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Thread: bridge string slot too shallow?

  1. #1
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    Default bridge string slot too shallow?

    I just got a new mando and it is the bee's knees. It had D'addario 74's on it and I changed them to EXP75's. Now, it seems like the slots for the G course are a little too shallow/narrow. When I play aggressively, the G string (mainly the outer string, sometimes both) will come out of the slots and slide over towards the D. Is there an easy fix to this? What type of tool would it involve? Thanks for your help and suggestions.
    Best,
    Max
    I laid the tracks, never rode the train.

  2. #2
    Registered User sunburst's Avatar
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    Default Re: bridge string slot too shallow?

    The fix is simple: deepen the slots.
    What tool? nearly anything that will cut a narrow enough slot. A small triangular file, a pocket knife, a nut file, whatever does the job. Bridge slots are not like nut slots in that they don't have to be fit to the strings nearly as well. The strings do not have to slide through the bridge slots when tuning like they do through the nut slots, so a V notch is just as good as a round notch. The pressure of the string in the slot will compress the wood and form a round-bottomed slot anyway.

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    Registered User Ivan Kelsall's Avatar
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    Default Re: bridge string slot too shallow?

    If this happens to me,i use a scalpel or any othe sharp blade, to deepen the slot by a tiny ammount (Vee notch).

    Eventually,the string will shape the slot itself over time,exactly as John Hamlett points out. If you can get a very sharp bladed file - 'Knife Edge' file,then you could use that,but even the thinnest KE files tend to be wider than a blade.

    Several years back,i had to re-shape a bridge saddle from straight to contoured,& i had to re-cut the slots. I used a scalpel on all of them,just a tad deeper on the D & G strings & it was as good as it could have been,
    Ivan
    Weber F-5 'Fern'.
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    formerly Philphool Phil Goodson's Avatar
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    Default Re: bridge string slot too shallow?

    Just be sure that the highest point of your slot is at the front (nut side) of the saddle; otherwise you can get a buzz that's sometimes hard to figure out.
    Phil

    “Sharps/Flats” “Accidentals”

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  8. #5
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    Default Re: bridge string slot too shallow?

    Thanks folks! I appreciate it. So my plan is to take an exacto knife and make a small v-shaped notch in the G course slots on the bridge. And, based on what Phil states, I should make those notches at the back of the bridge towards the tail piece? If I make them on the nut side of the bridge, it could cause a buzz? I was going to make the notch on that side, so this has been very helpful. Thanks again!
    I laid the tracks, never rode the train.

  9. #6
    Fatally Flawed Bill Kammerzell's Avatar
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    Default Re: bridge string slot too shallow?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mandomax View Post
    Thanks folks! I appreciate it. So my plan is to take an exacto knife and make a small v-shaped notch in the G course slots on the bridge. And, based on what Phil states, I should make those notches at the back of the bridge towards the tail piece? If I make them on the nut side of the bridge, it could cause a buzz? I was going to make the notch on that side, so this has been very helpful. Thanks again!
    Cant recall where I found this but it has worked for me.

    "The first thing is to locate them where you want them. Trying to shift the notches a small amount after you have cut the grooves in the saddle can be frustrating. If you feel that the previous spacing felt good for you, then you can try transferring those locations to the new saddle. The grooves don't have to be cut extremely deep, in the beginning they only need be deep enough to keep the string in its place and the slightest scoring will often suffice. You may find that the middle D and A pairs will stay where you put them just from the string pressure when they are tuned up, which gives you the opportunity to try out different spacing before committing to them.
    A small triangular file works well for the heavier strings, and a sharp blade can be enough for the plain strings. Always angle the slots back towards the tailpiece so the strings bear on the front-most edge of the saddle to avoid intonation problems."
    Ray Dearstone #009 D1A (1999)
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  11. #7
    Registered User sunburst's Avatar
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    Default Re: bridge string slot too shallow?

    Quote Originally Posted by willkamm View Post
    ...Always angle the slots back towards the tailpiece so the strings bear on the front-most edge of the saddle to avoid intonation problems...
    Not sure where you got that either, but this part is not as accurate as the rest.
    It is true that the strings need to bear on the 'front' edge of the bridge to get clear notes without buzzing, but only if the bridge is compensated correctly for your string gauges and action height will it avoid intonation problems. For accurate intonation most stock bridges benefit from some modification.

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    Default Re: bridge string slot too shallow?

    Apologies for belaboring this point, but should I notch on the end closest to the tail piece, or does it matter? The intonation is spot on and there is no buzzing, so I want to do no harm on that aspect
    thanks again
    I laid the tracks, never rode the train.

  13. #9
    Registered User sunburst's Avatar
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    Default Re: bridge string slot too shallow?

    Ideally, a string slot (bridge or nut) will roughly bisect the angle of the string path from nut to tuner or from bridge to tailpiece. That way there is pressure on the whole length of the slot so there is no buzzing to either side.
    (Trying to track down a string buzz between the nut and the tuner, or between the bridge and the tailpiece has driven many owners and inexperienced luthiers nearly crazy.)
    So, make your slot so that it slopes back toward the tailpiece about half of the angle that the string makes as it crosses the bridge. That will leave the string bearing right at the front edge (and also bearing on the back edge to avoid a back buzz).

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  15. #10

    Default Re: bridge string slot too shallow?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mandomax View Post
    Apologies for belaboring this point, but should I notch on the end closest to the tail piece, or does it matter? The intonation is spot on and there is no buzzing, so I want to do no harm on that aspect
    thanks again
    If the intonation is fine, then *slightly* deepen the notch on the tailpiece side, sloping up towards the front of the bridge, without touching the notch at the front. In an ideal world the base of your notch should curve gently down towards the tailpiece, but string pressure will likely achieve that curve anyway.

    If the slight deepening isn't enough, deepen very slightly more. You can always remove wood, putting it back is more skilled!

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  17. #11
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    Default Re: bridge string slot too shallow?

    awesome- thank you all!
    I laid the tracks, never rode the train.

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  19. #12
    Registered User Ivan Kelsall's Avatar
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    Default Re: bridge string slot too shallow?

    When i re-cut the slots into the bridge that i'd modified,i cut them straight across. The strings themselves bedded in & compressed their own 'back slope' toward the tailpiece in quick time. There's quite a bit of 'point pressure' there for the strings to do that,
    Ivan
    Weber F-5 'Fern'.
    Lebeda F-5 "Special".
    Stelling Bellflower BANJO
    Tokai - 'Tele-alike'.
    Ellis DeLuxe "A" style.

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