Saddle/Action question
 

I have a Taylor GS, the action has always seems a little too high. I was thinking about buying a new saddle from taylor & sanding it down a little to lower the action

Is this a correct way to lower the action? Is there anything I need to be concerned about?

taylor saddle https://www.taylorguitars.com/taylorware/tusq-saddle-acoustic



Thanks

Why would you need a new saddle? If the action is too high then you need to remove material not add to it so your existing saddle should be fine. Having said that there is a lot more to look into first.

Is the relief set proper?
What is the height of the strings over the 12th fret over the low-e and high-e? (measure top of fret to bottom of strings)
How much saddle is protruding out of the saddle slot now? (measure dead center)

Have you had your nut height checked. The action will feel too high on a guitar with a perfect saddle but high nut.

I was going to buy a new saddle just to be safe, I was planning on sanding it down a little. If I messed it up I can always put the old one back in

As for the relief, I have no idea. Is this easy to check?

I dont have a good ruler so the measurements may be a little off but

12th fret E is about 1/8"
e is about a little less than 3/32"
middle of saddle is a little less than 3/16"

I have not, do I measure it at the 1st fret or at the nut?

How high should it be?



Thanks

Here is Frank Ford's how to on nut height.

http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Musi...nutaction.html

If you've not read through the rest of his site you have a treat in store.

Great site,thanks.

I checked the nut & it is fine

Can you buy or borrow a good 6in steel ruler? IDK what you use to measure it but it should be precise. If it's a plastic engineer rule that would be ok too. Anyway assuming your results are correct you have a problem.

First check the relief. Hold the low-E string down at the first and the 14th fret. You are now using the string as a straight edge. Somewhere in the middle, so around the 7th fret, you should see a little air space. Should be about as high as a business card. Do that on the high-E as well. If there is a large amount of space there then you will want to adjust the truss rod to lower it. You can even make the neck dead flat but a bit of relief helps with fret buzz.

If you are lucky then your relief is too high and by lowering it you may lower your action a hair.

After that you will need to either lower the saddle or reset the neck. Again, measure at the 12th fret. IF your low-e string is 4/32nds ( which is the 1/8th you measured) then it's too high. Ideally that should be 3/32 which is 1/32 lower then your current height. In order to get there you will have to reduce the saddle by twice the desired amount. IOW you want to reduce the action by 1/32 so you will need to lower the saddle by 2/32.

Your saddle is 3/16th which is 6/32's so that's good. You can remove 2/32nd inch and be left with a saddle height of 4/32nds which is actually quite ideal.

To do this glue a piece of 100 grit sand paper to a flat board, like a piece of MDF. Flat is important. Mark off the saddle with a sharpie to remove 3/32nds off the bottom even and across the whole length. Then sand it right off. Keep looking at your work to make sure you are not sanding a funky angle on the bottom. Rotate the piece in your hand so that you don't unintentionally favor one side.

Once you are done that should give you an action of 3/32 down to 2/32 with a saddle height of 1/8th inch. IOW perfect.

Minor adjustments can be made that way. As already mentioned the truss rod must be adjusted properly first. If you need to lower the saddle more than about 3/64" you should have the neck angle checked. As the strings get closer to the soundboard you will loose punch and volume. Taylor guitars have necks that can be easily adjusted by a certified tech so I often will adjust action by setting the neck which lets the guitar play to it's potential.

The order of what should be checked is specifically as follows:

1. Neck angle
2. Neck relief
3. Nut Height
4. Saddle Height

3 & 4 can be done simultaneously etc.

Taylor guitars are super simple to adjust the neck on and very easy to check. Make sure this is correct before touching anything else. It takes about 4 seconds to check.

Also, is your action too high at the 12th fret or the 2nd fret?

Nut height can be done first, if you set it the same as the fret height. IMHO, anything other than that is less than ideal.

it is too high at the 12th fret

As the others have posted, if nut and truss rod is set properly and you are too high at the 12'th fret, then you'll want to measure the high E and low e (how high the bottom of the string is above the 12th fret), then DOUBLE the desired 12th fret lowering distance at the saddle.

For example, if you are 0.5mm too high at the high E string and 1.0mm too high at the low e string, then you will want to lower the saddle from its bottom edge 1.0mm underneath the high E and 2.0mm at the low e.

I regularly check the other strings as well, to make sure that their 12th fret action measurement rises relatively equally from the high E to low e. If it does not have a balanced rise, it means that the saddle top does not match the radius of the guitar frets.