#1
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Can I widen my saddle spacing?
For you luthiers out there.
I love my guitar. The top has been opening up really nicely lately and I would prefer not to sell it. But my meaty fingers won't fit in between the 2 1/4 string saddle spacing when I dampen the bass strings with the heel of my right hand for a lot of my blues and rag numbers. I know, blame it on the guitar, but I've tried 2 5/16 and 2 3/8 at the local guitar shop and it felt a whole lot more comfortable. I imagine it wouldn't be too difficult to decrease saddle spacing, but is it possible to increase the spacing by 1/8 or even 1/16 if the neck was built for smaller? Are most guitars designed for that much play and is it just a matter of getting a new saddle and nut put on or should I just sell the thing? Again, the top has been opening up nicely lately. Thanks much!
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-Nate Julius Borges OM-18 (Adirondack/Sinker Mahogany) Bob Altman OM-2D (Adirondack/Brazilian Rosewood) John Greven 00-12 (Lutz/Brazilian Rosewood) Fraulini Erma (Sitka/White Oak) Harmony H162 (Sitka/Mahogany) Franklin Jumbo (Engleman/EIR) Ken Hooper 12 Fret D28 (Carpathian/Honduran Rosewood) Last edited by Gallopinghost; 07-11-2010 at 10:11 PM. |
#2
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Make plugs out of Rosewood or ebony. I can mail you scraps if you need. Then rebore the holes. You will need a reamer to put the holes in correctly. I have done Ebony plugs on an Ebony bridge I defy you to find were they were.
Keep in mind if you go wide at the end you stand a chance of your E strings falling off the neck when you push down. You need a Collings 12 fret They hit about 2 1/2" at the 12th fret! |
#3
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So plugging and reboring is pretty conventional? I think I'd have to find a few useless garage sale guitars to experiment on first. As far as I know there's not a woodworking bone in my body, but maybe this would bring it out.
However, I know what you mean about the Collings 12 frets. I've been drooling over a OOO-1G for a while now, but I'd have to sell my current rig to finance. I think it was 2 5/16 at the saddle and I saw a DS1-A with a 2 3/8 saddle. They both felt like there was enough room to get in there when I needed to without affecting my ability to dampen the bass side with my palm. I should probably just save up my milk money for the Collings before I do something crazy.
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-Nate Julius Borges OM-18 (Adirondack/Sinker Mahogany) Bob Altman OM-2D (Adirondack/Brazilian Rosewood) John Greven 00-12 (Lutz/Brazilian Rosewood) Fraulini Erma (Sitka/White Oak) Harmony H162 (Sitka/Mahogany) Franklin Jumbo (Engleman/EIR) Ken Hooper 12 Fret D28 (Carpathian/Honduran Rosewood) |
#4
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Quote:
Great minds......
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“Reason is itself a matter of faith. It is an act of faith to assert that our thoughts have any relation to reality at all.” ― G.K. Chesterton |
#5
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Quote:
There's a lot more going on than just the bridge.
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Go for the Tone, George |
#6
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The 1 time I did it I made the plugs to a length that included the plate. But, it looks like the OP is talking a nice guitar. I wouldn't do it to anything but a player.
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#7
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Well that tied up nicely. Thanks for all the input, guys.
To the classified!
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-Nate Julius Borges OM-18 (Adirondack/Sinker Mahogany) Bob Altman OM-2D (Adirondack/Brazilian Rosewood) John Greven 00-12 (Lutz/Brazilian Rosewood) Fraulini Erma (Sitka/White Oak) Harmony H162 (Sitka/Mahogany) Franklin Jumbo (Engleman/EIR) Ken Hooper 12 Fret D28 (Carpathian/Honduran Rosewood) |