Where to cut the saddle slot on this guitar bridge?

Рет қаралды 262,024

7 жыл бұрын

Time to install a saddle in this bridge. Where exactly to put it? Salvaging this original Gibson bridge required filling the saddle slot. You can’t assume the original factory placement was correct. Dan Erlewine shows how he located this saddle.
About the guitar in this video: This 1942 Gibson LG-2 is all mahogany. It's often called a "banner" model because of the peghead decal: a banner reading "Only A Gibson Is Good Enough."
Thanks to our friend, Dakota Dave Hull for the music!
If you have questions, please contact us through our webpage www.stewmac.com/email or visit our Facebook page / stewmac
For more information on tools and parts:
Bleached White Bone Saddles
www.stewmac.com/6034.html
The Intonator
www.stewmac.com/5245.html
Soundhole Clamps
www.stewmac.com/M2010.html
Acoustic Bridge Locating Pins
www.stewmac.com/4602.html
StewMac Guitar Bench Pad
www.stewmac.com/1679.html
StewMac Deadblow Neck Rest
www.stewmac.com/1790.html

Пікірлер: 141

@michaelandmelanieasby4378 4 жыл бұрын

Ol' Dan the Man....love how he uses modern tools with old timers inventive imagination.

@HunnysPlaylists 3 ай бұрын

We all should.

@bpabustan 5 жыл бұрын

At first I thought Dan Erlewine made a Floyd Rose bridge for an acoustic guitar!

@KONAUKKO 4 жыл бұрын

😂

@fordsrestorations970 Жыл бұрын

45 years of fine woodworking and I discover programs like this that I learn a lot more .

@SkyfallLodge 7 жыл бұрын

I can barely play a guitar, not really sure why I enjoy watching one being repaired so much.

@TheOnlyGuitarFather 2 жыл бұрын

The Bob Ross of guitars. Best teacher on KZfaq

@ScrapwoodCity 5 жыл бұрын

That little brass gadget is really brilliant!

@ianmoshe227 2 жыл бұрын

i know im asking the wrong place but does someone know of a method to log back into an instagram account? I was stupid lost the password. I appreciate any tips you can give me!

@kyesullivan7137 2 жыл бұрын

@Ian Moshe Instablaster ;)

@coreymihailiuk5189 4 жыл бұрын

Dan is a wizard of guitar repair and a Godsend for every guitar repair man who benefits from his generous sharing of valuable knowledge.

@TwistedMatter 2 жыл бұрын

Dan, what a dream it would be to spend a year as your apprentice absorbing as much of your experience and knowledge as possible. You are an innovative guitar genius.

@bellowphone 7 жыл бұрын

Another great video. It's a privilege to be able to watch these, and get so many useful tips.

@mesri3 4 жыл бұрын

It's fascinating to watch Dan work and I have been watching many of his videos. It's become an every day thing. Last night, I went to sleep watching another of Dan's videos, his voice sonorous and gently lulling me to sleep. Now I almost didn't click on this video, when i saw the title and thought how interesting can this be but I'm glad I did.

@littlepersondi 3 жыл бұрын

Dan.... I could watch you all day! I love the preciseness and all the knowledge you have accumulated. Such an art.

@stewmac 3 жыл бұрын

Wow, thanks!

@jimnardo8177 7 жыл бұрын

Dan, you are always a breath of fresh air with some guitar dust in there! Thanks for sharing!

@FriendM2010 2 жыл бұрын

Online calculator is great. StewMac ingenuity to make the bridge placement jig to trial and error bridge placement, Brilliant!!!

@jacobynt6851 6 жыл бұрын

A cool phrase for remembering how to fix intonation -" fret flat, forward" with regards to the fretted 12th string versus 12th fret harmonic. Hope that helps someone 😁

@finnchristensen527 Жыл бұрын

Warms my heart to see such dedication and skills in finding a workable, repeatable and perfect solution for an issue; thanks so much for sharing 👍👌

@audiotechlabs4650 7 жыл бұрын

This are the most valuable tips! For guitar builders, there is no better tool for saddle slotting. Thankz

@stevensrspcplusmc 5 жыл бұрын

Dan I wish I had the patience you have .. you are a true craftsman 👍

@musicsoundgear 7 жыл бұрын

Great video and tip. I learned a lot from this. Thanks Dan!

@KimchiSpringRoll 2 жыл бұрын

This man is a master.

@michaeladamcaira9174 7 жыл бұрын

when i started out as a tech,Dans books and videos were my bibles,now as a luthier,they are just as helpful,there is no one better

@ricotorres2674 5 жыл бұрын

michaeladam caira where can i buy his book i want to become a luthier too

@unclehomunculus 17 күн бұрын

So satisfying and informative to watch.

@mbmillermo Жыл бұрын

You are a great craftsman!

@lestergeez4349 Жыл бұрын

Dan's an acoustical genius. 😊

@cabronismo 4 жыл бұрын

Dan Erlewine is the Bob Ross of guitar maintenance

@leftoverking 6 жыл бұрын

neat tool. i have struggled with this task in the past. i used a toothpick i'd roll back and forth to find the right positions. sometimes i'd end up with some unusual compensations on the saddle. a nice piece of brass makes this way easier to hear the notes.

@shoumeekbose4662 3 жыл бұрын

Awesome.... Gave me the feels.

@-RandomBiz- 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this! What a great invention!

@ClamsAnonymous 7 жыл бұрын

I've always wondered how luthiers set the intonation on acoustic guitar. This was a very cool video!

@jonandersonmd7994 7 жыл бұрын

it's impossible to correctly set the intonation to be correct on an acoustic guitar ... unlike an electric, where individual string adjustments are available.

@TheBeatle49 4 жыл бұрын

The vast majority don't do it this way!

@ZodiacEntertainment2 4 жыл бұрын

@@jonandersonmd7994 Instruments don't generally need super precise intonation, but it helps when somebody is as dedicated as Dan is to getting it close.

@chrisk8208 7 жыл бұрын

Try putting a bit of low tack (masking) tape on the bridge before installing the intonation tool. Then you'll have an easy surface to mark once you've adjusted the L shaped fingers.

@henryssurfshowcase 6 жыл бұрын

Nice I watch your other video and this one, I'm going to look for the one you cut the string slots on the bone

@BenState 2 жыл бұрын

I love this man.

@stewartkeyes2643 7 жыл бұрын

How Cool is that!!

@SylvainHache 2 жыл бұрын

Thank God for this man!

@geraldponce8336 5 ай бұрын

That gave me an idea. Have an acoustic that I wish the saddle slot was back a couple millimeters. When I intonated the bridge saddle the low E, A, and B string are at the back edge of the saddle and still a cent sharp. Have used the lightest gauge strings. Was thinking about a compensated saddle but the strings are too close to the bridge block for that. Think I could just widen the back edge of the slot with that tool and use a wider saddle to gain the extra space I need to intonate.

@Bbendfender 5 жыл бұрын

My cousin always used to say "we don't want 'em too good, they'll all want 'em that way". This is a great little mechanism for setting the bridge angle.

@apinakapinastorba 7 жыл бұрын

Clever tool!

@leewithey2014 2 жыл бұрын

Incredible!!’

@That.old.mountain Жыл бұрын

I want one of those intonaters permanently on an acoustic bridge - being able to adjust intonation and saddle height per string would be amazing

@haolelongpig6147 6 жыл бұрын

What a great idea.

@johncarl43447 6 жыл бұрын

thanks for sharing very smart!

@U_ever 7 жыл бұрын

Mr. E. You're a GENIUS ! Thanks for casting your pearls amongst the swine.

@neverlooksatit7986 5 жыл бұрын

Fortunately, Dan is not as rude, condescending and snotty toward his audience as yourself.

@Glennastete 5 жыл бұрын

Maestro!

@Musikministeren 4 жыл бұрын

Can the intonator be used permanently for keeping the intonation right on a guitar you have changed from standart scale to short scale...???

@FranziKoe 7 жыл бұрын

I'm often impressed with the tools you come up with. Unfortunately shipping to Germany is very expesive 😀

@madgeniusmusic 7 жыл бұрын

So is shipping to England. :-(

@lauriedepaurie 7 жыл бұрын

So is shipping to the Netherlands :(

@frontbum420 6 жыл бұрын

so is shipping to Canada

@yogamoshi567 5 жыл бұрын

Most of the tools are unnecessary, these videos are literally just paid advertisements for their tools.

@akipachoekie 5 жыл бұрын

@@lauriedepaurie wou dat ik mijn Cuatro Venezolano even kon laten afstemmen door hem.

@wilstandridge7388 7 жыл бұрын

wish I had his knowledge

@azibkeffli7344 6 жыл бұрын

He’s the real OG

@Bigsinglecoils 7 жыл бұрын

That's really cool. Love watching your vids!

@jonandersonmd7994 7 жыл бұрын

Dan ... you might want to include the fact that as you do your first intonation adjustment with your special tool, each string's forces are now different, and the entire set of strings ought to be checked again for intonation ...and perhaps again and again .. but when the instrument is in 'playing position', not on a bench...

@budandbean1 7 жыл бұрын

Dan, you mentioned the dreaded neck reset but with this you are talking about a new bridge block, bridge, and some pretty fancy cutting of the bridge itself. I'm really curious, what kind of savings can you tell your customer about? Neck reset vs all new bridge has to come fairly close in price I'd think.

@captainvideo2 7 жыл бұрын

Makes me wonder how it's done without that intonation tool? Awesome video, Dan!

@lauriedepaurie 7 жыл бұрын

In the olden days: not. Pure guesswork. Most smaller luthiers: experienced guesswork or calculations. The bigger factories usually have these routed to a specific spec in high quantities. To be perfectly honest, this level of intonation is overkill in 90% of situations. I like it, I have a guy that does this for me, but a lot of people don't even tune their guitar that well. And intonation this specific means the slightest changes in dimensions (and that happens a lot in acoustics) or a change of stringgauge/tuning will result in it being not perfect. That's not even really a big thing, unless you're playing open strings while playing higher up the neck.

@captainvideo2 7 жыл бұрын

+laurens b Thank you for the explanation, which makes perfect sense :)

@hackerguitar 7 жыл бұрын

captainvideo2 In the days before this tool, you'd make a saddle and adjust the crown closer to the front or back of the bridge according to how close the 12th fret fretted note and harmonic were. Most slots are 3/32" or so which allows reasonable intonation if the basic compensation angle of the slot takes the mass of the heavier wound strings into account.

@claudioortiz6099 2 жыл бұрын

genious

@TMoody 6 жыл бұрын

Wow!

@yrulooknatme 7 жыл бұрын

do you file the saddle string area individually to dial it in like the gage indicated or is that unnecessary?

@TheRealCatnut 7 жыл бұрын

wanting the guitar to be in tune is not a problem .. as long as you can make it that way

@gimpdoctor8362 5 жыл бұрын

Does putting a hard saddle like this on an acoustic not limit the player to using those gauges of string? If the player changes strings will the guitar's intonation not change? Is it tradition (of using such a style bridge) which keeps acoustics from being as versatile as a guitar with an adjustable saddle?

@neuro518 3 жыл бұрын

This sets it up for the 2 outside strings, but what about the 4 strings in-between?

@alexxxx9221 3 жыл бұрын

RESPECT

@thegee-tahguy4877 5 жыл бұрын

The SM Saddle Slotting Jig... the one thing I just can't get myself to buy due to the high cost. Besides, I'm awesome at making custom saddles including saddles that over hang the slot if necessary.

@TylrVncnt 4 жыл бұрын

Hey can you make a video of you doing this please! It would be extremely educational and super fascinating! Cheers!

@lnklttr 7 жыл бұрын

I noticed you started with the D string, curious as to why and what your preferred order would be. Also, does the same apply to intonating a solid body?

@BigCleverName 4 жыл бұрын

Unless you have an acoustic style bridge, a solid body guitar should have individual saddles you can move one-by-one

@Andluth 2 жыл бұрын

Where did you get that hard white pencil and leads?

@thomastommy1192 7 жыл бұрын

As always you produce great videos. I have A Martin D35. About two years ago. I loosened the string's completely. I stored the guitar. It has stayed at a fairly good temp and humidity is OK. I was told this could hurt the guitar when I decide to testring it. Can you please give me advice as to what I should do? I would be greatful for ever. Thank you, Thomas.

@neverlooksatit7986 5 жыл бұрын

I think you should PLAY this guitar. Otherwise, you're doing fine on storage

@danh5150 3 жыл бұрын

Very informative video, but I'm not sure why he doesn't cut the raised portion of the bridge into two pieces. Clearly the wound strings (low-E through G) form a very straight line, and the B and high-E form a 2nd line. It would be easy enough to route 2 slots (as many newer acoustics already do). The overall intonation would be more in tune.

@ResoBridge 5 жыл бұрын

The problem I have with these videos is that Dan has the enormous resources of StewMac behind him. I don't think I, or my customer, can afford my buying one of these intonation tools to sacrifice to creating low saddles like this. Yes you can keep that modified tool aside for other similar jobs but they are fairly rare.

@U014B 7 жыл бұрын

Now all we need is one with springs to keep tension and one for 12-strings.

@artgallery743 4 жыл бұрын

Would seem that you would have high E and low E intonated but perhaps the other 4 strings may or may not have fallen along the same line drawn.

@ed801975 7 жыл бұрын

Very interesting! Just curious...if the saddle is going to follow the path of the intonator's individual saddles, why not intonate just the two E strings to save time? Will the final saddle be compensated according to the intonator, or will it be a straight saddle? Can't wait to see the second part! And beautiful guitar!

@TheBeatle49 4 жыл бұрын

Because the intonation is based on a string's core diameter, not its total diameter. So a wound g has a core comparable to a plain high e.

@sullycliftona 5 жыл бұрын

cool

@neverlooksatit7986 5 жыл бұрын

I wonder how much the intonation would be improved just by doing a proper neck reset. Is this work any cheaper?

@stewmac 5 жыл бұрын

It's possible that a neck reset could help improve intonation, but it really depends on what's causing the problem with the intonation in the first place. If the neck joint isn't the issue, you may just end up creating a new problem while trying fix the current one, since a neck reset is really unlikely to "fix" bad intonation. Generally, a neck reset is a much more involved and invasive repair compared with cutting a new saddle slot in the proper position.

@erickleefeld4883 Жыл бұрын

I would be really tempted to just keep this thing on my acoustic, and treat it like an adjustable bridge on an electric.

@SuperMikete 7 жыл бұрын

genial nada mas q decir

@toneconsultant 7 жыл бұрын

/////Very cool

@richyp7126 5 жыл бұрын

or you can use some cut down drill bits like builders have been doing for years and save a ton of money

@photondebuger45 Жыл бұрын

People you don't know the MAGIC having a guitar intonated please do it and check your guitars bar chords never sounded so good and on electric guitar power chords are so satisfying good

@squidskunk 6 ай бұрын

why is this tool discontinued..?

@BobSperber 2 жыл бұрын

Someone commented that it look like a Floyd Rose. Don’t stop! Make a Campfire Metal special with a whammy bar and locking nut/tuners. (ouch)

@jemyfahrudinsyah 7 жыл бұрын

could you show the video how to fix buzz , my guitar always buzz on 5 string at fret 3, before that i make sadle lower with my ownself i was to trying set truss road but still buzz .. but

@jimdoner3443 4 жыл бұрын

Most likely a high fret or a bad bridge pin

@Lippa100 7 жыл бұрын

Very nice tool but it made me wonder.. For what reason all acoustics still use a fixed bridge? Doesnt tuningn and everything affect your intonation slightly so wouldnt it be better to have a bridge with adjustable intonation? Seems kinda stupid to me to stick so fixed bridges just for the tradition or is it something else? :/