Acoustic Guitar Bridge Saddle Shave

[tapzapper2001]

Hey Dave I have a problem with buzzing on one of my acoustics,,,,neck is good, new strings but the bridge needs to be raised...action is REALLY low...any suggestions for shims>?? what can I use?

Thanks, vid's are awesome

[xxsashaschannelxx]

So helpfull, looking forward to trying it on my old guitar, but before I do that...

Is it the same with an archtop bridge? My understanding is that generaly they have a higher action, but I want to make sure if works the same, thanks much

[davey4557]

@xxsashaschannelxx

archtop can be a bit different

the bridge type vary widely 

[xxsashaschannelxx]

@davey4557

I dont know enough about bridges/guitars to tell you much about it, but it is korean made from the late 70s early 80s if that helps any... do you suggest sanding the bridge saddle?

[davey4557]

@xxsashaschannelxx

look thru more of my videos

I did a bunch of archtop and flat top bridge repairs

I remember

i think :(

[DiceyHD]

dave plz plz do a bass guitar vid

[davey4557]

@DiceyHD

I'll try :)

[DiceyHD]

@davey4557 thanks u r grayt u no looking at the comments nd stuff

[carlosamigosAUS]

Gday my saddle down to the bridge and still my action at the 12th fret is around 1cm, my fingers are harder than the guitar wood after playing such a high action! I want to shim the bridge a lot, what would I use to remove it? I need to know how Dave does it! Thanks for the video, you are the only person that calls the saddle a saddle and the bridge a bridge. It's a pro Segovia, nothing special but I have a soft spot for it and it has great detail and sound.

[davey4557]

@carlosamigosAUS

you wanna shave the bridge

deepen the saddle slot and then lower the saddle

[carlosamigosAUS]

@davey4557 Thanks for the reply, my saddle is about the same height as the bridge, I have no room to lower it, any lower and the strings will be hitting the bridge! It's around 1mm off the same height!

[davey4557]

@carlosamigosAUS

If the bridge is thick enough it may be able to be shaved

the slot cut deeper and the saddle lowered

tuff to say if you aint got the thing in yer hands

[carlosamigosAUS]

@davey4557 It's thick, I'll upload a vid of it and you can have a look? I saw one guy heat the bridge up then use a spatula to remove it, would you recommend that, if so how hot should it be?

[ToastyMcToastyToast]

xD haha great vid man

[lexibenn08]

What kind of YamahaHAHA was that?

[therealnpc]

i remember taking off 1/16" off my first guitar :)

[SiCF1ST]

Dave, how many milimeters is your coin?

[davey4557]

@SiCF1ST

.067 inches = 1.7018

[ebswift]

Thanks for this tutorial! I just bought a Samick LW-015 cheap and did the saddle shave. The action is now very low, there's no buzzing and I'm very happy with the feel of it now.

[kotnikd3]

yamahahaha

[Gitaryzt85]

Haha great vid, I needed the info and got some laughs!!! Yamaha bites the dust!

[biffbiffsons]

lmao eyeing the molson while sanding. and i love the "holy shit! i need 5 hands."

[TaffyRaphie]

you sir, are hilarious

[jeferstrings]

good to meet you today Dave and thanks for the tips...My 12 string is currently in the torture rack and I have started the intensive humidity treatment on the 6....I'll keep ya posted...oh....and I did it again...another Ebay purchase....hope I'm not gooched..

[davey4557]

@jeferstrings

yikes!!!

hey thanks for coming by

I wanted to take yer cash, but can't do that :(

if you want to drop back over with the 6 string after it's had a big drink lemme know

Cheers !!!!

[PCashie]

Hi Dave: I'm about to replace the bridge saddle on my martin 00028, which would be the best one buy in your opinion. tusq or bone?

Paul Cashie

Cheers

[davey4557]

@PCashie

tusq

[armando31665]

it wont hold it

[armando31665]

play the guitar

[armando31665]

yamahaha

[abeMr]

you sound like Seth Rogan haha its cool.

[hombrelubinero]

On the saddle itself there's like a divot or an angled down slot. What's it for and does it always have its placement underneath the g, b and e string? I'm having a hell of a time with the intonation and I used to set up guitars for ppl a long time ago. What gives. I have a cpx700 & I'm real desperate to get the intonation in. I tightened the truss rod pretty tight to the point that the bend isn't really visible. Its as if I need to lower it to find intonation. Is it the saddle?

[davey4557]

@hombrelubinero

what string gauges are you using

the offset saddle is compensation to help the intonation?

string gauges?

[hombrelubinero]

@davey4557 I'm using d'addario's custom lights. .011,.015,.022,.032,.042,.052. I was flipping around. I tried also the medium gauge of those expensive strins, elixir (don't but 'em). They were good for about two weeks but the e started buzzing. I use a capo alot. After I signed off I tightened the truss a little mopre & that seems to have helped. I think it might be that the truss was loose but with that the cpx is a lower end guitar it seemed tighter than usual. I'm not real happy with it

[davey4557]

@hombrelubinero

string gauge seems fine

you might want to try 12's and also check what the guitar shipped with.

I've seen a lot of folks Gooch themselves buy getting too far off the spec string gauges the guitar was designed around.

I wish I was closer to help

you can file the saddle in some cases to give more compensation

sounds like you need a tech with a good eye

[BadChizzle]

Nice!

You're a nut!!

[motimenow]

Dave, if the frets are level and the fretboard is level on a classical, should the saddle be level as well to match the frets/fretboard? I wanted to make a new saddle from Ox bone and I want to make sure once I "shave it lower" that the radius (acually zero) had to match? Also, can I shim and raise the nut a hair to compensate any buzz after I lower the saddle? The intonation got anything to do with the "raising and lowering of the strings?" Can I just use my KORG CA-30 tuner to check that?

[davey4557]

@motimenow

The top of the bridge plate should be on the same plane as the frets under string tension.String height does effect intonation. If the action is too high the notes will play sharp when fretted. Altering the nut is usually done by filling a slot and refiling. I use bone dust and crazy glue. You can also use baking soda and crazy glue to fill a slot. I hope this helps !!

Cheers !!!

[motimenow]

Heh Dave, so if you want it lower you had mentioned that the bridge would have to shave down?. Can one raise the nut "a hair" by shimming it and then sand some more of the saddle to get a lower frets on the higher end ? Or, was the strings so close to the bridge already that the saddle would touch the strings? Same problem on one of my classicals where the higher end from the 8th fret up I would like to lower it. Trying to shape a lower saddle out of ox bone to a 25 cent space would be nice?

[ReTake09]

what do you use the simple green for? I heard about this product from guitar forums.

[davey4557]

@ReTake09

just a good general biodegradable cleaner

It is good stuff

removes shit from metal parts

[revolution1964]

Thanks, man. I just tried it. Not only is my Ovation a lot easier to play, I swear to God the chords sound like they are better in tune with each other.

Mine didn't come with shims. Plus, I used a little sanding-wheel attachment that goes into my drill, that you can get for $10 bucks at Home Depot. I accidentally sanded one side too far down, so I cut a thin guitar pick into a sliver and stuck that in there. Works great.

[davey4557]

@revolution1964

Glad my video helped

Cheers !!!

[cycleflight]

So... you make the mark with the saddle in and the strings on to keep track of the current height... but don't you have to make a second mark somewhere so you know how far you have to sand down? If you sanded down to the mark you made with the saddle still in the guitar it seems like your action would be way too low, if even existent.

Great vid though!

[davey4557]

@cycleflight

I use that mark to measure how much can be removed from the bottom

[bluegrasslives60]

That was great!!!!!

[davey4557]

@bluegrasslives60

Thanks !!!

[BilloT5]

not 5 hands.... you need "helmet cam"...

[kaptenmax]

shave the saddle *focus beer* shave the saddle *focus BEER*

Golden dave, they better send you a beer for all of your plugs youve given them!! some day!!! and cavenders, lets not forget cavenders.

[davey4557]

@kaptenmax

Yes

I need endorsements !!!!

[RcUniverseGuy]

hell i want that ovation for christmas lol

[davey4557]

@RcUniverseGuy

I want an ovulation as well :)

[herrfilm]

could you have used steel wool to shave the saddle?

[squidskunk]

@herrfilm ...you love steel wool..?

[JesseMathews]

@herrfilm better to use sand paper man...i guess you can do it but it will take forever and it won't be acurate as sand paper...the best way is like davey shows to hold it in a clamp and then shave it, you can also clamp it and use sand paper if you don't have a sander...

[davey4557]

@herrfilm

Yes

it's steel wool in the shape of a mill file

LOL

[JesseMathews]

did you use an auto tune for the Lagger song ? hahaha, great man and usefull video, those Korean under 200$ guitars should come with a note, 'please shave saddle before touching the guitar, thanks' :)

Cheers,

Jesse

[davey4557]

@JesseMathews

You are correct !!!!