Uke Saddle/Nut Material

Hey everyone. I currently have the stock tusq saddle and nut on my spectre. I had this same material on my Martin. But now, she is all fossilized walrus ivory, including the bridge pins. The sound improved quite a bit to my sensitive and discriminating ears. I was, and am, very pleased with the improvement in sound, sustain. FWI is the best material for finger picking, which I do love and do quite often. It's also just the best material one could use for any style of playing. My question for you is: Would FWI be a good choice for nylon strings? Or should i stick with bone, which is does not improve the sound as greatly as FWI. I've asked Brian if he could switch out the saddle and nut for FWI or bone while my sceptre is at the factory, and am waiting on a response.

What do you think UUers? FWI, bone or stick with the tusq?

One more question: Bob Colosi (www.guitarsaddles.com) is THE MAN for saddle/nuts/pins in the guitar world. It doesn't get any better than his work and materials. Any ukers have experience with him? If they can't switch out materials at the KoAloha factory then I will most like be ordering from him. Is there an equivalent to him in the uke world?

Tusq. Of course, I'm biased - I install Tusq on everything, especially since I install UST's in most of them. I've used synthetics in the past, and now I pay a thousand times more for Tusq than I did previously, and they're worth it.

But Tusq is a synthetic. Some type of polymer.

Kekani said:

Tusq. Of course, I'm biased - I install Tusq on everything, especially since I install UST's in most of them. I've used synthetics in the past, and now I pay a thousand times more for Tusq than I did previously, and they're worth it.

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Jude

heyjude said:

But Tusq is a synthetic. Some type of polymer.



Jude

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Even though Tusq is a synthetic material, I agree with Kekani that it is the ideal material for saddles and nuts. I use them on my classical guitars and ukes.

I see that Kanilea uses a Tusq product (NuBone) too. So, it must be pretty darn good.

heyjude said:

But Tusq is a synthetic. Some type of polymer.



Jude

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Exactly. LR Baggs recommends using a synthetic for their UST, and what better way to go.

Personally, its all about the build, and the Dunwoodie's are a great family to deal with, and I'm very confident in their product on my instruments. Not saying its better than this or that, but I am saying it works for me.

I agree that Tusq is a really great product. But because of the difference I heard in my Martin when I changed from Tusq to fossilized walrus ivory, I was curious about putting it on my uke. Another great thing about tusq is that there are no animal welfare issues (something has come up quite a few times when discussing nut/saddle materials). I think I'll be keeping the Tusq on my uke!!

i think tusq and bone both work but ive never heard the transformation to FWI so i wouldnt know. would it be costly to try them all to see which one works best for that uke?

I'm a bit old fashioned. I'm mostly a fan of bone for nuts and saddles on guitars and 'ukuleles.

I don't like the feel of Tusq to work with.

I have found that the quality of bone is very variable. Good, dense, hard, brittle bone is best. If it feels gummy when you file then it's likely to disappoint. I get a good idea of how a bone blank is going to work out by dropping it onto a flagstone by my back door! If it's a good blank it will almost ring when it hits the stone. Hard to describe, but a brighter sound than a cr@ppy, gummy blank.

The only time I tried fossilised ivory the difference in tone was so marginal over a good hard bone equivalent that I didn't consider it worth the cost.

How about mother of pearl? That's another material that seems to work well on mandolins. I've never tried it on a uke though...

How much of the tonal qualities are related to the nut material versus the saddle? I've changed my saddle and heard quite an improvement, but not sure if I want to tackle making a nut.

On guitars I'd say the saddle makes more difference, but it depends. The difference between a well fitted saddle and a poorly made/fitted one can make more difference than the material. A flat, level bottom at exactly 90 degrees to the vertical planes of the saddle is, IMO, more vital than the material. Also, making sure that there is no grit or debris in the saddle slot is crucial.

Making a new nut is a very satisfying, and simple, project if you have the right tools. I'd say that proper nut files are the best thing to use. Good ones make slots with the right profile. Obviously, if you'll only ever make one nut then the cost is hard to justify, but if you may get into setting up and maintaining instruments regularly then the correct tools make for an easier life and a better job.

But the saddle makes a bigger difference to the sound.

I have been working on changing a out the nut and saddle on two of my ukes. One had a plastic nut and saddle, the other a Rosewood nut and saddle. I used (am using) bone as the replacement. I have already changes out the nut and saddle for the plastic and the saddle for the rosewood. I can acctually notice a difference in the sound. For the better. Like Buddhuu said, the saddle seems to make a bigger difference then the nut.

I have not used tusq, and the guys that are recommending it know what they are talking about.