#16
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It looks like the issue you're concerned with is saddle height. Collings guitars have a bolt on neck so the way to get more saddle height (and break angle) is a neck reset. I'm sure you already knew that
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Bourgeois, Collings, R Taylor, Santa Cruz |
#17
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Yes. Trying to figure out if a neck reset is coming sooner rather than later.
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Hope. Love. Music. Collings|Bourgeois |
#18
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#19
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Kori, you don’t have much saddle left on the treble side, and the break angle looks a little shallow to me. Which guitar is this? I set all my guitars to 5/64 low E and 4/64 high E with minimal (< 0.005” relief), and the break angles look like Haasome’s first Collings picture (except for my J-45 which looks like yours but has played fine that way unchanged for 5 years now).
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Merrill | Martin | Collings | Gibson For Sale: 2023 Collings D2H 1 3/4 Nut, Adi Bracing, NTB -- $4100 shipped |
#20
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Thank you. I am a little concerned about this one - it's a Collings OM. I am not panicked, as this can all be remedied, but it is the first time I have run into something like this on a Collings.
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Hope. Love. Music. Collings|Bourgeois |
#21
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This whole string break angle "thing" really started being a "thing" with the OCD/AR bluegrass crowd. They "want" the sharper angle due to their harder attack on the strings and due to their wanting that more dry ringing vintage Martin...esque...tone they are more or less after. However, there are a tons and tons of great sounding vintage Martins that do not have anywhere near that much string break angle, but they still sound terrific for bluegrass, or anything else. Remember, even on a shallower surface break angle bridge, like yours, there is still a lot of string break angle that you do not see, below the surface of the bridge, where the strings go down past the pins, through the bridge, and then anchor into the bridge plate, and that is really where a lot of the "work" of string break angle actually comes into play. If you are mostly playing fingerstyle and light/medium strumming, what you have will work just fine. I have 6 main acoustic's, various brands/models, and they have varying "SBA"'s and they all sound and play...for my style...great. duff Be A Player...Not A Polisher duff Be A Player...Not A Polisher |
#22
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I agree you don't have to be concerned about it at all if it plays and sounds fine. It could be ten years or more before you need a reset. If it really bothers you it can probably be remedied in an hour.
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Bourgeois, Collings, R Taylor, Santa Cruz |
#23
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Kori, so this is your Julian Lage OM then ?
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Merrill | Martin | Collings | Gibson For Sale: 2023 Collings D2H 1 3/4 Nut, Adi Bracing, NTB -- $4100 shipped |
#24
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Hi Kori. I'll preface by saying that I only use a flatpick. I like medium action, usually 6/64 and 4/64 these days, but it used to be 7/64 and 5/64. Like AndrewG mentioned, if it feels right, it is right. If yours, at 6/64 or 8/64, feels good, I wouldn't worry about it.
Your saddle does look low to me. I tend to like a tall saddle, but I don't think it is always necessary. A lot of the Gibsons I have run across in the last 10-12 years tend to be lower, like your Collings, and they play fine and don't move. The convenient thing about your Collings is the bolt-on neck. An easy and fast job is not going to cost you $400 or more like a dovetail. But I am betting it's under warranty... |
#25
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When I was a drummer in the '60s and '70s, my band opened for the Who one night!
My modest four drum kit next to Kieth's rather larger kit. We just had time to get our gear off stage before their roadies took over - they didn't hang about! We bumped into Pete, Kieth, John and Roger as we were trying to get out of the stage door when they came in running full speed. I don't know "who" it was but I got knocked down and one of them trod on my chest! My claim to fame! They were good that night though!
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Silly Moustache, Just an old Limey acoustic guitarist, Dobrolist, mandolier and singer. I'm here to try to help and advise and I offer one to one lessons/meetings/mentoring via Zoom! |
#26
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I had another Collings walk into my life...not the Lage!
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Hope. Love. Music. Collings|Bourgeois |
#27
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A new guitar needs to be set so that the highest typical action will set the saddle at the highest height that won’t risk the saddle cracking the bridge. So a builder will do the math and with action for a hard strummer (maybe a bit under 3.5/32” and 2.5/32”) place the saddle height at its maximum. Now if the builder sets up the guitar for the usual 3 & 2 action the saddle will need to drop by double that difference or about 1/32”. Now you buy that guitar and want it a bit under 3 & 2...well, the saddle needs to come down even more so you will be left with a smaller break angle. The saddle will and should look short! So many people here want less than 3 & 2 yet read the forums and want a super tall saddle. You can’t have it because if the action is less than 3 & 2 and you sell it to a hard strummer, or someone who plays with a 0.050 fret height, the saddle is already maxed and that would break the saddle or the bridge or worse. Super low action = a low saddle. Finally, now, you’ve owned a guitar. You know you’ll never sell. Then YES, re-set it’s neck and set it up with a tall saddle, whatever fret you like and super low action. The neck will technically be the slightest bit over set, but who cares you’ll never sell it. Said one other way, you have your guitar at 2.5 & 2 and love your frets at 0.037” and the break angle is set at awesome. It plays like buttah! Now you sell it to me. I prefer 3 & 2 with a jumbo fret. I’ll need to add double the difference of 0.050-0.037 = 0.013 x 2 or 0.026” plus double the difference in the action or 1/32....but wait, I can’t because you’ve set the neck angle to have the saddle at its max. Now I’ll have to re-set the neck the other way and add a shim which is way worse than re-setting the neck the usual way by trimming... I hope that makes sense. |
#28
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#29
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In this case, as I have had more Collings than I can shake a stick at, I just noticed a difference (a fairly substantial one at that) than my past history. As mentioned, I am not sweating this one but, wanted to get some extra eyes on it. I mean come on....we are all guitar nerds - I just gave us something else to discuss!
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Hope. Love. Music. Collings|Bourgeois |
#30
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