Suzuki bridge, no saddle ???

[Bart van Weperen]

Recently I got a Suzuki (labeled: Nagoya, Japan, number on neckblok: 710128) in for repair. This guitar's bridge, bolted to the soundboard using only 1 central bolt, was off when I got this instrument. The bridge was warped, but that's been corrected by now.
The strange thing to me with that bridge is that there is a "slot" routed out where I'd expect a saddle to fit, but...
The slot is only about 1 milimeter deep and is half-circular (as you'd get by drilling a hole in wood and then sawing this would straight through that hole) Difficult for me to explain in words (see the attached pics).
I wonder if this bridge had any saddle fitted in originaly. There's no visible damage to the slotted part of the bridge, as I would expect there would be without a saddle... So I'm thinking maybe there was a round saddle that fitted in the slot?
I've never seen a saddle like that... Anyone who knows these bridges?

Thanks in advance!
Bart

[Tim Mace]

It probably had a circular plastic rod that just laid in that trough ....must be a classical?

[Greg Mirken]

Tim is exactly right. A piece of Delrin rod works fine.

[Frank Ford]

Yep, that's exactly right - those super cheap-o bridges had a simple 1/8" diameter plastic rod balanced there as a saddle. Woist design ever. Dang saddles always got lost and adjustment is on the low end of the feasibility scale.

[Bart van Weperen]

Dear Tim, Greg and Frank,

Thanks for your info! So there was a rod-like saddle in there...

Tim, I'm allmost sure this was/ is not a classical but an accoustic. Tell tale signs to me are: there"s a label stating: "Steel reïnforced neck".
The nut -appearing to be the original- has verry narrow slots and I don't believe any classical strings would even fit.
The fretboard measures 41 mm/ 1.611 inch wide on the 0-fret and 55 mm/ 2.17 inch at the 12th. Verry narrow for a classical. These things speak in favour of it being an accoustic.
There is a bridge-plate, although verry small and verry thin: it's there, and that too -to me- says "accoustic".

I found a total of 25 things to repair on this Suzuki, so it'll be in my care for some time (Don't worry: this is not my source of income, this is part of my self-education). Later on I'll make a blog on this project, with more pics, that would make any discussion on classical- accoustic easyer.

Thanks again!
Bart

[Rob Mercure]

Well, well, I''ve got one of these bridges in my junk box from a bunch of broken cheapies that I scrapped out in the late 1970s when I had no idea what I was doing but just couldn't throw away anything that might have any future use. Thanks, I've often wondered what it had gone on although the one I've got looks like there was never a saddle - there are worn grooves in the bridge wood.

Rob