What is the BEST material for guitar saddles and nuts???

Well, it depends on the instrument and what sound you want!
Materials tested are Tusq, Mother of Pearl, Bone, Black Horn.

Firstly, material choice is MOST important for saddles and much less so for nuts. I use horn for nuts but never would for saddles as it is very thuddy and dead sounding.

I plan to re shoot this video when i have time with similar sized pieces
of different materials (to stop the complaining about that) but really the sound difference is the same.

Similar to quality tonewood for the Top, back/sides, a saddle (and nut) needs to transmit vibrations well.

TUSQ, like Brazilian Rosewood, rings like glass hence why I use TUSQ saddles as standard on all my instruments (unless the customer asks for something else). It is a great choice to add brightness to a dull or "warm" sounding instrument. It is also of consistent density, making it especially perfect for undersaddle pickups. Product order numbers are below.

BONE is an excellent choice if a slightly warmer, less bright sound is wanted, especially on a new sitka spruce top instrument which can certainly have that new 'bright' sound.

Mother of Pearl- very similar in hardness and tone to bone. Both polish up beautifully (Tusq is more satin matt in colour)

Black Horn makes a nice nut but is quite 'thuddy' and is best not used for saddles- use Black Tusq XL instead.

​Nut Material is far less detrimental to tone then saddles are so I use polished Bone (standard), Tusq, Mother of Pearl or Black Horn according to the customers preference. I pair Black Horn (or black Tusq XL) nuts with Black Tusq saddles for a consistent look.

TUSQ Product order numbers (they change sometimes)
1/8" White Tusq slab:
PQ-9125-00 - (Individual 1/8" Tusq)
LQ-9125-10 - (10 Pack 1/8" Tusq)

1/4" White Tusq slab:
PQ-9025-00 - (Individual 1/4" Tusq)
LQ-9025-10 - (10 pack of the 1/4" Tusq)

1/8" Black Tusq slab:
PS-9125-00 (Individual 1/8" black XL)
LT-9125-10 (10 pack of 1/8" black XL)

1/4" Black Tusq slab:
PS-9025-00 (individual 1/4" Black XL)
LT-9025-10 (10 pack 1/4" Black XL)

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