Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Ford
Well, here I go with that same advice.
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Excellent advice.
BothHands,
Keep in mind the relationship of a change in string height at the saddle being twice the change at the 12th fret. Measure what 12th fret height you have for each string, double the change in height you want to have, and effect that change at the saddle - shimming if the saddle is too low, material removal if the saddle is too high.
For measuring string height at the 12th fret, I use a ruler marked in 1/32" - mm markings works also. It is sufficiently accurate to eye-ball subdivisions of 1/32". This makes it very easy to determine how much to raise or lower a saddle. Others use callipers and measure to multiple decimals in inches or mm. Doing so certainly works but will generally involve continued use of those two or three decimal places when changing the saddle height, shimming, etc. In my opinion and experience, it is an unnecessary level of accuracy for saddle height.
For example, most people are quite happy with a low E string height of 3/32", reducing to 2-1/2/32 at the high E string. For those that want it a little easier, remove 1/2 a 32nd. Those who want it 'lectric guitar like, take off an additional 1/2 a 32 nd, but they'll need very level frets and appropriate neck relief. Of course, removing 1/2 of a 32nd at the 12th fret means removing 1/32" at the saddle. Pretty quick and easy, removing most of the trial and error. The "sand a bit", restring, "sand a bit more"... isn't really necessary once one correlates string heights with playability and "feel".
I should also mention the "test" that I use for strings being as low as possible. For a particular player and their "style", the strings should
just begin to buzz when played just harder than they would normally play. Thus, if I want to know if the strings can go lower, and not buzz, pluck them just harder than the maximum a player is going to. If they just begin to buzz, that's as low as it's going to go with the current fret levelling and settings. (Depending on the circumstances, the settings can be altered to get it a bit lower.) There isn't a need to lower the saddle (or nut), then discover after you've lowered it that it couldn't go any lower without buzzing and you now have a saddle (or nut) that is too low. This works for open strings (i.e. nut height) and fretted strings: check each fret, each string.