Acoustic guitar pickup woes and advice ...

thomasross20

What's the recommended height at the nut?

At 12fret, from fret to bottom of strings, I measure about 3mm. Feels high to me. But felt fine prior to string change :S argh!

I'm going to probably get a tech to lower the action as I feel it's a bit high for me.

Also, these elixir nanowebs sound good but feel weird - prefer daddarios, I think..

thomasross20

Fyi truss rod seems fine.

ICBM

Nut height: fret each string at the 3rd fret and look at the gap between the string and the 1st fret.

It should be tiny, about 1/10 to 1/4 of the string diameter at most - Rizla paper thickness on the plain strings, basically. There should *be* a gap, but it may be so small you have to tap the string up and down onto the 1st fret to see it.

thomasross20

Is there something I can shove between the string and fret..
Just a piece of paper?

Out at practice tomorrow, will get onto this at the weekend 8)

Lewy

3mm seems high. A fairly standard acoustic action is the "2 & 3" which is 2/32" on the high E and 3/32" on the low E. If my calcs are correct that's 1.6mm and 2.4mm.

ICBM

thomasross20 said:

Is there something I can shove between the string and fret..
Just a piece of paper?

You don't really need to. Just have a look at it, it will be obvious if it's too high.

It's a very simple and accurate test because you're using the string as a straightedge between the nut and the second fret.

thomasross20

So I tried it through the PA last night (still need to get the action sorted...) and it sounded fine. EQ on the PA and my Orchid DI box and I was totally sorted. Only thing I've not got is a mute so would have to turn it down at the PA if switching to electric (I assume just yanking the lead out would cause some banging). 

ICBM

thomasross20 said:

So I tried it through the PA last night (still need to get the action sorted...) and it sounded fine. EQ on the PA and my Orchid DI box and I was totally sorted. Only thing I've not got is a mute so would have to turn it down at the PA if switching to electric (I assume just yanking the lead out would cause some banging). 

Yes, don't do that. Soundmen are really not going to like you .

Probably the best solution is a Boss TU-3 tuner pedal - put that between the guitar and the DI box. That provides thee functions: tuner (obviously ), mute switch, and a good buffer in case for some reason you need to have the DI a long way from the guitar.

Or any other tuner pedal you may prefer if you don't think you need the buffer. (Since most are true bypass.)

thomasross20

I have a long pitch black - will check if that does the job 8)

thomasross20

@ICBM and other Scotland residents..! 

I want to get a tech to give my Larrivee the once over. I want the action to be more like that of a Martin - right now I'm exerting too much force pressing strings down. 

--> Any recommendations for somebody who can do this? 

ICBM

thomasross20 said:

@ICBM and other Scotland residents..! 

I want to get a tech to give my Larrivee the once over. I want the action to be more like that of a Martin - right now I'm exerting too much force pressing strings down. 

--> Any recommendations for somebody who can do this? 

I can, although you may want someone else to recommend me first .

But Martins generally have medium-high actions! So if your Larriveé has a higher action than that it really does need looking at...

thomasross20

I just want to hand it over and get it given the once over, even if all is fine. Would I drop it off at your shop? 
I honestly think the nut is a tad high and/or the saddle needs a bit sanding. Or perhaps I'm being a wuss! Will PM you

Lewy

thomasross20 said:

I just want to hand it over and get it given the once over, even if all is fine. Would I drop it off at your shop? 
I honestly think the nut is a tad high and/or the saddle needs a bit sanding. Or perhaps I'm being a wuss! Will PM you

You said the action was 3mm on the high E at the 12 fret....that's waaaay high.

Out of interest, roughly how much saddle is sticking out of the top of the bridge? Is there a healthy looking break angle over the saddle? And if you measure the the distance between the bottom of the D string and the actual top of the guitar (ie soundboard) right in front of the bridge, what's that measurement?

Can you post a side-on pic of the bridge (as if you were holding the guitar on playing position and looking down at it)? 

thomasross20

I wasn't notified of your reply - I'll do this now..

thomasross20

Low E 12th fret to string bottom is 2.75mm. High E is 2.25mm. 12mm from body (between sound hole and bridge) and bottom of D string. With capo on 3, paper thin between strings and 1st fret. Think the saddle needs shaved. Will post pics in a few hours

thomasross20

With 1st fret capo and holding down 12 fret, paper thin between string and fret at 7th fret. Has to be the saddle. Gonna get @ICBM to work on it. Hope it's not lop-sided!

thomasross20

Saddle:


3rd fret capo'd:


Fret 15 string height:

ICBM

Yes, that looks like it has a fair bit of room to come down.

thomasross20

Just PM'd you about that, too!
Yes... surprising how I never really noticed it much before

Lewy

ICBM said:

Yes, that looks like it has a fair bit of room to come down.

Yep.

I always worry when people talk about sanding down saddles without thinking about break angle or the height of the string off the soundboard. But looks like plenty of scope there.