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Finished my first build! But...

Hiiiiiiigh, action. When I first strung it up, it would bend about a quarter tone if I tried to fret up to the fifth fret, and about half way from a quarter tone to a semitone on the seventh fret.

I sawed down some grooves in the bridge for the strings to set lower, and it helped, but only a little. Now, it's about a quarter tone off at the seventh fret.

Here's my problem though. I know for a fact that this can be fixed purely at the bridge, BUT of course, it's a bridge with a built-in piezo. It's one of these cheap things from Istanbul.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/All-In-One-3-String-Cigar-Box-Guitar-Ukelel...

I don't know if you can tell, but it's two pieces of wood glued together. The shorter bit with the metal string thingies, and the base bit. So, I figure I can just cut at the bottom of the bridge or remove that base part of it, and my action will be perfect, BUT I'm worried about where that piezo is. I'm assuming that it's between the two pieces of wood, and I don't want to saw into it.

Is there a way to maybe heat it up and just take the two pieces apart without cutting into it?

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Permalink Reply by Rich on December 10, 2012 at 5:15am

To save a too much cut - You could try a high gritt sanding on the bottom. The piezos are embedded betwixt the pieces most likely. The picture on ebay shows it being used with a fret board a bit above the box lid level, this might be the source of your problem. Action is an issue on many of my builds when I first string 'em up. you'll fix it.

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Permalink Reply by Sean Rush on December 10, 2012 at 5:20am

Yeah, I have the fret board sticking up a little above, but in retrospect, I should have had the bottom of the fretboard flush with the lid. It would have been perfecto then, but of course, I was worried about the action being too low when I was planning that part out.

Hindsight's 20/20

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Permalink Reply by Bluesheart on December 10, 2012 at 10:33am

Yep, that is a nice looking bridge though. Is it possible that you can add a fingerboard to the neck so the bridge will now be the right height? Or just make yourself another bridge that works on this build and build another guitar to go with the ebay bridge? You were not gonna stop at just one were you??

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Permalink Reply by Sean Rush on December 10, 2012 at 10:44am

Oh, it already has a fingerboard with frets.

I think if I sand down the bottom, it should be fine in addition to the slots I cut out. Actually, with it sanded down, I could probably get the slots a little deeper even.

Here's a picture of it. It's missing the mag pickup because... I lost it. Also from the Istanbul peoples. I think it'll look better with a brass covered flatpup anyways.

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Permalink Reply by Sean Rush on December 10, 2012 at 3:38pm

Made a temporary bridge for the time being. Then realized the action way too high still. I bent the neck down and problem solved. It was both the bridge and the neck bowing up. I'm thinking a corner brace to force the neck down?

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Permalink Reply by MichaelS Country Boy Guitars on December 11, 2012 at 7:08am

Angeling the neck will solve the problem, you will have to experiment how much to angle it to get just the right action. From your last post it sounds like you have done this and are on the right track.

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Permalink Reply by Sean Rush on December 11, 2012 at 7:19am

Yeah, I'm thinking. I can physically bend the neck down, and the action is perfect as long as it's bent. I think the easiest way at this point is to have somebody bend it at the right spot and then while they're holding it down, use the corner brace to keep it in position.

I already have a block that the neck is attached to on the inside, so there's plenty to hold the corner brace in place.

Do you think this kind would be a good idea? http://www.lowes.com/pd_315692-1277-MPB120_0__?productId=3168409

Or this one? http://www.lowes.com/pd_66938-1277-MP121BC_0__?productId=3037433

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Permalink Reply by Sean Rush on December 11, 2012 at 2:20pm

Corner brace helped a bit, but thanks to Dan Sleep's video, I'm working on fixing the neck issue at it's sorce. I shaved of a bit at the bottom so that the neck is naturally sloped a few degrees. THEN, reenforced by the corner brace.

At least I'm learning a goood amount of mistakes on this first go. This reminds me of troubleshooting my first circuit. Frustrating as hell, but ultimately the most rewarding thing.