Under which string does the "compensated" Part of the Saddle Go?

[Nightwatchman9270]

I took the strings of my Taylor 210 off and thought tonight when I'm tired would be a great time to "sand down" the bridge. I thought to myself "better mark which side goes where" but of course I didn't and now I can't remember, does the "compensated" part of the saddle goe under the "B" string or the "A". I'm 70% sure it went under the "B" but I want to double check with you guys before I put the strings on. Thanks!

[chicago12string]

B string

[Nightwatchman9270]

WOW....that might be fastest I ever had a questions answered. Wish there was a prize. Thanks! If I'm ever in Chicago again, I owe you a slice of deep-dish at the REAL pizzeria UNO.

[Samilyn]

What he said ^^^ - it goes under the B string.

 

When ya get a little mixed up (as we all do sometimes) just remember that the funky offset part of the saddle goes under the treble string, not any of the bass ones.

[Freeman Keller]

Actually the entire saddle is "compensated" in that it is offset away from the point which which would be determined by the scale length (2 times the distance from the nut to the 12th fret). That is also why it is slanted. However, the B string requires more compensation than the E or G, so it has a little notch that moves the break point even farther. As Chicago says, the B string.

[guitarcapo]

When I build my guitars, I usually locate the high E string's saddle location at twice the distance from the nut to the 12th fret plus 1/8"

 

And I locate the low E string's saddle location at twice the 12th fret distance plus 1/4"

 

After I orient the saddle slot to that location I usually will install the saddle and shape it for height/action. I usually round the top of the saddle to the same radius as the fretboard. Then as a last step I shape the top of the saddle like so:

 

 

Some people prefer THIS shaping though:

 

 

Both sound fine to me. Just a matter of cosmetics at that point.

[Nightwatchman9270]

Ok so it goes under the "A" string then. Thanks!

[Freeman Keller]

Ok so it goes under the "A" string then. Thanks!

 

 

Only if you are tuned down two steps

[Sangemon]

Here's a pretty good shot of a compensated saddle. The compensation usually goes under the B string, and the Low E. That makes it pretty easy to figure out which end is which.

 

 

Also, if you put it on backwards, your action will be way out of kilter. You'll know it right away.

[Florida_Gator]

Why is the saddle slanted, and why is the area under the B string cut differently?

 

Is this what gets adjusted when it's checked for intonation?

 

And why does my Alvarez MD350 have *2* saddles (one for the E-A-D-G, and one for the b-e)?

[Sangemon]

And why does my Alvarez MD350 have *2* saddles (one for the E-A-D-G, and one for the b-e)?

 

It's another way to accomplish the same thing.

 

And it's shiny!

[katopp]

It's another way to accomplish the same thing. And it's shiny!

 

And it sucks, if you look for an UST.

[RichieDev]

Hi, I have an Ibanez AE300 and have been wondering if my saddle was put back on the right way too.

There is a compensated bit on the bottom E on my one. Why would this be?

[Delmont]

Why is the saddle slanted' date=' and why is the area under the B string cut differently?. . .[/quote']

 

Someone once asked a composer from India what he thought of a symphony he'd just heard. He said he liked it, but it was too bad everyone was out of tune.

 

Look up tempered scale. It's the European scale that we use, and the Indian composer was right, it's not in tune. Instead, it's a compromise that lets us build complicated harmonies. For reasons that will make sense once you've read about it, some notes are more out of tune than others.

 

The B is the worst offender. Compensation doesn't fix the problem (it can't be fixed), but it improves things.

[FretFiend.]

Zombie thread.

 

[Freeman Keller]

Does you guitar play in tune up the neck? If so the compensation is correct.

[bigald18]

The luthier was blind and from St Louis,

[Delmont]

Zombie thread.

 

Damn! Got me again!

 

Gr.

[Phil O'Keefe]

Hi, I have an Ibanez AE300 and have been wondering if my saddle was put back on the right way too.

There is a compensated bit on the bottom E on my one. Why would this be?

 

Reversing that saddle wouldn't make much sense - it appears to be installed correctly to me; although the compensated low E is a bit unusual, it's not unheard of.

[Freeman Keller]

Phil, its pretty common for the low E string to have quite a bit of compensation - I frequently find that the B is all the way back (like this saddle), the G is all the way forward, and the 4th, 5th and 6th form a smooth line from front to back. A lot depends on how much initial compensation was put into the slot and what strings are being used.

 

Note that our zombie resurrector hasn't bothered to return....