Hi all.
I had attempted to build my first 3 string but Im having problems with the action. The strings are sitting very far from the neck. I made the groove bigger so the bolt at the top of the neck would sit further down but it didnt seem to make a difference and I also tried using a smaller bolt on the box. I used the basic 3 string plans provided on this site
.Anyone else run into the same problem? How can I fix it?Thanks!
Replies
Unless your neck is bowed; smaller nut, smaller bridge. Don't worry, I built my first awhile back and I changed out both nut and bridge about half a dozen times each.
Thanks for all the advice. Ill play around with it some more.
You could check your neck relief. If you sit the gat flat on a bench and look at the neck from the side, does it
a) slope slightly downwards towards the bench at the head end
b) is parallel to the bench all the way
c) slopes slightly upwards away from the bench at the head end.
a) is ideal. It allows more height at the bridge without adding height to the action
b) is OK - but your bridge may have to be lower
c) is BAD. You will never get your bridge low enough to have a good action.
Sounds like you have c). The way to fix that on a thru-neck is to either raise the end of the neck at the back of the box, or lower it where it goes into the front of the box, or both.
You can see the neck relief (the neck slopes downward toward the head end) in this pic.
http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/blind-gee-026-the-bootlegger-4?...
It sounds like you are doing the right thing to fix it. Lower the nut as far as you can than lower the bridge till you like the action. When the strings start to buzz raise the bridge till it stops. Unless your neck it really bowed badly this should work.
Can you post a pic looking at the guitar from the side?
What type of bridge have you used? If it is timber is there any chance you can make the bridge lower?
I used an eye bolt for the bridge- the size the instructions said to use. I tried using a couple of smaller ones, but didnt help.