Recky
Member
Hi,
I still owe you guys a final report on my "new" 1981 F-50. (see http://www.reckyreck.com/gitarren.cfm)
When I received her, the saddle was extremely low, which typically means that the guitar needs a neck reset or it's developed a sizable belly around the bridge. However, the seller had assured me that the saddle was this low because of his personal string action preference - and he spoke the truth!
Apart from the very low saddle and black marks on either side of the headstock where it joins the neck from being hung from a rubber "guitar store" holder for years, the guitar arrived in perfect condition. There are a couple of "spider" cracks here and there, but they are hardly visible.
Due to the low saddle, the F-50's sound was somewhat subdued, so I decided to make a new saddle, my first ever saddle effort
I ordered two "vintage" bone blanks for next to nothing (two, because I'd never done a job like this before...), bought two grades of sanding paper, a calliper, and started sanding my little heart out.
The original saddle was only 2.2 millimetres wide, which leaves little room for intonation compensation, but since the exit point of all strings on the top of the bridge was located towards the soundhole, I figured I could gain at least a tiny bit of compensation by placing the exit point for the b string on the pin side of the bridge.
Two hours later, my F-50 was equipped with a perfectly fitted new saddle, the action was just as I like it and - BOOM!!!!!! She suddenly sounded like a maple jumbo!!!! Loud and proud, with lots of sparkle and boom. Not quite as loud as my (incredibly loud) D-40, but nearly. She sounds awesome. What little compensation I was able to implement actually made a difference, so the extra work was well worth it.
I haven't toured with her yet, because I have yet to fit a transducer system, but I can't wait to take her out on the road. Since I don't have a reamer, I'm going to take her to a local carpenter for widening the end pin hole. She'll be fitted with a B-Band system, a combo of under-saddle and soundboard transducers, which installs without having to cut a hole into the side.
I also haven't recorded her yet as I've been extremely busy over the past few months, but I hope to be able to at least record a demo sometime soon. My studio will be moving within the next few months, and I have just bought a vintage Studer 8-track 1" reel-to-reel machine, as my new studio will go back to basics - no more digital! I believe that there hasn't been a good-sounding record made since 1973; all my favourite albums are from that era and were recorded to 8 tracks. I can't wait to set it all up and record my F-50 and D-40 hot to 1" tape.....
Cheers,
Recky
I still owe you guys a final report on my "new" 1981 F-50. (see http://www.reckyreck.com/gitarren.cfm)
When I received her, the saddle was extremely low, which typically means that the guitar needs a neck reset or it's developed a sizable belly around the bridge. However, the seller had assured me that the saddle was this low because of his personal string action preference - and he spoke the truth!
Apart from the very low saddle and black marks on either side of the headstock where it joins the neck from being hung from a rubber "guitar store" holder for years, the guitar arrived in perfect condition. There are a couple of "spider" cracks here and there, but they are hardly visible.
Due to the low saddle, the F-50's sound was somewhat subdued, so I decided to make a new saddle, my first ever saddle effort
I ordered two "vintage" bone blanks for next to nothing (two, because I'd never done a job like this before...), bought two grades of sanding paper, a calliper, and started sanding my little heart out.
The original saddle was only 2.2 millimetres wide, which leaves little room for intonation compensation, but since the exit point of all strings on the top of the bridge was located towards the soundhole, I figured I could gain at least a tiny bit of compensation by placing the exit point for the b string on the pin side of the bridge.
Two hours later, my F-50 was equipped with a perfectly fitted new saddle, the action was just as I like it and - BOOM!!!!!! She suddenly sounded like a maple jumbo!!!! Loud and proud, with lots of sparkle and boom. Not quite as loud as my (incredibly loud) D-40, but nearly. She sounds awesome. What little compensation I was able to implement actually made a difference, so the extra work was well worth it.
I haven't toured with her yet, because I have yet to fit a transducer system, but I can't wait to take her out on the road. Since I don't have a reamer, I'm going to take her to a local carpenter for widening the end pin hole. She'll be fitted with a B-Band system, a combo of under-saddle and soundboard transducers, which installs without having to cut a hole into the side.
I also haven't recorded her yet as I've been extremely busy over the past few months, but I hope to be able to at least record a demo sometime soon. My studio will be moving within the next few months, and I have just bought a vintage Studer 8-track 1" reel-to-reel machine, as my new studio will go back to basics - no more digital! I believe that there hasn't been a good-sounding record made since 1973; all my favourite albums are from that era and were recorded to 8 tracks. I can't wait to set it all up and record my F-50 and D-40 hot to 1" tape.....
Cheers,
Recky
