Please help, going out of my mind.

[jeff0633]

I can't take this anymore. I play live for a living (soloact using midi backing tracks), and I have a Fender American Highway 1. When I got it, I could hear all strings fine and clear, then, I put in some Lace holy grails and a set of String saver saddles. I also screwed up and started messing with the relief of the neck and got it away from fender specs. The first two strings e and b, were not as loud as the others. I thought it was the Holy Grails, and Don Marc of Lace told me it might be, so he sent me a set of Lace hot golds. The same thing is going on. It is driving me nuts. When I hit one of the first two strings while playimg live, they are so much lower in volume that it's as if they are turned all the way down. I lowered the saddles very low, and that seems to have helped the E string, and I lowered the rest because I wanted them to touch the frets a little more to quiet them down. But now, my action is too low and the playing doesn't feel right. Could this be the Graphtech string savers doing this? Should I take it in and spend 40 bucks on a complete setup? How many other people have this problem? When I had the original pickguard in with the original pups it didn;'t do this. I love my string savers cause I don't breeak strings, but if they are causing this problem I will have to do something.

Please, Help if you can.

Jeff

[Light]

Take it to a professional, and have them look at it. They will be able to tell you what is going on, in all likelyhood. Without seeing the instrument, no one will be able to give you an acurate diagnosis. Anyone who says otherwise is either lying or simply full of shit.

Take it to a professional. It's what we do, and we know how to do it.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

[ez_willis]

Originally Posted by Light

It's what we do, and we know how to do it.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

Hey Light, can the intonation be adjusted on an acoustic?

Sorry to hijack the thread.

[Light]

Originally Posted by ez_willis

Hey Light, can the intonation be adjusted on an acoustic?

Sorry to hijack the thread.

Sort of. First of all, they need to be setup as well as they can be, because of course all of the extra stretching from action which is too high or too much bow in the neck will pull the strings sharp.

Once that is done, it is usually within a few cents on all but the "B" string. You can usually compensate the "B" string with a new standard sized saddle (you need to pull the "B" string way back, so the material is usually already gone on the original saddle). For most people this is more than enough. This is what my guitar has, and it is within about .02 cents at the tweltfh fret, and within about 1-2 cents (at most) on every other fret. This is as close as any guitar ever gets. A little stretching which I tune it (by ear) and it sounds quite sweet.

IF you need more than this (which is common with 12 strings), a fully compensated saddle can be made, but you MUST be certain about the gauge of strings and the action and all of that. It is a giant pain in the ass too, so it is expensive (we charge $150, minnimum, plus the cost of the material). Also, it usually requires a very thick piece of bone for the saddle, which is not in any way attractive. It changes the look of the guitar quite a bit, and on a guitar with any kind of vintage value it can damage the value of the guitar. It is not advised if you can help it.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

[joethebaddog]

Jeff
First off, take it to a pro and have it set up. Tell him what all you did so he has an idea where to start. He'll find out what you did wrong. And learn a lesson from this !!! Never mess with more than one adjustment at a time! If something goes wrong, and in your case it went wrong big time, you'll never be able to figure out which adjustment or combination of adjustments you screwed up. One adjustment at a time, then check the guitar. If it's messed up, you'll know what you did and how to fix it. Do this until your happy with the ONE adjustment, then move on to another if you must.
joe

[ez_willis]

Originally Posted by Light

Sort of. First of all, they need to be setup as well as they can be, because of course all of the extra stretching from action which is too high or too much bow in the neck will pull the strings sharp.

Once that is done, it is usually within a few cents on all but the "B" string. You can usually compensate the "B" string with a new standard sized saddle (you need to pull the "B" string way back, so the material is usually already gone on the original saddle). For most people this is more than enough. This is what my guitar has, and it is within about .02 cents at the tweltfh fret, and within about 1-2 cents (at most) on every other fret. This is as close as any guitar ever gets. A little stretching which I tune it (by ear) and it sounds quite sweet.

IF you need more than this (which is common with 12 strings), a fully compensated saddle can be made, but you MUST be certain about the gauge of strings and the action and all of that. It is a giant pain in the ass too, so it is expensive (we charge $150, minnimum, plus the cost of the material). Also, it usually requires a very thick piece of bone for the saddle, which is not in any way attractive. It changes the look of the guitar quite a bit, and on a guitar with any kind of vintage value it can damage the value of the guitar. It is not advised if you can help it.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

I forgot to thank you for that very detailed and insightful post. Thank you!