TQuest
Well-known member
Newbie looking for advice about a saddle. I hope this is the right forum.
I purchased a used 2012 Islander MST-4 last month, with a missing string and a motivated seller. After watching lots of YouTube vids, I put on a new set of Martin fluorocarbon M620. Allowed 4+ weeks for strings to settle, but I noticed that the C string sounded rather dull to my ears – strangely, it’s sustain and brightness did not match the C on my other tenors. I sent an email to Islander about the original strings and they replied Aquila Super Nylgut.
I have been curious about the single Aquila Red C string, so bought one and went to swap it out a couple of days ago. Went to give the ukulele a closer inspection and cleaning while changing the C, and when I took out the saddle I saw that it had not 1, but 2 shims under the original – one flat and one angled. The angled shim made the action higher on the G and C string side. The intonation at the 12th fret is correct on G, sharp on C and E, and flat on A.
At this point, I’m not sure if I should remove the 1 angled shim to make the saddle flat, remove both shims to get back to the original saddle height – the action feels high to my taste, measuring between 3.0 and 3.5 mm on G and just under 3.0 mm on A at the 12th fret – or replace it with an entirely new saddle from GraphTech.
I’m also wondering if the saddle height was adjusted for reasons other than higher action – buzzing on high frets?
Any advice is appreciated.
I purchased a used 2012 Islander MST-4 last month, with a missing string and a motivated seller. After watching lots of YouTube vids, I put on a new set of Martin fluorocarbon M620. Allowed 4+ weeks for strings to settle, but I noticed that the C string sounded rather dull to my ears – strangely, it’s sustain and brightness did not match the C on my other tenors. I sent an email to Islander about the original strings and they replied Aquila Super Nylgut.
I have been curious about the single Aquila Red C string, so bought one and went to swap it out a couple of days ago. Went to give the ukulele a closer inspection and cleaning while changing the C, and when I took out the saddle I saw that it had not 1, but 2 shims under the original – one flat and one angled. The angled shim made the action higher on the G and C string side. The intonation at the 12th fret is correct on G, sharp on C and E, and flat on A.
At this point, I’m not sure if I should remove the 1 angled shim to make the saddle flat, remove both shims to get back to the original saddle height – the action feels high to my taste, measuring between 3.0 and 3.5 mm on G and just under 3.0 mm on A at the 12th fret – or replace it with an entirely new saddle from GraphTech.
I’m also wondering if the saddle height was adjusted for reasons other than higher action – buzzing on high frets?
Any advice is appreciated.
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