Modifying a fixed bridge guitar

[rpjazzguitar]

Any help with the following would be appreciated.

I'm thinking about a Fender Tele style Acoustisonic.

But, I'd need to have the guitar made easier to play. Presumably, lighter strings and lower action.

What is involved in lowering the action?

If it's something like sanding the bottom of the bridge, what does that do to intonation? And if it screws it up, what is involved in getting the guitar to intonate with the lower action and lighter strings?

[Spook410]

[Mick-7]

If it's something like sanding the bottom of the bridge, what does that do to intonation? And if it screws it up, what is involved in getting the guitar to intonate with the lower action and lighter strings?

I had a luthier do that on this old Korean Washburn acoustic-electric I got on Good Will - cost almost as much as the guitar itself but it was worth it. The action is good now, was practically unplayable beforehand. It didn't affect the intonation, which is superb. But you don't sand the bridge, you sand down the underside of the string saddles to lower them on the bridge (e.g., the white saddles on my guitar). You must sand each saddle individually and it's meticulous work.




P.S. - Re: the video that Spook410 shared, that's a truss road adjustment, won't help if the bridge/bridge saddles are too high.

[John A.]

I had a luthier do that on this old Korean Washburn acoustic-electric I got on Good Will - cost almost as much as the guitar itself but it was worth it. The action is good now, was practically unplayable beforehand. It didn't affect the intonation, which is superb. But you don't sand the bridge, you sand down the underside of the string saddles to lower them on the bridge (e.g., the white saddles on my guitar). You must sand each saddle individually and it's meticulous work.




P.S. - Re: the video that Spook410 shared, that's a truss road adjustment, won't help if the bridge/bridge saddles are too high.

No, it's not a truss rod adjustment. It's a neck angle adjustment (called "micro-tilt"), a feature many Fender guitars have. It has the same effect as putting a shim in the neck pocket, and does lower the action (or raise it, depending which way you turn the adjustment). It's useful for situations where (due to the vagaries of the neck pocket/neck interface) you can't get the action properly adjusted via bridge saddle height. In the case of non-adjustable acoustic guitar bridge it's analogous to resetting the neck once the saddle has been sanded down as far as you can get it.

[Mick-7]

No, it's not a truss rod adjustment. It's a neck angle adjustment (called "micro-tilt"), a feature many Fender guitars have. It has the same effect as putting a shim in the neck pocket, and does lower the action (or raise it, depending which way you turn the adjustment). It's useful for situations where (due to the vagaries of the neck pocket/neck interface) you can't get the action properly adjusted via bridge saddle height. In the case of non-adjustable acoustic guitar bridge it's analogous to resetting the neck once the saddle has been sanded down as far as you can get it.

Oh, I see, I probably should have watched the entire video before commenting, huh?

How Micro-Tilt affects your action - Fender.com

[John A.]

Any help with the following would be appreciated.

I'm thinking about a Fender Tele style Acoustisonic.

But, I'd need to have the guitar made easier to play. Presumably, lighter strings and lower action.

What is involved in lowering the action?

If it's something like sanding the bottom of the bridge, what does that do to intonation? And if it screws it up, what is involved in getting the guitar to intonate with the lower action and lighter strings?

Per the discussion above, action on an Acoustasonic can be adjusted via the micro-tilt feature (and adjusting neck relief via the truss rod also has an effect on action). On acoustic guitars more generally, you adjust action by sanding the bottom of the bridge saddle. If you run out of excess saddle to remove, you're at the point of needing a neck reset (I've never actually had that happen, FWIW). You can't really adjust intonation on an acoustic saddle, but you can sand compensation into it. If you overdo it with the sandpaper, you have to replace the saddle and start again. FWIW, my (Eastman) acoustic came with a compensated saddle that was too high for me. I sanded it down a bit, and this didn't change the intonation. I haven't changed the string gauge, though, so no insight there.