Having a tall saddle is always a good thing. For one, it increases the break angle of the strings (the angle that the strings make, rising from out of the holes and leading up to the saddle).
This, in turn, affects the sound emanating from your guitar. Greater the height, greater the break angle, more is the downward pressure exerted by the strings on the saddle, deeper is the contact of the saddle with the top of the guitar, better is the transfer of energy, and thus, better is the volume and sustain of the instrument. This is something that most of my customers would recall me talking about.
However, there is a flip side to having too tall a saddle. The saddle slot in the bridge is of a certain depth. With a very tall saddle, there is always the risk of it leaning forward under the tension of the strings.
Over a period of time, this can lead to tragedy with the front edge of the bridge breaking off completely. If that does not happen, the bridge cracking from that point is a very distinct possibility.
In an ideal world, we would like to have a tall saddle and still a very low action height at the 12th fret. But that seldom happens. Usually, if the saddle is tall, then the action on the instrument will be high too.
And so, to manage the action, we have to shave down the saddle.
So, when you’re inspecting guitars to choose one, don’t listen to the sound, don’t look at what colour it is, don’t even worry about the size of the body. Look instead at how low the action is, and correspondingly, how tall the saddle is. If you find a guitar with a tall saddle (say exposed height between 4mm to 3mm) and a very comfortable action, it means that the neck angle (the angle that the neck makes to body of the guitar once the two are brought together during the manufacturing process) is excellent. Short-list that instrument immediately.
Over time, as the strings exert pressure on the guitar and neck, trying to bring the two ends of the guitar together, this geometry changes, and the neck starts lifting. Thus, over the life of a guitar, one may have to shave down the saddle two or three times to keep the action on the instrument within comfortable playing limits.
The point I am trying to make is that when you look at a guitar with an averagely tall saddle and satisfactory action, know that you’ll be pulling out the saddle to shave it down so that you can make the action comfortable. In another three or four years time, you’ll be repeating the process as the strings are constantly acting on the neck and body of the guitar. Where would that leave the height of the saddle, the break angle, the volume and sustain?
Select an instrument which has a saddle standing 3-4 mm above the bridge (measured between the ‘D’ and ‘A’ strings) and yet has comfortable action. Never mind what brand or how the guitar looks, nine out of ten times such a guitar is going to sound good and serve you for many years.
