[Here](https://imgur.com/a/EetorXG) you can see the saddle of an acoustic guitar. I know there are many saddle and bridge styles but I know nothing about it the science of it all.
Incase you cannot see: the big E has a low slope, followed by a middle ground for the A. The middle two strings: D and G share the highest point on the saddle. The next is the B string which doesn’t mirror the middle point like the A, but rather has a low slope, equal to that of the big E. Lastly is the small E which has the high slope like the middle two strings.
My pleb brain could maybe get down with it if it were semetrical but it’s not.
So why, in short and how is this ideal? I’m about to attempt crafting my own saddle soon and I’m curious to hear about what makes the perfect nut and saddle + intonation etc
Thank you for your time.
In: 9
What is happening here is a shortening or lengthening of the string. The highest point of the saddle is effectively where the string “starts” for the sake of vibration. The “longer” or less tension a string has, the flatter the sound. And the reverse holds as well, a “shorter” or more tensioned string means a sharper note. This can be used to adjust intonation. You may notice an electric guitar might have an adjustable bridge for each string to be able to find a perfect intonation for each string. Hope this helps!
Edit: spelling
The tubing of a guitar string depends on a combination of a few different factors like the tension and thickness of the string, but most obviously in a guitar, the length of the string
When you pick an open string, you will hear the note created by the length of string between the nut and bridge
When you fret a note you change the length of the string by pushing it against the metal fret – and this changes the note. Press the string against a different fret and you will change the length again, changing the note appropriately.
The problem is that every guitar comes with a certain amount of inconsistencies. The height of the string above the fretboard means you will be pushing the string down a different amount to reach the fret, and the different string thicknesses used can alter this as well, alongside altering the height slightly and so on.
Setting the intonation is where the bridge is adjusted in position slightly to change the length of the string to counteract these effects, so that the notes played stay perfectly in tune along the full length of the fretboard.
The shape of the bridge – in two groups of three – reflects the fact that most guitars effectively use two sets of three strings – three strings that are plain, single wires of different thicknesses on the high strings, and three thicker strings formed by taking a lighter weight internal string and winding a second wire around it to form an overall thicker string. The different properties of the two different constructions means the intonations vary in two different groups.
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