Below are answers to common questions. Still have a question? Please contact us. We will respond within 48 hours.
Yes, please fill out our Contact Form and let us know your guitar’s year/brand/model, as well as your current saddle’s length/height/thickness. Or, if your guitar currently doesn’t have a saddle, please let us know the length/thickness of the saddle slot. From this information we can let you know whether we might have a saddle that would fit, or can refer you to another source.
Each guitar will have a slightly different neck angle, and so although the factory might set the twelfth fret action at a specified height, this can be achieved through a combination of adjusting the neck relief, nut slot height, or saddle height.
If you are not entirely satisfied with your purchase for any reason, please let us know within 30 days of receipt and we will either provide a free replacement or a refund. Expedited shipping charges are non-refundable unless the carrier guarantees a specified delivery date that is not met and offers a refund in such instance.
Not necessarily as it depends on each individual guitar and guitarist’s preferences. Please see our blog article Is a Tusq Saddle Better than Bone? for more information.
Rather than being just a straight piece of material, many steel string saddles are compensated to adjust for different string radii and scale lengths. Please see our blog article Acoustic Guitar Saddle Compensation Patterns for more information.
Saddles are not flat on top, but instead have a subtle curvature to match the fretboard’s curvature. Common acoustic guitar fretboard radii are 12, 14, 15, or 16 inches.
No, there are a large number of sizes available making finding the correct size for your guitar difficult. Additionally, you must consider not only the length, height, thickness of your saddle, but also compensation pattern and radius. Please see our article, Are All Acoustic Guitar Saddles the Same Size? for more information.
Unbleached bone is a slightly harder material and is a bit more difficult to work with, but many people prefer the tone. Unbleached bone does have inconsistent color, though. Please see the bottom half of our article What Are Bone Saddles? for more information.
Quality bone guitar saddles cost around $20 to $30. You might find bone saddles for a much lower price, but the bone may have been processed with harsh chemicals, which speeds up production time, but produces weak, chalklike bone that produces poor tone and does not last.
You should replace your guitar saddle if it breaks, or has string gouges so deep that your action is lowered and produces buzzing. You might also want to replace your saddle to produce a different tone.
Guitar saddles are slanted to improve intonation. Thicker gauge strings require a longer scale length than thinner strings do.
Compensated guitar saddles work at improving intonation. However, you should typically use the same saddle compensation pattern used from the factory unless you have intonation problems.
You should cut a bone saddle to fit your bridge slot with 100 grit sandpaper. You may need to adjust length, height, or thickness. Please see our video for more information.
A drop-in saddle does not need to be glued to the bridge, whereas through saddles must be glued in place.
Many acoustic guitarists prefer the tone of a bone saddle to that of other materials, particularly plastic. However, bone does not produce a universally better tone as each player will have different preferences.