| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| salmonella |
Posted - 05/03/2010 : 5:18:31 PM
I have an older Takamine that I love except for two things...1) the dreadnought is too big and 2) the nut width is too small. I cannot do anything about the dreadnought but I was thinking of having someone cut me a new nut that spreads the string spacing out to match my other guitar(1 3/4 " nut)and I thought when I did that I would shift the 6th string closer to the edge of the fretboard to keep as much room as possible on the 1st string.
I rarely fret the 6th string and when I do, it is with the thumb.
Some questions about this for you learned folk....
1) anyone do a lot of fretting of the 6th string with fingers other than the thumb? Is this related to the tuning or the particular music?
2) any reason why I should not shift the 6th string to the edge of the fret (I want to be able to put a capo on it and have it still work so it needs to still be above the fret)?
3) any considerations regarding stress on the guitar or neck?
4) anyone had this done to a guitar?
thanks
Dave |
| 5 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Volcano |
Posted - 05/04/2010 : 1:48:34 PM
Hi Dave, It really depends on how your frets are finished. If they have an edge on the ends, you can theoretically bring the string right to that edge. However, if they are filed down, almost sloping to the edge of the fingerboard, my guess is that they are at their limit. The frets on your Taylor are probably flattened at the edge of the fingerboard and yu are quite right about the lack of tension helping the string to fall off. When you fret the string, you are most likely pulling a bit - very common.
If you have a good repair person near you, he can probably make a new bone nut with a little extra spacing for about $75.00. If you don't like it, it's verrrry simple to switch back to your original.
If you are stuck for someone, let me know where you are and I can try to find someone for you. |
| salmonella |
Posted - 05/04/2010 : 1:18:42 PM
Larry
thanks for the info. Is there a minimum that you would say is "too close to the edge" for the 1st string (except for a capo I am not concerned about the 6th string since I dont ever seem to fret it with my fingers, only my thumb occasionally)?
Do you think that most manufacturers put the strings near this minimum or is there some excess distance to account for all sorts of playing styles?
Interestingly enough, I have a bit of trouble with the 1st string falling off the edge on one of my other guitars (a baby Taylor) even though it seems to have a stock width nut on it. Maybe the shorter scale gives the string less tension so I am more prone to slide it off...
thanks for the intriquing input.
Dave |
| Volcano |
Posted - 05/04/2010 : 12:06:15 PM
Hi Dave, I've done this a few times for customers, but always against my recommendation. The actual nut width would be the same as the neck wuld still be 1 11/6". The string slots would be spaced a little wider apart. The amount difference you can achieve is very minimal. If the string is too close to the edge, it tends to fall off, especially if the fret are finished with a downward slope on the edge as I believe your Tak would be. |
| salmonella |
Posted - 05/04/2010 : 08:34:15 AM
Very interesting Fran. Thanks. Although he does it for a different reason, it is good info about a capo and the string width at the bridge needing to be adjusted sometimes.
There is a picture on one of the web pages your link sent me to that shows the nut on one of his guitars. It looks like a bad garage job was done on it. It is amazing what someone with talent can do with marginal equipment.
Dave |
| Fran Guidry |
Posted - 05/04/2010 : 08:02:29 AM
Norman Blake does something like this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Blake_%28American_musician%29
Fran |
