Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Lane Martin on November 7, 2016 at 7:30am

Welcome!

Seems like 3/8" to 1/2" is "standard." I think it just comes down to what's comfortable for you since everyone's hand/finger size is a little different.

The one three string I've built has a shade less that 1/2" between the strings. My ukes have a little closer spacing...maybe 3/8".  It just feels comfortable to my fingers.

If the spacing seems too wide, maybe drill a couple of holes so that they'll be closer and see how that feels. If you mess up, it wouldn't be too much time and $$$ to replace and try again.

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Permalink Reply by Rosanne Reynolds on November 8, 2016 at 4:50am

Ok cool, thank you! :)

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Permalink Reply by Diglydog on November 7, 2016 at 7:43am

The 3-stringers sat behind me have 40mm (about 1.6 inch) neck width with string spacing of 12-13mm (half an inch).  They feel OK to me.  It's all down to your own preference of how wide you want the neck to be. 

I arrived at these measurements by guesswork as I tend to under-think rather than over-think when I'm building stuff.  I'm sure that there are far more experienced builders on here who'll be able to offer advice - good luck with your build !

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Permalink Reply by Rosanne Reynolds on November 8, 2016 at 4:50am

Thank you! 

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on November 7, 2016 at 7:56am

If you use a piece of wood for a bridge/saddle, you can cut the slots at any distance you like, and just feed the strings from the door hinge through the slots in the bridge. If you decide you don't like the spacing, just make another bridge and change the spacing.

I use half an inch spacing for all my 3 stringers unless otherwise requested.

Hope that helps.

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Permalink Reply by Rosanne Reynolds on November 8, 2016 at 4:51am

It does, thank you! :)

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Permalink Reply by Jim Morris on November 7, 2016 at 8:20am

Hi Rosanne, good luck with your first build. As Dan Sleep stated, the string spacing is often controlled by the slots in the bridge rather than the holes in the tailpiece. So you can have holes closer together in the tail piece and, provided that the slots in the bridge are deep enough, the spacing will be set.

Here's a recent 4 string uke build of mine that shows this.

You could also drill some new holes in that hinge at the spacing you want but with a decent bridge you likely won't need to.

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Permalink Reply by Rosanne Reynolds on November 8, 2016 at 4:54am

This is what I was thinking too- from pics I have seen, as with your uke, it looks as if the tail piece hole spacing isn't as much of an issue- I just wasn't positive! Then with the string spacing, regardless, I was lost lol It seems most people that have responded do about a 1/2 inch or less apart- so that gives me a great starting point! :)

THANK YOU!!! :)

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Permalink Reply by Jim Morris on November 8, 2016 at 5:12am

Cool, hope all this helps. One thing I forgot to mention is try to get the tail piece as centrally located as possible so the bridge doesn't get pulled to one side or the other. On a 3 string this means having the center string going into it's hole in the hinge with no angle. Then strings 1 and 3 will both angle inward (if the hinge holes are closer together than the bridge spacing). I've had to move tailpieces to one side or another before when I wasn't careful enough to begin with.

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Permalink Reply by JP Lace Master on November 7, 2016 at 12:38pm

Depends on what you're used to and how you wish to play your CBG., if you're used to the more standard spacing of a 6 string guitar or even a Spanish guitar, you may want to get them closer together, maybe 3/8 inches, this is especially important if you are fretting the CBG and playing without a slide as your fingering and chords may suffer.

if you're going fretless and playing purely with a slide, the spacing is less of an issue, but I wouldn't go overboard with the spacing, I've built a three string with a literal broom handle with the strings about 5/8 or 1/4 inches apart and play it with a slide with no issue, I wouldn't have them any further apart than that though, might be a hard to actually play at that point.

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Permalink Reply by Rosanne Reynolds on November 8, 2016 at 4:54am

Good to know- thank you! :)

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Permalink Reply by Fomhorach on November 7, 2016 at 12:58pm

Make holes

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