Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Michael Gajeski on January 13, 2011 at 2:34pm

The greater the break angle over the bridge, the more vibration is carried down to the sound board. having an angled neck raises the height of the bridge and increases the break angle. as far as i know, that is the only benefit.

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Permalink Reply by Mister Scott on January 13, 2011 at 2:48pm

Now that's something I hadn't considered. Verrrrry Interesting. Perhaps one of our Nation cohorts will share with us whether an angled neck increased the volume/tone on a CBG build...?

Michael Gajeski said:

The greater the break angle over the bridge, the more vibration is carried down to the sound board. having an angled neck raises the height of the bridge and increases the break angle. as far as i know, that is the only benefit.

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Permalink Reply by MichaelS Country Boy Guitars on January 13, 2011 at 3:29pm

I built a couple with an angled neck then went back to the flat neck raised above the soundboard like a Fender. I have heard that a higher bridge is louder but I don't think the small amounts of height on our cigar box's makes much of a difference. You can also get more break angle by the way you make your tailpiece.

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Permalink Reply by Mister Scott on January 13, 2011 at 3:34pm

Yeah, I'll bet... As long as it pulls the strings low, you'll probably get a decent break angle.

MichaelS said:

You can also get more break angle by the way you make your tailpiece.

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Permalink Reply by Ben on January 13, 2011 at 4:34pm

The neck angle helps bring the overall action down while still allowing some bow in the neck. I've done both. My tenor that has the most angle really cranks!

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Permalink Reply by Mister Scott on January 13, 2011 at 5:34pm

All righty then, does anyone have any tips for making a decent neck angle without routing a neck pocket?

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Permalink Reply by David L. on January 13, 2011 at 10:57pm

Hi Scotty,

I recently found this on the www which tells you what neck angle you need for best string height http://www.tundraman.com/Guitars/NeckAngle/Index.cfm

I'd be interested in the views of others as to how useful they think this is.

Upto now I have relied upon a bit of luck/best guess and when that fails cut up credit cards as a shim - I am looking forward to the replies for a more professional approach.

Regards,

David

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Permalink Reply by Outhouse Instruments on January 14, 2011 at 12:42am

Neck angle is just used to help out with playability issues.

String height, fretbuzz etc.

I you want loads of break angle ( not neccessarily a good thing) use a thicker fretboard which will cause you to need a taller bridge.

 

Matt

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Permalink Reply by Uncle John on January 14, 2011 at 2:11am

Interesting.  I've been about where Scottie started.  I know Bairfoot Cajun angles his necks and that showed in photos of a recent build process of his.  He's a believer that it is worth the effort.

I've learned that the tail piece must be 'enough' lower than the bridge/saddle.  A taller bridge works best for that and a fret board 3/8 inch or more above the box makes for fewer problems...  

I don't understand the angle and height relationships for the head stock.  I've had to use a lot of string trees.  Slotted heads seem to lessen that issue.

The only things that keep me from being a top builder is lack of understanding, talent and skill.  Where can I get some a dat?

 

Artist Formerly Known as Matt said:

Neck angle is just used to help out with playability issues.

String height, fretbuzz etc.

I you want loads of break angle ( not neccessarily a good thing) use a thicker fretboard which will cause you to need a taller bridge.

 

Matt

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Permalink Reply by MichaelS Country Boy Guitars on January 14, 2011 at 3:21am

I made mine with a thru neck. Its really easy. Make the thru neck the normal way with a cut out space under the sound board as usual. There should only be a small area touching at the front of the lid and at the back by the tail. If you shave off some of the area that touches by the tail of the lid it will tilt the neck . You will have to fiqure out how much to shave off yourself. this depends on how much angle and how long your box is. I hope this is understandable.  Just be careful not to go to much then your bridge gets really tall easily. I made 3 like this and they all worked out fine. I think I put about 2 degrees of angle, I might go less if I did it again.

I just raise the fingerboard height now and it works the same, as long as the angle from the nut to bridge is the same in relation to the fretboard.  

 

By the way, you can add angle to a bolt on Fender neck by unbolting it and putting in shims to give it a bit of angle, but then hopefully you have enough adjustment in the bridge.   I think its like Chevy vs Ford, Fender vs Gibson, Flat vs Angled. 

Scotty C. said:

All righty then, does anyone have any tips for making a decent neck angle without routing a neck pocket?

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Permalink Reply by Mister Scott on January 14, 2011 at 3:32am

I'm thinking of eschewing the need for a tailpiece on a 4-stringer I'm working on... I found individual bass saddle/bridges cheap on eBay.

 

Uncle John said:

I've learned that the tail piece must be 'enough' lower than the bridge/saddle.  A taller bridge works best for that and a fret board 3/8 inch or more above the box makes for fewer problems...

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Permalink Reply by Mungo Park on January 14, 2011 at 4:42am

You might have to reinforce the lid under the saddle /bridge so the strings don't pull the thing off the lid.

 I am not convinced a higher bridge produces better sound in a CBG, as mentioned above, but if you end up with a build that is way to low that is a different story. Building a reso add height to the bridge and is a little more tricky to get it dialed in and this might be easier with the option to shim a little angle into the mix. Bridge height seems to be a endless topic of debate for the Banjo gang. If you want to read about it Google banjo bridge height and shape(another can of worms).

 Thicker fret board is also a good option, I guess this all involves planning ahead as the CBG gets more complicated, which seem to be where things go after you get the first few figured out.

 The angle of the peg head is another kettle of angles to get the right tension on the nut, 10-12 degrees does it for me.

                                                             Cheers Ron.

 

 

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