wider is better, two piece is better yet (Takamine, Lowden etc.) And yes it allows for more range of adjustment relative to intonation. It depends on the string gage but more often then not a 3/32" saddle on a three degree angle does not get the "B" string break point at optimum distance from the nut.

[peter havriluk]

Thanks, Ken.

[Tim Benware]

I have been able to compensate the 3/32 to get the B very close but I prefer 1/8". I would throw a 3/32 out an probably all things being equal wouldn't widen it.

[Dave Bagwill]

Mike Doolin and others use a 1/4" saddle which gives enough room for getting even the pesky B string good intonation.
1/4" bone is hard to find, though some 7/32" is available and I've bought a little stash. However you can easily glue two 1/8" pieces together and get the width you need.

[peter havriluk]

Would there be a downside to using a 3/16" thick saddle, made by gluing together two 3/32" saddles? I am guessing that bridges can generally tolerate a saddle slot widened towards the string pegs, so that the 'front' will not diminish whatever resistance it has to string tension rolling the bridge forward?

[Dave Bagwill]

I don't see anything but upside to using a wider saddle. Gluing the thinner pieces of bone together is a very practical and safe thing to do.