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View Full Version : Bone/Walrus or Mammoth nut/Saddle replacement


Vektor67
11-19-2008, 10:24 AM
I have a Standard D-18 which was made in 2001 so I guess I have Corian and Micarta rather than the bone I would have had if I'd have waited a year.
It's high time I had my guitar setup again and I have a minor crack in the side which needs repairing
(Result of what I swear was a slight tap on the metal chair, rather than hearing a nice tonal dung!! I heard a sickly tchk :( ) I've decided to replace my saddle and nut and am wondering if anyone here has experience with and a preference for one of the materials listed. Or for that matter any recommendations one way or the other.
I get that the materials have different densities and effect tone/sustain differently. Unfortunately I'm somewhat new to acoustics having mostly played electric so I'm unclear which aspects in the D-18 would benefit most from the enhancements of the various materials. I was intially tempted by the mammoth ivory, but after further reading it seems it may be too soft for my purposes. I'm not sure that I wish to wait for a bone saddle to age(if in fact it needs to) so I'm leaning towards FWI atm. It's pretty pricey however and if bone would be better and save money I'd feel better figuring that out now. Thanks
P.S. I recently read about a guy that uses Ebony nuts in his personal setups, but his guitar is a vintage with the old style bracing. I'm aware that my newer models bracing is a bit stiff compared so...

sliding-tom
11-20-2008, 06:18 AM
Hi! I can't give you any comparisons between the different materials but I have made a couple of nuts on electrics over the years and have always used bone blanks. They're inexpensive, easy to work on and sound great to my ear. Don't forget that you'll only hear the effect a nut has on tone when you're playing an open string.

Plankspanker
12-09-2008, 06:02 PM
Recently I made a saddle for my AJ out of fossilized walrus ivory. I spent some time on it, made the beveled top of the bridge insert slightly thinner.
It was clearly a major improvement in tone over the stock Gibson bridge.

sliding-tom
12-10-2008, 02:27 AM
Recently I made a saddle for my AJ out of fossilized walrus ivory. I spent some time on it, made the beveled top of the bridge insert slightly thinner.
It was clearly a major improvement in tone over the stock Gibson bridge.

That must have been a lot of work and a difficult task in regard of the compensation for individual strings - at least my AJ has a compensated bridge insert, don't know 'bout yours? :wail