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Classical Guitar action - 1st and 12th http://www-.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10102&t=1785	Page 1 of 1

Author:	dubell [ Sun Apr 24, 2005 11:56 pm ]
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I have my first classical guitar made and have set the action. It plays well, but I am wondering were the action should be. 1) What should the measurement be from the 1st fret crown to the underside of the string for all 6 strings. 2) What should the measurement be from the 12th fret crown to the underside of the string for all 6 strings. Thanks guys!! Doug Ubele

Author:	Robbie O'Brien [ Mon Apr 25, 2005 12:34 am ]
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Doug, I set mine up at .7mm above the first fret for all strings and 2.5mm above the 12th fret for the 1st string and 3.5mm above the 12th fret for the 6th string.

Author:	dubell [ Mon Apr 25, 2005 1:11 am ]
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A reply from the master himself....I'm not worthy!! What about strings 2 - 5 on the twelfth? Are they determined by the 1st and 6th. For the first fret, .7mm is 0.02751 English. This just under 1/32". This seems really low. This is for a classical, right? I'm not the expert, but I would think you would get a lot of buzzing. I'll give it a shot though Thanks Robbie, Doug Ubele P.S. - I am looking to purchase your DVD for Classical Guitar Building. Do you make everything from scratch? For example, do you make the neck, or do you purchase from a supplier?dubell38467.6947222222

Author:	dubell [ Mon Apr 25, 2005 11:35 am ]
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I lowered the first fret crown to string underside to 1/32". Much better. Thanks Robbie. I didn't have the guitar with me when I posted the last reply, and I actually wasn't off from being at 1/32. It just seemed low......because of my lack of experience. Thanks for your help, Doug Ubele

Author:	John Elshaw [ Mon Apr 25, 2005 12:21 pm ]
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Doug, here's the method I use as explained by David Schramm and it has worked very well so far. - Fret the string at the first fret. - Measure the height from the top of the 12th fret to the bottom of each string, using a steel ruler with .010” graduations. The readings should be: 1st string=0.100” to 0.115” 2nd string=0.110” to 0.120” 3rd string=0.120” to 0.130” 4th string=0.125” to 0.135” 5th string=0.130” to 0.140” 6th string=0.135” to 0.145”-0.150" The lower readings constitute a low action and the higher readings, a normal action. Anything higher would indicate a high action. Keep in mind that the required action height will vary for different players due to two things: one, the player’s attack style and two, how hard he /she plays the strings. Good luck! John

Author:	jfrench [ Mon Apr 25, 2005 1:18 pm ]
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Not to mention it is extremely important to know what kind of action you're after before you assemble the guitar... Here in Houston everyone wants their action somewhere between the frets and the fingerboard, and over in Austin everyone wants their action outside their guitar case. Personally, I like 3.5mm low e, and 3mm high e. The nut I usually make as low as possible without encountering back buzzing or buzzing on the first fret. But this depends to an extent on the players technique.

Author:	Robbie O'Brien [ Tue Apr 26, 2005 12:16 am ]
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[QUOTE=dubell] A reply from the master himself....I'm not worthy!! What about strings 2 - 5 on the twelfth? Are they determined by the 1st and 6th. For the first fret, .7mm is 0.02751 English. This just under 1/32". This seems really low. This is for a classical, right? I'm not the expert, but I would think you would get a lot of buzzing. I'll give it a shot though Thanks Robbie, Doug Ubele P.S. - I am looking to purchase your DVD for Classical Guitar Building. Do you make everything from scratch? For example, do you make the neck, or do you purchase from a supplier?[/QUOTE] Now cut that out Doug! At this rate I am going to get a big head and there are many on this forum who are just as qualified if not more qualified than me to give this info! There are many variables when considering the action you want and you need to have an idea of what action you are shooting for when building. For example, in order to get the action I mentioned I have a neck angle of 90 degrees and when placing a straightedge along the fretboard extending over the top at the bridge location I have a gap of 5mm betwen the bottom of the straightedge and the top of the guitar at the saddle location. My bridge height is 11mm. I also slope the fretboard so that it is .5mm to 1mm. lower on the low E side. My bridge is tapered so that it is .5mm to 1mm. higher on the low E side. This way your saddle will have a natural taper to it. If you leave it longer than needed you can adjust your action slightly by just sliding it left or right in the saddle slot. This allows you to have a summer and winter bridge or the end player can adjust his own action and then trim the saddle to length. My neck is also a spanish heel neck at a 90 degree angle. All of this I mention in my classical guitar building DVD. The neck and everything else in the dvd is done from "scratch" and I show how I do the spanish heel and carve the neck and heel block. I also show a slick way of cutting out your headstock according to your own design. good luck and happy building!

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