Other than original pre-war specs and design at that time, what are (were)the sonic goals for the cut-through long saddle ? More surface area ? Just curious on any opinions.


Tom Stopulos

I have no idea, but I suspect the original cut through slots were that way because they were cut with a saw, not a router.

You're probably right, Rockerbob. They probably go back to the classical guitar.
Then one day, someone probably said, "Hey, I'll bet if we routed this out, there'd be less of a chance for the bridge splitting, plus when Larry Baggs gets around to inventing an under-saddle pickup, it won't slide around on us!" Such is progress.

Seems to just be cosmetic now. Most of the through saddles on modern guitars are really just long drop in saddles. Martin, for example, uses drop in long saddles on their vintage series. They glue them in on the GE and Marquis models, but they use the same routed out bridge as the drop in. The ends of the saddles are cut square on these. If you look close, you can see the half circles at the end of the saddle, where the routed slot was filled in with black filler.

Bryan Kimsey is of the opinion that, all else being equal, a cut through saddle creates a smoother, more balanced sound. Less punch but more string to string balance and clarity.

That guy has probably had his hands on a million guitars, so he probably can speak with some authority on this issue.