A high saddle maybe...

[Mike Mandelas]

Dear friends, yesterday i had a chance to play a gig in Salonica with some friends from the University years. I played soprano sax and we had a terrific time. The DB player was a young guy with good chops and performed with a fully carved German flatback, about two years old. During our rehearsal he played unamplified for some time and i had the chance to hear the instrument carefully. The thing that amazed me is that although the E,A and D strings delivered a consistent sound, the G string was rather "choked". The bassist new it and he told me that despite the fact that his luthier tried to fix it (changing the sounpost position, trying some different strings etc) the sound remained choked. The amp eliminates the problem up to some extent, but a seasoned ear can distinguish the difference.

Today in the morning i tried the bass for two hours. It is a good instrument, strung with Spiros weich, built in Mittenwald and costing about $8.000. My limited experience make my mind towards a high saddle, which served me perfectly once in the past, in a similar problem. I have not the time to do it now but the fella asked me to discuss it with the Forum's members. So, i would be grateful if you could give us your thoughts about this situation. Your experience is the only reference point we have.
Mike