MandoDiddle
Jun-22-2007, 5:13pm
I have placed a new bone saddle on the ebony fixed bridge on an old Brilliantone mandolin. My question is how do you establish the proper string height at the new saddle while establishing the correct height of a new nut at the same time? It was a bear to shape the new nut saddle and I sure don't want to mess up and have to make another one. Would it involve capoing the first fret and establishing a certain clearance at the 12th fret? If so, what would that clearance be?
Thanks for any thoughts.
Bill
sunburst
Jun-23-2007, 7:35am
Check the string height at the nut first by pressing the strings down, one at a time, between the second and third fret and filing the notches in the nut for a minimal clearance at the first fret as outlined here at frets.com. (http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Musician/GenSetup/NutAction/nutaction.html)
That procedure is independent of the bridge height, so it can be done first and will not change after the bridge is done.
For the bridge, you need to start with the bridge too high, obviously, or you won't have material to cut off to correct the height.
Decide what action height you want at the 12th fret, measured from the top of the fret to the bottom of the string, measure the height you have, figure the difference between what you have and what you want, and cut twice that measurement off of the bridge.
That's about all the info I can give you. I don't know what the proper action height is for the instrument, and I don't know how the saddle is configured in the bridge, so I can't go into specifics.
MandoDiddle
Jun-23-2007, 2:51pm
Thank you, John.
I will take that approach. Does anyone out there know what action height at the 12th fret I need to be shooting for on this Brilliantone mandolin?
Michael Lewis
Jun-24-2007, 1:57am
If your neck and fingerboard are in good condition you should look for a clearance at the 12th fret of between .060" and .090". That puts you in the ball park.