This can change the natural bow of the neck causing a change in string length. Setting the string action bridge height adjustment screw height adjustment screws for each strings height adjustment screw string tuning height 1st e 1. Look down the neck of the guitar, at eye level, and check to see if the neck is bowed. Arguably the worlds most popular electric guitar, the fender stratocaster is a marvel of sonic and mechanical engineering.
Looking from the tuning pegs down to the bridge of the guitar. Or, if you live in a drier, lowhumidity climate hot or. For best results, the following order of adjustment is recommended. Im also looking for a printable string spacing gauge. Us pro designed guitar neck notched straight edge and fret rocker luthier tools. There should be the width of a cigarette paper between the top of the first fret and the bottom edge of the string on the g, e and a strings. Guitar fret crowning luthier file leveling grinding tool kits guitar repair tool. If you change the gauge of strings that you use this can have an adverse effect on your intonation. September 17, 2010 as a guitarist, i often have to adjust strings height action and other kind of settings on my guitars. The 12step guide to electric and acoustic guitar setup. Homemade string action gauge telecaster guitar forum. The guitar string action gauge can also be used in conjunction with feeler gauges and a capo to set the neck relief. The back of the gauge has a timesaving fractionaldecimalmetric conversion chart.
Feb 2, 2018 here is a free printable guitar action gauge i posted on my personal site for anyone who is looking to reset the action on their guitar or bass. Loosen it and the strings pull the neck into a concave bow, resulting in higher action i. You need to check action regularly bimonthly by ear together with inspecting the neck curve and adjusting truss rod. The string action gauge is made of durable stainless steel with precisionetched markings, and fits right in your pocket. And asking for donations for gofundme and such are generally frowned upon here no matter how dire the need. Measure string action the height of the string above the fret at any point by placing the gauge behind the string. A good rule of thumb is that you can get away with about 164 of an inch lower action on the highestpitched string than what youve set your lowest pitched string to. Tune the guitar to desired pitch sight the neck please read the beginning of this article for thorough instruction on sighting your guitars neck tip. I made a nut centerline calculator in excel as pictured below. Use a string action gauge to measure the height of the strings. But setting it up correctly can be a challenge, even for experienced players. High action strings allow aggressive strumming without buzzing, but its more difficult to play fast solos. Measure the string height with a string action gauge. Hi all, just wanted to share with you a trick if you are running into trouble when adjusting the action on your guitars.
For most of my customers, i have found that fifty thousandths 0. Guitar setup printable action gauge guitar, guitar. Heres a project for you printable string action gauge if this is your first visit, be sure to check out the faq by clicking the link above. Its used for bridge types that adjusts every string independently like fender strat tremolos. You can click to open a new window and show the printable radius gauge pdf. I also put a quick description of what youre trying to do and you can also look up videos on youtube for more assistance or leave me questions in the comments below. The actual nut width will vary from guitar to guitar. Once you think the string is at a reasonable height to your standards, play the string on each fret to make sure there are no dead spots on that string. Verify proper scale by measuring the one inch calibration bar at right. If you wish to use it on your own site, please contact guitarhack and we will try to assist you. This is a tool used for evening the string heights with the curve radius of your fretboard. Change strings, set intonation, adjust action, check string height and more 4. Laminate optional and cut out gauges with an xacto knife or sharp scissors, being sure to closely follow contours.
The 1214 low electric of the electric guitar is the lower. Now i put back the necks relief to 0,30 mm measured the gap from 8th fret with feeler gauge, when e string depressed from 1st and last fret and the strings e and a are up as 2,60 mm from the top of the 17th fret to the bottom of the strings. Move the third saddle back from the second saddle using the gauge of the third string as a measurement. But most important is how much fret buzz can you live with.
In standard 12 string tuning, the second string in each pair is tuned to standard pitch e a d g b e just. The fourth string saddle should be set parallel with the second string saddle. With medium to high tension strings the action is measured at the first fret by fretting the string at the 3rd. How to adjust the string height on acoustic guitar. If you mark all of the positions of your string jig and dont move the vehicle, you can put the string jig back into place and not have to go through the entire setup procedure again, although you should do a quick check just to. A heavier gauge of string will put more pressure on the neck of the guitar while a lighter gauge will put less stress on the neck.
On this strat, the distance from the 1st string to the 12th fret was 664, and the 6th string gap was also 664. Neck radius gauge instructions 1 print out on a card stock check the 1 block for accuracy. Set the relief capo the first fret and press the 15th fret with your finger, then use your feeler gauge on the 8th fret to measure the height. Homemade string action gauge discussion in teletechnical started by sha4096, sep 17, 2010. Setup and adjustment made easy to adjust the truss. Convenient guitar setup inch gauge can be used to setup guitar or bass string action, spacing, pickup height, saddle height and slot depth. Heres a project for you printable string action gauge. Metric string action gauge pdf download conwayligh. Tighten it, and the neck bends backwardthis is call backbowagainst the natural curve the string tension imparts, moving the strings closer to the fretboard.
When the bottom of a mark aligns with the bottom of the string, that measurement is the string height at that point. The string can tend to get in the way and make it difficult to work on the vehicle. Because of the high tension involved in steel strings, if you change the gauge of the strings you are using you may need to have some adjustments made to the guitar, including adjusting the neck, bridge or nut. When raising or lowering the action make slow and small increments to the bolts as usual. Tuning six string guitars tuning 12 string guitars changing strings. Guitar files are in various shape, equaling flat, round, half round. Selecting an optimal string action depends on your playing style, string gauge, hard vs. Nut rule string spacing in pdf telecaster guitar forum. With the feeler gauge, check the gap between the bottom of the string and the top of the 8th fret figure c. For acoustic guitars depress the e string at the 14th fret.
If you are using a low g then the same goes for it as the c string. Includes everything for string changes and setups, perfect for maintaining and keeping your instrument in perfect playing condition. High action strings usually deliver better tone and longer sustain. This is because the smaller the string gauge, the tighter the vibrational. Using a string action gauge measure the string height. This temporarily removes the nut from the action equation. The spacing between the strings needs to be uniform, which varies with the string gauge you use. I have a michael kelly patrio special lp copy guitar 24 34 scale i had it setup with a 1052 gauge strings with.
The margin between the end of the nut and the outside edges of the 1st and 6th strings varies dependent on the bevel angle of the frets. Unfinished lp style electric guitar diy kit topsolid mahogany body neck gift. String action ruler gauge tool could be uesd on both side. Before measuring action and neck relief, clamp a capo over the 1st fret. The problem was that i needed to setup this guitar and bass right away but i would have had to order it online and wait for them to ship it to me before i can set it up correctly. Using a string action gauge to measure the action at the 12th fret. Use a straightedge for added assurance pictured remove the truss rod cover. Youll want to repeat these steps for the rest of your strings and the treble side of the bridge. Here, ace nashville repairman john levan walks you stepbystep through the setup process and shows you how to make your strat play like a dream and ring like a bell. Does anyone know where i can get a printout of a string height action gauge.