The Chetboard

Saturday: 4-20-2013

Today I put new strings on my classical, I use D'Addario Pro-Art'e EJ46 Hard Tension Silverplated Wound Clear Nylon.

I sensed that the action was too high on my Manuel Rodriguez e Hijos Mod. C1 Classical guitar so I looked up on the internet and found that the low 'E' string is supposed to be 3.2mm (around 1/8 of an inch) between the string and the 12th fret while fretting at the first fret and the high 'E' string is supposed to be 2.7mm (a little over 3/32). It mentioned that those dimensions were considered the standard. I ended up shaving .02 off of my plastic saddle and that set the action just a few thousands below the standards.

It took me a couple hours to do it all but I'm glad I did it. Most of us probably need to change our strings more often, right?

"too high" is a subjective term dependent on personal taste but it seems logical that a company would produce a fixed height bridge a little on the high side.
It's easier to take it down a little than it is to replace the entire bridge saddle.

Some manufacturers use shims under the long bridge saddle which makes lowering the action not quite so permanent. You just carefully pull the long saddle out and remove (or add, if you want to go the other way) the shim and slide the saddle back into its slot

Thanks for letting me know that Norm.

I have a LR Baggs Stage Pro Element pickup system in that guitar and the wire mesh to it runs up from a hole in the bottom of the bridge saddle slot and the plastic saddle then sits on it.

I'm all set with my action now but if I had to or want to use shims in the future, would it be wise to use some kind of nonconductive shims or is metal shims no problem? (if metal shim(s), the metal would lay on top of the wire)

google

shim a guitar saddle

There are several sites talking about it

A shim can affect the balance of an under-saddle pickup. In a couple of cases, I've glued shims to the bottom of the saddle and sanded them to make sure the saddle would contact the pickup evenly.

John

That makes sense John, thank you for that information.

Thanks again go to Norm and John! I found out something about the pickup system on my classical guitar. I think I got the wrong type of pickup for the job and didn't even realize it till now.

When I went to my local music store, I asked the tech there to put a LR Baggs pickup system into my classical guitar. It was so long ago that I'm not sure if I told him the exact model of LR Baggs to install or he suggested it - either way, I looked it up and I've got a steel string pickup system when I should have gotten the classical nylon pickup system.

I have the LR Bagss Stage Pro Element pickup system In my Manuel Rodriguez e Hijos C1 Classical guitar when I really should have one of the LR Baggs Element Active systems that is designed for nylon strings.

Oh well, I couldn't tell and didn't even know about that till now. It all still sounds real good to me.

I know it has been posted before but your post about changing nylon strings reminded me of this video that Thom Bresh shot a long time ago:

I was just reading somewhere that hard tension is better for lower action like on a flamenco guitar, otherwise better to use normal tension for more flexibility. When I overcome my laziness, I will get around to trying it out too.

Gentlemen, I feel like I just walked into a room full of giants. But I guess if I want expert advice I should ask the experts.

I am 78 and taking up guitar after retirement and playing at home for personal pleasure was on my bucket list. My son died last year and I now have a Larrivee OM-9, a Gibson custom shop Chet Atkins Studio (nylon), and a Kirk Sand nylon, but no amp for them. I have been noodling on my PRS through a Fender Deluxe Reverb and know nothing about nylon or steel strings.

I only play in my family room and don't think I need the vocal part of amps.

I have been studying different amps on the net and am intrigued with the Yamaha THR5A for several reasons. It has 3 mike simulators, a nylon setting, USB for Garage Band, reverb and chorus. The youtube demos are pretty impressive.

My concern is that it is really a toy at that price compared to others. I am not in a position to go plug in and listen.

I am not a really accomplished player but would like to get close to the sounds these fine instruments are capable of.

Can you give me guidance on this particular amp or recommend others in the >$500 price range? This nylon/acoustic area is all new to me.

I'd also like a recommend for strings for the Kirk Sand and the Chet Custom Studio.

Many thanks - Rick

Hi Rick......As you said yourself, you are not an accomplished player so I will give you the best advice I can give. I have for years played nylon string guitars thru my electric guitar amps and have had great results. You already have a really great amp in the Deluxe Reverb (clean channel) I like to set bass to 7 or so and treble to 3 or 4. Your tastes may differ. As for strings....D'Addario Pro Arte EJ46 hard tension or EJ44 extra hard tension was preferred by Chet himself so you couldn't do better. You have some fine guitars there....Enjoy!!