Acoustic question

[solspirit]

What kind of saddle and nut material would give me the most crisp & bass and lower midrange as possible, without losing the highs but maybe toning them down a bit.

[treyhaislip]

So many variables on an acoustic (more so than an electric, IMO) as in what type of acoustic, woods used, scale length, strings used, etc.

Is your question just a general one or for a specific guitar?

[Securb]

Bass is going to come from the size of the body and the top wood. Thicker strings might also be a help but I would be careful going big with strings if you do not have a truss rod. Your best bet would be buying an acoustic with more bass. Ibanez makes beautiful budget acoustic guitars. Mine cost $500 check out my review.

http://www.tmrzoo.com/2012/35842/guitar-gear-review-ibanez-ep5-euphoria-steve-vai-acoustic-electric-guitar

[solspirit]

So many variables on an acoustic (more so than an electric, IMO) as in what type of acoustic, woods used, scale length, strings used, etc.

Is your question just a general one or for a specific guitar?

Mostly in general but I have an applause and an old nylon string that are really weak and thin sounding.
. I had a nylon string years ago and I made a bridge out of ipe wood and it was like night and day.

[solspirit]

Bass is going to come from the size of the body and the top wood. Thicker strings might also be a help but I would be careful going big with strings if you do not have a truss rod. Your best bet would be buying an acoustic with more bass. Ibanez makes beautiful budget acoustic guitars. Mine cost $500 check out my review.

http://www.tmrzoo.com/2012/35842/gui...lectric-guitar

I've got a pretty nice older Art-Wood, I might dig out the old dental mirror and try the date it today.

I think Ibanez makes the best budget acoustic guitars. They definitely give the most bang for the buck but you still have to shop them and check every guitar you can find because I've felt and heard a lot of variability with the same models. It seems like a 70%/30% split or maybe even 80%/20% for dead to live one's.

[treyhaislip]

Mostly in general but I have an applause and an old nylon string that are really weak and thin sounding.
. I had a nylon string years ago and I made a bridge out of ipe wood and it was like night and day.

For budget/cheaper guitars, swapping out the synthetic/plastic nut and saddle will make a noticeable difference. I recommend starting off with a decent bone nut and saddle. Bone is relatively cheap and easy to find. This should beef up the tone on the old nylon strings. I love the look of Ovations & Applauses but have unplugged, have never gotten a decent tone out of them. Probably better to change strings–D'Addario has the string finder similar to what Duncan has for pickups: https://www.daddario.com/string-finder/

I have noticed an improvement on an old Taylor by replacing the bottom 3 bridge pins with Brass pins but to my ear, Taylors tend to be brighter than other brands on the high strings so the brass pins on the bottom 3 strings seemed to even that out.

My old Guild 212XL has Elephant Tusk for the nut and saddle and it sounds amazing but it is very hard to find now due to preservation laws (there are legitimate sellers out there but they typically don't sell out of state/country.)

[solspirit]

Haha. The Applause is cool looking but definitely not good sounding.


I'll try a bone set for the nylon string.

And I'm definitely going to experiment with pins on the Ibanez, I'm pretty sure that has a bone nut and saddle.

Thanks

[Benjy_26]

I'm skipping bone and going with Tusq for acoustics from now on. I've had bone nuts that have been uneven sounding, volume-wise. Tusq may be a little warmer and more expensive, but the results are very repeatable. You basically know what you'll end up with.

As far as the classical/nylon string ace, try going with D'Addario Pro Artes in high tension. It'll be bigger sounding, if a little brighter.

[GuitarStv]

I prefer Tusq to bone on acoustic guitars. I've found bone to be less consistent tone-wise - while always enjoy the sound of Tusq.

[solspirit]

I'm skipping bone and going with Tusq for acoustics from now on. I've had bone nuts that have been uneven sounding, volume-wise. Tusq may be a little warmer and more expensive, but the results are very repeatable. You basically know what you'll end up with.

As far as the classical/nylon string ace, try going with D'Addario Pro Artes in high tension. It'll be bigger sounding, if a little brighter.

I've got a set of mediums that I haven't put on yet because I want to tackle the saddle & nut problem at the same time. I've got regular D'Addario strings on it now.

[solspirit]

I prefer Tusq to bone on acoustic guitars. I've found bone to be less consistent tone-wise - while always enjoy the sound of Tusq.

I have to look into the Ibanez a little because I think they have their own patented material that may already be on the guitar.

[Benjy_26]

I've got a set of mediums that I haven't put on yet because I want to tackle the saddle & nut problem at the same time. I've got regular D'Addario strings on it now.

I dislike the regular tension D'Addarios from a tone standpoint. They sound floppy and a little too warm for me. My classical is cedar/mahogany, so that may be a factor. If you have a spruce guitar, you may like a warmer string.