I put a D'Addario Nickel wound 32 (acoustic or electric) string on this 3 string I'm working with, tuned it to G, because that's what was recommended for my lap steel, and it sounds kinda flabby and dead. 25.5" nut to bridge, 34" tuner to tailpiece. 1x2 oak neck, fiberboard box (approx 3"x7"x7"), one 1.5" hole in the top.
1/4" bolt for nut, 1/2" bolt for bridge.
Wide changes in note value with turns of tuner at this tension. It got about at tight as on my lapsteel when I had it tuned to the E above this G value, but was starting to feel too tight at that point. Lapsteel has a shorter nut to bridge length, 21". I guess maybe that's it right there, longer playing length on the diddley means lower pitch for same tension.
Any other ideas?
Any suggestions for gauges for a GDG tuning, maybe in the mid-range, not high. Maybe this should be my D string. I want to play this both fingered and slide. No frets right now. Maybe none ever. Photo included. Sorry for the low light. Well, the photo didn't show in the preview. Let's see if it shows when I post.
What would be a suggested nut and bridge height for an unfretted slide/finger guitar?
Replies
A .032 gauge is good for around a "D" on that scale, so either tune it to a D, or change the gauge.
For a low G you'll want something like a .044, or a high G about an .023
By the way, that Strothers link is for Dulcimers and the string gauges are totally inappropriate for guitars in my view.
Pardon me for thinking like Pythagorus, but, I now see why you want the tailpiece connect points as near the bridge as possible. The downward force is going to be the ratio of the height (sine) to the hypoteneuse, if my one or two engineering classes from 45 years ago are still telling me anything intelligent.
So, the nearer the tailpiece to the bridge, the more downward pressure on the box top by the bridge.
Say, I don't have much of a woodshop right now. How did you cut the finger joints on the corners of one of those boxes I saw on your profile. Seemed there was only two fingers near the center of the corner.
I'm downstairs right now using a hand miter saw jig to cut the corners of a box I'm building because it was going to cost me too much money to go the finger joint route. I don't have a table saw at the moment. Just a router table, and I'm still setting that up. I know how I can do box joints with the router, but still need to get there, build the setup, etc. Haven't touched it in years.
I've got more boxes on the way. I'll probably finish this one off at 25.5" length, then do the next one shorter.
I don't want to get midway between the two instruments and have a mishap that makes me start all over. My lapsteel is 21" and that is comfortable.
Here is my 2 cents. To add to what ED said above the string tension on the box needs to be good for a nice sound, raising the bridge will put more tension on the lid and still have the same tension up the neck.
Now I see that this has already been said but I will add it just so you know its real, lol. Read Marks post twice then proceed.
Dianne gives an excellent tip here, but I would add that you have a rather long distance from tail to bridge and are probably suffering from the effect of too little break over the bridge as well as the wrong string guage for the scale length.
Put another way, the angle over the bridge is very shallow and it doesnt apply enough string tension to the bridge and top.
You might also find the sound changes a bit with the other strings installed too!
I would suggest this approach based on your description and picture.
First, cut the tail piece off shorter and re-do the attachment points closer to the tail end of the box.
Second, slide that bridge back from the middle of the box to around the 1/4 to 1/3 (of the top length) from the tail end.
Now your scale length is even longer, but its all an experiment and now you might even retry that .034 before messing with other string guages. Either way, use Dianes advise on calculating string guages, its a great starting point and can eliminate a lot of frustration getting "dialed in".
As far as string action (height) goes, its a matter of personal preference, but my advise would be to forget about trying to set up for finger style and slide playing if you are just learning. Choose one or the other until you are pretty comfortable. It rarely ever works out very well. (I know I will get some disagreement on this, JMO.)
Either way start high and adjust down in small increments when you feel the need.
For slide, I would try it about 1/4" across the board. And note that the previous problem of string tension becomes an issue once again. You will want to shoot for a little tighter tension in my experience.
For finger style you will want to start a little lower and generally with about one step lighter guage strings at minimum as compared to slide set up, but be aware that as you get close to the "ideal" height it gets ever more critical that your fingerboard is true, and fretwork (if you have it) accuracy becomes very important.
I like a "fast" fretboard generally for most fretted playing. That is to say low or close action. with very well prepped fret boards you can get pretty low.
A good starting point might be about 1/8" at the nut end and 3/16" somewhere above the 12th fret area. Thats low enough to begin to reveal accuracy issues, but still too high for me.......
Hope that helps, and have fun!
Mark
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