|
|
#1
03-05-2011, 08:53 AM
|
|||
|
|||
Classical/Nylon String bridges & neck angle
Classical/Nylon String bridges & neck angle
I'm new to playing classical and nylon stringed guitars. On most steel string guitars I've enjoyed playing, a 24"straight edge laid on the middle of the fingerboard, resting on the frets will end up sliding right on top of the bridge and butt up against the saddle. The entire bottom edge of the straight edge lays flush against the frets all the way up the neck. On some instruments the bottom edge of the straight edge might get hung up on the front edge of the bridge, but not by much. Is the same thing true on a well set up nylon string or classical guitar ? I'm looking at a guitar right now where the bottom edge of the straight edge butts up against the bridge 1/8" down from the top of the bridge. The saddle is only 1/8" high on the bass side and tapers down to 1/16" on the treble side. Is this guitar in need of a neck reset, or heading towards one ? Or are classical guitars built this way in general ? A Takamine 132 I sometimes get to play also shows this alignment when the straight edge is used, but not as severe. The guitar is playable. Action at the 12th fret is 4/32" on the treble E and 5/32" on the bass E. Relief seems fine. The bass strings sound very nice - good, clear, loud tone. The treble strings not so good. Someone put an undersaddle pickup in this guitar, which might explain part of that problem. Any opinions appreciated. Thanks, Mark 
|
|
#2
03-05-2011, 10:18 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
You'll find most classicals will come in at the middle of the bridge or even a little low with the straight edge test.
The guitar you are considering sounds fine.....you don't want too much saddle height with classicals and many other 12 frets because they are braced more lightly, and the higher the saddle, the more torque is put on the top. This is, of course, not good for the guitar structurally, and also reduces how freely the top resonates. Here's what my Cordoba looks like, and I find it nearly perfect/ideal in this department, with action a little lower than the guitar you are considering....  and here is the same view of my Mathers......much less than ideal. When I received it, the action was 6mm at the 12th. I took down the saddle as far as I could, then ended up having to actually remove material from the top of the bridge to expose more saddle. Right now it's at 9/64 (a little below 4mm) at the 12th with a minimal amount of saddle showing. I'm going to tweak it some more (and I'll have to deepen the saddle slot to do it) at the next string change.  Uploaded with ImageShack.us
__________________
"One small heart, and a great big soul that's driving" Last edited by fitness1; 03-05-2011 at 10:47 AM.
|
|
#4
03-05-2011, 01:07 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Steel strings and classical guitars have a totally different geometry. Steel string guitars have a back angle on the neck and classical guitars have a forward angle on the neck or sometimes it's flat. If your guitar has a truss rod, then any relief will be controlled with the rod. If not, then relief is built into the fingerboard or neck by creating a dip, and some are tapered toward the bass side, depending on the construction method and the preferences of the builder.
__________________
Waddy
|
|
#5
03-05-2011, 01:10 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
__________________
"One small heart, and a great big soul that's driving"
|
|
#6
03-07-2011, 06:18 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
One other question, are extra wide string slots in the nut a bad thing ? Again, not something I've seen in a quality steel string guitar setup. The strings are fully sunk into the slots. Tops of the strings are even with the top of the nut, so the top of the nut needs a little sanding down, but I think too much side to side play in the string slots is also a bad thing.
|
