SteveG673 Posted March 24, 2007 Report Share Posted March 24, 2007 Just a quick question. I am wondering what the tonal differences are between aluminum and bone saddles? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acousticraft Posted March 25, 2007 Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 I don't think aluminum would be a good material as it would wear too quickly at the contact point. Use a bone or Tusq saddle as they are proven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinedwards Posted March 25, 2007 Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 I don't think aluminum would be a good material as it would wear too quickly at the contact point. Use a bone or Tusq saddle as they are proven. Never seen aluminium used as an acoustic saddle.... My initial reaction is try it, what have you got to loose!!! It'll cost you 10c and if it's awful you have learned something and can change it out for bone if it's great you can patent it, make millions ang gloat for ever!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveG673 Posted March 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 I was actually going to ask this guy to make me a custom saddle and I saw near the bottom of the page all the different materials he can make it out of. I was also thinking about using brass. I am guessing that since metals are denser than bone, they might offer a little brighter tone with more sustain? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acousticraft Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 Brass will certainly brighten the sound and is hard wearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 Brass is also HEAVY and adds a bunch of mass. May or may not be what you're looking for. I've never quite understood the 'brass nut and saddle' thing, to be honest... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveG673 Posted March 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Brass will certainly brighten the sound and is hard wearing. Can you explain what you mean by hard wearing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidlook Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Brass will certainly brighten the sound and is hard wearing. Can you explain what you mean by hard wearing? ever tried a pair of brass pants?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveG673 Posted March 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Brass will certainly brighten the sound and is hard wearing. Can you explain what you mean by hard wearing? ever tried a pair of brass pants?? No, are these the new style or something? lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidlook Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Brass will certainly brighten the sound and is hard wearing. Can you explain what you mean by hard wearing? ever tried a pair of brass pants?? No, are these the new style or something? lol It's all the rage in Paris man! ...but seriously he meant that it doesn't wear out that fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinedwards Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Quick rule of thumb on saddle (and bridge) weight. A heavy saddle doesn't move as much or as quickly. therefore the BASS will be reduced (and it will SOUND brighter (but quieter) than with a lighter saddle I built a cedar rosewood jumbo that was REALLY Bassy. bras bridge pins quietened it but brightened it too. Aluminium is light, so it shouldn't affect the tone from bone........... (I guess!!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Quick rule of thumb on saddle (and bridge) weight. A heavy saddle doesn't move as much or as quickly. therefore the BASS will be reduced (and it will SOUND brighter (but quieter) than with a lighter saddle I built a cedar rosewood jumbo that was REALLY Bassy. bras bridge pins quietened it but brightened it too. Aluminium is light, so it shouldn't affect the tone from bone........... (I guess!!!) I agree a heavier bridge will take more energy to set in motion, it will not react as quickly. It will have more potential after it is set in motion so it will tend to keep moving longer. Kind of like adding compression. Down side will be loss of seperation, dynamics and generally lower volume. Percieved volume of lows could actually become stronger if higher frequencies(lower energy) are dampend enough to change your equalization. Lows seem to love compression, but highs tend to become harsh and ugly without good dynamic range to breath. However, this is all relative to the soundboard and bracing stiffness and mass. So you really have to make these assumptions based on a well balanced system to begin with. If you had a heavy bridge on a light, flexable soundboard you are already in a bad way. Adding weight is going to make the situation slightly worse. If you have a bridge that was too light on the same soundboard it may really help bring it in line. One result is bad one is great. General rules of thumb are great, but you have to realise where you are at to begin with else the bassline is not there. There are also some guys that believe in fine tuning material like brass(or other metals) with holes and notches in an effort to maintain seperation(of string energy) from string to string. This is supposed to be an effeort to avoid vibrations cancelling each other out from string to string. Dunno if I fully buy into the idea(although it makes sense to a degree), but I could see how you could possibly fine tune the weight of a metal nut. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tirapop Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 As far as aluminum goes, Stewmac sells aluminum compensated bridges. Their wear probably isn't too rapid. As far as adding mass, it favors lower frequencies. Greater mass means greater inertia and it's harder to reverse greater inertia in shorter time intervals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 The aluminum saddle will make the guitar louder. (But I don't mean louder is always better). The aluminum might very well sound too metallic for you, but I suppose you could regulate this by making a wood/aluminum laminated saddle, or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acousticraft Posted March 30, 2007 Report Share Posted March 30, 2007 By hard wearing, I was referring to its properties as a bearing material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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