I often see people (on eBay etc) say that "there is plenty of room for the saddle to be taken down" as a positive thing. Is it? From my experience, I've discovered that the steeper the angle of the strings behind the saddle, the better the tone, volume etc. The action on my OM
was getting uncomfortable so I reluctantly shaved a couple of thou off the saddle bottom (thus reducing the angle). The action improved for a while. When it got bad again, I decided to take it back to the old woodshed from whence it came. As soon as I opened the case, Steve McCreary said the saddle was too low. I left it in his loving care. After a few weeks of chiropractic adjustments on the neck (no, not truss-rod tweaking) the action was good, the saddle was high, and the angle was restored.
One of the characteristics I notice on Collings (and what I feel are it's two closest rivals, Olson and Goodall) is the steep breakway angle. Coincidence? I don't think so. I don't have any "official" numbers but anything less than 45 degrees seems to rob the guitar's potential.

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Originally posted by collingscowboy:
I often see people (on eBay etc) say that "there is plenty of room for the saddle to be taken down" as a positive thing. Is it?

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Generally I think people selling used guitars will make this point because there are so many older guitars out there that have ridiculously low saddles. I've seen some 60s and 70s Martins, for example, where the strings are coming out of the bridge almost parallel to the top, which seems like it would put very little downward pressure on the saddle, and thus diminish tone.

Instruments like these are in need of new saddles, but, more importantly, they also need a neck reset. As the neck loses its proper angle relative to the body over time, the action slowly rises, and people often shave the saddle to bring it back down.

So, when I see the claim being made that a used guitar still has plenty of saddle left, I take it to mean that it does not immediately need a neck reset (assuming there are no major problems with the action already). And as it approaches that maintenance milestone, there is room to shave off the saddle in the meantime, if you want to use that short term fix for a heightening action.

As to the ideal break angle, I'm no luthier, but it seems to me that you want it to be sharp enough to create considerable downward pressure on the saddle, but not so sharp that the strings begin to push the saddle forward (and also tending toward more broken strings). So it's a balancing act. Logic says that 45 degress is the perfect compromise, but in practice it might be something a bit more or less than that.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: musicologydoc,

>>Steve McCreary said the saddle was too low. I left it in his loving care. After a few weeks of chiropractic adjustments on the neck (no, not truss-rod tweaking) the action was good, the saddle was high, and the angle was restored.>>

I'm sorry but I don't know what chiropractic adjustments to the neck are relative to a guitar. Can you describe what was done? I'm having problems with my OM-1A and just brought it in today to have some saddle shaved. I think it is time for some other types of adjustments but not sure what.

The term "chiropractic adjustments" was used as a euphemism for whatever they did. They did not do a neck reset nor fix it by adjusting the truss rod. To paraphrase Benjamin Disraeli: "like sausage, the inscrutable workings of Collings should not be looked into". In fact Bill came out to see my guitar and asked what was done and he too was given an evasive response. They're great guys down there and *anything* Steve, Bruce, or Bill do to my guitar is OK by me. Far from dumb faith,(I have been doing woodwork for some 20 years, machine my own ivory bridge pins etc.), but I defer to them Collings boys for matters in their own woodshed.

Kenny,
I'm sorry, but I think I didn't answer your question. You don't specify exactly what problems you're having. I assume the action has gone up and/or the strings seem harder to fret. I'm always leery about shaving the saddle (reminds me of a doctor touching up your x-rays). OK, a few thou is acceptable, but eventually the real problem rather than the symptoms need to be corrected. Have you tried turning the truss rod an eighth of a turn at a time? Did you replace the nut or saddle? Are you using higher gauge strings? Has the guitar been subjected to excessive humidity? After all trivial contributing factors have been dismissed, you *may* need a neck reset. Fortunately, on Collings it is relatively painless, yet a job for an experienced repairman. Or maybe the boys on Signal Hill Dr. can recite mystical incantations over the guitar like they probably did on mine!!