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Topic: String spacing at the nut |
Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 25 Apr 2014 12:39 pm |
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Here's a question it never occurred to me to ask till now. Is there a standard or usual or preferred string spacing at the nut? The fretboard on my old D10 (not sure if it's original or not) is actually wider than the neck at the keyhead end!
From the 24th fret to the nut, the neck goes from 4 1/2" to 2 1/2" but the fretboard goes 3 3/8" to 2 7/8", so there's a fair overhang. Is there a "normal" width at the nut? I have seen pictures of steels ancient and modern that seem to have their strings pretty much parallel.
(BTW, please ignore the "wrong" machine heads - I plan to re-replace them.)
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Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 25 Apr 2014 1:03 pm
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I think someone must have changed the fretboards. I don't know about the string spacing, but the fretboard should never be wider than the neck and have any "hang over". I doubt they left the factory that way.
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Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 54 years and still counting. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 25 Apr 2014 4:37 pm
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Richard's right! No builder in his right mind would have the fretboard hanging out over the edge of the neck.
It's definitely not original or desirable. |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 25 Apr 2014 10:46 pm
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I agree with both of you and I intend to put it right, but clearly whoever put these on couldn't find anything narrow enough, which is what caused me to wonder if the taper of this particular instrument (still unidentified) is unusual - and what is "usual"?
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 25 Apr 2014 11:10 pm
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Providing more pictures of the guitar , it's changer and undercarriage will help someone identify the guitar for you. From the little we see in the picture, it could very well be an old Sho~Bud. Or not. Which do you think are the "wrong" machine heads?
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 54 years and still counting. |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 25 Apr 2014 11:35 pm
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The wrong ones are the six of the enclosed type, strings 3-8 on the C6. I guess an emergency repair. I think you can still get the original Grovers.
As for the rest of it, I do post pictures from time to time, but the sum of human knowledge is that it's a decent copy of a Permanent, maker unknown. I've improved the undercarriage, added levers to bring it into the 1970's, and it plays very well - good old pull-release tone and sustain - when I have time and a second instrument I'll pretty it up.
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 26 Apr 2014 9:32 am
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That looks like a narrower than normal neck, and it's certainly not original, given that it's NOT a Bud and that's Bud fretboards.
Given that you have a narrow neck, I'd either trim down a fretboard or do as I did on my 12 string Bud:
If the neck has wood as pretty as the rest of the cabinet, talk to an art guy (or gal) and have frets and markers applied. I had the following done for my Bud, since I thought it a shame to cover up purty birdseye maple
Closeup (the bits that look like it disappear are artifacts of the camera)
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 26 Apr 2014 10:30 am
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Lane, I like the idea of direct-on-the-neck markers, although I haven't got as far as discovering what's underneath. Ideally I'd like to stay with Bud-type fretboards because they look right on this particular instrument.
I'd be interested to know the width of the nut (string 1 to string 12) on yours.
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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