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Allen S - Posted - 03/09/2020: 19:16:11
Hi y'all, I've been watching this forum for several years and finally decided to join. I'm wondering if anyone knows where I can buy Scheerhorn Ebonite saddle inserts? I've looked online and haven't come up with anything.
MarkinSonoma - Posted - 03/10/2020: 02:48:37
The nomenclature became confusing to me over the years.
First there was Ebonex, which I had in my Clinesmith for several years. Then There was a 2nd generation material Tim used which I guess was called Ebonite?
Then that went away and for the past several years at Elderly there have been Scheerhorn maple inserts with the cap referred to as "composite." I'm not sure if that came about because Ebonite was a trade name.
According to Elderly they have a few left if the online listing is accurate. Link below.
Tim isn't getting any younger - I believe he will be 73 this year, so I'm not sure if he's still making these inserts.
I have heard that the newish Beard SchockWave inserts are very similar.
elderly.com/products/scheerhor...addle-set
Interesting sidebar regarding Todd Clinesmith. He was the one who talked me into the original Ebonex after doing some work on my guitar which when new came with natural ebony over maple inserts. I was visiting him three years ago and at the time he had gone full circle and was back to ebony over maple on new guitars he was building.
Edited by - MarkinSonoma on 03/10/2020 02:53:54
sovio - Posted - 03/10/2020: 04:34:50
Pardon my ignorance but what are the supposed advantages of the "Composite" inserts ?
Allen S - Posted - 03/10/2020: 05:40:18
Thanks for the info Mark! I recently purchased a W/S that I'm planning to do some mods to including new saddle inserts which are way too low currently. I read that some of the W/S resos came with the Scheerhorn composite saddle inserts and they were supposed to be great. I don't have a good way to slot saddles so I'll probably go with the Beard pre-slotted inserts.
Oboe Cadobro - Posted - 03/10/2020: 08:24:09
quote:
Originally posted by MarkinSonoma
Then that went away and for the past several years at Elderly there have been Scheerhorn maple inserts with the cap referred to as "composite." I'm not sure if that came about because Ebonite was a trade name.
It certainly was...I remember plastic oboes in the 1970's being made of Ebonite.
AK Slider - Posted - 03/10/2020: 10:33:32
quote:
Originally posted by sovio
Pardon my ignorance but what are the supposed advantages of the "Composite" inserts ?
The body of the bridge insert is maple, but instead of an ebony cap it is a synthetic material. It is much tougher and less likely to chip and wear than brittle ebony, plus they sound great.
Allen S - Posted - 03/10/2020: 10:54:19
My reso is a Mahogany W/S and I'm planning to put in a Scheerhorn cone, new spider (#14 or Replogle), and new saddle inserts. Does anyone have an opinion between ebony capped maple vs Beard shockwave saddle inserts for this setup? I know it has a lot to do with personal preference, but any opinions would be greatly appreciated.
Dobrojan - Posted - 03/10/2020: 12:13:00
I wonder if Matt at Blue Chip has experimented with his material on a bridge??
daver - Posted - 03/10/2020: 19:59:45
Ebonite is a brand name for a material generically known as hard rubber, and is obtained by vulcanizing natural rubber for prolonged periods. Ebonite may contain from 25% to 80% sulfur and linseed oil.
Ebonex is a corporation that manufactures bone black or bone char as pigments.
My guess is that Tim's (or Paul's) saddle inserts are made from neither of these...
I believe they are made from some manner of phenolic in the broadest sense of the the term (composite plastics which are paper, cloth, wood fiber or glass-reinforced resins). There are many different brand names: garolite, richlite, rocklite to name a few.
My take is that the sound is a little clearer with composite saddle insert caps. YMMV.
MarkinSonoma - Posted - 03/10/2020: 20:58:44
Well Dave, Tim definitely referred to his first generation composite capped inserts as either Ebonex, or ebonex. Don't recall if it was a capital "E" or a lower case "e" - perhaps not unlike Dobro vs. dobro?
I didn't know that there were oboes made of Ebonite until Dane, our resident oboist/dobroist shared that fun fact.
I do recall that Ebonite is a material for bowling balls. It must be tough stuff - bowling balls live a hard life.
daver - Posted - 03/11/2020: 10:42:15
Correct, Mark, Tim did use the term "ebonex" to unofficially trademark/trade secret his particular version/material of composite-topped inserts. I'm guessing Ebonex® the bone char corporation didn't care one bit. Now, if he ever started calling his wonderful resonator guitars "D*br*s®", I'm sure the sh*t would hit the f*n at the ever-litigious G*bs*n® Brands Inc.
I was mostly referring to the material question. Though I have no personal test evidence, I would proffer a guess that Ebonite®, though tough, might be a little too resilient for a saddle insert cap. And I'm guessing that using Ebonex® bone char as a component in a saddle insert would probably result in a dry, dead sound... 
jacknj - Posted - 03/13/2020: 06:39:59
For what it's worth, I've made Corian capped maple inserts.
