What kind of saddle should use with a piezo pickup

[Gordon Scott]

I have a Martin OM with an under-the-saddle pickup (as well as a mic in the body).  I am replacing the saddle, which appears to be Micarta (it's clearly not bone).  What are the pros and cons of sticking with a synthetic saddle over a bone saddle?  I need to have the instrument plugged in, and I use only the under-the-saddle pick to avoid feedback.  

Thanks.

[Russell Vance]

Hi Gordon,

Depends on the transducer, if it's true piezo use a Graphtech Tusq saddle or similar synthetic which may help iron out some of the irregularities inherit with piezo element bridges.  If it's a co-polymer style transducer  such as the later Fishman series or the Martin Thinline ( re-badged Fishman anyway) you may find bone works just fine although these are often paired with Tusq type saddles.

That's what we do and we generally don't have any troubles at all, especially if the bottom of the bridge slot is flattened with a slot jig (mandatory I would say for older instruments) if required.   This question will attract a rash of answers as it has in the past, and there is a lot of knowledge out there.     I just told you what works for us, which is not necessarily the whole story.

Rusty.

[Gordon Scott]

Thanks.  Think I'm going to try a bone saddle first.  It's a fairly recent guitar and it sounds a lot better than the old thinlines, so I'm going to assume it's a co-polymer type pickup.  

[Mark A. Kane]

Russell's methods are spot-on, so you can't go wrong heeding his advice. I'd add that it would be an easy thing to cut one of each and see which gives the best results.