Sanding down the saddle

[sloar]

I sanded the saddle down to help with the high action. I ended up taking a little to much for the high E. After the 12th fret I lose tone, to low on that string. Is my best move starting over with a new saddle and leaving a little more on that side? Or does something else need adjusted? Thanks

[Glen H]

A new saddle is the best bet. But if you want quick and want to play with tweaking the one you have to find the optimum shape and height, you can shim the bottom of the saddle. I use 1/8 inch copper foil tape I got from a hobby store. Very thin.

[Alder Statesman]

Only thing to do now is a new saddle, but really not that big of deal. I made a jig to hold saddles when sanding them down. Saved me from making that mistake.

[12barBill]

Originally Posted by sloar

I sanded the saddle down to help with the high action. I ended up taking a little to much for the high E. After the 12th fret I lose tone, to low on that string. Is my best move starting over with a new saddle and leaving a little more on that side? Or does something else need adjusted? Thanks

I may be mistaken, but from your description it sounds like you are sanding the top of the saddle. You should be sanding the bottom of the saddle to lower action height. The top of the saddle can be sanded slightly to tweak intonation.

[sloar]

Originally Posted by Bill Sims

I may be mistaken, but from your description it sounds like you are sanding the top of the saddle. You should be sanding the bottom of the saddle to lower action height. The top of the saddle can be sanded slightly to tweak intonation.

I sanded the bottom. But Im wondering if I need a neck adjustment.

[sloar]

I'm also have buzzing on the other strings after the 12th fret. The strings really aren't that low. Does that sound like a neck issue? I'm trying to learn so one day I can do this by myself, but I think I'm going to take this to a pro. I'm just trying to figure things out so I can avoid this in the future.

[DenverSteve]

You need to make sure the neck, nut and frets are properly set, adjusted and leveled before attacking the saddle. It sounds like it’s time to take it to a good set-up person for exactly that - a good set up.

[nitram]

Originally Posted by DenverSteve

You need to make sure the neck, nut and frets are properly set, adjusted and leveled before attacking the saddle. It sounds like it’s time to take it to a good set-up person for exactly that - a good set up.

I second that emotion.

[sloar]

I'm getting my buzz from the 9th fret to the 14th. How would I go about adjusting the truss rod to see if its the problem. I'm taking it to get a proper set up after the holidays, but I'm curious and wanting to learn. Thanks

[Brucebubs]

How low did you go?
I use a ruler with measurements starting from the end - stand it on the 12th fret behind the string like this,



Here I read the string height as a little more than 2.0mm .. but less than 2.5mm.

[sloar]

Measured right at 2mm.