Question about changing saddle and nut material

Scottz

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 26, 2010
Messages
45
Reaction score
0
Location
Littleton, CO
Just curious, how would my ukulele's tone change if I changed the factory nut and saddle to ivory? I have a Kala Koa concert with the syn-bone.
 
Impossible to say definitely. The best thing to do is score some bone blanks from ebay or StewMac and test.

I depends upon a few things, not least the density, mass and hardness of your existing nut and saddle and the equivalent specs of the piece of bone you use for the replacements.

I've changed many nuts (and quite a few saddles on acoustic guitars and a few ukes) from plastic and Tusq to bone, from plastic to Tusq and from Tusq to bone. Sometimes it is hard to hear any significant difference at all. Sometimes the difference is obvious.

Where I notice a consistent difference is when replacing those cheap plastic nuts that are hollow underneath. Replace one of those with a good piece of hard bone and there is usually an obvious improvement to the definition of the sound.

If you file a bone nut blank and it feels gummy, or the file jams frequently then it's not a great sign. The blanks I have found to work best you can recognise as soon as you start to file. They are dry and brittle and the file doesn't clog, but files cleanly leaning dust instead of clumps.

Edit to add: If that "syn-bone" is the same stuff as I have on my Kala solid mahogany tenor nut, then I'm not very keen on it. When I next order a few bone blanks I'm definitely going to replace mine. That stuff seems too soft to me.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the advice. I asked about ivory specifically since that is what I have available, but I'm sure the improvement from changing the plastic to bone would probably be similar. I also have some antler. I guess when I can find the time I just need to make one of each and give it a try.
 
Oops, for some reason my brain read "bone" instead of "ivory".

What kind of ivory? The only kind I've tried is what was called "fossilised walrus ivory". I only used it on one Eastman mandolin and the results seemed to be about the same as the good bone nut that was originally on it (but which cracked). The stuff seemed pretty hard. I haven't used it since as it was bloody expensive compared to bone and the difference didn't seem to justify that cost.
 
I have a small piece of (legally acquired) elephant tusk. I thought this might be a perfect use for it.
 
I have some micarta blanks that you need to cut to shape you can make a couple of nuts and saddles...... Dense and easier to work with than bone.... I picked up a bunch of them.... I can send you one for 3.85 shipped usps
 
That's ok, thanks for the offer but I'm going to go ahead and use the ivory when I get ready to change it.
 
Top Bottom