Unofficial Taylor Guitar Forum - UTGF

Lessons, Recordings, How Tos, Repair, Accessories => Lessons, Recordings, How Tos, Repair, Accessories => Topic started by: Jannie on January 09, 2012, 05:13:23 PM

Title: What is tusq
Post by: Jannie on January 09, 2012, 05:13:23 PM

What is tusq, the stuff the saddles are made out of, is it plastic, a composite or some form of bone?

Title: Re: What is tusq
Post by: michaelw on January 09, 2012, 08:35:42 PM

hi Jannie,
Tusq is a synthetic composite material, which i believe tries to mimic the density of ivory

when a Tusq saddle is dropped on a piece of plate glass it rings out quite nicely,
whereas softer plastic makes more of a dull 'thud' & Tusq is easier to work with,
imho, especially if one is using a powered belt sander to take material off the
bottom of the saddle, as plastic tends to melt & get 'gummed up'... not much fun :(

Tusq seem to wear (groove) a good bit more easily than some of the other synthetic materials to me &
i'm wondering if a wave-compensated shape might not wear quite as quickly (like the Gibson shape)
http://www.graphtech.com/products.html?SubCategoryID=1 (http://www.graphtech.com/products.html?SubCategoryID=1)

nuBone (used on the GS Mini) is meant to mimic the density of bone,
which is also made by the same company as Tusq (Graphtech)
http://www.graphtech.com/products.html?CategoryID=13 (http://www.graphtech.com/products.html?CategoryID=13)

sounds like you're enjoying your GC3 ... very  8) :)