Single and Tricone Biscuits and Saddles.

[steadyrollinman]

Dear Coneheads,

I'm sure this topic has been done to death somewhere on this forum, but if so I can't seem find it.

The question is this:

On wood bodied guitars (non reso's), both nut and saddle are made from bone. Occasionally a vintage instrument will have an ebony nut, but generally the time honoured accepted material for both places where strings make contact with the instrument is bone. I guess the hardness of the bone gives the clarity of tone.

On resonators, and I'm referring to Vintage Nationals specifically, we have a bone nut and boxwood or maple for the biscuit/ saddle. Are we to assume that this is the result of trial and error? The point being, one doesn't generally see any resonators with a bone biscuit or saddle.

The one exception to this that I have seen was Scott Ainslie's Style O, which had a bone saddle mounted into the boxwood biscuit. I played the guitar and was amazed at the volume and dynamic range of the instrument, and it was strung with 12's!

So I'm wondering if its worth the experiment, or can anyone provide a definite reason for wood to be used?

[Michael Messer]

Hi Chris,

Soft woods are just sweeter than hard woods or bone. When I first got the Harry Watson Tricone it had a bone saddle and while it sound great with the bone saddle, it sounded better in every way with a boxwood one. I am also of the same opinion regarding ebony capped saddles on Dobros, they sound too harsh to me.

Has research been done? ....yes, by most people who make and repair them.

Shine On
Michael

[steadyrollinman]

Hi Michael,

I can sense that boxwood would be softer and sweeter as you say.

Interesting that the Harry had a bone saddle; could that have been factory fitted or do you think fitted at a later date?