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Hello All.
I would like to hear your thoughts, suggestions and wisdom from your experience, regarding my current situation. As you may or may not know, I just finished my first build (please see my blog and final picture threads) and as you know, words can't describe the feeling. I am not a player of the instrument, my son Willie is and he can make the thing sing beautifully... I love the mechanics of the instrument. Here is my situation... My bridge height is 24/64, saddle height is 5/64, low "E" is 9/64 and high "E" is 8/64. Not a good situation in my opinion. Willie said the action was too high, "right off the bat." What are your thoughts, suggestions and any advice?... I think everything would be fine if the saddle height was higher... I wish I gave it a bigger dimension at the bridge when I was fitting the neck. I really don't think I am mentally or emotionally ready to pull the neck and reset it. If i drop the saddle anymore, there will be no real angle to speak of as the strings come out of the bridge and over the saddle. I looked at the D-18's in my local music store and they were similar to mine... The saddle height was what I would call low and the action was high. Can I shave a few more 64'ths off the saddle and can I bring the bridge height down the same or so, to keep the current bridge height to saddle height proportion? I have a sick feeling with this and would like to know what you guys do or would do if you were me. I thank you in advance for your time, patience and concern. I would not have been able to present this issue to you if I didn't have your assistance to get this far... Thank you!

Sincerely,
Rich

When I'm looking at setup I go in the following order:

1. Neck relief (.003 to .010) - you'd want to be on the lower end assuming you're frets are nice and level to help keep the action low.

2. Nut slot depth - I set mine at high e (.012 -.015), B (same), G (.014 - .017), D (.016 - .019), A (.018 - .021), E (.022 -.025)

3. Last is saddle adjustment after checking the 12th fret height.

If the above is off you'd be surprised how far down the action may come with the above measures. If you have already done this and your measurements are real close to this your best option may be to shave the bridge close to .30", increase the saddle slot depth correspondingly and lower the saddle. That will bring you down between 5/64 and 6/64 at the high e. When you lower the saddle 1/32 the action come down 1/64. By taking .075" off the bridge height you are giving yourself a little over 2/32 more room to work with.

The most difficult part of this is re-routing the saddle slot depth if you don't have the proper equipment/jigs.

I set the nut slot lower I like them about .007 off the top of the fret plane. Tim and I may have the same point just measure differently.
If you can fret#2 and just slip a piece of paper under the 1st fret that is pretty close . As Tim points out the key is that the fret plane is properly trued. The action can get surprisingly low and the playability can make the guitar fast.

Hello Tim and John.
Thank you for your reply. My neck relief is about 8 mils and I used the "tink-tink" method for the nut slots. I fret between 2'nd and 3'rd fret and tap the string at the first fret. When it "tinks", I know the slot depth is good. I got that method from Rick and John in another thread. My problem is my saddle is at the minimum and I need more room to drop the string height. Can I shave off the top of the bridge or is that a big "no-no?" This will give me some room to shave some off the saddle. Thanks again for the help.

Sincerely,
Rich

what is the overall height ?
You are looking for about 1/2 in string height at the bridge , If this around 3/8 you are better of resetting the neck. In the long run you will be much happier.

Hey John.
Thanks for the answers. I am just not going to be able to do it, the neck reset that is... I think if I told Willie and Annemarie (my wife) that I need to pull the neck on this, my first build, I think they would have me committed... My overall string height is a 32'nd or so under a half at the Bass "E" and a little less than that on the High "E" side. I think I am just going to bring the overall bridge height down (and the saddle height down to match) a few 64'ths, put on new strings and call it finished. I believe I am much better off doing this and then, trying to make the next one better. The first one is a "learning experience", correct? I thank you again for your time and help.

Sincerely,
Rich

Yes only 1 /32 sounds like the bridge may be too thick. I like my bridges about .350. Thinning the bridge should get you within speck. So it sounds like you are in the range with the neck angle.
Keep us posted

Rich, as I stated in my first post you can shave the bridge down 2/32 (.0625) or even slightly more and be OK with your string height over the bridge. You stated your bridge is 24/64 (.375) thick. Taking 2/32 (.0625) off leaves it at 20/64 (.3125). Additionally, knowing the exact nut slot depth in my mind is critical, while "tink, tink" may get you close, your "tink, tink" and my "tink, tink" may be quite different (as least I tink it might). My point is, taking height off the saddle and taking it off the nut slot has the same effect of lowering the string (they are both half way from the 12th fret). Also, lowering the relief while not meant to lower action does and if you can lower it and remain in tolerances, why not. Each of these adjustments effect action and the more precise you can get the better the guitar will play.

Just remember if you shave the bridge you may have to adjust the saddle slot depth and that can be the most difficult part of the adjustments if you don't have the equipment/jigs to do the job.

Thanks Tim.
Thanks! I do feel better with what you and John are telling me. On your "tink, tink" comment (which I found very humorous but true...) I will be measuring the nut slot depth when I go home. Dumb question Tim... Your measurements, .012 - .015 e, same for the B, .014 - .017 G, .016-.019 D, .018 - .021 A, .022 - .025 E... Are they top of first fret to bottom of said string? I think as you said, this alone will help. I do not have the proper tools to mill out the bridge saddle slot so I will leave that and just take a "little off the top" of the saddle. I appreciate your help and will let you know. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Rich

Runningdog wrote:Be sure to cut string relief slots to improve the down pressure since the saddle will still be low.

Excellent point.

I use a Stewmac string gauge and found it works very consistently for me. Rich, I take those string measurements from the top of the fret to bottom of the string.