Official Luthiers Forum!

thsoe numbers dont look all that different than a reasonable fingerstyle setup ....

I do like the solution for a buzzing guitar though .. simply play next to a banjo, and no one will hear it ...

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I generally set mine up at about Brian's flatpicking range and I use that for fingerstyle, rhythm, and flatpicking. On the other hand, when I play I rarely use more than a medium attack with the pick.

Banjos - now that's another subject entirely

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

So far, I have set mine up per Bryan Kimsey's website.
I think the numbers he has posted over there on UMGF are quite a bit lower than he has posted on his website -- but that is a sensible thing as not every guitar will take nicely to super slinky actions.

I gotta say I really like a well done, consistent setup.... and it makes a huge difference to me with playability and sound.

I personally have found that a lightly built hand made guitar will perform correctly with the lighter strings it was designed for.... and still deliver excellent tone and volume.

Thanks

John

Do they discuss relief and fallaway and compound radius boards? Or just string heigth?(I suppose I could go to his site and read it but I'm feeling lazy today and want to get some discussion on it here) I believe Mario is getting pretty low action that he attributes to the compound radius fretboard partly. Any thoughts on that? The one thing about Mario is he usually has some proof to backup his statements and doesn't put out disinformation. And I believe Marios main area is Dreds for bluegrass and folk playersand not so much the fingerstyle market.

Compound radius.......as the string go from the nut to the saddle the spacing gets wider. The action also changes....get higher as you go up the neck. If the radius doesn't "get wider" the action on the middle strings will change at a different rate than the outside strings. I use a compound radius.(usually 12" to 16") I set my guitars up with a .090"-.070" action with .004" relief. I've got several in the hands of local bluegrass players. They never complain about buzzes and they all brag about how easy their guitars play.

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

I've been wanting to start using compound radius boards too. I just have to build the jig for making them. And make the fret press cauls or order a custom machined set. Or back to hammering.
Do you think I should start another discussion on this question?