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chuckyz2

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  1. Hi everyone. New guy here and a couple years in playing but mostly like setting up guitars as a hobby and learning. Plus they make nice wall art. Mostly play electric because they are much easier to play. And I don't play very much. It took a few years for my fingers to to actually be able to play the new Taylor I bought a about two years ago. 214E DLX SB. I couldn't even play it when I bought it. Having all the good tools for setups I checked the frets for level. They were perfect. So, I was able to lower the action (sanding saddle on a Starrett surface plate, dead flat) with no buzzing. I also changed the 12's to 11's. The guitar was a dream to play but got bright and a tad tinny. I lived with it as it still sounded good compared to most I've heard. I am in the tail end of setting up a Martin clone with solid RW back and sides. I like the tone better. And I can actually play it. It has 13's on it. So I put 13's on mine and the tone changed a lot more than I expected. Tighter, a little more bass and warmer highs but still very defined. Here is where the rabbit hole opened and I fell in. Still descending. I became very interested in this because I still play better with lights. But I am over the tone. IT seems to the general belief by those with time in playing, setting up and building, that string spacing from the sound board is important. That by lowering my action, that in itself will brighten up the guitar, reduce sustain and rob some bass and volume. So I went to guitar center to buy a new Nut and saddle and plan on getting that spacing back by putting the saddle height back. I took it down a lot. The brake angel on the high E barely brakes. Lol. It get better as the strings get thicker. I lowered the high strings to what is close to a low action electric. They will go low without buzzing as long as you don't beat on it. Anyway, I learned the proper way to lower action is with neck angle. This is where the wheels started spinning: If I change the angle, the top of frets wont be level with top of bridge. Taylor recommends the straight edge should slide right over the bridge wood. If you change the angle, that will change. But I can't see the string height changing, which is a good thing. In my mind that setup requirement is to keep the strings at the recommended .5" off the sound board. I have a bolt on with side and top shims. Taylor has a system of shims that have to be used a certain way together to get the neck angle changes. My thought is that I only need to add a shim to the top and that will raise the neck and not change the plane. Raising the neck in stead of lowering lowering the saddle. Not something you would do on set neck. Too costly and invasive. I'm pretty sure I can get my action, keep the strings off off the board and have the proper saddle height brake angels and torque on the saddle to get the top to act like it was designed to act. I get less bright high end, more volume and better bass tone. I can't see the importance of straight lining up with the top of the bridge if the other areas are in spec. And having the ability to easily raise the neck, or change angle easily is something I've grown to really appreciate in the Taylors unique bolt on/shim design. Wood like to hear the thoughts of those in the know on my plan. The Guitar sounded amazing when I bought it I know heavier strings make a huge difference. I am curious to see if the string clearance will make a noticeable difference tones also. For those of you that are going to tell me to buy a Martin or a guitar I like already, save it. I know all about that already. This is mostly a learning experience on a guitar that was only 1200 new and only worth 8 or 9 now. I played an older Taylor 810b (Brazilian) and fell in love with that thing. Might put it on layaway tomorrow. They didn't have any high end Martins and said there is a long wait time if I order one. But I would like to play one to compare. But I have my heart set on BR back and sides and those are hard to come by with the grain and color I like for a price I can afford. I'm going to have to sell my CS Nocaster or CS 59 Strat. It's going to be a coin toss on which one because I love them both. But I'm really liking acoustics now that I can actually play them with a heavier string.
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