setting saddle height to match neck radius

[rocksteady Max]

Without radius gauges

Is there any trick to set the saddles height (traditionnal 3 barrels-type saddles) to match the neck radius so the strings are at the proper height ?

My Tele is a 2006 Highway 1 and I think the neck radius is 9,5''.

 

[boris bubbanov]

I just sight it by eye, Max, from above the strap button at the bottom of the body. Your eye should tell you if you have preserved the radius coming all the way up the board and onto the 3 saddles.

 

[rocksteady Max]

thanks boris ... I just don't trust my senses ... but I'll try ... just this time

 

[ThermionicScott]

If you intend for each string to be equal height off the board, your 6" ruler will tell you when you've matched the radius.

- Scott

 

[Rob DiStefano]

Don't need no steenking "bridge radius gauge" - just use yer eyes to rough it in then use yer fretting fingers and ears to fine tune. For the most part, the "rough in" will be all that's needed. Your eyes are wonderful, extremely accurate, God-given tools. Even if ya wear glasses.

IMHO, Stew-Mac (and other luthier supply shops) sell a fair number of tools that pander to anal and/or ignorant minds - and believe me, I was one of those folks for too long. What a waste of good money. Don't get me wrong, there's some superb luthier/tech tooling offered that can't be lived without ... the knack is knowing what vendor tool is really needed and what ain't.

 

[RomanS]

+1 for Rob's post!
Saddle height should be set individually for each saddle so that it doesn't rattle, and fits your personal playing style - this can't be doen by eye, and esp. not with some tool, you have to play the strings, in the position where you usually play them, with the playing style you use, and then set the saddles so that they work for you (and that doesn't necessarily mean that the perfectly follow the fretboard radius, either).

Setting saddle height by eye, or with some guide reminds me of those guys that set graphic EQs so the sliders make a nice shape (usually a U or V), instead of listening and setting each slider so that the result sounds good...

 

[woodman]

Don't need no steenking "bridge radius gauge" - just use yer eyes to rough it in then use yer fretting fingers and ears to fine tune. For the most part, the "rough in" will be all that's needed. Your eyes are wonderful, extremely accurate, God-given tools. Even if ya wear glasses.

i've always liked the way Rob cuts to the chase!

 

[graphs]

I've used one of those ones that you can print out. I just laminated it at the office then cut it out with an x-acto knife. It's actually kind of handy for getting in the ballpark, then you can fine tune it by eye and by how it feels in your fretting hand.

 

[KevinB]

I've always done mine by sight too, but if you want to double check with free radius gauges, click (link removed).

 

[twangcaster1]

I just use the ole "Eyeball and Feel" method. Works real well!

 

[Lerb21]

I never really knew how to do it, I just moved the hex key around till it seemed right.

 

[Nick JD]

If you have a 9.5" radius fretboard and your strings are not parallel ... then you will have a significantly more than 10 inch radius at the bridge.

The math:

Circumference of a circle is pi x 2 radiuseses.

The strings have a 36mm spread at the nut. A 54mm spread at the saddles.

A 9.5" radius is 240mm.

The circumference of a circle with a 240mm radius is 1508mm ... 36mm of this is 2.387%.

If the spread at the saddles is 54mm what is 54 divided by to equal 2.387/100ths?

The circumference at the saddles is 2262mm. Divide this by 2pi and we get 360mm radius ... or,

14.1 inches.



Rob's right. Use your eyes - or in my case, your geeky girlfriend!

EDIT: for 2 pi r

 

[Lerb21]

Rob's right. Use your eyes - or in my case, your geeky girlfriend!

You're walking on thin ice Nick... just beware...



If she reads this there will be hell to pay.

 

[Nick JD]

You're walking on thin ice Nick... just beware...



If she reads this there will be hell to pay.

Heh heh! She's a self-confessed geek. She read it. It's okay.

Anyway, she's just informed me that it's 2 pi r ... for circumference. But it hardly affects the result.

I'll go and fix it.

This does bring up an interesting point though: having a the same radius at the 1st fret and the 21st fret doesn't make sense.

At a guess, a 9.5" radius at the 1st and a compounding radius ending up at 12" on the 21st would put the strings in a much more even position up the fretboard. But it would only really matter for shredders.

 

[Middleman]

Just use a standard dime, place it between the string and the 12th fret. Adjust the string downward until it just pins the dime on the fret. Do this across all 6 strings. Perfect action. Old guitar shop method.

 

[MickM]

I do it this way. Get the bottom E to a height you're comfortable with. I use .011's and my bottom E is usually around 1/8" at the 12th fret. (i raise it 'till there's no buzz at any fret)

After that I stand a 3" scale accross the bottom 2 frets and measure to the bottom of the E string. Then do the same thing to the remaining strings measuring off the same 2 frets. (you might have to push the previous string down so you can see the next measurement)

It's fast, easy and since you adjust the height at each string, they mimic the radius as close as is possible. You can always raise or lower a half turn or so which is very close to 1/64th" or .015 which as others have noted, your fingers probably won't notice. Also, when you're tweaking the neck or installing saddles etc., it's an easy way to get to the same height to use as a starting point each time you change something.

 

[jrfrond]

If you try to set up bridge saddles by eye, the middle strings will almost always be too close to the fingerboard.

I disagree about Stew-Mac. I've been setting up guitars for over 30 years, and when the Understring Radius Gauges first came out, I bought them, and they have been a Godsend with setups. Without using a ruler, the setup is perfect and easy every single time, just by virtue of using these gauges. Guitars usually feel best when calibrating the saddle heights to the same radius as the fingerboard.

While I DO agree that Stew-Mac carries many prefab tools for all reasons, this is not a bad thing on their part. In the ol' days, I made a lot of tools and still have them. They just make it easier. However, every once in awhile, they come out with a tool or doodad that becomes part of my arsenal and indispensable, and these radius gauges get my highest recommendation for achieving great setups quickly.

 

[1972thinline]

Here is the way I always use and it works like a charm every time. Take a piece of thin card stock like what a pack of strings come in, cut a strip to fit over your 12th and 13th fret wire, use painters tape to tape it to the fret board making sure it's down tight. Capo the first fret. Lower saddles until you can play the note without it buzzing the card stock, repeat all strings. Remove and test all notes up and down the fretboard. If there is any buzzing raise that saddle 1/4 turn on each hex screw until buzzing is gone. Works like a charm

 

[sjruvolo]

How about you just measure each string height with a ruler somewhere between the 12th to 17th fret. This method would take into effect the change in neck radius should your Tele have a compound radius. My preference is usually around 4/64" This should eliminate any buzzing or fretting out. There is no harm done in using the proper tool for the job at hand.

 

[Ricky D.]

I set each string individually so there is no buzz or rattle unplugged. Then I raise strings as needed so that adjacent strings are close to the same height over the fingerboard. Eyeball works OK for that, but it's quicker with a machinist's rule.