How to Replace a Classical Guitar Saddle

Replacing the bridge saddle on a classical guitar is a good beginner project.

The guitar saddle is made of plastic or bone depending on the quality of the instrument. The saddle rests in a slot cut into the bridge plate, which is glued to the face of the guitar. The strings on your guitar go over the saddle. Eventually, the bridge saddle wears out and the strings create deep grooves in the top. A bridge saddle on a classical guitar is flat since the fret board does not have a radius built into it. This makes saddle replacement a great task for a beginner guitar repairman.

Things You'll Need

• Classical guitar saddle blank
• Feeler gauge set
• Coping saw
• Precision ruler
• 600-grit sandpaper
• Plate glass
• 800-grit sandpaper

Instructions

1. Loosen the strings on the guitar to a point where you can slide the old bridge saddle out from the slot on the bridge plate.

2. Slide the new saddle into the slot on the bridge plate. Line up one end of the saddle with the end of the slot and then place a mark on the opposite end of the saddle where the saddle protrudes from the other end of the slot on the bridge plate.

3. Tune the strings to pitch. Place a feeler gauge under the Low E string to measure the height between the bottom of the string and the 12th fret. The correct height should be .100 inch. Subtract .100 from the actual measurement. This tells you how much you need to remove from the Low E side of the saddle.

4. Place a feeler gauge under the High E string to measure the height between the bottom of the string and the 12th fret. The correct height should be .075 inch. Subtract .075 from the actual measurement. This tells you how much you need to remove from the High E side of the saddle.

5. Loosen the strings on the guitar and then pull the new bridge saddle out from the slot on the bridge plate.

6. Cut the excess portion of the saddle off at the mark you placed with a coping saw.

7. Transfer the measurements obtained in steps 4 and 5 to the bridge saddle. To do this, measure up from the bottom of the saddle on the Low E side and place a mark that denotes the number obtained in step 4. Repeat this on the High E end and place a mark that denotes the measurement in step 5. Draw a straight line across the saddle to connect the marks.

8. Place a piece of 600-grit sandpaper onto a piece of plate glass and then sand the bottom of the saddle until you reach the line you drew onto the saddle.

9. Sand the top edges of the saddle with 800-grit sandpaper to round over the sharp corners. In addition, sand the ends of the saddle to round over the sharp corners.

10. Slide the saddle into the slot on the bridge plate and then tune the strings to pitch.

References

• "Guitar Player Repair Guide"; Dan Erlewine; 1994
• Stewart MacDonald: Vintage Bone Saddles
• Hill Guitar; Classical Guitar Set-Up; Kenny Hill; July 2006