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EJ160e nut & saddle?


Dodger11

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Yes, and yes, It makes the guitar a bit more resonant and bone transfers the sound much more to the soundboard or top, making it a truer sound, plastic can dampen the sound ever so slightly. But the nut and saddle needs to be made to the corect measurments and radius of the fretboard to get the best out of your guitar, also changing the bridge pins from plastic to bone or brass can have a possitive effect on some acoustic guitars.

You can only improve the guitars sound with these upgrades as long as they are done correctly, you cant go wrong.

There is a guy I use in the U.K, he's on the internet and on Ebay, guitar-saddles-by-treeroot, he does a top class job.

Good luck with yours.

Mo [biggrin]

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I changed the saddle of my EJ-160 to bone. I did it simply because I wanted to lower the action a bit more and didn't want to sand down the stock saddle.

 

Action got lower. Was there a change in tone? Absolutely not. The most important tone changing component on an acoustic guitar is a set of strings. Try different sets (they are cheap enough) and find what you like. I've tried every set of strings imaginable (the silk wound ones were a trip) and in doing so I definitely learned that strings, not nut or saddle, are the key to the tone you seek.

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I've got a few different brands that I like a lot.

 

My first choice would be Pyramids, they have a great sounding acoustic string with a round core that I like. D'Addario has a couple of sets that I like too, I've tried and liked the flat top sets they have. They are a half wound acoustic set that are pretty good for the lower price. D'addario is probably my favorite cheaper, non-boutique string.

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  • 5 years later...

Varying opinions... all correct.... [thumbup]

 

Another aspect to 160e owning and playing is choice of strings

 

In theory IMO should be nickel electrics

 

I have a 160e cheap copy, which I like a lot... [thumbup]

 

Strung with 9 gauge nickel electrics

 

I know at least one Gibson J160e player who strings with acoustic bronze 12's

 

Doesn't notice any difference... [unsure]

 

V

 

:-({|=

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Dodger, try the Gibson L5 nickel strings if they're available to you. I use them on my '60s spec Gibson J160e (ladder braced, laminiated top, and adjustable saddle). Unmistakable Beatle sound, if that's what you're after, both acoustically and through an amp. I use a heavier guage than Versatile, as I like a thunkier response from them.

 

Of course, the Epiphone is x braced and has a solid top, so it's a little bit of a different beast, but a friend use the L5s on his Epi and they also sound quite good.

 

I use Gibson Masterbuilt 80/20's on my Epiphone EJ160E. These are another good choice. More of a "conventional" and less Beatley sound from these.

 

Red 333

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Absolutely. I wasn't knocking the advice, I just don't think the last two posters had realized that a 5 year old thread has been resurrected for no apparent reason.

 

I actually have Gibson Masterbuilts on the DR500-MCE at the moment, I quite like them, just not sure how long they're going to last, cursed as I am with highly corrosive fingers. After a year of Elixir Nanowebs, uncoated strings did take a bit of getting used to. D'addario EXP 16's next up.

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I don't want to rain on anybody's parade but this thread is 5 years old!

 

That's hilarious! It was just sitting atop the pile of threads, so I replied. I never noticed the majority of the posts were from so long ago, though I was happy to one from dhanners, since they are so infrequent since he moved to the Middle East, and was surprised to see a WannaBeatle post, as I've read many of his on the BeatGearCavern forum over the years, and did not know him to be a member here.

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All good strings - in what way do the Masterbilts sound different to the elixirs?

Oh boy, I'm really bad at this! I've been following all of the recent string/guitar comparison threads on the Gibson acoustic forum lately and while I'm clear in my own head what I prefer I find it difficult to articulate exactly why.

 

It's all subjective anyhow. I would say that the Gibsons have a slightly warmer less harsh overall tone than the Elixirs, definitely much more of a thump on the bass. Been playing a lot of blues lately and the Gibsons do seem to lend themselves to that "bluesy" sound.

 

I only noticed them when ordering the D'addarios because you asked about them a couple of weeks ago,and I figured for €6 they were worth a punt.

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In my humble experience it's not the make of strings used (most decent makes are about the same, cheap ones are rubbish, no doubt about that). It's the gauge of the strings 11s will sound and play different from 12s ditto 13s etc etc. Electric strings are different in gauge so sound and play differently. Even though some strings have different quantities of the materials used that, IMHO, does not alter the sound and feel any where near as much as the gauge. In other words 12s will sound like 12s no matter who made/ labelled them. There is, I'm sure, a lot of hype regarding strings, saddles, nuts etc (maybe metal nuts and saddles could make an audible difference) and you have really got to have a good ear to tell the difference. Of course new strings, mostly, do sound different, as do really old strings - according to Dylan.

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