Finally fixed the nut on my acoustic!

Gratefulgrowin93

Gratefulgrowin93

Well-Known Member
the nut on my pawn shop acoustic was too low, causing the g, b, and high e strings to hit frets in open position and past the 12th fret, so i couldn't get open position chords and riffs to ring out, as well as licks and leads from the 10th 12th on

with a little neck allen wrench adjusting and a higher nut i can actually play open chords without sounding retarded and pinched :)

hate how people try to get action too low sometimes resulting in guitars set up like this
i hardly raised a fraction of a fraction of an inch and it's working

i can finally practice again
i mainly play dead tunes, old traditional folk songs, jgb, and good old acoustic delta blues

used to play with people but recently due to my accident and a lot of people not being around as much
I've been playing on my own

it's about time i can play certain tunes shit man

what's your favorite style of music to play acoustically? and favorite acoustic instrument/guitar?? just wondering while i'm working on mine

well enough rambling

peace, love, and weed
happy picking RIU guitarists and happy gardening RIU growers!
 
Solemhypnotic

Solemhypnotic

Well-Known Member
Nice! I need to do the same on my Ovation acoustic/electric. I know what you mean, it seems like every guitar I've bought has the action set waaay to low.

Sounds like we place the same styles lol.
I've been learning a lot of older classic rock tunes and bluegrass as of lately
 
torontoke

torontoke

Well-Known Member
Ive never heard of anyone adjusting the nut.
Weird.
I have an electric guitar with the same problem but was advised to not touch it. It was a bitch to learn how to play but now i got so i dot want to fuk wit it.
I enjoy the acoustic much much more anyway.
I like to play a bit of everything but if i walk into a guitar shop and start trying out the toys i like to fuk with everyone thats listening.
My usual list of stuff to make people do a double take is lateralus or prison sex by tool then a hip hop song like stan by eminem follow up by a grungey version of gilligans island or sesame street.
Im usually really medicated to be able to go out obviously lol
 
Solemhypnotic

Solemhypnotic

Well-Known Member
From the 5th fret up, pretty much all the standard chords get fuzzy. I'm honestly not sure what the problem is. It doesn't have a truss rod to adjust the neck so idk. Man I haven't played electric in years! I haven't had an amp in a while lol. I like to practice on an acoustic though, it makes playing and electric a thousand times easier
 
Gratefulgrowin93

Gratefulgrowin93

Well-Known Member
yeah @Solemhypnotic try either adjusting the nut or the bridge man, you see my nut was so tiny so i did that first i like my current bridge so i left that alone,
but either way may work and a slight turn on the truss rod might help if you need it

maybe see how just the bridge or nut alone brings up the action if its enough perfect if not then i would look at the neck

i miss electric but i love acoustic so much they are like different lovers i guess, hahaha
electrics have been heavy to me since i broke my clavicle but I'm starting to be able to lift them again :)

love my fender strat she's a sweet one :) MIM but sounds like a champ
i also have a Gibson les paul special with p-90s super nice tone on that girl for sure :)
 
torontoke

torontoke

Well-Known Member
I have a jap scrap strat copy and a cheap ass amp with a cry baby wah pedal. But now with that new xbox game rocksmith i can make it humm pretty good lol
I too prefer the jangly acoustic and especially playing super heavy stuff on em lol.
I never wear the electric and i play sitting down.
 
Gratefulgrowin93

Gratefulgrowin93

Well-Known Member
yeah i learned over the years
gear doesn't matter so much as how you use it

i had a crappy strat copy with so many issues from cheap wiring to the neck etc etc
with a cheap Kustom 12 watt amp that doesn't even have a midrange knob

then finally i raised enough money to start buying a couple of my dream guitars
and a decent not great amp wish i could get a 4x12

:) i will keep them till i'm gone and hopefully pass them to someone who likes playing as much as i do
 
BDOGKush

BDOGKush

Well-Known Member
My acoustics just sit in their cases, my electrics get all the love. I primarily play my American Strat but sometimes I'll break out the Explorer copy I built or my Frankenjackson that I saved from Guitar Center abuse.

I play with with a higher action because I play a lot of blues rock and a low action will just fret out on any bend over a whole step.
 
Gratefulgrowin93

Gratefulgrowin93

Well-Known Member
BDOGKush said:
My acoustics just sit in their cases, my electrics get all the love. I primarily play my American Strat but sometimes I'll break out the Explorer copy I built or my Frankenjackson that I saved from Guitar Center abuse.

I play with with a higher action because I play a lot of blues rock and a low action will just fret out on any bend over a whole step.
Click to expand...
i'm with you on that man i tried playing lower action guitars before it doesn't work well with my style of playing haha

but there is a sweet spot i found not too high or too low that's why i work on my guitars myself
Luthiers seem to lower it too much in my experience
and luthiers charge way too much! Lol
 
BDOGKush

BDOGKush

Well-Known Member
Gratefulgrowin93 said:
i'm with you on that man i tried playing lower action guitars before it doesn't work well with my style of playing haha

but there is a sweet spot i found not too high or too low that's why i work on my guitars myself
Luthiers seem to lower it too much in my experience
and luthiers charge way too much! Lol
Click to expand...
Yea that was pretty much the only benefit to going through a luthiery course, I save money by working on my own gear. It wasn't a good paying career choice.

Most people would probably say my strats action is too high... if I ever let anyone touch her. :lol:
The top heavy .12s are usually enough to keep people from wanting to play it though.
 
Gratefulgrowin93

Gratefulgrowin93

Well-Known Member
BDOGKush said:
Yea that was pretty much the only benefit to going through a luthiery course, I save money by working on my own gear. It wasn't a good paying career choice.

Most people would probably say my strats action is too high... if I ever let anyone touch her. :lol:
The top heavy .12s are usually enough to keep people from wanting to play it though.
Click to expand...
12's wow haha i venture into using 11's here and there but i've never used 12's on an electric haha

and yeah definitely most don't like the action on my guitars but it suits me and how i play so that works

where and how did you go about your luthier course?
my good friend is very interested in that whether the pay is good or not it's his passion
so any advice to start ill let him know and would be much appreciated

peace brother and have a good day !
 
leftyguitar

leftyguitar

Well-Known Member
Gratefulgrowin93 said:
the nut on my pawn shop acoustic was too low, causing the g, b, and high e strings to hit frets in open position and past the 12th fret, so i couldn't get open position chords and riffs to ring out, as well as licks and leads from the 10th 12th on

with a little neck allen wrench adjusting and a higher nut i can actually play open chords without sounding retarded and pinched :)

hate how people try to get action too low sometimes resulting in guitars set up like this
i hardly raised a fraction of a fraction of an inch and it's working

i can finally practice again
i mainly play dead tunes, old traditional folk songs, jgb, and good old acoustic delta blues

used to play with people but recently due to my accident and a lot of people not being around as much
I've been playing on my own

it's about time i can play certain tunes shit man

what's your favorite style of music to play acoustically? and favorite acoustic instrument/guitar?? just wondering while i'm working on mine

well enough rambling

peace, love, and weed
happy picking RIU guitarists and happy gardening RIU growers!
Click to expand...
Hey, glad you like the fix job.
What kind and model guitar is it?
I'm guilty of liking my action a bit low. But not ringing on frets low. I use a very good, very expensive, luthier to do major or serious work. Getting it done right is important.
Style of acoustic music that I play? I write my own songs, and they range from rock, blues, mellow acoustic, ambient, alt country (Ryan Adams) to folk. I don't really like to categorize my music. I get asked what style I play a lot and I'm never comfortable answering.
Glad you're happy with your guitar.
 
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