Post by Admin on Mar 30, 2013 9:31:46 GMT -5
What material do you prefer?
Bone is the most common and least expensive aftermarket natural material used for saddles. It is denser than any of the synthetic materials and in nearly all cases displays an immediate, noticeable difference after installation. Most of the bone used in today’s guitar saddles comes from Chinese cows or ox. Is a Chinese cow or ox better than American ones? Probably not, but their bones are cheaper. Additionally, there is no difference between the final product whether the bone came from one animal or the other. No animals are unnecessarily murdered just for the purpose of anyone’s guitars. These are simply the byproducts of the beef industry. Nearly every guitar in the higher price range ($2000.00 and up) will come with a bone saddle and nut as the standard material. Rarely if ever, will you find any hand made guitars in the extreme price ranges that do not come equipped with high quality bone components. It is unquestionably the standard in that section of the industry. Bone saddles are a bleached white color, and can occasionally have some darker “speckling” in the grain. Most saddles can also be ordered in what is known vintage bone. The only difference between this and regular bone is the vintage bone is dyed to a "baby poop" yellow-brown color to give it an aged or vintage look.
Bone is usually the first step people choose in an aftermarket saddle, as it is relatively inexpensive, and offers significant improvement over factory-installed components. Bone increases clarity and sustain, provides better overtones, and provides a better high to low end balance. It provides a much more “focused” high end and punchier low end, and is not at all shrill like some plastic saddles render the guitar. Additionally, bone will long outlast the factory installed plastic saddles.
Elephant Ivory has traditionally been a highly sought after material for guitar saddles, nuts and pins. It is actually less dense than bone, although far less porous which gives the feel that it is harder. Its consistency from piece to piece is spectacular. It maintains the ability to polish like glass and has a beautiful off-white/tan/cream appearance with an elegant grain structure. Elephant Ivory provides a more subtle high end than bone or walrus and does not give the same “aggressive” overtones, although the elephant still provides exceptional clarity and string responsiveness throughout the entire frequency range. Elephant offers the best string-to-string “balance” of all the materials. Elephant is by far the most popular choice for those with vintage instruments because of its ability to retain the warm characteristics of such instruments, as well as it's intrinsic "traditional" value. Elephant is also a very popular choice on 12-string guitars, where balance and the need to not over-brighten the guitar is critical. ALL the elephant ivory used should be fully documented and legal to buy, sell and ship within the United States.
Bone is the most common and least expensive aftermarket natural material used for saddles. It is denser than any of the synthetic materials and in nearly all cases displays an immediate, noticeable difference after installation. Most of the bone used in today’s guitar saddles comes from Chinese cows or ox. Is a Chinese cow or ox better than American ones? Probably not, but their bones are cheaper. Additionally, there is no difference between the final product whether the bone came from one animal or the other. No animals are unnecessarily murdered just for the purpose of anyone’s guitars. These are simply the byproducts of the beef industry. Nearly every guitar in the higher price range ($2000.00 and up) will come with a bone saddle and nut as the standard material. Rarely if ever, will you find any hand made guitars in the extreme price ranges that do not come equipped with high quality bone components. It is unquestionably the standard in that section of the industry. Bone saddles are a bleached white color, and can occasionally have some darker “speckling” in the grain. Most saddles can also be ordered in what is known vintage bone. The only difference between this and regular bone is the vintage bone is dyed to a "baby poop" yellow-brown color to give it an aged or vintage look.
Bone is usually the first step people choose in an aftermarket saddle, as it is relatively inexpensive, and offers significant improvement over factory-installed components. Bone increases clarity and sustain, provides better overtones, and provides a better high to low end balance. It provides a much more “focused” high end and punchier low end, and is not at all shrill like some plastic saddles render the guitar. Additionally, bone will long outlast the factory installed plastic saddles.
Elephant Ivory has traditionally been a highly sought after material for guitar saddles, nuts and pins. It is actually less dense than bone, although far less porous which gives the feel that it is harder. Its consistency from piece to piece is spectacular. It maintains the ability to polish like glass and has a beautiful off-white/tan/cream appearance with an elegant grain structure. Elephant Ivory provides a more subtle high end than bone or walrus and does not give the same “aggressive” overtones, although the elephant still provides exceptional clarity and string responsiveness throughout the entire frequency range. Elephant offers the best string-to-string “balance” of all the materials. Elephant is by far the most popular choice for those with vintage instruments because of its ability to retain the warm characteristics of such instruments, as well as it's intrinsic "traditional" value. Elephant is also a very popular choice on 12-string guitars, where balance and the need to not over-brighten the guitar is critical. ALL the elephant ivory used should be fully documented and legal to buy, sell and ship within the United States.