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hi everyone
I have two guitars with standard 1 11/16 nut width
on one the strings stay well away from the edge of the neck - on the other I've had to change the saddle to reduce string spacing and increase the space between the e strings and the edge of the neck
what are your preferences for the way the strings sit on the neck?
I need callipers to measure the two neck widths accurately (I bet they're not the same despite both being classed as 1 11/16'') - but I'm starting to think I prefer the feel of the strings being as close to the edge of the neck as possible
do people have a way of adjusting string spacing?
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06-07-2021 02:16 AM
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Depends on nut and bridge. If both are worked exactly both high and low e distances to the fretboard edges are the same. Everything else is simply wrong.
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cool - but I didn't mean to imply that the two e strings were different distances away from the edges of the fretboard. the question is just about how big you like this distance to be.
it makes a huge difference to feel
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On my Guild Aristocrat e.g. roughly 5mms on both E-strings. Pretty comfortable to me. You‘ve asked for ways to adjust string spacing, that‘s why I‘ve mentioned the nut and bridge.
Originally Posted by Groyniad
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sure - I suppose I'm less conscious of the idea that the nut and the bridge determine how the strings sit on the neck because I've always played guitars with floating bridges
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A floating bridge don‘t change the rules. Originally Posted by Groyniad
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If it's going to be played amplified, the strings need to be over the center of the polepieces, if they exist, wherever this puts the strings. Of course this assumes that the pickup is mounted in the center. If there is no pickup or no polepieces, then whatever feels best for you is the best spacing. One of the drawbacks of the TOM style bridge is that it's difficult, if even possible, to change the string spacing. Many come with slots already present, and changing that location isn't practical without changing the saddles. With a wooden saddle, it's very possible to change the spacing by just marking new slots, which shouldn't be deep at all. The nut width doesn't necessarily dictate the string spacing, because that depends on the width of the neck at the other end. The strings are not parallel, but fan out, and how much they fan is restricted by the change in neck width, although it can be narrower if desired. String distance from the edge of the fretboard is really a matter of personal preference, as long as they stay on the fretboard.
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Hi Groyniad, Originally Posted by Groyniad
I've learned (thank you Steve) the most important thing on the Guitar is the nut. Everything starts there. But everyone has there own preferences. I like low action and I dont like feeling the separation between string and fretboard in the anterior distal interphalangeal fold of my finger. That tends to happen when the action is too high AND the string to too close to the edge.
Also for me, high E strings that are too close to the edge are not good. When I fret a note, I tend to pull the string down. Occasionally, I have pulled a note right off the fretboard..
The distance from the low E string to the edge of the top edge of the fretboard is not consequential to me, other than for aesthetics. When I look down at the fretboard while I am playing I like seeing the low E string representing the low action that I crave. When the Low E is too far from the edge of the neck, it gives the appearance that the action is too high. That takes my concentration away from what I am supposed to be doing and thats not good.
One other thing.. All of my guitars have multilayer binding on the top of the fretboard. The 2 E strings should always ride the same line on both sides of the neck - all the way up the neck, or else, something is not right.
I hope that helped.
JD
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I prefer a tad over 3mm which is 1/8" This is pretty standard. Anything more and you are wasting valuable real estate squishing up strings. I like room for my fingers. Too close to the edge and the strings can slide off. I recut the nut on my Epi Johnny A because they had the strings at 4mm at the nut. It really helped.
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Sight by eye; test by playing.
Play live . . . Marinero
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a floating bridge certainly does change the rules - when the bridge floats, there is something other than the nut and the saddle which determines the way the strings sit on the fretboard Originally Posted by Stefan Eff
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I like the feeling that I'm not going to pull or push a string off the fretboard
but on the other hand - I like the feeling of not having to reach further round the neck to get to the strings
I need to learn how to do a proper set up - but I'm just too busy practicing
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In another post on this forum, Matt Cushman stated, "When slotting a new saddle I first establish the location of the two E strings. I start by marking the location of the two E strings so that there is a distance of 5/32" between the outside edge of the string and the edge of the fingerboard at the last fret."
That seems to work pretty well. See #11 of Bridge Slots Issues (jazzguitar.be)
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