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Posts: 29
Joined: Sep. 29 2016
From: Vero Beach, FL
New guitar saddle adjustment (with pic)
Happy New Year,
I received a new Cordoba F7 guitar and wanted to get some input on the setup. I'm a beginner player coming from a pretty cheap laminated 'flamenco' guitar but was pretty much a classical. Out of the box the Cordoba was not set up, the saddle was a blank with very high action and the neck had a ton of relief in it. I sanded the bone saddle down and adjusted truss rod to flatten the neck but kept a little relief and ended up with the following specifications:
12th fret E string height = 2.9mm Sound board height for E string = 9.8 mm Saddle string height for E string = 10.2 mm
I also have posted a picture showing that there is some room to sand the saddle down some more. Currently no buzzing on any guitar string.
My question is if it would be worthwhile to sand the saddle down 1.0 to 1.5 mm to get a more 'playable' string height dimension at the saddle around 9mm. Obviously with the truss rod I could make some additional adjustments to the flatten or add relief to the neck. I have an extra bone saddle that I would use, is it worth trying? Any reason not to try?
Thanks!
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RE: New guitar saddle adjustment (wi... (in reply to bbfifas)
2.9 mm at the 12th is good action (assuming 6th string). Play the guitar and get used to it. The height at the bridge is a little high but not excessive. Enjoy your guitar!
Posts: 1708
Joined: Jan. 29 2012
From: Seattle, Washington, USA
RE: New guitar saddle adjustment (wi... (in reply to bbfifas)
It looks like if you lowered the saddle much more, you might run into a problem with the "break-over angle." That is, where the string attaches to the tie block may not be lower (enough) than the string on the other side of the saddle. Such a situation would cause bad sounds.
RE: New guitar saddle adjustment (wi... (in reply to bbfifas)
I had one of those guitars for nearly 2 years. They sound good for the money. I think the action of 2.9mmat the frets is probably quite good. I suspect the issue you're facing is it is a long drop from strings to the golpeador from the strings making tapping tricky.
RE: New guitar saddle adjustment (wi... (in reply to bbfifas)
I was once told old school players wouldn't rate a guitar of you could slide a cigarette between the strings and the sound board. But I've no idea how thick their fags were.
Posts: 29
Joined: Sep. 29 2016
From: Vero Beach, FL
RE: New guitar saddle adjustment (wi... (in reply to bbfifas)
Thanks for replies, yes the break angle does seem shallow enough. I'm going to just leave it be and play it for a while. Guitar comes with high tension strings (saverez 500CJ) and it feels a little stiff since I am used to lighter tensions like the Luthier 20 or La Bella 2001 FM. I think a string change will make playing a little more comfortable too.
RE: New guitar saddle adjustment (wi... (in reply to bbfifas)
hi , i have a carvalho 9f where i had to lower the saddle, first it was like a cello !
i have now 2.4mm 12th fret E string , concerning lost of sound projection caused by the new angle, i put string ties from string-tie.com and it's a quite good result ,
Posts: 29
Joined: Sep. 29 2016
From: Vero Beach, FL
RE: New guitar saddle adjustment (wi... (in reply to jmg12)
jmg12, good idea. I remember seeing Ramzi post a thing about those diamond tieblocks. It looks nice and from pictures it definitely appears to increase angles.
RE: New guitar saddle adjustment (wi... (in reply to Dudnote)
quote:
I was once told old school players wouldn't rate a guitar of you could slide a cigarette between the strings and the sound board. But I've no idea how thick their fags were.
The fags back then were pretty fat, they sang well and ate the jamon and candy, but action is determined by cigarette, but maybe a Marlboro....
Is it not ironic that an American product decides the size of most things?
Posts: 1108
Joined: Sep. 29 2009
From: Back in Boston
RE: New guitar saddle adjustment (wi... (in reply to bbfifas)
a couple of things to consider. the bridge on many low priced factory flamenco guitars tend to be higher than luthier or upper level flamenco guitars and trying to get the saddle height in the flamenco range is fighting against the design/construction of the bridge. dropping 1mm at the saddle will result in an action of 2.4mm which is getting low and may result in a lot of buzzing and a loss of tone. as to the height of the strings off the top, if you are average or above average height (i.e., your finger length is proportional to your height) the extra mm should not be an issue and actually may be helpful.
RE: New guitar saddle adjustment (wi... (in reply to bbfifas)
The truss rod isn’t there for height adjustments.
Just put the neck almost dead straight and go from there. Press a string at the 1st fret and 12th at the same time and tap it at the middle (around the 7th). If you see and feel a gap, the neck isn’t straight yet.
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