Ebony Surprise!

Paul December

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Recently I was a bit over-zealous in sanding the bone saddle of my Kala cedar tenor. I attempted to get a replacement bone saddle with minimal cutting/sanding necessary considering my poor track record :rolleyes:
Well, there weren't drop-in replacements available anywhere at a reasonable cost. Searching eBay I found a drop-in replacement made of Ebony for just $5 shipped (including a nut I did not use).
When I got it, I was very surprised how hard Ebony is! The saddle was just a hint too tight for the slot so I sanded it a bit. Using the same grade sandpaper as I had with the bone previously, I found IMO the Ebony as-hard, if not a bit harder than the original bone one.

Well, the real "surprise" part of this post is the sound.
I didn't loose any loudness at all...
...but a bit of the harshness common from the Aquilla strings went away :)
Note: don't confuse Ebony saddles with softer Rosewood saddles used on some ukes like KPK.
Anyone thinking of upgrading their Kala/Lanikai saddles with a drop-in alternative, should seriously consider Ebony.
 
Another big revelation is an old birch saddle I salvaged from an old Harmony guitar (1950's) out of Chicago. I have even used 2mm piece of steel whenever I was experimenting.
 
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