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  • Bluesheart February 4, 2013 at 5:02pm

    Yep. lower the nut and raise the bridge.

    • Bluesheart > Bluesheart February 4, 2013 at 5:03pm

      I think I just wanted to "say" that!

  • Jim Woods February 3, 2013 at 5:30pm

    Looks like you have some good advice.  One thing I have noticed on my fretless in addition is if I do not have it tuned up close to GDg for example, there is not enough string tension to generate sound.  And you have to exert a fair amoung of pressure on the string to play fretless.  The measurement you want to look at is the 12th fret when fretted at the say 5th fret - you should have 1/8" or so cleareance of the string.

    Have fun!

     

  • Joe Bowen January 31, 2013 at 1:20pm

    Ok I just got back home.  Here are the pictures of my buddies cbg:

    305964866?profile=original1. looking down at the bridge

    305965841?profile=original2. looking from head at the nut

    305967008?profile=original3. looking at nut

    305967905?profile=original4. string height at bridge

    305967836?profile=original5. overall cbg

    Hope these help.

    • Randy S. Bretz > Joe Bowen February 1, 2013 at 7:52am

      I see there`s no break angle between the bridge and tailpiece. You need that downward pressure after the bridge. Yep add a 1/4" fretboard and a taller bridge which in turn will give you that needed string break to the tailpiece.

      • Joe Bowen > Randy S. Bretz February 2, 2013 at 3:15pm

        ok he raised the nut and the bridge, re tuned it and still doing same thing! Next he will try some sort of string tree before bridge and aft the nut. 

        • Maddog > Joe Bowen February 2, 2013 at 3:58pm

          He shouldn't raise the nut, only the saddle/bridge. If you raise the bridge and the nut you just increase string height and solve nothing as far as string to fretboard angle.

          • Joe Bowen > Maddog February 2, 2013 at 4:01pm

            OH OK!!  I will tell him to use original nut and raise the saddle/bridge.  Thanks

    • Bad Wolf > Joe Bowen January 31, 2013 at 3:38pm

      if i had to guess i would say you dont have enough string break angle over your bridge and nut. why it would do this i dont know but thats what im going with

      • Ron "Oily" Sprague > Bad Wolf January 31, 2013 at 7:19pm
        That's what it looks like from the pics. I did the same as MadDog, blew up pic #2; strings are flat to the fretboard when fingered. Pic #1 shows almost no break angle at the bridge. The strings are binding on the fretboard when fingered (like I said originally - hitting something - just not the box edge, so I was wrong there) on the headstock side of the bridge. They are basically flat on the tailpiece side of the bridge, though indeed lifted off the top of the box. Not enough string break angle on the tailpiece side means not enough downward force on the bridge, hence not enough string vibration transferred through the bridge to the box top, resulting in little vibration of the box top. Ergo, low to no volume. Increase string break angle, and thus, downward force on the bridge, on the tailpiece side, by raising the bridge height. Try using thin wood shims or "biscuits" ( a bag of these is readily available for under 5 bucks at Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Lowe's or Home Depot); loosen strings, then start inserting shims under the bridge one at a time, retensioning the strings after each one, until you find the height where the box rings out when fingered. Then make a new bridge to that height. Should solve the volume problem.

        Had a relook at Pic #1: quick string break angle fix would be to simply slide the existing bridge back toward the tailpiece. I have a Wichita Sam build where the bridge ( a steel rod ) had to be slid back to within 1-1/2" of the tailpiece end of the box to increase the string break angle on the tailpiece side to get it to ring out; that box prefers to be tuned GDgd, and doesn't ring true at other tunings. So, try sliding your bridge back some towards the tailpiece, and monkey with the tunings; if that doesn't work, then rebuild your bridge at its existing location, using the method described above. For a 25" scale you should be able to calculate where the bridge should be, but it still may require one or more of these refinements to fix the problem.
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