The distance of the sixth string between the twelfth nut. Lowering the string height correctly

Over time and under the tension of the strings, an acoustic guitar, one way or another, changes, and in particular its body. Unlike us older guitarists, the instrument is starting to show its age. The belly protrudes, the shoulders sag, the neck bends forward.

I agree, not the best comparison.

Although the guitar can be considered as an organism.
Under the tension of six strings, the “shoulders” bend forward slightly. The wood on the top around the sound hole dips down ever so slightly, and the wood around and behind the bridge becomes convex. The lower deck, on the contrary, is smoothed out and actually becomes a little longer. Each of these changes affects the neck. Even if it seems straight to you, there is a possibility that below the 14th fret it already begins to bend.

I would like to repeat here what I wrote in . The truss rod does not affect the angle of the bar. It helps the neck itself not to bend and with its help you can control the deflection of the neck from the top nut to 15-16 frets (that is, 1-2 frets beyond the place where the fingerboard already lies on the body of the guitar). changes the angle of inclination of only the flexible part of the neck.

In my experience, almost all regular metal string acoustic guitars require a neck reset over time. As a rule, lightweight guitars require reinstallation sooner than heavier ones. For example, Martins live on average 20-25 years without resetting the neck, but after such a procedure, time and string tension continue to affect the body of the guitar and it is not always easy to predict how the instrument will behave. In any case, well-made guitars can outlive their owners...

As the neck turns slightly relative to the top, the height of the strings increases, especially in high positions (from the 6th fret and below). In fact, if you know what you're doing, it's easy to identify the need to reset the neck by looking at the height of the strings.

I use three different methods to find out if there are problems with the angle of the bar. Most often I use the third one during the initial inspection of the guitar. Keep in mind that you must first set up the anchor correctly, this is very important.

“Aiming” the neck so that the corners of the frets are in one line, I pay attention to whether there is a clear bend in the neck in the place where it is attached to the body:

The neck is too thick at this point for the truss rod to bend, but if the neck is not aligned with the body, the end of the fingerboard can bend outward. It happens that the deflection is not visible due to the structure of the guitar, for example, too much of the pickguard lies on the body. But if there is a deflection of the pickguard above the body of the guitar, then there are obvious problems with the angle of the neck.

If the neck turns out to be even by eye, then I take a 60cm ruler:

I can't use it if the fingerboard is curved because the ruler won't touch all the frets and it won't be possible to judge the angle of the neck correctly. So make sure the pickguard and frets are ok.

Now I place the ruler on the wooden part of the stand:

Most guitars are designed in such a way that if the ruler rests on the stand and touches all the frets, then I can be sure that everything is in order with the angle of inclination.
Unfortunately, this guitar makes it clear that the neck needs to be reinstalled:

The ruler hangs 0.3cm (1/8”) from the body.

This method is quite simple, but its use does not take into account the thickness of the stand itself. If it was reduced, and the ruler lay as it should, then the angle of the neck may not be ideal. You can measure the height of the bridge (ignoring the height of the sill) and hope it is somewhere between 8 and 9.5 mm (5/16" - 3/8"), or use an easier method.

Here's a method that doesn't involve frets, pickguard, or bridge height.

First, make sure the neck is straight, then look at the height of the strings above the 12th fret. For example, it is within the normal range, that is, from the top of the 12th fret to the bottom edge of the sixth string we have somewhere from 2.4 to 3.2 mm (3/32” - 4/32”). Now let's see what height of the same string is closer to the stand.

If there is 12.7 mm (1/2") from the body of the guitar to the bottom of the sixth string, then the neck angle is correct:

If the distance is less than a centimeter (3/8”), then there are obvious problems with the angle of inclination:

In the photo the strings are very close to the body, which means the bridge and/or saddle have been lowered.

If you don’t have a ruler at hand, you can measure the distance by eye or with your finger, whether it is less than 1 cm or more.

Here are some other points that indicate tilt angle problems:

The distance above the 12th fret is very large, more than 3.8mm (4/32”)

BUT AT THIS TIME the bottom threshold is VERY low:

There are also problems associated with the “reverse” angle of the neck, which arise either from low-quality production or as a result of unsuccessful repairs. This can be seen if the nut is very high, but the height of the strings, on the contrary, is excessively low.

The height of this nut is fine and shouldn't be increased, so if the string height is normal, then the neck angle is probably correct too:

However, if the strings are very low, then I would suggest resetting the neck.

Here you need to understand that all these indicators are not absolute. Most acoustic guitars have parameters similar to Martin guitars, but other types of guitars will have different recommendations. The musician's personal preferences in string height also play a role. It can be easy to get over it if the bar angle is a little off. After all, what is wrong for a guitarist is just right for another. What's appropriate for a perky country singer may not be appropriate for a jazz guitarist.

Also, in the article I meant healthy tools that are kept at normal humidity. High or low humidity has a big impact on the fretboard.

In this case, the best way to help is experience, when thousands of guitars pass through your hands. An experienced master develops intuition and literally senses such problems, taking into account dozens of nuances. Each manufacturer has its own standards, its own guarantees and the degree of repairability of the tool. And each master chooses his own repair method, which depends on the type, style, age, manufacturer and condition of the instrument.

The quality of play and technique indirectly depends from. I remember how I felt the difference between my Russian guitar and a classical one, when I came to the teacher’s first grade at the age of ten. My first teacher had a nice “varnished” instrument with nylon strings. Yes, when I came to , I wanted to stay there, only because there I could play a “normal” instrument. Therefore, the adjustment distance between strings and fingerboard is an important factor in the process of learning and playing the guitar.

Every guitar has the ability to be adjusted, albeit by sawing the sills that hold the strings. Let's look at each in order:

There are two ways to adjust the distance between the strings and the neck - this is the deflection of the neck, which can be adjusted with an anchor bolt that penetrates the entire neck. The greater the tension in the anchor, the more the bar straightens. If we loosen the anchor bolt, the neck bends accordingly - the mechanics are quite simple.

The second way is to adjust distance between strings and fingerboard bottom threshold. On a Western and classical guitar, this will cause some difficulties, since you will have to file the saddle, or, conversely, build it up.

These two methods are not unique and have their own purpose. The deflection of the neck has a greater effect on the sound of strings clamped on the frets closer to the first (zero) nut. The height of the nut, in turn, mainly controls the sound for sounds played on the second half of the neck, closer to the soundboard.

And one more small note distance between strings and fingerboard measured at the 12th fret. Mostly

If the height of the strings on the guitar does not suit you, then adjusting them can be either a simple operation of replacing or processing the lower saddle, or a global repair in particularly unpleasant cases. In each specific situation, you can act a little differently, using standard techniques in different combinations.

A special case of a screw-on neck. Adjusting the height is easy, but remember, when you turn the adjustment screw, you are changing the distance between the frets and the saddle. The problem is exacerbated if the 12th fret and the fingerboard resting point are far apart. This picture is often observed on Soviet guitars. The neck on the screw must also have the correct shape and be even.

What height should the nylon be at the 12th fret?

First, let's remember what distances should be and how to measure them. If you place a ruler at the twelfth fret, then there should be 3.5mm to the center line of the first string, and on the sixth this distance should gradually increase to 4.5-5mm and even 5.5mm. Once again, these are distances for nylon.

(For metal strings everything is lower: up to 2 mm for the first and 3.5 for the sixth.)

The height of the strings above the soundboard in the area of the stand should be from 9 to 15 mm. The bottom sill must stay firmly in the cut.

Causes of incorrect heights

There are many factors influencing the height of the strings. And the reason for large distances can be either an error or inaccuracy during manufacturing, or changes in the guitar over time, predictable or not.

Obvious situations. Without understanding the issue, they changed metal to nylon or vice versa. The guitar was made specifically with other heights and they will not suit you. The guitar has the wrong bone.

The most serious problem is that the neck was installed incorrectly during manufacturing and the bone adjustment is not enough to compensate for this.

The most common reason is that the bar has bent over time and you only need to lower the bone or straighten it. The body of the guitar itself may bend somewhat, then you just need to lower the bone, paying attention to whether the scale has floated yet.

Classic Problem: Neck Bend

This is a systemic problem with bars without an anchor, i.e. classical guitar necks. The neck may bend unnecessarily under the tension of the strings and you will get an increase in string height.

This problem must be corrected by straightening the neck, and not by lowering the nut. Why?

If you simply lower the bone, then you will get a hole, at the exit of which the string will ring. The bottom of the pit is in the area of the 7th fret, after the bottom of the pit the frets begin to rise up and the string will touch the next fret.

A standard check is that if you lower the strings to normal height above the 12th fret and they all start to jingle starting from the middle of the neck, then you have excessive bending.

Just for contrast: if the strings ring on the first frets against the next fret, then your strings are too low or there is a bend in the neck.

I specifically indicate the reason for the ringing, on the next scale, since the reason may be different, for example, an overtone on the upper or lower sills. This is another problem related to their shape.

On a crooked neck, you can only adjust some part of it for normal playing. In a sense, this is justified if you only play in the first positions. The amount of deflection directly affects the complexity of the situation. It’s still possible to put up with a little excessive deflection. If the strings are ringing already at the fifth fret, then this is too much for simple accompaniment.

A crooked neck requires straightening. Before straightening, decide on the heights that you will end up with. Take advantage of the need to level the pad and clearly get to the desired height. Depending on which side of the pickguard you process to a greater extent, your final result in string height will change.

Height above first fret

Obviously, the open string should not ring on the first fret. Too much distance is unnecessary pain for the guitarist.

To quickly estimate sufficient height, you need to hold the string at the first fret with the correct gap at the 12th fret and look at the distance above the nut of the second fret. The distance at the first fret of an open string is almost the same. We will discuss setting these heights in detail in the next article about guitar saddles and bridges.

Adjusting the saddle

It is clear that there is a standard option to change the height of the lower threshold. This is an obvious setting. If a bone needs to be lowered, then it simply needs to be ground off; if it is raised, then by and large it needs to be replaced. Repairs with glue are acceptable, but the glue should not rise too high in the cut. Glue hard wood, bone or something similar to the bottom sill with superglue. This approach is acceptable for inexpensive guitars. Next, what to do if the bone is too big or too small for its stand.

Please note that in order to raise the string by 0.5 mm above the 12th fret, the bone must be raised by 1 mm.

Working with the stand

Very often it is necessary to edit the stand itself, i.e. the bone is so high that it doesn’t hold up well or, conversely, so low that it sinks into the cut.

Throat too high

If the bone becomes too high for the old cut, you need to deepen it and preferably widen it. The bone should sit securely in the cut. Do this operation with an understanding of what tuning compensation is.

It is necessary to take into account the ability of the deck to resist greater stress. For thick decks, a high saddle can be beneficial. By lifting the bone, you increase the leverage and torque on the stand, and it begins to break out the deck with greater force.

It may also be necessary to reduce the angle at which the string approaches the bone. The strings rise too sharply to the nut, actually breaking it. Fastening with a pigtail (i.e. conventional fastening in one hole) in itself reduces this undesirable effect and allows the string to be pulled up. You can increase the height of the string fastening panel, combine it with something pleasant and glue something decorative on top. Then the loop of the string will pull the string higher, reduce the angle, and reduce the overturning moment on the bone.

Throat too low

If the bone needs to be lowered below the level of the stand, then you can cut off its lip somewhat, making it lower so that the bottom sill can be seen enough. But there is a pitfall - you need to monitor the cut-off angle of the strings, so the tuning progress using this method is small and not always feasible.

The cut-off angle of the strings also depends on the method and position of the hole for attaching the strings. If you need to increase the angle, then the hole should be as low as possible and you should use a fastening with two holes or using a button.

You might consider changing the method of attaching the strings. For example, you have a regular stand with a hole. The stand is high. You can switch to a tuning pegs method, like on Western or Gypsy guitars. For a classical guitar, this will only work in special cases, but it's something to keep in mind.

Here we actually get to the possibility of changing the stand. The option is acceptable, especially in combination with other factors. The old stand is ugly, broken, crooked and torn, and does not cover any stains.

Old holes in the stand can be filled with hardwood caps and epoxy resin and other holes can be drilled below. This can be done on a glued stand using some kind of knitting needle with a drill attached to it. Since there is little drilling, you can simply use sharpening on the knitting needle. Drill from the bottom ring side, low speed.

Big mistakes, i.e. in fact, incorrect installation of the neck into the guitar can be corrected in addition to reinstalling the neck by straightening the fingerboard, as well as sawing the heel. Make the cut very close to the sides, as if you wanted to cut the neck flush to the body, but stop just before the fingerboard. Now you just need to select an insert made of dense wood so that, by gluing everything back with it, you will get the correct angle for gluing the neck. The renovation is radical but effective.

And so, we decided.
STEP TWO
Next you need to remove the strings from the guitar, you can do this in the usual way
or “yoke”, I advise, very convenient and fast.

Then, using the same “rocker arm,” we remove the strings from the body of the guitar.

STEP THREE
Next, carefully pull out the threshold.

STEP FOUR
We are looking for a flat surface: for example, a marble slab, glass, etc.
We make a mark on the threshold (how much needs to be cut). Place a sharpened pencil on the lower (flat) part of the threshold, which we will grind off, and fix the corner of the pencil. Then we draw a straight line. I would not recommend touching the upper part (where the strings lie, since the correct radius has already been made there in relation to the neck of the guitar) and we can only make it worse.

We take sandpaper with a grit of about 150 (there is no significant difference), put the threshold on the side that we marked, and slowly remove the thickness to the pencil mark, pressing the threshold tightly to the paper.
Note:
If you are not sure how many millimeters to remove, remove a small layer first. Place the strings and you will understand what to do next.

OK it's all over Now. We put on the strings and rejoice, now you can perform virtuoso works on your instrument. Perhaps your strings will now ring. There are several possible reasons:
1. Old strings with dents under the frets.
2 . Fret wear :
_ _ A) The frets will need to be replaced by a guitar luthier.
_ _ b) at home.
3 . Need to adjust the anchor rod in the neck of the guitar (if provided)

To find out if your neck is straight, do the following:

Lay the guitar down (strings up) so that the neck is on the left side. For example, press the sixth string on the first fret with the little finger of your left hand, and press the same string with the finger of your right hand on the 14th fret. Using the thumb of your left hand, we reach the seventh fret and, using pressing actions, determine the distance between the 6th fret and the string. The gap between the string and the saddle should be 0.10” = 2.5 mm. If your indicators are not the same, you need to adjust the anchor screw. When you do all the procedures correctly, I assure you that you will be very satisfied with the tool.

Beginning guitarists often wonder: " Why is it uncomfortable to play the guitar?"One of the reasons may be incorrect string height above fretboard guitars. More often than not, they are located further from the fingerboard than necessary, so it is very difficult for a beginner to clamp the strings. Let's figure it out what should be the height of the strings, and also how to adjust it.

Most often, the height of the strings is determined by the 12th fret. We count down the 12th fret on the guitar. How to count frets:

How to count frets

And we find the iron nut of the 12th fret. We apply a ruler to measure the distance from this nut to the strings:

The distance from the nut of the 12th fret to the strings should be about 4 mm. If it is more, then the strings will simply be difficult to pinch. You can do less, but if you overdo it, the strings will buzz when playing (touching other frets), but more on that later.

You can also measure the height of the strings in the same way at the 1st fret. It should be 1-2 mm.

String height adjustment

Let's see how we can lower (which is needed more often) or raise (which is needed less often) the height of the strings.

NOTE: To avoid confusion, I’ll say right away that here I call different parts of the guitar “saddle”:

Plastic saddles: located at the top and bottom of the guitar. There are strings on them.
Iron frets. These are the glands that separate the frets.

How to reduce string height: Nut

To do this, you need to work with the lower threshold, which looks like this:

Guitar bridge

We'll file it down.

We remove the strings (or you can simply loosen them to such an extent that this plastic nut can be pulled out).
Remove the threshold (if it is not glued in).
We draw a line with a pencil, to what extent we will grind down the threshold. Before this, we measure how much the threshold needs to be ground off.
We take fine-grain sandpaper and grind the threshold down to our strip. Stitch down the bottom edge, NOT where the strings are. That is, a smooth edge (and where the strings lie, it is slightly rounded).

After this, put the strings in place () and check their height.

In general, this is all the instructions for reducing the height of the strings. But there are several nuances:

Not everything is so simple with measurements. If your string height is 5 mm (we look at all this at the 12th fret nut), and you need to lower it so that it becomes 4 mm (that is, by 1 mm), then we sharpen the nut by 2 mm. Approximately the following calculations. But you still sharpen it a little bit and check whether it has become easier to clamp the strings.
There is a problem that you can accidentally sharpen the nut, then the strings will become so close (low) to the fingerboard that when playing they will hook the adjacent iron fret nuts, which will cause a buzzing sound. Therefore, before sharpening the bottom threshold, take your time and sharpen it a little at a time. Better yet, buy a spare plastic sill (or two) so you don’t have to worry about resharpening.

How to reduce string height: Nut

If there is also a large distance on the first fret, then sharpening the nut may not solve the problem. To do this, you will also have to sharpen the top sill, where the strings lie.

This is what he looks like:

This nut, unlike the lower one, already has grooves for strings. So, to adjust the height of the strings above the first fret, namely to reduce the height of the strings, it is necessary to make these recesses deeper. But keep in mind that you do this at your own peril and risk! It would be good if this top sill is removable and can be replaced. But the problem is that most often these thresholds are glued in.

How to deepen these recesses? You can use a very small file or a very thin needle file. These tools with such parameters are difficult to find. But there are special files for the nut of a guitar, they look like this:

But if there are no such tools, you can make the cut with the string itself. To do this, naturally, we remove the strings (or string). We take the appropriate string and begin to move it back and forth along the cut. This will deepen the hole.

How to increase the height of the strings?

As I said, this is rare, but it may still be necessary. Typically, this need arises when the strings buzz, that is, they touch the frets, which they should not touch.

To adjust the height of the strings, when we need to increase it, we work with the bottom saddle. Everything is simple here: if to reduce the height we sawed off the threshold, now, on the contrary, we will put something under it. What to add? For example, a match (or several, along the entire length of the threshold).

Or you can simply buy a new lower threshold, which will be higher than the previous one. If it turns out to be much higher, then you can cut it down :)

Conclusion

In any case, you don’t have to worry so much and don’t count millimeters. If you see that string height above fretboard too large - file the bottom until it becomes comfortable to play. I completely threw out my nut and play without it :) I like it when the height of the strings is minimal. It's more convenient to play this way.

But before you experiment, buy an extra threshold just in case.