I just finished a build and the guitar is completely useless. I'm perplexed. This was my first fretted build. I ordered the fretboard from someone else, and have verified that he properly spaced the frets for a 25.5 inch scale like he told me. My nut and bridge are exactly 25.5 inches apart (i know the pic shows 26.5, but I've got the nut on the 1. I tune it up GDG, and I get this on fret 1: A 111(hz) E 164 (hz) A 216 (hz). At the 12th fret I get G 201 hz (almost an A flat), E flat 306 (hz) G 402 (hz).
No Idea what is wrong. I tried moving the nut back and forth to no avail. So frustrating.
Any ideas?
Tags:
by your picture . it seems your strings are too high . thus when you fret a note you are stretching the string too much and it goes sharp . . lower your bridge and nut get them strings closer to the fretboard . ) . and im sure you will see a great improvement . try with a temporary substitute first .
Try putting your bridge for the high g at 25.5, then angle the bridge slightly rearward until the low g works without moving the bridge at the high g position, if that's ok your d should be pretty close, not perfect maybe, but without shaping your saddle to suit, that's probably as good as you get assuming your action is not overly high
I didn't open the 2nd photo 1st time, as Pick said, your nut looks as though it's pretty high, a smaller bolt will help a lot to make set up easier
Two good suggestions from experienced builders, one or both should help. If the frustration level gets too great, put a slide on your ring finger and let 'er rip! High action is great for slidin'. But first, good luck on modifying your git to lower the action.
Just to be sure about the scale of the fret board, I recommend that you measure from the front edge of the nut to the center of the 12th fret. If it measures 12 3/4" then the scale length for the fret board is indeed 25 1/2". If it measures exactly 12 1/2", then it is a 25" scale length fret board (more common on CBGs).
Once you are sure about the scale length of the fret board, then you can position your bridge at two times the distance from nut to 12th.
To get decent intonation when a note is fretted, you should try to get the string action down to the 1/8" range or a little less at the fist fret. That should allow you to fret notes without going sharp as well as use a slide.
Use an electronic tuner to set the open tuning then check it at the 12th fret. If it is not exactly one octave higher than the open note, then move the bridge until it intones correctly. You will like end up with the bridge set at an angle in order to get all three strings to intone correctly.
This is a problem that you can sort out in a short time if you use a methodical approach. Don't give up the ship. You will really like it when you get it right.
From your 2nd pic it seems JL has spotted your problem. The slot cut for the nut leads me to believe high point of your threaded rod is not where it should be. Check the distance between the center of the threaded rod and the top of the 1st fret.Then compare that with the distance the stew-mac free online fret scale calculator comes up with for your scale length.
Started by Bill Andy in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts 1 hour ago. 0 Replies 0 Likes
Started by BrianQ. in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts on Tuesday. 0 Replies 2 Likes
Started by J. D. Woods in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by Southern Ray Apr 26. 8 Replies 1 Like
Started by Southern Ray in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Southern Ray Apr 26. 6 Replies 0 Likes
Started by J. D. Woods in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by BrianQ. Apr 25. 4 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Rich Butters in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Crazed Fandango Apr 22. 4 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Nomad Jack in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by J. D. Woods Apr 17. 7 Replies 2 Likes
Started by Moritz Voegeli in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Apr 14. 6 Replies 2 Likes
Started by Timothy Hunter in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Timothy Hunter Apr 10. 14 Replies 3 Likes
Started by Tom T in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Apr 9. 9 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Southern Ray in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Apr 4. 7 Replies 1 Like
Started by Timothy Hunter in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Mar 27. 1 Reply 2 Likes
Started by Taffy Evans in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Mar 10. 1 Reply 3 Likes
Started by Cigar Box Nation in Feature Articles. Last reply by BrianQ. Mar 9. 4 Replies 3 Likes
Started by Ghostbuttons in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Timothy Hunter Mar 9. 5 Replies 1 Like
Started by Justin Stanchfield in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Taffy Evans Mar 8. 6 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Ken I in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Brian partington Mar 8. 8 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Southern Ray in Cool gear discussion - that's not cigar box related. Last reply by Southern Ray Mar 6. 5 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Taffy Evans in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Taffy Evans Mar 5. 4 Replies 2 Likes
Started by Justin Stanchfield in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Carl Floyd Mar 1. 15 Replies 0 Likes
Posted by Vlad on March 31, 2024 at 11:48pm 0 Comments 1 Like
Posted by Vlad on March 6, 2024 at 2:32am 5 Comments 2 Likes
Posted by billy jones bluez on February 28, 2024 at 2:09pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
Posted by billy jones bluez on February 17, 2024 at 11:00pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
Posted by Vlad on February 11, 2024 at 1:06am 1 Comment 1 Like
May 11, 2024 from 11am to 8pm – Speakeasy Grill
0 Comments 0 LikesMay 30, 2024 from 6:30pm to 10pm – The Casual Pint of Huntsville
0 Comments 0 Likes© 2024 Created by Ben "C. B. Gitty" Baker. Powered by
Cigar Box Nation is presented by C. B. Gitty Crafter Supply, your one-stop-shop for Cigar Box Guitar parts and accessories!