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Not the normal slant side to side of the slot, but angling the slot backwards.
I read somewhere, I believe also on the OLF, (maybe Mario Proulx was involved) that tipping the top of the saddle back towards the pins by a number of degrees that any adjustments in saddle height can be compensated for (in terms of the intonation) by changes in scale length.
For some reason I remember 12 degrees, but my memory is not so good these days
Can anyone comment, do they do this, can they point me to a post or referring to this?

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Rick Turner was referenced in a lot of those discussions and he advocated for 9 degrees in this discussion
https://luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=56191&hilit=rick+turner
Kent

I've seen angle saddles used with the builder claiming the potential for better UST pickup performance and reduced structural loading of the soundhole side of the saddle slot.

The most often cited counterarguments are that:

- String length becomes variable with saddle height, so the guitar will move toward sharp as the saddle height is reduced, and

- Once string break angle over the saddle exceeds about 15 degrees, driving force is adequate and any additional loading produces little or no improvement in UST performance

As to the first argument, I don't believe that the change in speaking length of the string will be a factor in sensibly changing intonation. A little trigonometry shows that speaking length of the string changes by just .020" with .100" change in saddle height (e.g., .150" as delivered; .050" minimum usable saddle height nearing neck reset), which is under a cent and a half pitch chance at the 12th fret for common guitar scale lengths. Most players will not hear pitch changes as sensibly sharp or flat at less than 4-5 cents change from at pitch, so unless already working near the limit of being audibly flat and sharp at the 12th, as well as playing in upper positions, it seems as though saddle-height related pitch change is not much of a concern.

For the second argument, we are usually more concerned with whether the saddle is well-fitted and meets that 15 degree minimum break than getting maximum down-force. A tight saddle with a slot which is not truly flat is often the culprit versus inadequate down force.

In the thread cited, Mr. Carruth - as is often the case - covers the UST down-force argument and I believe the notion of significant pitch changes with saddle height is put to bed. I've worked on a number of Mr. Turner's guitars, and while they are lovely little beasts, I doubt that the angled saddles contribute in a make-or-break way to the overall play experience.

I would suggest trying things out on a few guitars, the worst case being a bridge redo, which is fairly trivial work for most builders.

I understand that a properly constructed top will allow the saddle to rotate about 2 degrees under string tension. 2 degrees is enough to see and I didn’t like the look of my saddles leaning toward the soundhole. So, I started leaning the slot 2 degrees toward the tail. They usually stand straight up now.

https://luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=47075


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IMO the main benefit of angling the saddle back is that it reduces the tipping force that tries to break out the front of the slot. I've been using Turner's recommended 9 degrees on my instruments since it's enough to be a help with that, and can't hurt (and might help) with intonation. I'm just a maker, and don't have as much data on that as somebody who does setups for a living would have.