Truss Rod Adjustment

Truss Rod Adjustment:
Source: Guitar Neck Repairs

Truss Rod Adjustment:

Interested to know more about Neck Relief? Visit site article to find out more on this subject. Knowing the necessary nomenclature is key for proper neck truss rod adjustments.

Nut and Bolt Adjustment Types:

There are quite a few different adjustment configurations that can be found on Acoustic Guitars. Some will be obvious and some are not so apparent. Commonly this is a personal preference that is the design of each guitar maker or luthier. Some of the more popular configurations are:

Threaded Nuts: These will be simple threaded nuts that tighten against a washer on a threaded rod. The tool of choice for adjusting the nut/washer mechanism is with a set of quality quality nut drivers. Be sure to have correct standard and metric sizes available.

Allen Wrench: Also know as the hex wrench, the allen wrench type nut is a very popular installation. As with the threaded nut installations, be sure you have the metric and U.S. standard sizes of hex wrenches available.

Nut With Holes: You will find this type mostly on foreign guitars. They typically use a small bar and is inserted in holes of an internally threaded sleeve arrangement and this acts as the nut.

Truss Rod Adjustment:

With and adjustment to decrease the amount of neck relief (reduce foreword bow) turn the nut counter-clockwise in 1/4 turn segments and be sure to constantly check the relief. Be sure make the adjustments with the strings on the instrument and the guitar “in-tune”.

There is a lot more flexibility in adjustment when you encounter a two-way rod system over that of the conventional one-way compression rod system.

You can normally loosen or tighten the nut slightly to correct for inappropriate neck relief.

Concerned about which way to turn the adjustment nut? Recall the old term, lefty loosey, righty tighty? It applies here. If you tighten the nut the neck deflects upward, and if you loosen the nut the neck bends down.

Grip the neck with both hands, one at the nut end of the neck, and the other at the body end of the neck. Next give the neck a few firm twists. By twisting the neck in both directions you are re-seating the truss rod in the new position.

Examine The Neck After Each Modest Adjustment:

You should hang the guitar to dry overnight so all of the fumes and reside evaporates from the guitar, and out of the pores of the hardwood.

As you tighten the truss rod nut, check and measure the neck relief after each small adjustment is made. You should use a feeler gauge and be as accurate as possible as little changes make a big difference.

As we talked before, you should make all of your adjustments with the strings on the guitar and the guitar ‘in-tune’. An exception to this would be if you run into a situation where there is an unusual amount of bow in the neck. Then you would either slacken the strings or remove them in order to apply external tension.

Turning New Tuners Into Vintage Tuners:

Often you will run into the problem of having to replace the tuning machines for a valuable vintage instrument.

Sometimes you can get away with just replacement of of few of the degraded knobs, but often the tuners themselves are is such sad shape they too are in need of replacement.

The trick to maintain the vintage look of the guitar with new tuning machines is a method I call distressing the tuners, to give them that classic vintage appearance.

Search For Matching Tuners:

You first step is to search for a set of tuning machines that closely match the style, shape and embossment of the existing set. This can lead to quite a search, but I have found that there are many great tuning machine sources available on the Internet. Once you secure you set of machine heads, you can roll up your sleeves and get to work.

Start By Scuff Sanding The Metal:

The first step involves scuff sanding the highly polished metal parts. All we are after here is to take the shine off the parts and not and more than that. I would recommend using #1800 Micro-Mesh to distress the metal in preparation for the etching step. The scuffing of the metal will give something for the etching solution to bite into as well.

Apply the Etching Solution:

The next step is placing an etching solution containing ferric chloride to etch the surface of the metal. This solution is used to etch printed circuit boards and is available at most Radio Shack stores.

Since this etching solution is corrosive, you need to handle it with the same care as you would an acid solution. Therefore, be sure you wear rubber gloves, eye protection and work in a very well ventilation space.

It is best to test the etching solution on a scrap metal tuning machine first to determine the optimum working strength and working time that is required for the desired effect.

Keep in mind that the strength of the solution can be controlled by water dilution. Typically begin with a 25% etching solution to 75% water. The stronger the solution the more distressed appearance you will get, so gage the appearance you desire with this test.

Apply the solution with a Q-tip. Don’t try to do too much at once and keep a close eye on the process. Once you have achieved the desired appearance, thoroughly rinse the solution off the metal to preserve the appearance.

Beware that this process can happen quickly and be ready with you water rinse without delay. After rinsing, try off the tuners and blow them off and out with compressed air.

Staining the Tuning Knobs:

Next comes the aging of the tuning machine knobs. After all we don’t want distressed tuners with brand-new looking knobs do we? First scuff sand the knobs and then rub some brown shoe polish onto the knobs. Let the polish dry and then clean the excess off with a clean cloth. Voila! The tuning machine knobs now have a nice aged look.

Optional Additional Distressing:

If you really want to add some class to the tuning machines and give them a classic aged look, tape off the tuner knobs and spray the metal with a spatter coating of Amber Shellac with a bit of brown stain added to the solution. This will give a very nice aged look to your tuning machine as the finishing touch.

Fixing Finish Chips
Source: Guitar Finishes

Fixing Finish Chips:

If you encounter finish chips on some of the more contemporary poly-based finishes, which are basically hard plastic, you will see pieces of the finish that drop off in chunks. These repairs are often necessary to the corners or the edges of the guitar peghead that usually sustains the most damage exposure.

Tools and Materials Required:

Q-tips
Behlen Behkol Solvent
Medium Viscosity Super Glue
400 grit Silicone Carbide Sandpaper
600 girt Silicone Carbide Sandpaper
800 grit Silicone Carbide Sandpaper
Colortone Stain As Required
Micro-Mesh Abrasive Sheets

Dab Behkol Solvent:

Take a Q-tip and dab some Behkol Solvent on the chip. After doing this you will get a good idea of how the repair will look as if a clear finish were applied to it. Allow the solvent to finish for a few seconds. Analyze the appearance and if you need to adjust this, not is the time to add some color to the repair. I prefer to use the Colortone series of stains that is available from StewMac, as they carry the most common colors available for guitar repair.

As mentioned above, with these poly-based finishes, you will find that more often than not the color will chip off along with the plastic finish itself. Therefore you will likely need to brush some Colortone Stain on the repair area. Mix colors together to get as close a match as possible.

Super Glue Fill Step:

Next once the stain has had a chance to dry, take some medium viscosity Super Glue #20 and brush with a small brush or a toothpick and fill-in the area. Even though this is quick set glue, you will need to let this glue set for several hours at this thickness to setup properly and preferrably overnight.

Sand The Repair:

Next cut narrow strips of Silicone Carbide Sandpaper in grits of 400, http://tinyurl.com/600siliconecarbid and http://tinyurl.com/800siliconecarbidepape. Start with the 400 and pull along the repair by applying light finger pressure. Do the same operation with 600 and then 800 grit sandpaper. Take care not to sand too long with each strip as it cuts quite quickly. Use each grit for about 20 or 30 seconds.

Next wet some strips of Micro-mesh abrasive sheets. Start with the 1000 grit and progress up to approximately 12,000. This micro-mesh will do the polishing at the same time as sanding. Take your time and you should wind up with a smooth, shiny repair where there were ugly chips before.

Hi-Speed Ready Strip
Source: Guitar Finishes

Guitar Refinishing:

When working with finish strippers care has to be taken to protect not only yourself but the guitar you are working on as well. Strippers are very caustic and you definitely need to wear protective eyewear, rubber gloves and a respirator.

Prepare the Guitar for Stripping:

Also beware that the chemical strippers that are used not only dissolve the finish, but the plastic binding thats are used on most guitars. Therefore, I would recommend that you completely cover the plastic bindings with paper tape 3M #233 is best. When you apply the tape, be sure to burnish the edges with your fingernail or a tool to minimize any stripper from seeping beneath the tape.

I would also recommend that rather than trying to exactly cover the plastic binding, give yourself a little wiggle room and tape about 1/8″ to 1/4″ beyond the plastic and onto the wood. The reason being that if any stripper gets on the bindings, they will melt and upon drying they shrink and will be damaged beyond repair.

Tape the sides of the binding separate from the top and back to more easily negotiate the curves of the guitar. Simply join the two pieces together to form a tight seal.

Also, to protect the interior of the guitar, stuff crumpled-up newspapers in the soundhole. Stuff more newspapers in the hole than you think is required, as the paper may shift as you work with the instrument.

Strippers:

Use a semi solid type of a stripper to minimize the stripper from being too runny and getting beneath the tape. Also the semi-solid strippers will stay in place much better on some of the more irregular surfaces of the guitar and thus give you a better stripping job. There any number of finish strippers available and they all seem to do a very similar job.

I prefer to use the lowest toxic material that I can and still get the job done. Here is one that I prefer along with the product description:

Sunnyside Corp. HS50 Hi-Speed Ready Strip: A fast acting paint and varnish remover, capable of removing 3 layers within 30 minutes. This stripper is environmentally friendly, contains no methylene chloride, no caustic or harmful chemicals. Hi Speed Ready Strip contains soy, which increases safety and improves speed of paint removal. It is biodegradable and easy to dispose of. This water soluble stripper is low odor, easy to clean, and can be applied with brush, roller, or sprayer. It will remove most varieties of oil or water based paints, varnishes, latex, stains, enamels, lacquers, and polyurethanes.

As you can see it will handle varnish, polyurethane and lacquers, is easy to work with, is about as non-toxic as you can get, and is biodegradable. So this is my product of choice.

Applying the Stripper:

Set the guitar flat of the workbench and use a cheap paint brush for applying the stripper. Start applying in the center and work your way out. Let the thickened mixture set on the surface and work for the specified amount of time. If you want to test the product, pply the stripper to a smaller area at a time, such as about 1/2 the top or back plate.

After the finish starts to bubble and wrinkle, take a small, dull putty knife with the edges rounded slightly, so as not to dig into the wood and carefully scrap as much of the old finish and stripper off the guitar. It is beneficial to use a scooper to scrap the reside into, to minimize spilling the stripper in places it should touch.

Clean With Steel Wool:

Immediately clean the area with #2 steel wool to cleanup most of the stripper residue. After this is complete, remove the masking tape from the binding and use a very sharp cabinet scraper to remove the finish from the bindings and the small perimeter of wood that the tape covered. You are likely to find that the stripper penetrated slightly beneath the tape, which is one reason you want to practice vigilance in moving right along with this project.

Go over the entire guitar surface with #0 steel wool and make sure you have all the finish off the guitar. If you find there are small areas left, work on these with the coarse steel wool to remove them.

Final Dry-Down:

You should hang the guitar to dry overnight so all of the fumes and reside evaporates from the guitar, and out of the pores of the hardwood.

Guitar Finishing Products:

Behlen Paste Filler Reducer
A fine blended mixture of silica, pigments, and a suitable vehicle, it provides a smooth, glass-like surface for subsequent finishing coats.

Behlen Paste Wood Filler
The filler uses silica, pigments and a suitable vehicle to provide a smooth, glass-like surface for following finishing coats.

Behlen Lacquer Sanding Sealer
This product produces a smooth, hard, clear, seal coat as a foundation for lacquer topcoats.

Shellac Flakes
This is standard shellac and great for most application from sealer to finish. Available in 1 lb, re-sealable bags and multiple colors.

Behlen Vinyl Sealer
This sealer develops an excellent moisture barrier for the wood substrate, while providing a good base for all Behlen lacquer finishes.

Behlen Vinyl Sealer Aeresol
This sealer develops an excellent moisture barrier for the wood substrate, while providing a good base for all Behlen lacquer finishes.

Behlen Stringed Instrument Lacquer
This high quality gloss lacquer is specifically designed for use with wooden stringed instruments.

Behlen Complete Guitar Finish Kit
Everything you need to prep, apply and complete a finish to one guitar in a kit that is built around 4 aerosols:

Behlen Guitar Toner Encore Brown
Encore Brown is used to tone the body sides of acoustic guitars, which are typically darker than the soundboard.

Behlen Guitar Toner Star Amber
Star Amber is used to tone the sunburst of acoustic guitars, which are typically lighter than the edges.

Mixol 10 Piece Woodworkers Tones Set
Mixol’s 10-Tone Woodworker’s Set is a convenient package of 10 colors that can create an unlimited variety of shades.

Behlen Lacquer Thinner
Behlen Lacquer Thinner is special blend of solvents formulated for use in Nitrocellulose lacquers to promote (thin) flow.

Guitar Bridge Variations
Source: General Information

Guitar Bridge:

The guitar bridge is one of the most important parts of the tone output network on the acoustic guitar, or the classical guitar.

What is the First Role of the Bridge?

Providing a secure and efficient attachment of the guitar strings to the guitar top plate is the fundamental purpose of the guitar bridge. Obviously this attachment needs to be tremendously secure to resist the nearly constant loading of 200 lb. that is placed on the guitar top plate by the guitar strings.

Secondary Role of the Bridge:

Secondly, and no less important, it is the job of the guitar bridge to efficiently communicate the tone and vibrations of the strings to the guitar top while the strings are played.

The Bridge’s Remaining Purpose:

Guitar bridge cosmetics is the last use of the bridge. The guitar bridge ought be designed to ‘fit-in’ with the design of the guitar, both in size, shape, wood and color. Part of this functional beauty is the comfort that the bridge affords to the guitar player’s hand upon resting it on the bridge while playing the guitar.

Guitar Bridge Types:

The acoustic guitar consists of 3 major types of bridges. The initial classical guitar bridge was designed in the mid-1800′s by famed luthier Antonio De Torres and has hardly changed since that time.

The typical classical bridge has three major components. The saddle area, the tie block and the bridge wings, which provide additional securement of the bridge to the top and also convey string vibrations. The classical guitar bridge uses no more than glue to fasten it directly to the guitar top plate.

The Belly Guitar Bridge:

Without doubt, the acoustic guitar belly bridge, or some form of it, is the most often used bridge on acoustic guitar. In the early 1930′s the CF Martin Company made the belly bridge part of their Dreadnought Guitar line. The major reason that contributes to the popularity of the belly bridge is it’s timeless beauty and simplicity. There are three major elements of the belly bridge. The captured saddle area, the belly-shaped plan-form, and the delicately shaped bridge ramps.

Second Bridge Type – The Prism Bridge:

Martin Guitar Company introduced the prism bridge on their vintage small bodied guitars, or parlor series of guitars and have since re-introduced it on numerous vintage re-issue guitars. There are major variations between the belly bridge and the prism bridge. These differences include a rectangular form, a through saddle and prism-shaped bridge wings, which is where it gets it’s name. Mechanical fasteners are seldom used as an fastening method for the prism bridge and the attachment method of choice is often just a glue joint.

The Gibson Mustache Bridge:

This was introduced by The Gibson Guitar Co. This popular bridge was initially used on the pre-war Gibson acoustic guitars, or guitars that were manufactured prior to WWII. The mustache bridge gets it’s name from the curvilinear shape it possesses, which appears like an old fashioned handlebar mustache. It shares a common element with the belly bridge with it’s captured saddle arrangement. Another departure from the normal belly bridge or prism bridge is that the bridge pin configuration is often arch-shaped. Gibson oftentimes used supplemental mechanical fasteners to attach the guitar bridge to the guitar top plate.

That’s the low down on bridges. These are the most popular guitar bridges used on both classical and acoustic guitars. Each individual guitar manufacturer or guitar builder has his or her reasons for using each type of bridge.

Repair Your Own Guitar
Source: Don’t Start With a Complicated Repair

Repair Your Own Guitar – Is It For You?

This can be a rather hard question for me to answer, because it depends on several things. Such as:

Woodworking Experience:Do you have any experience working with woodworking projects? You don’t have to be a master woodworker by any stretch of the imagination, but some experience is necessary to repair your own guitar. Even if you had a class or two in high school that will help tremendously. (That was my only experience before I got into repair and construction of stringed instruments.) If you don’t have any experience, read on…..

Repair Your Own Guitar – The Patience Factor:: Yes this is very important, even more important than the experience factor mentioned above. With experience comes patience and confidence. I can remember being totally frustrated with a stubborn operation and I got to the point where I wanted to bash the top of the guitar in. I didn’t though, thank goodness because it wasn’t mine. Just take your time and don’t set time limits on your work, That is the least important aspect of a good repair. Again, with experience comes efficiency and you will finish the repair much faster with more experience and be more sure of yourself.

Attack The Job in Small Bite-Sized Pieces: Sometimes looking at a repair job in total, may seem very overwhelming. But really, like most other jobs, to repair your own guitar is just several smaller tasks strung together and the success of the next task is dependent on your previous task. As you complete each one and it is successful, give yourself a pat on the back, take a deep breath and move on. Or save it for another day if you are feeling overwhelmed.

Repair Your Own Guitar – Be Armed With The Right Tools: This is a very important point. Many times the right tool can make all the difference in the world. After all you wouldn’t use a phillips head screwdriver on a straight slot screw head would you. Pay close attention to the Tools and Materials that are required at the beginning of each article for a good starting place for your tools and materials.

Repair Your Own Guitar – Start With Simple Smaller Jobs: By all means, do not try to tackle a neck reset or a top plate replacement as your first repair job. That is a recipe for disaster unless you are a master in the trade. Start with small fret jobs, fret finishing, trussrod adjustments or even resetting a bridge can be a rather simple job to repair your own guitar. As you gain experience, try harder projects and gradually get yourself immersed into the trade.

Repair Your Own Guitar – Arm Yourself With Knowledge: A good place to start is on this site, we have lots of repair articles and if you want even more articles on guitar building, check out Ultimate Guitar Building. Also get your hands on guitar repair books and articles, you can never read too much and there is a lot of information on the Internet. Trouble is you need to filter the information and decide which is worthwhile and which is not.

Addressing Seasonal Changes
Source: General Information

As documented in our article on Seasonal Change Symptoms, we have the cure for these conditions, which will save lots of repair costs and you will have a much healthier guitar and you will feel better too.

Low Humidity Cure:

If the home is not humidified, and you live in a cold-winter state, it would be wise to invest in either a whole home humidification system, a localized room humidifier and or a case humidifier to bring the humidity into the safer zone of 35% to 45%. Also invest in a good Hydrometer, which will accurately measure your humidity in the area the guitar is stored.

Oasis 6 Case Humidifier:

In my opinion the Oasis 6 Humidification System is the best localized humidification system you can buy. It will address dry conditions almost immediately and supply needed moisture to your guitar that was subjected to dry conditions. Do not expect immediate results though. It takes some time for the wood to absorb needed moisture and you can often wait several weeks to witness any improvement. The good news is that you will stop any damage and slowly reverse any ill effects your guitar may have suffered. Should you get an Oasis OS 6 Humidification System? well, like I said above, it is one of the best and I use one in each of my cases.GET ONE and you will minimize repair costs for your guitar.

Being that it is important to keep the humidity of your instrument 35-40%, up to about 45-50%, an easy way is with the case humidifier. Oasis supplies a complete case humidification system that includes a clip-in module that you can clip into the case conveniently in your case to supply optimum humidity to your instrument. They include a syringe that allows you to recharge the OH module with up to 10cc of water. The hydration module will hole up to 32cc of water so you will need to fill it 3+ times initially, and just one or a little bit more in consequent fillings.

The OH-2 Digital Hydrometer is also supplied with the Oasis 6 kit. This should be clipped inside the case as well and it should be monitored very closely upon first use.

DeLonghi DD45P 45-Pint Energy Star Dehumidifier
Source: General Information

High Humidity Cure:

Correction of this condition is somewhat easier than usually low humidity. Usually high humidity is a concern during the warm humid months of late spring summer and early fall, depending where you live. The easy solution is of course air-conditioning. This takes humidity out of the air during the condensing process and you will find that the humidity will stay right around 40 to 50%. If you do not have air conditioning in the space were your guitar spends most of its time, you should invest in a good dehumidifier. This can be a local unit that works very good to keep the humidity below 50%.

DeLonghi DD45P 45-Pint Energy Star Dehumidifier

When it comes to dehumidifiers, I prefer the one that is made by DeLonghi. the DeLonghi DD45P 45-Pint Energy Star Dehumidifier. It features a condensate pump that is touted as flawless and you can pump into the enclosed tank, though a 3 foot hose or through a 16 foot hose that you could snake out a door or window, or into a lavatory or sink. If you have access to a floor drain, that would be the best.

Additional features include:
Electronic climate control includes adjustable humidistat, thermostat, 24-hour timer, anti-frost device, and two fan speeds;
LCD display and remote control
Visible water level; overflow protection feature
Caster wheels and recessed handles for easy mobility

Honeywell TM005X Wireless Thermo-Hygrometer
Source: General Information

Measure Your Humidity and Temperature:

Hold On!! The old saying goes “You can’t know where you are going unless you know where you’ve been”. That goes double for humidity. You have to know what your starting point is before you can address a change. To do this the first, and absolutely first thing you should do is pick up a good digital Hydrometer. This will give you accurate relative humidity readings and you will know what you need to do to attack your problem. These digital instruments are a lot less expensive that their accurate analog counterparts. I can still remember pay $300.00 for an accurate analog hydrometer with a rotating arrow. Now you can pick many up for under $50.00.

If you are looking to save a few bucks then my preference is the Honeywell TM005X Wireless Thermo-Hydrometer. It will give you large digital readouts and reliable information. Heck at this price you can get several of them for different rooms of the house to keep tabs on your temps and humidity.

Additional Seasonal Cures:

Other things to be concerned about are exposing your guitar to extreme cold or extremely hot conditions. Simply put – Don’t do this!!

Keep your guitar out of the car trunk during the day and keep it out of an enclosed car during sunny days or the summer days.

Keep your guitar out of the sun.

During extreme cold, the best investment you can make for your prized instrument is a great quality, molded hard-shell case.

If your guitar has to be left in a cold car during the winter, that will be okay if it is in a good molded case. The case is tight enough and has enough insulation that the guitar will cool down very gradually. That is what we are after.

If you would take a guitar from a warm space into the winter weather, you will find that your guitar finish becomes completely cracked or as it is termed, crazed. The reason for this is the coefficient of expansion of wood is different from that of a lacquer finish and the strong will win out. That would be the wood and the finish will crack as a result of the exposure.

Do not open the case upon coming inside. Let the guitar warm up gradually for between 20 to 30 minutes. This will prevent ‘shock’ to the brittle finish and eliminate the crazing or cracking you often see on older guitars. Check the temperature of the case periodically by feeling the case. When it feels quite warm to the touch you are safe.

Oasis 6 Case Humidifier and Hydrometer
Source: General Information

Seasonal Change Symptoms:

We have discussed the optimal humidity of the guitar repair shop and that it should be at 40 to 45% relative humidity. This will give some headroom for a guitar to experience humidity that swings up or down 5 to 10%.

Equally as damaging, are hot conditions, such as those in an enclosed car or a trunk, or if the guitar is left lying in the sun. High humidity is not given much thought because it usually is not nearly as critical or damaging, but there definitely are some issues you should be concerned about. Read on…..

Low Humidity:

You should be aware that low humidity is much more destructive than higher humidity. If a guitar is exposed to low humidity for extended periods of time, you are asking from some trouble with your solid wood guitar, such as:

Wood will shrink and will split under low humidity conditions. This will be especially pronounced in the larger spans of wood like the top, back and sides of the guitar.

Actually if the guitar is exposed to very low humidity for extended periods of time, almost every joint of the guitar can be suspect to compromise.

High Humidity Conditions:

Correcting high humidity conditions does not required quite the severe action as does low humidity. Still, exposing your guitar to extended periods of high humidity can cause the top to swell and raise the bridge, which in turn will cause higher than normal string action. Also exposure to high humidity can cause a fragile finish to break down and glues to weaken too. Another concern is the binding glue joints as these can slide around and become weakened as well.

Additional Seasonal Concerns:

Other things to be concerned about are exposing your guitar to extreme cold or extreme heat conditions. Simply put – Don’t do this!!

Exposing your guitar to extreme heat can have very profound effects on the health of your Acoustic Guitar.

Extreme Heat can soften glue to the point that the bridge can lift or slide out of position.

The fretboard can slide out of position or the glue can let completely loose.

Braces can come loose or detached and of course these are out of sight and you may not even notice the change until you start to get some other sort of failure as a result of this.

Installing the Fishman Matrix Acoustic Guitar Pickup
Source: General Repairs

Installing the Fishman Matrix Acoustic Guitar Pickup:

New to the Fishman Matrix Under-Saddle Pickup? Visit our article on it and learn why this top-drawer pickup may be the one for your acoustic guitar. The Fishman Matrix is very faithful the the subtle overtones of a fine acoustic guitar and when plugged into a great sound system, you will be amazed. Fishman Matrix Acoustic Guitar Pickup.

Before You Purchase The System:

Before you purchase the pickup you have to verify a few dimensions first. The Fishman matrix is available in 2 saddle widths. 1/8″ wide and 3/32″ wide. Also the maximum string spacing with which it works the best is 2.5″ (63.5mm).

Making the Initial Preparations:

Remove your guitar strings completely from the guitar bridge. Also slip out the saddle. If it is wedged in too tightly, carefully take a pliers and wiggle it out of position.

Measure the depth of the existing saddle slot. The under-saddle pickup is .053″ thick for the 1/8″ model and .043″ thick for the 3/32″ model.

You have two options for modifications to maintain your current action.

Location of Wiring Hole
Source: General Repairs

First: You can shave the thickness of the pickup from the bottom of the saddle itself. Do this only if the saddle sets deep enough in the saddle channel. I prefer to see the channel depth of about 50% of the depth of the bridge. The saddle must be set deep enough so it will not tip forward when string tension is place on it.

Second: You can cut the saddle channel deeper to allow for the additional thickness of the pickup. This is a much more involved option and I would do this only if the existing saddle channel is very shallow (less than 0.10″), you should deepen the channel by the pickup thickness. If you need to do this, you should use our Saddle Channel Routing Jig in combination with the Dremel Router and Base. This combo will make this a simple job.

Also, inspect the bottom of the channel. It should be perfectly flat and free from any dirt, wood chips and other foreign matter. The success of your transducer installation depends on a solid and consistent contact between the saddle, the transducer and the bottom of the channel.

Do not trim either the pickup transducer or the pickup wire. Lengthen the Saddle Channel Slot if required to accommodate the pickup. Also, do not allow the pickup corners to curl up at the very ends of the channel. the pickup needs to be installed so it is perfectly flat.

Drill The Wiring Hole Through The Saddle Channel:

Locate the wiring hole for the transducer. It should be located no less than 0.10″ from the 6th or E bass string.

Drill a hole with a 3/32″ bit (2.4mm), at the selected location. Note, when you do this, drill very slowly at high speed so you do not punch through the bottom of the bridge plate and damage it.

To purchase one click on this link: Fishman Matrix Acoustic Guitar Pickup.

Installation of Preamp In The End Pin Hole
Source: General Repairs

Preparation of the End Pin Jack:

The end pin hole (if there is on) needs to be widened to 15/32″ (11.9mm). This is best done with a standard twist bit (not a brad point bit). If you do this with a hand drill, there will be a tendency for the bit to catch in the hole and pull the drill through too fast and as a result you can split the wood and crack the finish.

First: You should make sure the guitar is secured to the work bench and will not move and you have adequate access to the work area. This is best done with our Clamping Guitar Neck Cradle.

When you start to drill to enlarge the hole, make sure you hold the drill firmly with both hands, to guard against the drill bit ‘grabbing’ the hole. I find that a drill used at high speed and very gently inserting it in the end pin hole works the best.

Installation of the Control Module
Source: General Repairs

Installation of the Control Module:

Locate the control module to test fit it on your guitar. Locate it on the bass side of the soundhole, between the X-brace and the upper Transverse Brace.

Once located, remove any lacquer over-spray or other foreign matter from the soundhole reinforcement piece. I prefer to take a piece of 120 to 180 grit sandpaper and thoroughly sand the area and wipe the dust from the location.

Next apply water-based sealer or primer to the exposed wood. Let the primer dry thoroughly.

Now peel the release film on the bottom of the module and apply it to the prepared wood surface. Let the module attain its greatest bonding strength for 24 hours.

Wiring Diagrams
Source: General Repairs

Now Time For Some Wiring:

Open the preamp body by unscrewing the single screw on the side opposite the Matrix Infi nty logo. Flip the preamp over so the circuit board remains in the plastic housing. (see Figure 2)

Fasten the pickup wires to the terminal block on the preamp module. The signal wire goes to the terminal marked “IN” and the shield wire goes to the “GND” terminal. Tighten the screws on the terminal block to secure the wires. Do not shorten the pickup wire.

Replace the preamp’s back cover being sure the wires do not get pinched by any plastic parts. The housing should easily fasten tightly when the screw is replaced.

Secure the wires inside the instrument with the supplied adhesive-backed clips. Clean the bare wood surface where you will fasten the clips. (See Figure 1) Use an alcohol wipe or a cotton swab moistened with rubbing alcohol.

Installation of the Battery Bag:

My personal preference is to install the battery bag on the face of the head block, if there is room. You have the greatest access at this point and can easily get your hand inside the guitar to change the battery.

Clean the proposed location with alcohol and a cotton swab and let dry.

Disconnect the bag from the Velcro patch. Peel the plastic film off the patch and firmly press the bag into place. Now take your thumb nail and carefully burnish the patch into place over the entire surface and the edges.

Insert the battery in the bag and install the bag on the patch.

Install Wiring Clips and Rout The Wiring:

Locate the wiring clips as shown in Figure 1. Secure the wires to the clips and the installation is done.

Fishman Matrix Acoustic Guitar Pickup
Source: General Information

Fishman Matrix Acoustic Guitar Pickup:

There are some great options available to you when considering the addition of a electronic pickup to your acoustic guitar.

Years back, about the only options was to attach an electric guitar-like pickup in the sound hole, with the attachment spanning across the hole.

The sound was weighted toward the bass, the treble strings were very thin and the acoustic qualities of the guitar were often completely lost.

With the introduction of the Fishman and LR Baggs under-saddle pickups, the true quality of the acoustic guitar can now be amplified and even enhanced, when played through a quality amplification system.

Fishman Matrix Specifications:

One of my favorite picks for the under-saddle installation include the Fishman Matrix Under-Saddle Pickups, with the following specs:

• Completely redesigned active, endpin mounted preamp
• Soundhole mounted rotary controls for Volume & Tone
• Unique Tone control cuts mids while boosting treble and bass
• Integrated LED low battery indicator
• Features the world’s best selling undersaddle pickup, the Acoustic Matrix
• Switchable voicing to accommodate all guitar body sizes & performance situations
• Available in two saddle slot widths: wide 1/8″ (3.2mm) format or narrow 3/32″ (2.3mm) format
• Standard overall length of 2.65″(67.3mm) will fit most guitars with string spacings of up to 2.5″ (63.5mm)
• Solderless connections
• Requires 9V battery (not included)

Advantages of the Fishman Matrix:

I have one of these installed on my handmade acoustic guitar and I absolutely love it! I like that everything is practically invisible, with the controller tucked into the edge of the sound hole, the wiring is inside the guitar and the end plug replaces the butt strap button. Also with the under-saddle transducer, the sound couldn’t be better. When I run this setup through a sound system, it retains all of the subtle acoustic tones.

When purchasing this setup, make sure of the saddle width you will be working with. It is available in both 1/8″ and 3/32″ wide models. If you have a saddle that is wider than this, you should replace the saddle with a narrower one. Just follow the instructions included in our article Repair Improperly Set Bridges. This article will show you how to fill-in the existing saddle channel and cut a new one. Choose either a 1/8″ or 3/32″ width.

The Fishman Matrix Acoustic Guitar Pickup:

This pickup is now available for only $139.95. When I purchased mine they were well over $200.00 so this is a real deal for a under-saddle mounted acoustic guitar pickup.

To purchase one click on this link: Fishman Matrix Acoustic Guitar Pickup.

Installation of the Fishman Matrix:

Want to install one of these pickups yourself. There really is nothing very difficult about it. If you can use and have basic tools you can do it in about a hour and have a perfect installation. Check out the Article: How to Install the Fishman Matrix Pickup.