Oxidized brass saddles: do they effect the sound?

From memory I don’t believe the tarnish should effect tone too much. Unless it’s started to corrode. Which yours aren’t.

 

A bit of hair on the note?

 

No.

 

No but they can be easily cleaned.

 

no effect that I can hear and my saddles are nasty, that's how I like em

 

I think it's all in the fingers, not so much the hardware.

 

"Do they affect the sound?"

Yes...only when you look at them.


Many guitarists listen too much with their eyeballs.

 

I think they look better than something new and shiny. Can’t see that a bit of tarnish would make any difference to sound.

 

Some people pay extra for that

 

'tone rust'?
i have heard it all now.

 

No, you haven't.
I promise.

 

And with their wallets.

 

Thats the mojo that people crave

 

Tarnish is just the surface that's oxidized maybe 0.001" deep. It has zero effect on anything except one's sense of esthetics.

The width of the saddle could theoretically contribute to a change in tone, but practically has no effect.

 

It turns the heel of your hand green. Then when you palm mute the tarnish on your hand creates a metal to metal oxide contact which changes the magnetic affect of the strings. A magenetic damper. The strings then effect the pickup different improving your tone,

 

What about dust?

 

All about how much oxidation, how much dust, how much grime.

I just doubt the O.P. can get those old saddles off his old project guitar. And the height screws are too short and could be worse, on your player guitar. Ironically corrosion can mean the saddle and the height screw act in unison and you don't get hard to identify little buzzes and rattles coming from nobody knows where.

I would leave his other project together, and buy some of these instead:

 

I have a set of these from Darren and they work great. Especially at that price point.