Saddle Question:

JJFN

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I need help from all of you techies out there. The saddle of on my Koala Tenor is slanted on the top. My questions are:

1 - Should the top of the slant, (the highest point) be pointed towards the sound hole OR the bottom of the ukulele?

2 - Does it make a difference? I don't have any type of gauge to measure the difference in string height.

3 - The saddle is loose, should this be affixed to the bridge?

Thank you in advance for your help.
 
1. Depends on how it was intended and intonates
2. Not really, as long as it doesn't dig into your strings, and your uke intonates well.
3. Do not glue your saddle to the bridge. You might to replace it some day.

... " If it ain't broke, don't fix it." :)
 
Thank you Doc-J sounds like good advice.
1. Depends on how it was intended and intonates
2. Not really, as long as it doesn't dig into your strings, and your uke intonates well.
3. Do not glue your saddle to the bridge. You might to replace it some day.

... " If it ain't broke, don't fix it." :)
 
For 1, you want the angle to follow the curve of the strings breaking over the saddle. So sloped UP towards the sound hole, sloped down towards the bridge. Reversing this has the possibility of creating lots of buzzing (like a sitar). That said, sometimes the saddle ridge moves to compensate for intonation, but usually the soundhole-side still drops away sharply to avoid buzzing.
 
I don't like a saddle to be so loose that it will slant in the bridge slot, somewhere between falling out and getting the pliers is good for me.

That said, what Doc_J said on intonation may come into play. Generally I leave my saddles a little on the high side until I can dial in the intonation. Most saddles are crowned in the middle, but I find that I might have to tweak a contact point one way or the other so you want to be able to do that without making the saddle height too low.

John
 
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