- Question—I
was looking for information about Intonation. I'm an
amateur classical guitarist and have a [maker name
withheld] classic guitar. Being a bit handy, I made a
saddle to lower the action. I like it very low, the
lowest possible without fret string buzzing.
Your article about intonation was very informative.
Wish I knew about you before buying my guitar.
Question, would a lower saddle change intonation from
a higher saddle?
I've lost the original saddle to make a comparison. I
am more aware now that the Et, B & G strings get flatter
going up the finger board--especially the Et. Right now
I compensate by tuning these open strings a bit sharp to
be in tune higher up, but it's driving me crazy!!! I
shouldn't have to do this to such a nice guitar.
The D, A and Eb are perfect. Would love to hear you
before I try to make a new saddle that would shorten the
treble string distances.—
Dennis M. Rief, Miller Place,
NY.
Answer—
>...would a lower
saddle change intonation from a higher
saddle?< It
could, but it would take quite a bit of saddle lowering
(say, 1/16" or more) to make the change audible if the
intonation is accurate to begin with. However, if
intonation on any of the strings is already flat higher
up on the fingerboard, lowering the saddle just a little
will increase the flatness...and make it more
noticeable.
Everything you tell
me indicates that the saddle on your guitar is
OVERcompensated, i.e. too much setback. (This is
unusual: typically compensation is too little.)
I also suspect from what you say that the compensation
is uniform, or nearly so, for all strings; I'd be
surprised to find out that there is a treble-bass back
slant in the saddle slot. If the saddle break
points for the flat strings are substantially back from
the front of the saddle, it may be possible to make a
new saddle with break points set forward to create the
correct nut-saddle distance specified in my intonation
article. However, if the flat-string break points
are at or very near the front of the saddle (and I'd be
surprised if they weren't), it would be necessary to
fill and re-cut the saddle slot (assuming there is
enough wood on the forward side of the saddle block for
this) to create room for correct compensation.
- Question—
If the sound board is the "speaker" why
cut a hole in it? Just tradition? Ease of access to the
braces for repair? If it is so hard to brace around the
intrinsic weakness of the "sound hole" which I
understand should more accurately be called an "air
port", why not put the hole somewhere else, a la [Linda]
Manzer guitars' side port?—
Marc Durso
Answer—
The "speaker" metaphor is sometimes used in
describing soundboard function, Marc, but it isn't apt:
the soundboard doesn't work that way. Instead the
soundboard conveys sound waves to the body cavity which
are modified by the back as resonator. The soundhole
constricts and focuses the resulting sound waves as they
emerge, and this is crucial for the the actual tone
outcome. If there were no soundhole, you'd get next to
nothing in the way of tone, because the soundboard
surface alone would scatter the sound waves. Alternative
sound holes (e.g. Manzer's side port) are valid
alternatives. Such options have to be judged on the
actual tone outcomes they produce. Actually it's not
particularly difficult to brace around a soundhole I
use a rather large soundhole pad which seems to work
quite well.
___________________________________________________________
If you have a question about guitars you think a luthier
could answer, please respond in the
Feedback
form on the Contacts page.
|