Thought this might be interesting to a few here like me who have recently bought F2s and F4s and not been completely wowed by the sound.
When I first got my 21 it had this, with a major sag:
As soon as I could I replaced it with a basic ebony Stew Mac bridge - my first attempt at fitting a bridge to a top, which worked out pretty good. To me it still didn't have the zing I remembered my old A mandolin having.
Next, bought a Cumberland bridge which improved the sound a lot - clarity and sustain improved. Good quality ebony no doubt. I found though after a few days the saddle was sagging, and I started thinking about bone as a more rigid substitute.
Pretty quickly I found an Ebay listing for two blanks of the right size. $10, free shipping. Worth a punt for sure.
Here's my efforts. Roughly copied the Cumberland saddle. Cut the bone with a hacksaw and used a small flat file to shape it. Onto the Cumberland base:
I just couldn't get my mind to accept the look of it (white saddle) on the mandolin. Some people like this look, but hey, it's mine to live with:
So I decided to dye it black. Found some instructions online. First attempt was dismal - turned a kind of blue and mottled. Second attempt, including leaving it in the dye over night turned out like this:
With two ebony saddles:
On the Cumberland base:
I am REALLY happy with what this has done to the sound of my mandolin. I was sceptical, and prepared to hear no difference, but I can quite obviously. More clarity, sustain and volume. Particularly when digging in to a strum, a big sound!
More like I remember the A, but not as flubby in the bass.
Glad I tried it
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