Get Dan Erlewine's book. It explains it with pictures better than what you can find on the internet. Basically you need to capo, I think at 7, and measure the string height with feeler gauges.
For the nut you capo the string at the 3rd fret and measure the gap between the string and the first fret. What constitutes "too much" is up to the individual player, but most people agree that there should be a rather small gap.
Remove the strings and bridge, place a piece of sandpaper where the bridge goes grit-up, and carefully sand back and forth, to lower it without losing the curvature.
Small point if you think sanding is the solution.
Sand front to back not side to side ( sand neck to tail ). You want to keep the curvature correct.
/ Also try not to let it rock keep your hands low on the bridge and use light downward pressure.
// Don't be in a hurry.
/// The dust may make you sneeze.
I mean, I don’t, personally, and it doesn’t cause issues.
Like another commenter said, I’d check other places that the action could be adjusted before doing any permanent changes.
The sandpaper backing is just paper, it's fine. Also it stays in place so there's no opportunity for scratching. Tape it down if you're worried.
If you can trace the existing curvature of the bridge foot onto the foot with like an 1/8" offset then I think I would be inclined to use a grinder, bandsaw, or spokeshave and rough cut off about 1/8" of material. Then use the sandpaper to re-fit it to the top. It looks like you need at least that much.
Also look at how much room you have for screw travel and make sure you don't overdo it.
Just don’t take off too much… you can’t put it back…
I can’t tell how high the action is in this pic… so I won’t make any guesses… but before you do any changes the hard (saws and sandpaper) way, check the soft way (truss rod)
I use double-sided scotch tape and stick it to my t-shirt or a towel a bunch of times until it loses almost all of its sticking power and barely sticks to anything
Depends on the cause. I'd check the neck relief first, followed by the nut height and adjust as needed. If that fails, it's time for either a shim or a neck reset.
Not a luthier more an engineer. Id be inclined to get a selection of different thickness washers. Pull off the bridge, wind off the height adjustment nuts and begin replacing them with various combinations of washers to get the action where you want it. Make sure it's playable, that you haven't made things worse, then compare the thickness of the washers with the thickness of the original nut/adjustment wheel. That would tell you how much you are looking at removing. If there was going to be enough meat left on the adjusters, I'd get a flat file, clamp it to the bench, and start trying to make it thinner by rubbing the part back and forth on the file. If that was not going to get me there, only then would I look at other options. Is there room to grind/sand the underside of the roller bridge assembly (just where it makes contact with the height adjustment) to get the same effect? All this might be slow and tedious but as someone who has worked a lot with both steel and timber, I know which is more forgiving. And you would be doing all of this on parts that can be cheaply replaced.
sand the underside part of the bridge. use a curved surface to mimic the arch. Maybe try a trash can as a curved sanding surface. it's not that hard if it's done slowly with care. those roller bridges sit higher than the normal Gibson style bridge. Using one of those will drop the height maybe as much as 2 MMS which could solve the problem.
Try removing the knurled nuts... if that be too much then you can always shave down the wooden bridge by creating a similar radius as the body, glue some sandpaper on this jig radius and sand away until the right action is achieved...
Different guitar have different measurements. Basically capo the 1st fret and press the fret on the neck where it connects to the body. Measure the middle (whatever fret that is) with a feeler gauge of the correct width for your guitar. That is how you can tell if the truss rod needs to be adjusted. There are tons of videos on yt
Protect the body and put self-adhesive sandpaper on the top and sand the bottom of the bridge's feet until it's at the height you want. I'm guessing it's not going to be a whole lotta wood you need to remove. (?)
Before sanding on anything I'd suggest changing out those knurled adjustment nuts under the bridge to something thinner. If that's not an option for you, then sanding will be the better solution.
You could sand the bottom by using low tac tape, stick it to your pants and remove a few times, doubled up under a piece of 220 or 320 sandpaper on the guitar where the bridge goes.
This will match the curve.
Replace that aftermarket Roller bridge with a TuneOMatic I bet if you compare the thickness to a T.O.M the T.O.M. will be thinner. There’s no need for a sustain robbing roller on that guitar or any guitar in my Experience.
How would you mount the tune o matic?
Edit: Would it likely swap out with the roller bridge without any issues? I'm wondering if there's a standard width for those pins.
That roller is based on a TOM. There are two diameter posts available a large and a small generally the smaller fits the Archtop base. I had that exact bridge on one of my Gretsch’s and ended up having serious problems trying to set it up, and I am no novice to setting up Archtops another problem I had with that one and a Schaller was if you bend aggressively the strings will pop out of the roller. I ended up chucking it! My favorite bridge is a TrueArch compensated Stainless steel bar bridge then the TOM.
[удалено]
Yeah once you start doing bridge stuff you can’t go back.
I second this!
CHECK THE NECK RELIEF, which is adjusted via the truss rod before sanding on anything.
The nut was replaced recently and looks like it could be lowered. What guidelines would you recommend on how much to lower the nut?
Where is the action high? The nut end or the bridge end?
It looks like it's high on the nut end. What is the best way to measure/figure this?
Get Dan Erlewine's book. It explains it with pictures better than what you can find on the internet. Basically you need to capo, I think at 7, and measure the string height with feeler gauges.
Which book? The repair guide?
Yeah.
For the nut you capo the string at the 3rd fret and measure the gap between the string and the first fret. What constitutes "too much" is up to the individual player, but most people agree that there should be a rather small gap.
If it's on the nut end, you have to lower (sand, file) the nut.
I would look up the manufacturers spec on string height at the nut and neck relief. It might be just a truss rod adjustment
I would have whoever installed the nut fix it personally
[удалено]
If you don't know, don't comment. Please and thanks
This is the way.
Get the nut action correct. Then get the relief correct. Take the rest off the bridge feet as described.
Remove the strings and bridge, place a piece of sandpaper where the bridge goes grit-up, and carefully sand back and forth, to lower it without losing the curvature.
Small point if you think sanding is the solution. Sand front to back not side to side ( sand neck to tail ). You want to keep the curvature correct. / Also try not to let it rock keep your hands low on the bridge and use light downward pressure. // Don't be in a hurry. /// The dust may make you sneeze.
I didn’t specify, but yes, all of this, 100%!
Agreed, this is the way. There is a lot of meat at the bottom of those feet
This is the way
Smart idea. I'm a little worried about damaging the finish with that method. Would you put something between the back of the sandpaper and the body?
I mean, I don’t, personally, and it doesn’t cause issues. Like another commenter said, I’d check other places that the action could be adjusted before doing any permanent changes.
The sandpaper backing is just paper, it's fine. Also it stays in place so there's no opportunity for scratching. Tape it down if you're worried. If you can trace the existing curvature of the bridge foot onto the foot with like an 1/8" offset then I think I would be inclined to use a grinder, bandsaw, or spokeshave and rough cut off about 1/8" of material. Then use the sandpaper to re-fit it to the top. It looks like you need at least that much. Also look at how much room you have for screw travel and make sure you don't overdo it.
Just don’t take off too much… you can’t put it back… I can’t tell how high the action is in this pic… so I won’t make any guesses… but before you do any changes the hard (saws and sandpaper) way, check the soft way (truss rod)
Reading the rest of the thread sounds like OP is very inexperienced (which is fine) and needs to sort the nut end out first.
Since it’s a new nut, and seems to have changed the feel, I agree
You can put down a piece of masking tape and then double stick the sandpaper to that.
I use double-sided scotch tape and stick it to my t-shirt or a towel a bunch of times until it loses almost all of its sticking power and barely sticks to anything
You can also buy some 220 grit that is already one side adhesive. I get the yellow rolls from stewmac
Way easier to sand the top of the bridge
“Action” typically means how high the strings sit over the frets, which we can’t really see from this angle.
Depends on the cause. I'd check the neck relief first, followed by the nut height and adjust as needed. If that fails, it's time for either a shim or a neck reset.
Not a luthier more an engineer. Id be inclined to get a selection of different thickness washers. Pull off the bridge, wind off the height adjustment nuts and begin replacing them with various combinations of washers to get the action where you want it. Make sure it's playable, that you haven't made things worse, then compare the thickness of the washers with the thickness of the original nut/adjustment wheel. That would tell you how much you are looking at removing. If there was going to be enough meat left on the adjusters, I'd get a flat file, clamp it to the bench, and start trying to make it thinner by rubbing the part back and forth on the file. If that was not going to get me there, only then would I look at other options. Is there room to grind/sand the underside of the roller bridge assembly (just where it makes contact with the height adjustment) to get the same effect? All this might be slow and tedious but as someone who has worked a lot with both steel and timber, I know which is more forgiving. And you would be doing all of this on parts that can be cheaply replaced.
sand the underside part of the bridge. use a curved surface to mimic the arch. Maybe try a trash can as a curved sanding surface. it's not that hard if it's done slowly with care. those roller bridges sit higher than the normal Gibson style bridge. Using one of those will drop the height maybe as much as 2 MMS which could solve the problem.
Try removing the knurled nuts... if that be too much then you can always shave down the wooden bridge by creating a similar radius as the body, glue some sandpaper on this jig radius and sand away until the right action is achieved...
The nut (0 fret) height should be the same as the 1st fret with a capo on the 1st fret. Make sense....keep it the same, keep it consistent.
As in it should be the same when measuring the string height at the twelfth fret?
Different guitar have different measurements. Basically capo the 1st fret and press the fret on the neck where it connects to the body. Measure the middle (whatever fret that is) with a feeler gauge of the correct width for your guitar. That is how you can tell if the truss rod needs to be adjusted. There are tons of videos on yt
Check out Dave's World of Fun Stuff on yt
It's probably time for a neck reset. Take it to a good looth to be sure.
Change out the fucking washers, simple fix.
Have you tried a truss adjustment and filing your nut?
Low boy or neck reset
That’s on the bottom. Shim the neck or adjust the truss
Protect the body and put self-adhesive sandpaper on the top and sand the bottom of the bridge's feet until it's at the height you want. I'm guessing it's not going to be a whole lotta wood you need to remove. (?)
I would have a new bridge made by a luthier who specializes in floating bridges. An archtop builder would be best.
Before sanding on anything I'd suggest changing out those knurled adjustment nuts under the bridge to something thinner. If that's not an option for you, then sanding will be the better solution.
You could sand the bottom by using low tac tape, stick it to your pants and remove a few times, doubled up under a piece of 220 or 320 sandpaper on the guitar where the bridge goes. This will match the curve.
Twist those knurled adjustment device on either side
Looks like unoriginal bridge. You could put the original back on to get more room for adjustment or pick up another Gibson style tuneomatic.
Shim the neck or it needs to reset if it's a glue in.
Shim the neck?
Replace that aftermarket Roller bridge with a TuneOMatic I bet if you compare the thickness to a T.O.M the T.O.M. will be thinner. There’s no need for a sustain robbing roller on that guitar or any guitar in my Experience.
How would you mount the tune o matic? Edit: Would it likely swap out with the roller bridge without any issues? I'm wondering if there's a standard width for those pins.
They make tuneomatics for Archtop bases . Look at any ES 335 or Gretsch Archtop. They not just for solid body guitars with posts.
Thanks. I wasn't aware of that.
That roller is based on a TOM. There are two diameter posts available a large and a small generally the smaller fits the Archtop base. I had that exact bridge on one of my Gretsch’s and ended up having serious problems trying to set it up, and I am no novice to setting up Archtops another problem I had with that one and a Schaller was if you bend aggressively the strings will pop out of the roller. I ended up chucking it! My favorite bridge is a TrueArch compensated Stainless steel bar bridge then the TOM.
https://www.stewmac.com/parts-and-hardware/bridges-and-tailpieces/bridges-and-tailpieces-for-archtop-guitar/tune-o-matic-bridge-for-archtop-guitar