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The "saddle" on my acoustic is broken (like it looks shattered/cracked) where the G-String makes contact with it. This makes the string sound dead. Is there an easy way for someone like me, who has no experience with guitar repair, to replace the saddle? Or should I try to find a professional to do it?
Also what would the price range be for replacing it? I only spent $50 to buy the guitar, so maybe it's not even worth it...
Stewart-MacDonald is a good source for saddles and the like. A precut saddle will run $15 or so and might be less at your local guitar pusher. Whether your guitar is worth it is up to you.
Buying a saddle blank is easy and cheap. Making one out of a piece of bone is somewhat more difficult but do-able. It's fitting the saddle to the bridge and adjusting the action that takes a bit of experience and patience. The saddle must sit absolutely square in the bottom of the slot, and snugly enough in the slot so as to have no side-to-side play. It must (or should) be configured to match the curvature of the fretboard if the fretboard is not flat. (most have some radius)
As well, it may need to be "compensated" to correct minor intonation adjustments.
Best, if you have no experience, to just have a luthier do it. It's relatively cheap.
If your guitar is pretty cheap, then it might not be worth it to have it professionally repaired. May as well try it yourself by either repairing the existing saddle with "gel" type super glue or buying a blank and cutting it to size (probably more work).
