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Had a fella call and ask about this...his guitar is very quiet on the E strings...we're talking plugged in with a piezo undersaddle pickup...my guess would be that the saddle slot is minutely deeper at both ends for whatever reason. The saddle was re-routed to install the pickup which was wider than the original saddle, and the other strings pick up just fine...any ideas?

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http://www.presnallguitars.com

First have him press down firmly on the saddle, this will often reseat it and make better contact with the pickup.
Let me know if that works, if not I would say there is an inconsistency in the saddle slot.
Hope this helps,
Evan

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http://www.NewYorkGuitarRepair.com

My first thought is that the saddle is rounded so the ends are not making as good of contact as the center.

how long ago was the installation? in addition to the reasons cited above, belly rise from string tension or humidity can cause the problem.

Michael and Paul bring up good points, I remember having to jack up a top on a Guild to get even output on a previously installed pickup. The jack simulated the position of the top so I could reroute the saddle slot in the position it is in when strung. Worked like a charm.
We later put a K&K pickup in it and it had the client wanted to do that first it would have saved him some money and time.
Evan

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http://www.NewYorkGuitarRepair.com

All valid points...I didn't ask about the time since installation...maybe I can look at the slot and saddle, and go from there...or sell him an I-beam!

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http://www.presnallguitars.com

yeah, it sounds like maybe the saddle slot was routed on the same radius as the body maybe instead of flat.

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

I had a guitar that did that. The saddle was stiff enough that it stayed straight when the strings were tightened, while the bridge bellied up a little bit. It doesn't take much... We ended up cutting the saddle in half.

I find the cheap nasty pickups on budget guitars (if it is) also are not very forgiving so you have to have good contact with the saddle.....
easy enough to put your 6" straight edge on the bottom of the saddle to see what its doing and if its straight and square...if thats ok then the saddle is probably to thick and jamming in the slot...
if its neither of these circumstances then its probably the slot either poorly routed or the scenario with cheap guitars usually the bridge is painted and the slot has not been cleaned out properly ...
or the face may have problems and the slot needs to be re-routed
gratay39001.7907523148

the problem with routing the slot without the top being held in position is this;

with the strings off the top sinks a bit. saddle slot may be routed routed flat. but refit strings and belly rises again, the bridge flexes up and you have a high spot in the center, and the saddle does not make solid contact at the ends.

s-m used to sell a tool, don't know why they dropped it from there line, that was basically just a beam with movable feet and a dial indicator mounted in the middle. one of its uses was to measure the height of the bridge with the strings on. when you remove the stings you could then jack the bridge up to the same height, then route the slot ensuring that the slot would be flat under string tension.

If we hear this (the bridge deformation) with an under saddle piezo, this means the same thing is possibly happening to a regular saddle and bridge but we just do not hear it as well.
Is that something to consider while building?

i take it into account in that i don't route the slot until after the guitar has been strung up and left under tension for a short while, preferably a month or so.

even so, if using an under saddle pickup the chances that a slot will need to be rerouted during its life are fairly good.

Larry, I have one other suggestion. I am getting ready to install a L.R. Baggs Active Element system and was reading the instructions and it says that .250" on either end of the pickup is not active for some reason. They suggest that you make sure your saddle is at least .250" longer that the string spread so as not to get dead string on the ends of the pickup. Thought this might be worth checking since you said the E strings are not getting amped.

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Cool, I'll look into it...and Dave, you have a PM

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