GuitarSam eZine Volume 28 February 2001   Subscribe Email us Back to Index

Chip Wilson: Guitar Tech Talk

Guitar Tech Talk is from Chip Wilson in New Orleans. If you have a question about guitar building, repair, or maintenance, send it to Chip at jumpinsomethin@aol.com. Musician/luthier Chip Wilson lives in New Orleans, LA. Chip worked with Borys Guitars when master archtop builder James L. D'Aquisto served as a consultant before Chip opened his own business, Better Guitars. Better Guitars served as an authorized repair shop for most of the top US guitar manufacturers. Chip recently wrote a book review for Guitarmaker, the quarterly publication of the Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans (ASIA). Chip is now primarily a performer in New Orleans, typically playing 25 to 30 gigs per month, as a soloist, sideman, and with his own band A Jumpin' Somethin'. His 1999 release "A Jumpin' Somethin'" was nominated for Best Traditional Jazz CD By A Louisiana Artist by Offbeat Magazine, the most widely distributed Louisiana music publication. Chip is currently working on a new CD for release in 2000. "A Jumpin' Somethin'" can be obtained online at www.louisianamusicfactory.com, or by contacting Chip at jumpinsomethin@aol.com Guitar Tech Talk Last month, we discussed the nut. This month, let's talk about the bridge saddle (that's the piece with which the strings make contact on the body) on flattop and archtop guitars. As is the case with the guitar nut, materials for a flattop saddle vary. The most popular are bone, Micarta®, and Tusq® (distributed by Fishman), and look promising. For acoustic only applications, my preference would be bone. It's long lasting, and has good sustain, definition and clarity in the attack. Micarta® and Tusq® are superior for electric applications, and both help reduce the occasionally unpleasant harsh attack (occasionally described as "quack") of the typical under-the-saddle pickup. Plastic is sufficient for an inexpensive student instrument. Metal or brass is rarely used, and has a less pleasing tone, in my opinion. On an archtop guitar, ebony and rosewood (many varieties are commonly used) are the two most commonly used materials, especially for acoustic instruments. Ebony bridge and saddles are more dense and produce greater clarity and sustain. Bill Leavitt, the great guitar teacher and writer of classic instruction texts, preferred the aluminum bridge saddle that comes with a Bigsby® tailpiece. Electric archtop players (Wes Montgomery, Tuck Andress, for instance) often prefer the sound of a tune-o-matic style bridge, as distributed by Gibson®. The tune-o-matic bridge has a better sustain, and has the advantage of being easily intonated. (All of these brand names are registered trademarks). I personally prefer ebony bridges and saddles for both my electric and acoustic archtops. A flattop saddle should fit snugly into its slot, although some pickup applications require a slightly looser fit. On steel string instruments, the bass side is commonly slanted to allow for a longer string length, aiding accurate intonation. If your instrument has a wide enough saddle, it is possible to carve the material to intonate it further, more than a straight saddle might allow. Typically, the "B" string is lengthened, and some luthiers spend quite a bit of time fine-tuning each string. Wooden archtop saddles also are often thus "compensated." However, it is interesting to note that the great archtop builder James L. D'Aquisto preferred an uncompensated, slanted saddle, always made of ebony. (For additional information on intonation, see the November Guitar Tech Talk in the Archives). On a flattop, the saddle should be slightly rounded where the string makes contact. A sharp edge can be a source of string breakage. Archtop saddles are typically lightly slotted to keep the string in place. On an archtop, a wider contact point produces a mellower tone; a narrower saddle will produce a brighter, punchier, and possibly louder tone. This might be appropriate for a player who is chunking out rhythm chords on an archtop. Even for an experienced repairperson, neither bridge saddle or nut is particularly easy to make, so I am always surprised to see a handmade, in-tune saddle or nut which hasn't been sanded and polished nicely as an appropriate finishing touch. A well made bridge saddle or nut can only enhance the performance of any instrument, so if you are interested in upgrading your guitar, this is an excellent place to start. I realized as I wrote this month's column that this is the one year anniversary of Guitar Tech Talk. Many thanks to www.guitarsam.com for this opportunity, and to any readers who have taken the time to check out the column. I intend to celebrate like any resident of New Orleans would . . . Mardi Gras is only a few weeks away!   Chip Wilson Email jumpinsomethin@aol.com Web www.jumpinsomethin.com

ISSN: 1529-0956 Library Of Congress, Washington D.C. USA
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