Members thefineline Posted May 8, 2004 Members Posted May 8, 2004 I just bought a used guitar (Takamine EG540C) from guitar center, and while I was trying it out, there was a pretty bad buzz, and we got it fixed by tweaking the truss rod. But with the truss rod adjusted, it ended up with a fairly high action. It didn't seem to bad, and I figured that I'd just fiddle around with the truss rod later to get the best action without buzz. Now today I've spent more time with it and it turns out that the truss rod wasn't the entire problem. With the neck straight, the action is stiller higher than it should be. The solution now is to pull the saddle out and file it down, right? I've never done anything like that before. Is it something that I should attempt on my own? Or how much would it cost me to have somebody else do it for me? I'm willing to put a lot of time into it if I have to, but I don't want to screw up my guitar. I do have shims for under the bridge from the old guitar that I've never used. Does using shims affect the quality of the sound you get from the pickups? I don't want to mess up its great plugged in sound either. Thanks
Members LittleBrother Posted May 8, 2004 Members Posted May 8, 2004 Go read this and you will be good to go http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Musician/Guitar/Setup/LowerAction/loweraction01.html Frank Ford is a saint for posting this site.
Members thefineline Posted May 8, 2004 Author Members Posted May 8, 2004 this part is not promising: If your guitar has a pickup with an element under the saddle, you might want to reconsider making your own adjustments. It is relatively easy to mess up the saddle-to-pickup contact and/or damage the element itself. Isn't and under saddle pickup almost always the way piezos are installed? I don't know for sure if that's how mine is; is there something else it could be?
Members LittleBrother Posted May 8, 2004 Members Posted May 8, 2004 Yours is probably some kind of factory installed Under Saddle Transducer like a Fishman. Maybe even one designed or made by takamine. The site is not too informative. It does look like a single piece saddle. So it may be easily lifted out and you can take a careful look without hurting anything. The saddle should not be attached or stuck to the pickup. It should be loose enough to pull out. I guess if you were really rough you could hurt something but.... If you still dont feel comfortable just have a tech look at it. They are usually very fair priced.
Members desaljs Posted May 8, 2004 Members Posted May 8, 2004 If you did not spend big money on the guitar, try to work on it yourself. I have removed the saddle on an acoustic/electric with a ribbon transducer. The saddle will pull right out, and as long as you do not disturb the transducer, you can sand down the base of the saddle to lower your action. You do need to make sure that you sand it evenly, or the transducer will not have even contact, and this will alter the string to string balance. Personally, I think it is a good idea to learn how to do some this work yourself, but NOT on a new $2000 guitar. If this is more of a "beater", you will learn much about the care and mantainence of your acoustics. Frets.com is a good source before starting your work. Good luck!!
Members LesStrater Posted May 8, 2004 Members Posted May 8, 2004 By all means do your own saddle work. But here's an important tip: Don't file your existing saddle. Buy a couple saddle blanks the same width and then make a new saddle from scratch. That way, if your new saddle gets screwed up, you always have the old one to re-install and take it to a qualified guitar shop to do the work.
Members LittleBrother Posted May 8, 2004 Members Posted May 8, 2004 Originally posted by LesStrater Don't file your existing saddle. ] Very good advice !
Members thefineline Posted May 8, 2004 Author Members Posted May 8, 2004 where would you recommend buying a saddle? and would i have to buy any specialized tools? if so, would it cost more than having a pro do it?
Members LittleBrother Posted May 9, 2004 Members Posted May 9, 2004 Originally posted by thefineline where would you recommend buying a saddle? and would i have to buy any specialized tools? if so, would it cost more than having a pro do it? Call www.tusq.com customer service and tell them the model of your guitar. You can also measure the saddle length and width and they can match it that way. I usually buy the ones from stewmac and do ALL the filing but you may not want to go that route http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Nuts,_saddles/Acoustic_bridge_saddles/1/Acoustic_Bridge_Saddles.html My guess is your saddle is probably 3/32" thick and about 3" long.
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