Ebony nut and saddle?

eclipsme

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I am making a long neck soprano for my wife. The fingerboard and peg head are both ebony. I am also planning for the bridge to be ebony.

She prefers that the saddle and nut be ebony as well, to blend with the black motif. What are the trade offs in this? Will there be more wear to be expected because ebony is softer than bone? If so, will this be a significant factor?

How would you expect this to affect the sound?

Should I alter the thickness of the saddle and/or nut?

OTOH, is there are good way to dye bone black?

Thanks for your thoughts!
 
I am making a long neck soprano for my wife. The fingerboard and peg head are both ebony. I am also planning for the bridge to be ebony.

She prefers that the saddle and nut be ebony as well, to blend with the black motif. What are the trade offs in this? Will there be more wear to be expected because ebony is softer than bone? If so, will this be a significant factor?

How would you expect this to affect the sound?

Should I alter the thickness of the saddle and/or nut?

OTOH, is there are good way to dye bone black?

Thanks for your thoughts!
I have a a Martin soprano that is 87 years old and still with original ebony nut and saddle..in good working iorder.
 
The only real downside I can predict is that you'll like it so much, you'll want to go swap all your other instruments to ebony parts. If you have an ebony fingerboard and bridge, I do think ebony nuts and saddles look the best.

There's a convenience/efficiency factor in that you can use cutoffs or scraps to make the parts, which otherwise may have been discarded.
 
Sure enough, I looked at her mandolin and it is ebony! I had not payed attention before.

Ebony it is! Thanks for the info.
 
I recently bought an all bamboo Aklot tenor uke and changed the nut and saddle to ebony, added black strap buttons with gold screws to match the tuning machines, black stick-on fret markers on the top and side, black strings and black string end beads. Now it looks right.

Aklot bamboo orig.jpg

Aklot black parts.jpg



This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 4 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 39)

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Both parts are super easy to change (assuming you don't glue in the nut). Make one set from ebony and one from bone and see which you like better. Just loosen the strings enough to slip the saddle out of the slot.
 
I recently bought an all bamboo Aklot tenor uke and changed the nut and saddle to ebony, added black strap buttons with gold screws to match the tuning machines, black stick-on fret markers on the top and side, black strings and black string end beads. Now it looks right.

Distinctive changes!
 
Both parts are super easy to change (assuming you don't glue in the nut). Make one set from ebony and one from bone and see which you like better. Just loosen the strings enough to slip the saddle out of the slot.

Yes, easy enough.
 
I will say - sometimes, if there's too much of the same thing, the details get lost. You mentioned the fretboard, headplate, and bridge would all be ebony. When I have a swath of dark wood like that, sometimes I like bone better, for the contrast. Or - depending on the other finishing details - something distinctive like purpleheart. That's probably my favorite after ebony. Just as tough and a nice contrasting color.
 
Also, ebony has been used for nuts on Violins, cellos etc for centuries.

If i'm going for a noir look, I use black horn for the nut and black Tusq for the saddle.
 
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