Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by 3 Fingered Ape on August 9, 2013 at 5:46pm

1/4 inch is fine if not a little high for me. It just takes time and practice lots of it, so don't get discouraged. as for the buzzing you might try grounding the strings at the tailpiece or bridge it sounds like you are acting as the ground. Nice looking guitar! What tuning are you using? 

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Permalink Reply by Greg Curry on August 9, 2013 at 5:59pm

Thanks Paul.  I am using an open G tuning.

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Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on August 9, 2013 at 5:49pm

hey  Greg ,  as  for your  string height  ..   well,  that's  all    you  .

some  people  can  slide   on  regular  guitar  string    height ..  even  0 fret   super low action  .  

set  it  to  where  you  are comphy  .. and    lower  it as  you  improve  .  or  keep   it   there  if you are   a slammer   .  some   tunes  are  hard  bangin   and  need  a high  action  .  and   on  a fretless  it  does not  matter  if you are  not  fingering notes  and  just  using slide  . 

but,  with frets  ..  you  want to  get  it  as  low as  you  can  and  improve  as  you  can  .. it  helps  your intonation.   the lower  you  get ,  the  closer  your intonation  will  be ,  and  you  guitar  will  stay  more  in tune   while    transferring  from slide to  fingering    . 

as  for your  buzz  ..  it sounds  like you    have  grounding issues  ..  there are  many    tips  on  the  topic  on  this  site . . is your  bridge  metal  ?   or  is  the  rod  in  the bridge  ? 

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Permalink Reply by Greg Curry on August 9, 2013 at 6:02pm

The bridge is wood and I have the rod hidden under the bridge.  Thanks for the help, I will look around and see if I can find some grounding solutions :)

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Permalink Reply by Yankee Dog on August 10, 2013 at 2:33am

The action on mine are over 1/2'. I tend to bang the neck otherwise.

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Permalink Reply by Greg Curry on August 10, 2013 at 4:11am

Thanks, I think I am going to take it apart and start trying some different heights.

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Permalink Reply by Skeesix on August 10, 2013 at 7:54am

Do you mean hitting the side of the neck, not the top surface of the neck? I have this problem too on my CBG and I'm an experienced slide player, so it's not technique. The problem became really apparent once I made a fretted model.

The problem is the neck is too wide for 3 strings at standard guitar spacing, or to put it another way, the string closest to the edge is too far from the edge. So you can either make the neck with a smaller width, or move the strings closer to the edge. They're about 1/8" from the edge on a standard guitar, which I have no problems with. They're 1/4" or more on a standard CBG design like yours.

I'm going to try a thinner neck for this reason on my next CBG. This could be a bad idea as far as string tension and warping the neck. I guess I'll find once I build one - lol.

If you mean you're hitting the fretboard area, then you need to lighten up on the slide. You shouldn't really be pressing down at all.

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Permalink Reply by Greg Curry on August 10, 2013 at 12:37pm

Your right, I m hitting the sides of the neck.  The neck is just shy of 2 inches wide, I would like to know how a thinner neck works out for you.  Thanks for your reply :)

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Permalink Reply by Slowpaw Steve T on August 10, 2013 at 7:38pm

2" is very wide for a three string...even a 4 string! try 1.5" you will find that more suitable,your string height is good so no more knocking! (-;

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Permalink Reply by Greg Curry on August 11, 2013 at 3:33am

Thank you, I was wondering about that.

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Permalink Reply by Sharecropper on August 10, 2013 at 12:11pm

  Hi , Greg .   A 1/4 inch isn't too low .   "I would" keep that height and increase string tension by tuning up to open A .   That will give the strings less "give".   Being able to "note"(with fingers)on the fretboard is a big plus.  My fret less is an 1/8 inch at the 12th "fret" .          On grounding :  I have found that even though my CBG is properly grounded my brass slide produces pops and ,apparently, sometimes when I play my hands aren't touching the guitar at all !      My "cheat " on this is to ground the outside of the metal jack of the guitar cable , amp side .   Then ground that wire to the center screw of the outlet my amp is plugged into .          Happy , playing .    

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Permalink Reply by Greg Curry on August 10, 2013 at 12:38pm

So keep the same strings on and just tune them all up a whole step?

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