OK please look here http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/my-first-cbg-finished-5?context=latest
Now no matter what I do it seem my string are too high then when I use a smaller nut it like the strings just hover over it and sound like crap.... almost like the pegs are too high but hows that possible? Maybe they way Im stringing it???
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Hey thanks man I added you as friend and really would like to try this zero nut method! Now on my first build all I did is take a lid from a cigarbox cut to right size put hole for pegs and put under the neck... it totally did the job. Now not as good as I'd like but Im still super stoke on my first build and the sound of it.
You guys all rock!
Justin, if you want expert advice, I believe Matt ( The Artist etc.) is expert. But if you don't have a lot of tools and expertise, listen to what I have to say. I am the prince of half assed builders. Ask anyone that has closely inspected my stuff.
Yeah, yeah the scarfed or angled head stock is the expert way to go. But I aint no steenking expert!
Truth now. You can try to do as these folks say and maybe salvage what you have. I advise you to save those for slide or wall hangers and start anew.
If you want to finger pick and finger chord (as I do), you need low action. Okay. #1. The fret board needs to be a bit higher than the box. Easy way to do that is to add a 1/4 inch fret board glued to the neck. I do that. Makes for a thick, strong neck. Hard to use a capo on. BFD.
#2. Easiest way to get low action is to use a ZERO FRET for the nut. Tell me your address and I will send you a length of Jumbo fret. Cut your nut/ zero fret slot and place (I glue) the jumbo fret as a Zero fret. File some small notches where the string will go.
3. Simply put, you need a downward angle from the nut (or zero fret) to the tuner (machine head) holes. One way to do this is a string retainer. Buy some or do as I do, acquire a spoon or fork smooth side down and screw it to the head stock with a gap for the strings to go under. Not a great photo, but look a my Hi-way 61 photo or others. And/or you may need 1 or more screws to guide the strings between the nut and the tuner- so the stings stay in place.
Good luck and wishes. And I will mail you some jumbo fret if you desire. Friend me and give me your address if that is the case.
oilyfool said:
All good suggestions so far. If you are looking to be able to press down on the strings and play notes, then you will have to lower the height of the nut by deepening the slot it lies in. You want the strings to sit roughly the thickness of a nickel above the fretboard. This is just a starting point. If you lower the height of the nut, you will make the problem with the tuners worse.
As already mentioned the height of the spot where the strings are anchored at the tuning peg needs to be well below the height of the spot where the strings rest on the nut. You can either laminate a piece of wood the the back side of the headstock as has been suggested, or you can add some type of hardware that will hold the strings down tight against the nut to keep them from buzzing. There is nothing wrong with the actual tuning peg, it is the way they are mounted in relationship to the nut that is causing problems.
Does that help?
Justin,
Oops, my drawing didn't make it to my amended post. Here's what I was thinking (similar to what Brian suggested):
Justin,
I agree, you need more string break at the nut, and various posters have addressed that issue by suggesting adding a piece of wood to the back of the headstock. You could also try small eyelet screws as string trees; it looks like you might have enough room for those, even so close to your first machine head. Also, doing a proper string wrap downward on each machine head will help some.
One other aspect to this has not been noted by previous posters, and just a thought: how high are your strings at the bridge, and at the 12th fret? Lowering your bridge some might help. It might even be a combination of the first fix (adding wood to the back of the headstock), small eyelet screw string trees, and lowering the bridge a tad.
Anything but a complet neck rebuild!
Let us know how you get on,
Oily
What you've run into is the reason we use an angled headstock.
One thing you can do is to wrap the strings in a manner that will help.
Start the string at the holeand go down toward the neck. It's better to use a continuous layered method than just letting it scrambled around the post.
Also use as low a bridge as possible.
AFKAM
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