farmer61 Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 (edited) Just aquired this new beasty Really good nick, normal acoustic issues of low volume when unplugged, but a fine aquisition all the same (used to have one, sold it, regretted it, so rebought one!!!) Anyway after my initial play, I'd like to adjust the action if possible. At the headstock end the action is fine but is a tadge high at the body end, prob by .25cm or so. Now as far as I can tell, there is some possiblity to reduce the height of the plastic (?) bridge, I assume by filing and I'm sure some truss rod adjustment. If anyone has done this before on an ABG I like some words of comfort/tips/advice before I have a crack at it. It's a Takamine EG512C. Thx. Edited November 3, 2010 by farmer61 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 [quote name='farmer61' post='1010374' date='Nov 3 2010, 09:03 AM']Just aquired this new beasty Really good nick, normal acoustic issues of low volume when unplugged, but a fine aquisition all the same (used to have one, sold it, regretted it, so rebought one!!!) Anyway after my initial play, I'd like to adjust the action if possible. At the headstock end the action is fine but is a tadge high at the body end, prob by .25cm or so. Now as far as I can tell, there is some possiblity to reduce the height of the plastic (?) bridge, I assume by filing and I'm sure some truss rod adjustment. If anyone has done this before on an ABG I like some words of comfort/tips/advice before I have a crack at it. It's a Takamine EG512C. Thx.[/quote] IIRC on the Takamine the bottom of the saddle has notches in it which might have something to do with making individual contact with the piezo for each string. I seem to remember deciding not to mess with that and filed the top of the saddle instead. Take your time. If you do attack the bottom, make it squared off otherwise you'll get poor physical contact with the piezo, resulting in uneven output. I had to fix an electro acoustic guitar recently - no signal from the low E string. This was due to the guy having a go at lowering his action but filing the bottom of the saddle squint. So basically, either shape the top to your liking or make sure the base of the saddle is flat, straight and true if you file the underside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmer61 Posted November 3, 2010 Author Share Posted November 3, 2010 [quote name='neepheid' post='1010593' date='Nov 3 2010, 11:49 AM']IIRC on the Takamine the bottom of the saddle has notches in it which might have something to do with making individual contact with the piezo for each string. I seem to remember deciding not to mess with that and filed the top of the saddle instead. Take your time. If you do attack the bottom, make it squared off otherwise you'll get poor physical contact with the piezo, resulting in uneven output. I had to fix an electro acoustic guitar recently - no signal from the low E string. This was due to the guy having a go at lowering his action but filing the bottom of the saddle squint. So basically, either shape the top to your liking or make sure the base of the saddle is flat, straight and true if you file the underside.[/quote] OK thanks, file in situ or remove the saddle? Anyone else see a disaster looming??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 [quote name='farmer61' post='1010608' date='Nov 3 2010, 12:00 PM']OK thanks, file in situ or remove the saddle? Anyone else see a disaster looming??? [/quote] Remove the saddle. Filing/sanding will make an awful mess of your guitar and dust/filings could get into the slot and sit on top of the piezo - you don't want that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franzbassist Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 The saddle shoud just lift out, so check there are no shims already in there. If ther are, that's the quick way to lower the action. Then file the saddle down as neepheid suggested. Personally I'd take off the bottom, as it's easier to file flat than reprofile the top of the saddle. Might also want to mark a line across the bottom (or top) showing how much you want to take off, rather than leaving it to guess work once you get going. I made a whole new saddle from a bone blank for my Brook, and it was a surprisingly easy and enjoyable experience! If you are in any doubt about your skills, get a pro to do the work. cheers Gareth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circle_of_Fifths Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 Just make sure that the truss is all adjusted first. If you've got a scoop or bump in the neck, you'll get false measurements at the string height on the neck and you'd be compensating for things that aren't really the culprit. You might notice that intonation is a non-adjustable - since the saddle is just cut to help compensate for the different string length requirements; you can mess that up if you start cutting in the wrong place. Is your bridge bone - it's still called a 'saddle' there - shaped to compensate for some intonation in it's original design? If so - just be concerned that you don't mess with the top side too much. The fact that these 1-piece saddles aren't adjustable is one firm argument that you shouldn't really change to flats or nylon-wrapped strings when you cannot re-compensate for intonation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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