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Question about the string height of my 1st fret
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ernandez R
Posts: 742
Joined: Mar. 25 2019
From: Alaska USA
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RE: Question about the string height... (in reply to Ziyad H.)
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Lotta variables there. You need a good way to measure the space with a feeler gage set or I like to use measured slips of thick and thin paper, they are easer to feel the drag them a slippery metal feeler gage. The E takes a lot more than the e of course. You can use a cigarette paper on the e 1st string for instance but the others are a matter of playing style and force ad well as fretwork quality and neck relief. I hit the strings really hard and buzz the best standard flamenco setup, could be my playing is a bit ham fisted as well. If you are reasonably skilled, can you color within the lines? Then get a nut blank or three, pull your current nut to copy spacing etc. Whatever you do don’t Jack around with your original nut!!! You might find it’s a lot harder than it looks. So make up that second nut, fit up nice then install it and slowly lower the string slots. Play it hard at full string tension before each adjustment. File each slot some more. Work your way down bit by bit. Be methodical, count file strokes, take notes, measure. I promise you you are going to screw up that second nut but that’s the point. Now you have a baseline and some good numbers so when you make up the #3 nut you won’t file the string slot too deep. Now, after reading this, go find a Luthier, pay him some cash for a new nut, don’t let them touch your old nut, and be glad you didn’t spend $80-$150in tools and materials, get stinky dead animal bone dust all over your carpet, and waste all that playing time, kick back with your favorite beverage and thank the maker for your good sense and good fortune you found the Foro! HR
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I prefer my flamenco guitar spicy, doesn't have to be fast, should have some meat on the bones, can be raw or well done, as long as it doesn't sound like it's turning green on an elevator floor. www.instagram.com/threeriversguitars
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Aug. 25 2023 8:55:52
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Ricardo
Posts: 14828
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
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RE: Question about the string height... (in reply to Ziyad H.)
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quote:
Now THAT is interesting. So basically if I change my strings to High Tension, that'll make the legados a bit a easier? No. He means if you lower the action and you get buzzing with normal tension strings, you will have to compensate by putting on HIGH tensions strings to eliminate some of the buzzing. Higher tension strings ALLOW you to lower the action more than normal or low tension strings. One thing I have noticed is old time guitar players tuning SHARP of standard, no doubt increasing the tension of a buzzy guitar. You can lower the nut to experiment. 1mm fret board to string is good for me. You will know it is too low if the open strings buzz, OR, when you fret up high, there is a sympathetic rattle behind your fretting finger, on some fret back there toward the nut. If you have gone too low, you can shim up the nut using business card material in layers as needed, just enough to clear the buzzing at the first fret (played open, or as described fretting higher).
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CD's and transcriptions available here: www.ricardomarlow.com
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Date Aug. 27 2023 20:25:37
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RobF
Posts: 1611
Joined: Aug. 24 2017
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RE: Question about the string height... (in reply to Ziyad H.)
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Hi Ziyad, Bringing it in is the right thing to do. You don’t have the knowledge or the tools for this job and it’s too easy to either go too low and get buzzing (will need a new nut) or having the file slip and scratch your headstock finish. While some makers or brands might provide a spare saddle as a courtesy, it’s actually seldom done, and giving out spare nuts with a new guitar is pretty well never done. All measurements related to string height over a fret are done with reference to the top of the fret. The reason for this is because not all fret varieties are the same height. Many are in the neighbourhood of 1.1 to 1.2mm, but really it depends on the brand/manufacture/model of fret. There are many variants, and frets are also dressed after being placed in the fretboard and can change height, so without knowing what’s on the guitar, measuring from the fretboard isn’t going to give you enough information. Your tap test is good, the strings could come down a touch, but they shouldn’t be as close as a steel string’s set-up. Trying to get everything low low low is a bit of a mug’s game, but it’s what people like to do, often at the expense of an optimal set-up. If the tech sets it up a little a little higher than steel string you should be OK. The goal isn’t to get it as low as possible, it’s to improve the playability for you, it need not go any further than that. If you need numbers, I think just google it. Some manufacturers will publish their setup data, and string height above the first fret is occasionally included. Try not to overthink this. If the Foro has given you one piece of usable advice, it has been to take it to a competent tech. It’s bread and butter work for them and they’ll have the know-how and tools to do it right. Best,
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Aug. 28 2023 14:18:24
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