Graph Tech
Graph Tech makes the parts of a guitar players notice only when they go wrong. The Canadian company's TUSQ and Black TUSQ XL nuts and saddles, its String Saver range and the Ratio tuning machines all target the same set of problems: tuning stability, string binding and consistent transfer at the break points. Manufacturers specify them widely, which is why the name shows up throughout our archive on new Gretsch, Cort, Epiphone, Fender and Gibson models rather than in stories of its own.
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- Nuts and saddles
- Machine heads
- Bridge pins
- Acoustic pickups
- TUSQ
- String Saver
- Ratio machine heads
- Ghost pickups
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Graph Tech FAQ4 questions
What is TUSQ?
Graph Tech's man-made nut and saddle material, used as a replacement for bone and cheap plastic. The company's case for it is consistency — a moulded part has none of the density variation of a natural material, so the transfer of string vibration is the same from one to the next.
What do String Saver saddles actually do?
They are saddles impregnated with PTFE, which Graph Tech says drastically reduces string breakage by letting the string move over the saddle rather than sawing against it. Bridge saddles are where most strings break on a tremolo-equipped guitar, so this is the specific problem the part exists to solve.
What are Ratio machine heads?
Tuners with a different gear ratio on each string, so that one turn of any button moves any string by roughly the same pitch. Standard tuners use the same ratio across all six, which is why the low E and the high E feel completely different to tune. Ratio is Graph Tech's attempt to fix that.
Are Graph Tech parts a straight swap?
Usually, but not always. Nuts and saddles are sold both as slotted drop-ins for specific guitars and as blanks that need shaping, and machine heads still have to match your existing holes and post spacing. Check the part number against your instrument rather than the brand name.