Wider string spacing on my Seagull Entourage Concert

[lowrider]

I got this Seagull Entourage about a month ago on the Stupid Deal of the Day'



It's 1.72 nut is actually 1.726 but the string spacing was only 1.399. First thing, I got a new Tusq nut with 1.496 spacing. I sanded the bottom until I got it close then filed the slots a bit and it's just right with 3/32 from the outside of the strings to the edge of the neck;



Next, I made a slotted saddle from a bone blank. The guitar had 2 1/8 spacing at the saddle and I increased it to 2 1/4. After sanding the blank to the right length, I copied the radius from the original and rounded the edges. Next, I marked out the slots and copied the bevelling from the original saddle into the slots.

And, just like that my new Seagull is taking advantage of all of it's fretboard width;



Lastly, I added a Martin OM pick-guard and some Tusq pins that I had sitting around just to finish off the job.

[ChrisN]

Great pics - I've been chicken to do this to my A&L Ami, but now I'm inspired. Where'd you source the nut with that spacing?

Those e strings are pretty close near the top of that neck (soundhole region), so do update this if you decide to downgrade to 2 3/16 from the 2 1/4.

[jricc]

real nice looking Seagull!

[Rosewood99]

Very impressive. Can you do that for one of my guitars?

[hammer40]

Does having an angle on the strings, due to the new slotted saddle, cause any issues?

This a really nice post. I do have a question and a concern about the results. For me, the strings look awfully close to the edge, so close that the bass E string is right at the point where the frets curve down at the edge. Do you have issues with pulling the strings off the fretboard?

[Athens]

Glad it worked for you. I tried a wider nut on a Taylor K10 I had and it didn't work. The frets were ramped too shallow and the E/e strings kept slipping off the sides.

Looking at the pix the frets look steep enough that it works.

Any competent shop can cut the wider nut.

[lowrider]

Just to catch up here'

''Where'd you source the nut with that spacing?''

Directly from Graphtech;

http://www.graphtech.com/products/br...sq-guitar-nuts

They have every size and spacing imaginable. Call them if you want to order and they will bet it right out to you. I ordered first online and got a confirmation but after two weeks I called to find out that the order never went through.

''Those e strings are pretty close near the top of that neck (soundhole region)''

I played it for two hours yesterday before I posted this and didn't even notice it. Played again this morning staying around the 12th to 16th frets and still no problem. I measured center of string to edge and got 4/32. Doing the math at th r12th fret, the neck measures 2.116, string c/c 1.888 leaving me .112 outside. I think the picture makes it look closer than it is.

''Does having an angle on the strings, due to the new slotted saddle, cause any issues?''

I thought of that so I angled the edges of the slots.

''Glad it worked for you. I tried a wider nut on a Taylor K10 I had and it didn't work. The frets were ramped too shallow and the E/e strings kept slipping off the sides.''

I had the same problem with my Martin X with a 1.72 nut. I got a 1.75 from Stew Mack and trimmed it down but it was 1.53 spacing. Had a got a Tusq with 1.48 or 1.465, it probably would have worked.

''Any competent shop can cut the wider nut''

I agree, but it's more fun to do it myself. And then there's the issue of finding a competent shop. As we see posted here all the time, there are plenty of guitar techs who are less than competent.

Seagull's leave a lot of room outside the strings The 1.8 necks have the same spacing as a 1.75. The 1.72, which is really 1.76 has spacing just slightly wider than a 1.69 neck. I'll be playing it again in a few minutes but so far I think my improvements are a win all the way!

[ChrisN]

Originally Posted by lowrider

Just to catch up here'

''Where'd you source the nut with that spacing?''

Directly from Graphtech;

http://www.graphtech.com/products/br...sq-guitar-nuts

They have every size and spacing imaginable. Call them if you want to order and they will bet it right out to you. I ordered first online and got a confirmation but after two weeks I called to find out that the order never went through.

I checked the page for the 1.496 spacing and the PQ6134-00 is the only one shown, and it's for a 1 3/4 space. You didn't mention sanding off length. Did you use that one? Or a different part no.?

[lowrider]

Yes, I forgot to mention that I sanded the ends. Put it in place, marked the ends with a very sharp pencil and sanded. Be careful, it sands easily.

Played it again this morning and it is now a joy to play.

[ChrisN]

Originally Posted by lowrider

Yes, I forgot to mention that I sanded the ends. Put it in place, marked the ends with a very sharp pencil and sanded. Be careful, it sands easily.

Played it again this morning and it is now a joy to play.

Perfecto - thanks

[johbren]

I got a couple of seagulls with 1.8 necks both have 1.56 string spacing. I just bought an Alvarez ap70 with a 1.75 neck. String spacing is exactly 1.50. I found an old seagull 1.8 nut in my box of parts so I'm going to switch them out and see if it works.

[lowrider]

My mistake. I had read in a couple of places that the 1.8 Seagulls had 1.5 string spacing.

My Martin Road Series has a 1.73 neck with 1.53 string spacing.