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Topic: Weissenborn Saddle and Setup Questions |
Aaron Keim
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 26 Sep 2008 12:10 am |
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1) Shouldn't a Weiss (mines a cheap-o Vineyard) saddle be straight, not angled like a regular (spanish style) guitar?
2) What is the normal string height?
3) If you have to keep the bar to the left of the fret line to play in tune, should the saddle be moved closer or farther from the nut to fix it?
I imagine I am going to fill in the old saddle slot and route a new one that is straight.
4) The distance form nut to 12th fret is 12.5 inches. Right now from 12th fret to treble saddle edge is 12 inches. Seems that this is causing intonation issues.
Aaron |
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Fred Kinbom
From:
Berlin, Germany, via Stockholm, Sweden.
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Posted 26 Sep 2008 2:06 am
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Hi,
Whereas most lap steel instruments have a straight saddle, my Burgin baritone Weissenborn has a slightly compensated saddle, and Paddy Burgin knows what he's doing for sure! I ususally tune the bottom string slightly flat on my lap steels, as this string always produces a slightly sharp note compared to the other strings when "fretted" on the higher frets. I have noticed a difference on the Burgin in this aspect, there is no need to tune the 6th string flat, or at least less of a need.
My 2 cents, just from a player's perspective.
Fred
_________________
www.fredrikkinbom.com - New lap steel album out now - listen here: fredrikkinbom.bandcamp.com/album/songs-for-lap-steel-and-harmonium |
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Chris Drew
From:
Bristol, UK
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Posted 26 Sep 2008 3:43 am
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Aaron, I also have one of those Vineyard hollownecks.
Normal string-height is 10mm(3/8")
Don't worry about the compensated saddle on this, filling & rerouting the saddle slot probably isn't worth the time/expense, and as Fred said, his Burgin has a slightly angled saddle, any minor intonation issue arising due to this is easily corrected by bar position.
I noticed also that the intonation is off on mine.
( I measured nut edge to fret12, then fret12 to bridge saddle @ 1st string, both measurements should be the same )
This discrepancy is due to a slightly mispositioned bridge, or miscalculated fret-marker positions.
I'd been playing mine with my bar-position slightly left of the fret-lines.
I'd had the guitar a while before it actually started to bug me & by then it wasn't viable for me to return it ( it was an ebay purchase from the USA, I'm in the UK - I really couldn't be bothered with the hassle! )
If yours is new then you could contact the seller & get him to swap yours for one where fret12 is exactly 1/2 way between nut edge & saddle ( if possible ), as technically it's a fault, it shouldn't cost you anything to do this.
I got around this by making a fretboard overlay ( 0.6mm thick ) with fretline positions correct for the scale-length, which I stuck over the fretboard.
( I designed & made this on a laser machine - luckily my day-job is techsupport at an engraving machine distributor, I get to stay after-hours & play, hehe! )
This is a much cheaper & easier option than repositioning the bridge, or attempting some kind of exchange with the seller.
Where are you based, if you like I can make one for you & send it.
I can do a "custom-job" for you if you like.
Mine is black with gold fretlines ( a nice match with the gold statite tuners + brass nut & saddle upgrade )
Yeah, I'm guilty of "Pimp-My-Vineyard", hehe! 
I'll try to get round to posting a pic of the fretboard ovelay...
[ edit...
Just noticed your in Colorado, I'll look into how much shipping would be, or maybe I can email you the .cdr file for the fretboard & you can give that to a laser-engraver local to you?
I can make some enquirires regarding who's near you who could help out.
Last edited by Chris Drew on 1 Oct 2008 11:37 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Chris Drew
From:
Bristol, UK
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Posted 1 Oct 2008 11:02 am
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Like this:
The dots are inlaid paua abalone.
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Darrell Urbien
From:
Echo Park, California
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Posted 1 Oct 2008 4:29 pm
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| Chris Drew wrote: |
Like this:
The dots are inlaid paua abalone. |
Chris, I'd love something like that for my pimped Weiss... What do I need to send you? |
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Chris Drew
From:
Bristol, UK
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Posted 2 Oct 2008 11:54 pm
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Just the dimensions, ie:
width @ nut
width @ soundhole end
fretboard length
scale-length
( mm please! )
I still have some of the laminate I used.
The design can be tweaked to your taste.
( ie: your initials on there, or different decoration )
I'd have to look into shipping-rates for you...
Other than that, some kinda payment for the materials & my time! 
PM me & we'll discuss further.
btw, did you sort a brass nut/saddle for yours?
I can send you a saddle along with the fretboard if you like...
( sorry, don't have any nut-sized brass @ the moment! ) |
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