Bone nuts and saddles have been one of those internet topics that has been overly discussed for many years, and I am completely aware that the common perception for a lot of players is that bone is always superior.
The main issue with bone nuts and saddles is that they're made from animals, which are inherently inconsistent in their density. No two bones are ever identical, any more than you and I are identical. This can result in soft or dead spots because of their natural grain and porousness.
On the contrary, TUSQ nuts, saddles and bridge pins are precisely engineered using high pressure and heat to govern which frequencies are transferred to your guitar top, which affects tone, and which remain in the strings, affecting sustain. TUSQ is also made from 100% organic polymers and contains no oil or animal by-products. They’re products are always consistent and produce harmonically rich tones.
This is not to say that a guitar with a bone nut and saddle may not sound fantastic. In fact, depending on the characteristics of your guitar, such as it being overly bright, a bone nut and saddle may warm it up a tad, which is pleasing to the ear.
But in my personal experience as a guitar player and dealer for the better part of my life, guitars equipped with TUSQ just resonate and sustain much better and more consistently than they do with bone materials. Even if you’ve always been a diehard fan of bone nuts and saddles, I encourage you to give TUSQ a try.
Like everything else in the guitar world, there are a million opinions and just as many experts—I am only here to try to give you some factual information so that you can make an informed decision without being swayed by more so-called guitar “experts” on the internet. And as always. let your own ears decide!
