With an acoustic guitar the goal is to transfer as much energy as possible from the strings to the sound board. Having a lot of mechanical devices between the strings and the top reduces the amount energy transferred, changes the sound/tone, reduces volume and so on. With an electric the energy is being transferred via magnetic coupling of the steel string vibrating through the magnetic field of the pickups magnets.
One you take material away you cant put it back. So how would you know once you take it down and lower the action that your now not going to have buzzing?
So his he taking off 2/64 based off the lower E at the 12th, but what about the low e at the 12th? I assume cos he draws a straight line on the saddle it works itself out?
I pity people who cannot understand fractions. Metrics are great computers and machine work, but fractions are superior for woodwork and number of things built by hand.
I can't believe I've been afraid to mess up my guitar for YEARS. I watched this video and adjusted my action in 10 minutes after picking up a few supplies. My Hummingbird plays like a different guitar. I can't thank you enough 🙏
Carry a normal action saddle and a high action saddle in your kit just in case, if you are a traveling musician that flies to gigs or goes between different climates regularly. If you carry spare sets of strings, spare saddles will complement your acoustic guitar kit.
Hey all. Just tried this out today and it worked well. I used a square dowel and fixed it with epoxy to a piece of glass. I used double sided duct tape to fix the 100 grit sand paper. All bought from Home Depot. Worked fine, was tedious. I did have an issue of uneven wear. I inspected it by placing the saddle on the glass to see how it was tilting, and I simply turned which side was hugging the dowel to correct the issue. My acoustic has great action now (although I went a little too far cause my D string at the 12th fret buzzes, thankfully not too much for me to care). That being said, definitely be aware of how much you take off. I thought I was being conservative but I should have been more conservative and tested it as I went along.
Jim is Great 😎 Please do more real world "get you through the gig" fixes. All of my Gibson Guitars sound beautiful and gained good praise as soon as I gigged them. Non of my others ever did this. Keep it up 😎
amazing man! I have a J45 and I'm using 0.11 gauge strings on it with an action on the 12th fret on the 6th string of 6/64" and on the 1st string of 4/64". It's very comfortable! Congratulations on the beautiful video and the valuable tip.👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
This gentleman is idolic. I just learned more in the first two minutes of this video than I have thus far in a lifetime about adjusting my guitar. Leave it to Gibson to work with such caliber of genius. THANK YOU!!!!
@Gibson TV | You sell guitars globally and always measure locally. Please keep in mind that there is also a metrical measurement system in the rest of the world. Regarding guitar maintenance, my suggestion for the future would be that you also communicate the corresponding information for the guitar setup in metric data such as millimeters or centimeters in the future. Thanks very much!
Please consider for the future, this channel is observed also by 'metric zone' viewers ( for instance entire Europe :) ), thus be so kind and give all numbers/measurements in both sytems units, thanks. ;)
Get deep shaped c clamps instead of standard if that makes sense. Harbor freight sells some. Get some glue under the bridge if you don't want to take the whole thing off. Clamp down the bridge using pads so as not to mar the bridge finish. A piece of paneling or pegboard works. Leave them evenly tightened for oh maybe 24 hours, remove then clamps and it should be fine. I fixed a lower end Yamaha like this. If you have a Gibson, Martin etc, you may want to take it to a luthier.
Good video I would have suggested to clean out where the saddle sits in the guitar in case any debris or dirt is down in there a little bit will throw you off
Expensive guitars should come already setup and with a new set of extra boxed strings in the case for reference on string size to use or most used like 11 or 12's. Shouldn't need a reset for a long time...it's your name on it, make it count with attention to detail and value to the customer...
Well they don't. It's always been incumbent upon the dealer to do final setup on the guitar, and that's why Gibson guitars are notorious for coming with the nut slots too high. But you can't set a "one size fits all" action at the factory. Good luck finding a dealer who actually knows how to set up a guitar these days...
Be careful with all this. All this setup work only works on perfectly level frets, and with a neck that's been correctly tightened to the right amount of relief/straightness. If the relief is wrong and your frets have high spots, sanding down your saddle will invariably cause dead frets, sitar-type sounds, and extreme buzzing when playing open chords at the nut/first few frets.
Zel. I adjusted mine as much as possible and it was still to high , I removed the bridge carefully with needle nose pliers and and sanded 1/8 of an inch off. It worked out perfect , you just have to make sure it's exactly even...
I have a 68 SJ with beautiful checking and not a crack I can find. It’s starting to get a little bit of bellying. Bought a Bridge Dr. (bridge pin version so I don’t have to drill the bridge) but haven’t gotten around to installing. Would be cool to see you do a little vintage acoustic work. Feel free to contact me and use mine lol
So how come he didn't cover the trust rod? I was keen on looking into this video because I was wondering how trust rod and bridge saddle affect eachother😅
Is it normal for a new acoustic guitar to have a saddle filed down to almost no break on the high e string? Did the set up guy do it wrong? The guitar is a Gibson J45 Custom. Very informative video
Pretty much everything he said to do is the same as everything I do, so I guess my instincts are OK. EXCEPT his saddle bone sanding jig is an excellent idea and better than what I do. When it comes to raising the action, I have had great luck just using cereal box material as shim material. Sure, a business card would work great too if you have one handy. In other news, I have found that by gluing a bit of wood to the bottom of the saddle bone (need to remove a corresponding amount of the bone to match the wood thickness) I can eliminate the Piezo "quack" artifact. For one of my Gibson Advanced Jumbo guitars, I have a "Summer" Saddle bone and a "Winter" saddle bone. Conveniently, the wooden saddle on that guitar has open ends, so I can just loosen the strings and slide out the one saddle bone and slide in the other saddel bone.
Damn.....so much needed info......so many wonderful guitars......so little time....... Thanks for a little love for the acoustic players ! KEEP IT UP ! PS: Jim can cover fret crowning ?
can a Hummingbird with high action really throw off the tone on the guitar? (very playable action around the first few frets, then gets pretty high around the 5th and beyond)
I Have two new J45s thats I'm trying to pick between. A 60s model and a standard. 60s is very easy and fun to play but the standard has that deep bass I'm lookin for. They have different size nuts, Documents show both actions from factory are the same but when measured they are not. The 60s model j45 is 1mm lower on the low E at the 12th. Could the standard be made to play closer like the 60s by sanding the sandle?
Great video. I have a J 45 with piezo. Can you tell me if you have to lower the bass and treble sides different amounts do you scribe each side to the correct measurement and then draw a line and sand? Thanks
A guide to changing pickups at the pots vs cutting and splicing the wires together, I went to cutting because I wrecked so many pots soldering and grounding the new pickup, or is it best to just use new pots?
Is there any issue with filing radii with a nut file to individually lower each strings action to preference? I did this with an older guitar and it seems fine. I suppose this could inhibit the strings ability to vibrate by being constrained by the grove but I can't seem to notice the difference. Thanks
Question by a complete novice: What is the logical reason that an acoustic guitar does not have an adjustable type of bridge similar to an electric? Even a mechanism that would raise and lower an existing acoustic saddle seems as if it could be easily engineered. Just curious. Great vid!
I believe it might because the goal in the acoustic guitar design is to physically transfer as much energy as possible from the strings to the wood top. If we add a lot of mechanics then this could/would attenuate that transfer of energy. I am electric the energy is transferred through magnetic coupling of the steel string and the pickups magnet.
They actually reintroduced the adjustable saddle as an option on the custom shop models. I have a Hummingbird , bought new, from 1969 that had an adjustable rosewood saddle . The bridge started to lift so I had a fixed bone saddle installed with a new bridge. Huge difference to the good with sound projection. As one of the other replies said , the adjustable mechanism damped some of the sound transfer to the top. Not sure if they solved that with newer version. I would avoid it though.
Ive just bought a new 2022 Gibson Hummingbird and I have to ask why does the nut have like teeth pointing down at each end of it ? it hurts my hand when playing in first position. Also my strings seem very tight! standard E 440 tuning the tech at the UK shop which is 160 miles from home said he had dropped action a little from Factory set? But Its hard to play compared to all the MARTINS i have owned one the last 50 years.
The warranty card on my SJ 200 indicates.006 and .004 . On my inspection the low is .006 and the high is also.006. Nothing has been changed so how can I lower the high e to .004?
Since I'm the First comment do I win that, Sheryl Crow Country Western? 😂😂 I've honestly wanted one of those guitars forever now!! I have and/or had many Gibson acoustics but fairly recently I got a 2012 Advance Jumbo.. it's by far my favorite guitar I've ever played or owned!! It's seriously absolutely incredible!! 🤘 #OnlyAGibsonIsGoodEnough
I bought a SG Standard 61 and the action is nothing compare to my LP. the SG's action is higher. 2.5 mm , I try to make it down but impossible... a big buzz in let ring and on the frets... what can I do? Is it normal 2.5mm 2.75mm for a SG?
Shouldn't you check/adjust the truss rod before sanding down the bridge? If I fret the first and last fret at the same time, the action is still high between them, so lowering the bridge may not help. I'm also concerned if I lower the bridge too much, it could cause intonation issues. How much is too much?
Hey to make it easier in the future : why not use 2/32'' and 3/32'' instead of 4/64'' and 3/64'' ? Not all rulers have 64'a of an inch, and who can count a 64 th of an inch with the naked eye? Rock on!
OK, to clarify my point further, I bought a 2016 Gibson Flying V on line. The nut was very badly done, it affected the tuning and made the 3rd string play sharp on the lower frets. Gibson's response was, if anyone else alters the guitar, my warranty would be void.
Let us know in the comments below what other topics you would like Jim to cover!
How about how to repair lifting pick guards mine is starting to lift on my hummingbird
With an acoustic guitar the goal is to transfer as much energy as possible from the strings to the sound board. Having a lot of mechanical devices between the strings and the top reduces the amount energy transferred, changes the sound/tone, reduces volume and so on. With an electric the energy is being transferred via magnetic coupling of the steel string vibrating through the magnetic field of the pickups magnets.
Installing locking tuners
I have a question. What grit sandpaper do you recommend?
One you take material away you cant put it back. So how would you know once you take it down and lower the action that your now not going to have buzzing?
For the metric folks...he talks a lot in 64ths of an inch...that's very close to 0.4mm. So 4/64 will be close to 4 x 0.4 = 1.6mm. Hope that helps.
Legend
That’s exactly what I needed. Thank you David.
So his he taking off 2/64 based off the lower E at the 12th, but what about the low e at the 12th? I assume cos he draws a straight line on the saddle it works itself out?
Why ppl still using those inches ratios. Can't get it, there is nothing accurate more than real numbers
I pity people who cannot understand fractions. Metrics are great computers and machine work, but fractions are superior for woodwork and number of things built by hand.
I can't believe I've been afraid to mess up my guitar for YEARS. I watched this video and adjusted my action in 10 minutes after picking up a few supplies. My Hummingbird plays like a different guitar. I can't thank you enough 🙏
Carry a normal action saddle and a high action saddle in your kit just in case, if you are a traveling musician that flies to gigs or goes between different climates regularly. If you carry spare sets of strings, spare saddles will complement your acoustic guitar kit.
That’s a great tip!
Excellent idea.
Hard case + humidity pack in the case will help reduce this movement. And it maintains the guitar
I did this exact same thing and it worked perfectly. Great info for people who might think it's difficult👍
i wanted to see rod adjustment this guy took it a whole new level
Never thought about having a spare saddle with higher action!!! Thank you!!!
Thank you so much Jim! My fingers especially thank you. Thanks to your video the repair went just about perfectly.
I've used the smooth/roughness of my concrete porch, when I don't have a fine sandpaper. Works great!
Hey all. Just tried this out today and it worked well. I used a square dowel and fixed it with epoxy to a piece of glass. I used double sided duct tape to fix the 100 grit sand paper. All bought from Home Depot.
Worked fine, was tedious. I did have an issue of uneven wear. I inspected it by placing the saddle on the glass to see how it was tilting, and I simply turned which side was hugging the dowel to correct the issue. My acoustic has great action now (although I went a little too far cause my D string at the 12th fret buzzes, thankfully not too much for me to care).
That being said, definitely be aware of how much you take off. I thought I was being conservative but I should have been more conservative and tested it as I went along.
You sir are a natural teacher. Nice video thanks!
Dang. That glass and fence idea is wonderful. Cheers.
I liked the trick about using a piece of wood for a fence. I have to do this with my Hummingbird. I'd like to get it down to 2 mil.
Jim is Great 😎 Please do more real world "get you through the gig" fixes. All of my Gibson Guitars sound beautiful and gained good praise as soon as I gigged them. Non of my others ever did this. Keep it up 😎
Very informative! Any idea on when the "Acoustic making' process series will run on 'Gibson TV? Looking forward to that. Cheers.
I always thought the truss rod would adjust your action, this seems really simple and obvious now I've watched it.
Thats the acoustic i want. Wow. Beautiful
amazing man! I have a J45 and I'm using 0.11 gauge strings on it with an action on the 12th fret on the 6th string of 6/64" and on the 1st string of 4/64". It's very comfortable! Congratulations on the beautiful video and the valuable tip.👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Man, I love your videos. I like to make a suggestion that you use metric as well.
This gentleman is idolic. I just learned more in the first two minutes of this video than I have thus far in a lifetime about adjusting my guitar. Leave it to Gibson to work with such caliber of genius. THANK YOU!!!!
I need a metric version of this.
@Gibson TV | You sell guitars globally and always measure locally. Please keep in mind that there is also a metrical measurement system in the rest of the world. Regarding guitar maintenance, my suggestion for the future would be that you also communicate the corresponding information for the guitar setup in metric data such as millimeters or centimeters in the future. Thanks very much!
I don't understand how imperial measurements are still a thing.
Metric is so much easier.
Please consider for the future, this channel is observed also by 'metric zone' viewers ( for instance entire Europe :) ), thus be so kind and give all numbers/measurements in both sytems units, thanks. ;)
It would be nice to know what grit the sandpaper used was. I'd assume a pretty heavy grit as quickly as he sanded down that saddle.
150 or 180 works fine. You can finish with 220 if you like.
Great info!
How about fixing a bridge that is pulling away from the top?
Go to the Rosa String Works channel. He has several videos showing , in detail, how to do this. Not for the under equipped or faint of heart !
Get deep shaped c clamps instead of standard if that makes sense. Harbor freight sells some. Get some glue under the bridge if you don't want to take the whole thing off. Clamp down the bridge using pads so as not to mar the bridge finish. A piece of paneling or pegboard works. Leave them evenly tightened for oh maybe 24 hours, remove then clamps and it should be fine. I fixed a lower end Yamaha like this. If you have a Gibson, Martin etc, you may want to take it to a luthier.
Good video I would have suggested to clean out where the saddle sits in the guitar in case any debris or dirt is down in there a little bit will throw you off
Expensive guitars should come already setup and with a new set of extra boxed strings in the case for reference on string size to use or most used like 11 or 12's. Shouldn't need a reset for a long time...it's your name on it, make it count with attention to detail and value to the customer...
Well they don't. It's always been incumbent upon the dealer to do final setup on the guitar, and that's why Gibson guitars are notorious for coming with the nut slots too high. But you can't set a "one size fits all" action at the factory. Good luck finding a dealer who actually knows how to set up a guitar these days...
Setup is really determined by the player so the dealer usually performs the setup. Manufacture builds in enough room for changes.
6 64ths isn’t factory spec I just bought a brand new in box n case Gibson j45 and the action was 5 32nds at the 12th fret on the low way too high
Be careful with all this. All this setup work only works on perfectly level frets, and with a neck that's been correctly tightened to the right amount of relief/straightness. If the relief is wrong and your frets have high spots, sanding down your saddle will invariably cause dead frets, sitar-type sounds, and extreme buzzing when playing open chords at the nut/first few frets.
How do you know if the nut is right or if you need to adjust the truss Rod first?
For the metric people: 4/64 inch is about 1.6mm. 6/64 inch is about 2.4mm
Oui, les sites de lutherie donnent 2,5 mi grave, et 1,5mm mi aigu pour des cordes métal.
This was super helpful, thank you!!!!
Very informative. My guitar needs some tweaking. I think I can handle this. Thank you.
What grit sandpaper did you use?
This is beyond my abilities
Great explanation! How about a video on adjusting the neck relief using the truss rod?
Zel. I adjusted mine as much as possible and it was still to high , I removed the bridge carefully with needle nose pliers and and sanded 1/8 of an inch off. It worked out perfect , you just have to make sure it's exactly even...
@@mikeg.9238I had this issue with a used and neglected J45 I just bought so this video was so helpful!
What grit was the sandpaper???
Thank you for posting this excellent presentation!
Interesting. I’d like to see how you sand down a saddle if the needed reduction is unequal between the E strings ! I suspect there is a jig for that?
I would draw a line and use a hand file. You could always try a fingernail file. StewMac has some nice tools you may want to check out.
Amazing thank you for this video , so informative !! 😊
Fantastic guide. Thank you!
Excellent video!! Thanks for posting!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Fantastic advice, crucial thanks my friend
I have a 68 SJ with beautiful checking and not a crack I can find. It’s starting to get a little bit of bellying. Bought a Bridge Dr. (bridge pin version so I don’t have to drill the bridge) but haven’t gotten around to installing. Would be cool to see you do a little vintage acoustic work. Feel free to contact me and use mine lol
Thanks a bunch Nick !
Great video. He makes it look so easy. Thanks
So how come he didn't cover the trust rod? I was keen on looking into this video because I was wondering how trust rod and bridge saddle affect eachother😅
Nice guitar Jim. Good info. Thanks.
Is it normal for a new acoustic guitar to have a saddle filed down to almost no break on the high e string? Did the set up guy do it wrong? The guitar is a Gibson J45 Custom. Very informative video
Pretty much everything he said to do is the same as everything I do, so I guess my instincts are OK.
EXCEPT his saddle bone sanding jig is an excellent idea and better than what I do.
When it comes to raising the action, I have had great luck just using cereal box material as shim material. Sure, a business card would work great too if you have one handy.
In other news, I have found that by gluing a bit of wood to the bottom of the saddle bone (need to remove a corresponding amount of the bone to match the wood thickness) I can eliminate the Piezo "quack" artifact.
For one of my Gibson Advanced Jumbo guitars, I have a "Summer" Saddle bone and a "Winter" saddle bone. Conveniently, the wooden saddle on that guitar has open ends, so I can just loosen the strings and slide out the one saddle bone and slide in the other saddel bone.
Damn.....so much needed info......so many wonderful guitars......so little time.......
Thanks for a little love for the acoustic players !
KEEP IT UP !
PS: Jim can cover fret crowning ?
can a Hummingbird with high action really throw off the tone on the guitar? (very playable action around the first few frets, then gets pretty high around the 5th and beyond)
That’s how mine is, I’ve lowered the action and adjusted the truss rod but then it’s buzzing now around the 3-4th frets
@@Harrisabd that seems to be the only solution other than taking it to a qualified luthier
great info in this vid! Rock ON!
I Have two new J45s thats I'm trying to pick between. A 60s model and a standard. 60s is very easy and fun to play but the standard has that deep bass I'm lookin for. They have different size nuts, Documents show both actions from factory are the same but when measured they are not. The 60s model j45 is 1mm lower on the low E at the 12th. Could the standard be made to play closer like the 60s by sanding the sandle?
Great video. I have a J 45 with piezo. Can you tell me if you have to lower the bass and treble sides different amounts do you scribe each side to the correct measurement and then draw a line and sand?
Thanks
EXCELLENT...Video!
Love these videos!!! Tks
A guide to changing pickups at the pots vs cutting and splicing the wires together, I went to cutting because I wrecked so many pots soldering and grounding the new pickup, or is it best to just use new pots?
Well done video
very helpful thanks RE Smith Sylvester Ga
Is there any issue with filing radii with a nut file to individually lower each strings action to preference? I did this with an older guitar and it seems fine. I suppose this could inhibit the strings ability to vibrate by being constrained by the grove but I can't seem to notice the difference. Thanks
Question by a complete novice: What is the logical reason that an acoustic guitar does not have an adjustable type of bridge similar to an electric? Even a mechanism that would raise and lower an existing acoustic saddle seems as if it could be easily engineered. Just curious. Great vid!
Gibson had adjustable saddles on their acoustics in the 60's. Everyone hated them and they were said to be tone killers.
I believe it might because the goal in the acoustic guitar design is to physically transfer as much energy as possible from the strings to the wood top. If we add a lot of mechanics then this could/would attenuate that transfer of energy. I am electric the energy is transferred through magnetic coupling of the steel string and the pickups magnet.
They actually reintroduced the adjustable saddle as an option on the custom shop models. I have a Hummingbird , bought new, from 1969 that had an adjustable rosewood saddle . The bridge started to lift so I had a fixed bone saddle installed with a new bridge. Huge difference to the good with sound projection. As one of the other replies said , the adjustable mechanism damped some of the sound transfer to the top. Not sure if they solved that with newer version. I would avoid it though.
@@rzh3443 sounds beautiful
What on earth are those numbers 😂 what’s wrong with mm? Great tips though 👍🏻
On my 12-string, the strings are too high near the nut.
thanks that is nice and easy. would you do something similar to lower the action at the nut?
Every string pivots from the nut..maybe not for action..AlohAs
Ive just bought a new 2022 Gibson Hummingbird and I have to ask why does the nut have like teeth pointing down at each end of it ? it hurts my hand when playing in first position. Also my strings seem very tight! standard E 440 tuning the tech at the UK shop which is 160 miles from home said he had dropped action a little from Factory set? But Its hard to play compared to all the MARTINS i have owned one the last 50 years.
Honestly, just have someone else do it
Thank you for making this as hard as it possibly could be 👍
The warranty card on my SJ 200 indicates.006 and .004 . On my inspection the low is .006 and the high is also.006. Nothing has been changed so how can I lower the high e to .004?
my takamine guitar has 2 saddles. do i just do the same with each one seperately?
Hey guy, How much relief should I get in my neck?
Very surprised that there was no mention of verifying the string height at the nut.
Do people ever just carry a dozen saddles with gradient widths?
Since I'm the First comment do I win that, Sheryl Crow Country Western? 😂😂
I've honestly wanted one of those guitars forever now!! I have and/or had many Gibson acoustics but fairly recently I got a 2012 Advance Jumbo.. it's by far my favorite guitar I've ever played or owned!! It's seriously absolutely incredible!! 🤘
#OnlyAGibsonIsGoodEnough
what grade sandpaper did you use? thx!
2,5mm for the low E
1,5mm for the high E
It is the average accepted distance.
nut first then truss rod, then string height. Don't go straight for the bridge
We're can you get one of those gages
👍
What about using Allen key instead of this
Hope for the best
Did he say what grit sandpaper to use?
No unfortunately
top guitar 🎶🎶🎶🙌🙌🙌👍👍👍👍👍
I bought a SG Standard 61 and the action is nothing compare to my LP. the SG's action is higher. 2.5 mm , I try to make it down but impossible... a big buzz in let ring and on the frets... what can I do? Is it normal 2.5mm 2.75mm for a SG?
2,5mm for low E, 1,5mm for high E, is normal. If you low the strings they will ''frizzz'' more.
Shouldn't you check/adjust the truss rod before sanding down the bridge? If I fret the first and last fret at the same time, the action is still high between them, so lowering the bridge may not help. I'm also concerned if I lower the bridge too much, it could cause intonation issues. How much is too much?
The very first thing he said was do this if everything else is good, neck and nut set up properly.
its Flaaat ...Flat in the Saddle again ... sorry
This tech is as sharp as an arrowsmith.
What is a 64th in mm
I do this eye ..
For a second, I tonight it was Mr Satya Nadella!
IT really bothers me he isn't simplifying his fractions.
Hey to make it easier in the future : why not use 2/32'' and 3/32'' instead of 4/64'' and 3/64'' ? Not all rulers have 64'a of an inch, and who can count a 64 th of an inch with the naked eye? Rock on!
Shouldn't the nut be filed properly from the factory?
Action is player specific. Dealer will usually will do this for you. Gibson builds in enough room to adjust as desired.
How do they know how you like the set up????
@@nosbig11 when you buy the guitar the dealer will did setup to your liking. If you buy it in line then you could define the action you want.
@@david25876 good luck with that!!!
OK, to clarify my point further, I bought a 2016 Gibson Flying V on line. The nut was very badly done, it affected the tuning and made the 3rd string play sharp on the lower frets. Gibson's response was, if anyone else alters the guitar, my warranty would be void.
Ok i need tha same info in millimeters 😅
Metrics .......... PLEASE. :(
☯️
2/64 is 1/32
Get to the reason we clicked on the video
Acoustic FLATTOP guitar. (says the archtop guy angrily). ; )
A great video for 53/1000ths of the population, but for the rest of the world using metric it’s frustrating.