Tusq Tune-O-Matic

**G2Brew** · 01-03-2022, 02:15 PM

I've been playing around with an Epi Joe Pass EII Pro I picked up cheap a few years ago. It's good, but I wanted to see if I could make it great. I know it'll never be an ES-175, but I like the feel of it, and I think it has a lot more in it than it's currently giving me. First I tried different strings, and found that I liked TI 12-50s in it. No surprise there, I guess. Then I swapped the neck pup for a SD Alnico II Pro. The result was interesting, better clarity and maybe a slight improvement in tone, but it still wasn't quite "there." I wasn't happy with the intonation, so I got a TOM, which fixed the intonation, but it went backwards on tone. Now I'm considering Tusq TOM saddle contacts. Does anyone here have any experience with them?

TUSQ Saddles Set compatible with Tune-O-Matic Bridges 6 pcs (PQ-8440-0– Graph Tech Guitar Labs Ltd.

If all else fails I might make a custom bridge and saddle, which would be a lot of work, but I've been wanting to try my hand at it anyhow.

**Cunamara** · 01-07-2022, 08:43 PM

IMHO the Tusq saddles will tend towards brighter (but not as bright as steel), the String Saver saddles will tend towards darker. I use the later on my Strat and Tele with excellent results. Cuts down the "ping" on the notes.

**Hammertone** · 01-07-2022, 09:19 PM

Nylon saddles work fine for me:
Gotoh GEP104B in gold

**jads57** · 01-08-2022, 01:13 AM

I’ve put a Compton Bridge on all of Gibsons and Elferink Tone Master Archtop. Way improvement on sustain and tone!

Compton Guitar Bridge | Best Guitar Bridge

**cmajor9** · 01-08-2022, 05:06 AM

Originally Posted by jads57

I’ve put a Compton Bridge on all of Gibsons and Elferink Tone Master Archtop. Way improvement on sustain and tone!

Compton Guitar Bridge | Best Guitar Bridge

Have you tried different materials for the Compton? What did you like better tonally?

**jads57** · 01-08-2022, 02:48 PM

Elferink has the brass hollow to match gold on it. Gibsons and others have Aluminum. All I know is it way improved the sustain, especially on the Gibsons. No moving parts, so like having a stop tailpiece only.
You tell Wayne on spacing,radius and string gauge used. To fit snug on one guitar I used smallest shrink wrap on posts. But haven’t needed need it on most guitars.