evenkeel
June 20th, 2009, 03:11 PM
My Martin D12-1 has been in need of a bit of an adjustment. A while ago I lowered the action at the nut, but the guitar needed a bit more attention. Action at the 12th fret was a bit high and the neck was dead flat. All in all she has been a bit of a wrestling match. Yesterday I finally got around to taking some action.
Here is the action at the 12th fret pre set up.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r74/evenkeel_album/12stringMartin002.jpg
I decided the first order of business was to remove the strings and take all the pressure of the truss rod.. Since the strings were in good shape I placed a capo on the 5th fret and captured the strings over the sound hole with a strip of velcro. This keeps the strings from becoming a tangle. see pics.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r74/evenkeel_album/12stringMartin003.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r74/evenkeel_album/12stringMartin004.jpg
Then I adjusted the truss rod until the neck was flat, checking with a straight edge. Note how the straight edge hits the bridge. Ideally it should rest on top of the bridge, but this is not enough to warrant further action.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r74/evenkeel_album/12stringMartin005.jpg
Next I removed the saddle. I wanted to lower the action about 1/32". I marked the saddle with a line 1/16" from the bottom, then coloured the bottom of the saddle with a sharpie. This helps me keep an even pressure as I sand it on a flat surface.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r74/evenkeel_album/12stringMartin006.jpg
After removing the material with heavy grit paper, 220 grit, I then sanded the bottom and sides with 400 grit to get a smooth surface.
Back in she went.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r74/evenkeel_album/12stringMartin007.jpg
Note she is a bit proud on the treble side. After stringing her up, I determined the saddle could go down a very small amount on the trebel side, but I had to keep the bass as is. Took the strings off again, and carefully removed a bit more material, again using the sharpie method to keep me from over sanding.
Here is the action at the 12th fret post set up.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r74/evenkeel_album/12stringMartin001.jpg
Here is the bridge saddle. Note the break angle of the 11 and 12 strings. #11, the low "E" is pretty shallow. It's ok, pressure on the saddle is fine but that is as low as I can go.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r74/evenkeel_album/12stringMartin008.jpg
After stringing her up to tension I then adjusted the truss rod to put just a bit of relief in the neck.
So between the nut job done several months ago and this work she plays a lot better.
Here is the action at the 12th fret pre set up.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r74/evenkeel_album/12stringMartin002.jpg
I decided the first order of business was to remove the strings and take all the pressure of the truss rod.. Since the strings were in good shape I placed a capo on the 5th fret and captured the strings over the sound hole with a strip of velcro. This keeps the strings from becoming a tangle. see pics.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r74/evenkeel_album/12stringMartin003.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r74/evenkeel_album/12stringMartin004.jpg
Then I adjusted the truss rod until the neck was flat, checking with a straight edge. Note how the straight edge hits the bridge. Ideally it should rest on top of the bridge, but this is not enough to warrant further action.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r74/evenkeel_album/12stringMartin005.jpg
Next I removed the saddle. I wanted to lower the action about 1/32". I marked the saddle with a line 1/16" from the bottom, then coloured the bottom of the saddle with a sharpie. This helps me keep an even pressure as I sand it on a flat surface.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r74/evenkeel_album/12stringMartin006.jpg
After removing the material with heavy grit paper, 220 grit, I then sanded the bottom and sides with 400 grit to get a smooth surface.
Back in she went.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r74/evenkeel_album/12stringMartin007.jpg
Note she is a bit proud on the treble side. After stringing her up, I determined the saddle could go down a very small amount on the trebel side, but I had to keep the bass as is. Took the strings off again, and carefully removed a bit more material, again using the sharpie method to keep me from over sanding.
Here is the action at the 12th fret post set up.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r74/evenkeel_album/12stringMartin001.jpg
Here is the bridge saddle. Note the break angle of the 11 and 12 strings. #11, the low "E" is pretty shallow. It's ok, pressure on the saddle is fine but that is as low as I can go.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r74/evenkeel_album/12stringMartin008.jpg
After stringing her up to tension I then adjusted the truss rod to put just a bit of relief in the neck.
So between the nut job done several months ago and this work she plays a lot better.