I am very partial to a good quality Bone Saddle. I have installed them going on 21 years and had great results with them, however, there is crappy bone out there for sale and you should not use it. Some crappy bone on the market is hard and soft and many deposits are apparent when sanding the stuff. Some suppliers have a humidity problem with the stuff and saddles sometimes warp causing problems sanding evenly. The density is the soap box most manufactures harp on and give bone a bad rap. This will sometimes make certain strings louder and softer, even if the bridge slot is dead right. It can happen, but for a few dollars you usually can get 2 made and try each one and choose the best for your guitar. Many tops bow slightly when the guitar is tuned and cause a slight arch in the bridge saddle slot as well. If your repair person can level that slot while simulating the top movement when tuned, the end result will be very even string to string response. If you have to go synthetic- the Fishman saddles are pretty good and I think graph-tech makes a nice nut material. (this is not the black stuff-graphite).

Donated by: Tim Lawson     http://www.timsguitar.com


My Luthier likes to use Tusq.  Taylor Guitars also uses this material in their saddles.
Tusq saddles can be found in music stores.