My attempt to lower the action on my Takamine- Help!

[GUITKRAZY]

After getting my Alvarez Acoustic, I was amazed at the ease of playability of the guitar, so I made an attempt to lower the much needed action on my Takamine-

The action on the Tak has always been kind of high- Not too bad at the lower end (At the nut) but the higher you get up the neck it got really high- so I did not at all address the truss rod (I am very intimidated about doing any of truss rod adjustments! ) but I loosened the strings and pulled out the bridge piece (the saddle)- I sanded down the bottom off the saddle, and put back into the bridge) I definately noticed a difference in the sound first - it sounded much brighter, but the action is still high at the higher frets. Do you think I should repeat the process I did last night- I am a little nervous that I am going to go too low

Any advice or tips are always greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[kwakatak]

Uh oh, sounds like a neck angle issue. Paging Freeman!

[GUITKRAZY]

Ouch!- should I be concerned ?

[AK47]

First don't be intimidated by the truss rod. A truss rod can always be readjusted. [unless you crank it so many times as to break it] If a saddle is sanded too far it must be replaced. The problem you are having sounds like you can't identify the problem. If you don't identify the problem properly you can't fix it. I think freeman Keller has a sticky post on guitar setup. Frets.com has tons of information by Frank Ford. I would suggest researching these areas and if you are still nervious about diagnosis or setup take the instrument to the nearest reputable guitar shop for a setup and ask the tech to walk you through it. Many will. With the info you would've allready learned following the tech will be easy. Setup is easy when you know what to look for. Remember "strings too high" is not the problem but the result of the problem. Good Luck:idea:

[Rickkkk]

Originally posted by kwakatak Uh oh, sounds like a neck angle issue. Paging Freeman!

 

+1

... sounds to me like a neck angle, or possibly relief, issue as well ... Truss rod adjustment may actually be what's required. I notice Kwak has "paged" Freeman Keller - he seems to be a wealth of information on guitar setup and tweaking. I'd wait for his opinion as well. Alternatively, you've probably noticed his "sticky" entitled "Is my guitar sick" ... some useful tips might be found in there.

 

Good luck !

[Freeman Keller]

Krazy, go thru the quick measurements in the "Sick" sticky. Don't do anything yet. They all affect each other, so lets see where we are starting.

 

The neck angle thing is quick and easy - a 24 inch straightedge (a yard stick works if it is pretty straight) should just kiss the top of the bridge (not saddle)

 

The nut sounds like it is pretty OK. They rarely "get bad" but take a quick squint at the clearance between the strings and the first fret capoed at 2. Should just barely clear

 

Put the capo on at 1 and hold down a string at 12 - you should just be able to fit about one business card under the string at 6. More than two is bad, if the string touches other frets that is bad also.

 

Take the capo off and measure from the top of the 12th fret to the bottoms of the E strings. I didn't show it in the pics but my trick here if you don't have an accurate rule is to make a mark on your business card at 1/16 (2/32), 3/32, 1/8 (4/32) and 5/32. If you have a ruler in 16th you can guesstimate between marks - use a sharp pencil. Now measure the action with the card.

 

Last thing is to measure with the same card how much saddle is sticking out of the bridge.

 

Report all those things back here to the Mothership and we'll decide what to do next. btw - how old is the Tak?

[da mayor]

Don't wait for Freeman, but do jump right in there and read his sticky. It will tell you in great detail how to figure out what's going on with your guitar and how to fix it. Also includes links to a wealth of information from other sources. FK's sticky is, imo, one of the most informative and practical resources on the net.

 

Once you've read it, and made the measurements he recommends, you'll have a much better idea of what's going on with your git. It may be that all you need to do is just lower the saddle a bit. If it's a truss rod adjustment, it's not hard, just proceed slowly. Whatever you do, don't do it without doing some reading first, starting with "Is Your Guitar Sick?". After that, you may have more questions, but at least you'll have a solid basis for them.

 

I'll also second AK47's recommendation of Fank Ford's site at frets.com. A great site.

 

By the way Freeman, if you read this, I don't know if I've said it before, but I just want to say thanks for all you do here. I've learned a lot from that sticky, a well as many of your other posts. Unfortunatly, it hasn't made me a better player (dang), but it has given me a greater understanding and appreciation of the instrument.

[Freeman Keller]

Originally posted by da mayor By the way Freeman, if you read this, I don't know if I've said it before, but I just want to say thanks for all you do here. I've learned a lot from that sticky, a well as many of your other posts. Unfortunatly, it hasn't made me a better player (dang), but it has given me a greater understanding and appreciation of the instrument.

 

Thanks. Hasn't made me any better either. But it's sure been fun.

[GUITKRAZY]

Freeman and everyone else- Thanks so much for the advice! I will go through the "Sick Sticky" and report my findings. I mean regardless, suprisingly the Takamine still (despite the high action) plays well, and holds tune- hopefully it will just need some minor attention? THanks again!

[DMR81]

there are shims in the saddle you can remove to calibrate. two shims. just loosen the strings, remove it and remove with a toothpick. Actions lower