Guitar Setup Help

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Guitar Setup Help

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VietFlamenco

Posts: 140
Joined: Aug. 1 2010

Guitar Setup Help

I have 12 years old classical/flamenco guitar my dad bought years ago for less than $100. I played the thing for about 2 years before I outgrew it and moved on to better instruments. The guitar has been sitting in my garage collecting dust. I don't have the heart to get rid of the guitar because it has sentimental value.

The guitar is playable, but really uncomfortable. Whenever I do bar chords, my hand fatigue really quickly. I think the nut and saddle height may be too high. It's not worth it to get this thing setup by a professional since the setup costs more than the guitar....I'm thinking of filing the nut and saddle down. Can someone give me some tips on how to set this up?

Pictures will be posted once i get home from work.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 29 2010 20:28:00

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Setup Help (in reply to VietFlamenco)

lowering action at the saddle is super easy. i would see what i could do with the saddle first before doing anything else. oh, and try humidifying it. humidity can affect action.

here's how you deal with that saddle.
http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Musician/Guitar/Setup/LowerAction/loweraction01.html

dont be cheap like me and try using cheap sandpaper. get the good stuff, it's a lot faster. every 1mm you take off equates to 0.5mm at the 12th fret.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 29 2010 20:34:19

VietFlamenco

Posts: 140
Joined: Aug. 1 2010

RE: Guitar Setup Help (in reply to at_leo_87)

Thanks! I was scratching my head a little bit reading that article wondering why us Americans still insist on using inches.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 29 2010 20:50:21

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Setup Help (in reply to VietFlamenco)

quote:

Thanks! I was scratching my head a little bit reading that article wondering why us Americans still insist on using inches.

yeah, seriously. just work with 10's. so much easier. less room for error.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 29 2010 21:11:52

mark indigo

Posts: 3625
Joined: Dec. 5 2007

RE: Guitar Setup Help (in reply to at_leo_87)

quote:

humidity can affect action.

wow! i never guessed that. how does it work?

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 29 2010 21:19:11

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: Guitar Setup Help (in reply to mark indigo)

quote:

wow! i never guessed that. how does it work?

i dont have any scientific facts to back it up. just something that i've noticed, especially with steel strings. they sit in a cold dry garage for years and become unplayable. then you take it out, give it some love, and it gets better and better.

woods expanding, contracting, i dont know.... not a bad idea to humidify your guitar anyways.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 29 2010 21:22:54

Andy Culpepper

Posts: 3023
Joined: Mar. 30 2009
From: NY, USA

RE: Guitar Setup Help (in reply to mark indigo)

quote:

wow! i never guessed that. how does it work?

Generally in low humidity you will find more little buzzes. In the winter we get a ton of buzzy guitars in the shop.

Most guitars are built with at least a little bit of "doming" or "arch" in the top. I build mine with the center of the top about 1.4 mm above a plane from binding to binding.
One reason for this is that when the wood shrinks due to low humidity, theoretically the arch will just fall somewhat, instead of the top cracking along the grain, which will happen with no arch and low humidity. A side effect of that is that, as the top flattens out, that can bring the bridge lower and the strings closer to the fingerboard, sometimes causing a fret buzz to appear.

_____________________________

Andy Culpepper, luthier
http://www.andyculpepper.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 29 2010 22:06:33