Seeing as my Collings OM-2H is the only Collings I've ever played or seen, I had a question re: saddle compensation ....that hopefully some of my fellow forumites might be able to give me input on.
I ordered and installed a FWI saddle (re: earlier post). They made it from a standard saddle sent to them from Collings. It fits perfectly, but when I sat the original up against the FWI one prior to installing it, I notice that the Collings bone saddle slopes or curves fairly noticeably downward from about between where the 2nd and 3rd strings sit and on down to where the High E string is and it's also more contoured front to back. The FWI that I got, while somewhat compensated, is basically a consistent curve from one end to the other. As a result the action on the treble strings is higher than they were on my original saddle.
1. Are your Collings saddles like mine is, noticeably compensated where the treble strings are - or is it an even curve?
Betz at Vintage Ventures says he made an exact duplicate of what he has from Collings and he thinks that perhaps the store I bought it through shaved it and contoured it some in that area after receiving it from the factory prior to forwarding it on to me, to set it up better for the mostly fingerstyle I attempt to play.. (Personally, I doubt it but I said I was gonna ask on the forum)
2. I do like the way it sounds and I don't notice a difference in playability, but does this maybe account for why it sounds a little less bright and bell-like?
3. Also, are all Collings saddles the same from the factory? Or, for example, is OM different than D saddles?
Really appreciate any comments. Thanks. Ken

Hi KV,

I purchased a lot of FWI stuffs from Betzel and Karen over the years and they are always very helpful..

As for Collings Guitars.. My OM1A's original saddle is exactly the same as the one Betzel made for me.. it is a 98 model. Would it be that current Collings Guitar changed the spec. of their Saddle together with the unslotted bridge pins?

I loved to have my Saddle a little higher from High to Low E for added Volume and punch and for a fatter treble.. The added brightness is probably due to the Fossiled Ivory than the shape of the Saddle. IMO, the FWI add clarity and sustain to all strings its easily confused with brightness. The Bass on my guitar after FWI treatment is actually stronger and more focus but not any less heavy!

Prove: My Intellitouch tuner can never detect the Low E with bone saddle but the FWI Saddle always solve the problem! It happens on all my guitars!

KV,

What do you think of the FWI saddle now that you've had the guitar awhile with FWI and have had more time to evaluate. Sometimes we changes strings when upgrading the pins or saddle and that has a big difference in our initial reaction. Just thought I'd ask since I was thinking of adding an FWI saddle to my OM-2H.

Kenny B. - I'm liking it a lot. Again, I'm not the best at describing what changes I notice in sound, so I apologize for that lack of insight, but in the above post my original thinking was that it sounded less bright and 'bell like' but I don't think that any more. It's still got that nice bright tone, and of course now that I've had the FWI saddle on for about a week and a half I can't remember exactly what the bone saddle sounded like!
I sometimes notice a bit of 'buzzing' when I'm doing fingerstyle and I wonder if it's related to the new saddle, but I think it's more related to not being "tight enough" on the chord changes!
But I will say to my ears both saddles sound really good - but somewhat different - the FWI sounds really 'rich' .... again I like 'em both, and I haven't switched back and forth yet, but I'm looking forward to being able to do that - maybe even every time I change strings - I think it'll be kinda fun!
I can't say whether or not you'd like the FWI - but if the $$$ doesn't bug you - I'd say give it a shot!
Re: my question #1 above - I'm still curious about other Collings OM-2H original bone saddles - is your's compensated like mine is or is it a consistent radius like my FWI was made?
Ken

For what it is worth:

I have been switching between an FWI, an elephant ivory, and the original bone on my D2H and here is my conclusion:

The elephant ivory is the one. It just has superior sound qualities all around compared to the other two. That's my 2 cents.

Brett