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January 2009
Posts: 35
Location: lhanbryde | My Custom balladeer action is low and plays great when played softish but tends to have a bit of jangle on E and B strings when played with more force .My question is ,, would it be easier to raise the saddle with a shim [what type of shim do I need]or adjust the neck for more relief.Any adjustment required will be very slight as the guitar plays great otherwise. I thank you ..hb. |
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October 2005
Posts: 4082
Location: Utah | You could do either method. The correct method would be to check the relief first, to see if the truss rod is adjusted properly. Capo at the first and 14th frets, (or use spare hands), then see how much space is between the top of the 6th fret and the bottom of the strings. Depending on how hard you usually strum, the space should be anywhere from nearly nothing to maybe the thickness of a medium to thick pick.
Adjust the truss rod in small increments. Maybe 1/4 turn max and then wait until tomorrow to see how it settles.
Once the truss rod is correct, see if you get buzzes on the upper frets above the 14th or so. If you do, the bridge is too low.
You can use just about any fairly hard material for a shim. Folks around here seem to recommend cut up credit cards, but that makes it hard to buy more guitars. The factory will send you free a selection of real shims which are layered laminate like a circuit board minus the copper traces.
Factory shims come in regular and half thickness, about .040" and .020" thick.
You could put in a tapered shim to raise only the two strings that are giving you trouble. |
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Posts: 35
Location: lhanbryde | Thanks , I,ll give it a try as the strings are about ready for a change ,kill two birds with one stone . |
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April 2008
Posts: 1851
Location: Newington, CT | Originally posted by FlySig:
You could do either method. The correct method would be to check the relief first, to see if the truss rod is adjusted properly. Capo at the first and 14th frets, (or use spare hands), then see how much space is between the top of the 6th fret and the bottom of the strings. Depending on how hard you usually strum, the space should be anywhere from nearly nothing to maybe the thickness of a medium to thick pick.
Adjust the truss rod in small increments. Maybe 1/4 turn max and then wait until tomorrow to see how it settles.
Once the truss rod is correct, see if you get buzzes on the upper frets above the 14th or so. If you do, the bridge is too low.
You can use just about any fairly hard material for a shim. Folks around here seem to recommend cut up credit cards, but that makes it hard to buy more guitars. The factory will send you free a selection of real shims which are layered laminate like a circuit board minus the copper traces.
Factory shims come in regular and half thickness, about .040" and .020" thick.
You could put in a tapered shim to raise only the two strings that are giving you trouble. FlySig: this is GREAT information for all of us to tuck away for the same eventuality as henry b is experiencing! Thanks for some important data! |
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Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | When you said you were getting some jangle, I thought you were going to talk about one of these.
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March 2008
Posts: 2683
Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | I thought he was going to talk about Gypsy Jazz ala "Jangle" Reinhart. :D |
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November 2008
Posts: 1119
Location: Michigan | Assuming the neck is straight per flysig are you getting a buzz when your fret or open? If open I would probably suspect the nut. Fretting takes the nut out of the equation. Check out flysigs excellent commentary here:
http://www.ovationfanclub.com/cgi-bin/ubb/non-cgi/ultimatebb.php?ub... |
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January 2009
Posts: 35
Location: lhanbryde | The buzzes are when played fretted. hb |
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January 2009
Posts: 35
Location: lhanbryde | Mr. No Jangles, a strip of credit card under the saddle cured the problem, tried to adjust the truss rod but gave up after the key slipped off . Now plays much brighter than before. thanks for replies. hb |
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January 2009
Posts: 35
Location: lhanbryde | What is the correct size of Allen key fo the C/balladeer. thanks again in anticipation for a full and concise answer.lol. |
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Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | 3/16" |
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January 2009
Posts: 35
Location: lhanbryde | Final answer. |
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Jangle
