#31
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It is actually a common practice to make them that way.
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We can share the woman, we can share the wine... _____________________ Suggestions 1:1 Slackers 1:51-52 FSM |
#32
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angle is rubbish..Theres lots of good advice out there if your clever about it and take your time. |
#33
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A cheap guitar is one that is made with cheap materials, unskilled labor, or both. I can't evaluate the quality of workmanship over the internet, but it looks like a nice guitar, and it's definitely made of good materials. Therefore, IMO, it doesn't qualify as a "cheap" guitar, despite the relatively inexpensive purchase price.
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I know what it's like to be on a limited budget, but I think it's fair to point out that bridge shaving is absolutely not the proper way to deal with neck angle problems on any guitar that you'll still want to play in ten years. Although it's likely that by shaving down the bridge, the OP will indeed get a few more years out of it before it has to have a reset to be playable, the guitar won't sound as good as it would if it had the proper neck angle. Eventually, the guitar will require a neck reset for it to be playable. When that time comes, it will also require a bridge replacement (which is a significant expense) as a result of the OP's decision to shave down the bridge. Again, I felt that this was worth pointing out. |
#34
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And sometimes bridges are overly thick for ease of manufacture. Martin has at least three different bridge thicknesses that they fit to guitars after installing the neck. My LSV for example had a bridge at 0.375", where the standard thickness is 0.340". It had nothing to do with saving money, but I chose to cut the bridge down to standard thickness rather than reset the neck. It was cheaper (a financial bonus) but more importantly it allowed me to take some weight off the bridge (a tonal bonus). I would never cut one lower just to save money though. Quote:
As far as the straightedge, it's completely unnecessary in evaluating a guitar for purchase. Based on experience, I can play a guitar for about a minute, check a few indicators visually, and know with near complete certainty whether that guitar needs a neck reset. |
#35
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#36
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Whatever you do, make sure to use this;
It helps you to avoid nicks and will ensure a smoother shave!! |
#37
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I decided not to shave anymore of the bridge and took it to the shop for repairs. She will get bridge pin hole ramps, new saddle, and a set up for now. Now I am saving for a neck re-set.
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___________________________________________ 1933 Gibson L-00 2007 Taylor 110 2013 Taylor GS Mini 2018 Eastman E10M 1977 Sigma DR-9 2012 Republic Miniolian 2016 Recording King ROS-G9M |
#38
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Really, the point I was trying yo make was that if a guitar's worth keeping, it's worth fixing right. Honestly, I regret shaving the bridge down on the Yamaha. It's not expensive, but it's a good guitar and it deserved to be done right. Now I'll have to deal with replacing the bridge if and when I ever get around to doing a reset. On the other hand, the guitar has been playable this whole time, and it still sounds nice, so it is indeed a usable guitar, even though I "ruined" it by cutting the bridge down. Quote:
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#39
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Sounds like a good idea Bob
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#40
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I have never seen a bridge that is thicker on one side than the other, can you post a picture of an example?
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#41
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#42
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That's about how my Lach looks- thicker on the bass side, my Sigma has it too but not as pronounced. I already posted a picture of this bridge a page back-
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___________________________________________ 1933 Gibson L-00 2007 Taylor 110 2013 Taylor GS Mini 2018 Eastman E10M 1977 Sigma DR-9 2012 Republic Miniolian 2016 Recording King ROS-G9M |
#43
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"Here's a very important piece of trivia. Martin bridges with "through-cut" saddles have the saddle slot higher on the bass than the treble. That way, the bridge, which is a bit thicker on the bass, will have about the same amount of saddle "revealed" at each end of the slot. I set my caliper at zero on the treble, moved to the bass, and found that the bottom of the slot was just about .050" higher at that end. That's the way they have always been, by the way." I had never noticed it before but the OP's picture did not show a through cut saddle and Frank didn't mention any other brand but Martin, but I guess with all the Martin clones I'm sure there are some out there. Never had a Martin or a through cut saddle, mine are all the same thickness from bass to treble, the saddles are usually lower on the treble side. Thanks again . |
#44
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Sanding the top of the bridge won't do anything for the action. It'll just make the saddle slot shallower and force you to sand your saddle down to make sure it doesn't tip in the slot.
In other words, it just puts you back at square one with no change in action whatsoever. You could either try deepening the saddle slot, or removing the bridge, sanding the bottom of it down, and re-gluing it. Sanding the *bottom* of the bridge will lower the action. I recently did this on my Blueridge 12 string because I felt like the very thick bridge was potentially sapping some tone and volume. The saddle was also at a low height, and with pretty poor break angle, which I thought was further sapping tone and volume. I also want to experiment with making a new bridge with a 1/4" saddle and a different pin hole orientation to fix the intonation, so I was going to remove the bridge anyway, fill the holes in the bridge plate and design a new custom bridge. I simply got impatient and decided to shave down the original bridge and re-glue it in my Go-Bar deck with hot hide glue because I want to get back to playing for now, and will worry more about intonation later. I have to say, the saddle height is much better now (cut a new bone saddle), including much better break angle, and I swear the guitar sounds louder. The action is also much better. The real fix is re-angling the neck. For me this was mostly an experiment in tone/volume, and seeing how a thinner bridge would hold up. Doing fine so far. I think the middle was around .260", and the ends were around .070", compared to something like .320" and .125" originally. So I took quite a bit off. I also use 12 gauge strings and tune down to C standard so there is much less tension on my 12 string than a standard 12 string, so I'm not very worried about the top bellying up (and even if it does eventually I have fixes for this, so I'm not worried). |
#45
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Agreed. I don't condone bridge shaving on anything but inexpensive imports. But in such cases it is an effective way to get more life out of a guitar that has otherwise outlived its usefulness. BTW, you might consider reaming some of the pin holes on the bridge you pictured so the pins don't stick out so much. |