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Joined:
August 2005
Posts: 616
Location: cincinnati, ohio | Had a question-- do CS 257's come from the factory with shims under the saddle? I just got a new one yesterday, and it hasn't been touched by the dealer except to put a new set of D'Addario light gauges on (and he did it for free!). The action at the 12th fret is a hair under 4/32" (originally I thought it was a hair under 3/32"-- that's what I get for not using my reading glasses). Normally I like the action to be 3/32" (or slightly under) at the 12th fret. This one's playing fine, although I WOULDN'T mind if it was a little slinkier up around the 9th and 10th frets (yes, I DO actually go up there sometimes!). I'm not having any trouble playing it, though, and I may just leave it if I get used to it. It's not enough of an issue for me to go unwinding a new set of strings so I can pull up the saddle. Anyway, if I DO decide to experiment, I was wondering if anyone had an idea of what I was going to find. I know it may vary from guitar to guitar, but I wondered if the generally put in shims?
The other question is if removing shims would affect the tone? There's an argument that shims detract from tone because they get between the saddle and the pickup and lessen the true contact point. Well, if there ARE shims under there, they aren't detracting from the tone at all, because the amplified sound is RIGHTEOUS (sounds great acoustic, too). It's hard to imagine it could sound much better. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone's had any experience with this? I guess I could always sand the saddle down a little if there aren't any shims. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | I think there may be 1 or 2 shims under there. As long as you're messing with the new guitar, take the string off the peghead, pull the saddle and see. Take one out and try it and if you want to go even less, take 2 out. If you have lights on there, you may not be able to go down to no shims without some fret buzz, but if you do, just put one back in. |
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Joined:
June 2004
Posts: 580
Location: NW NJ | Originally posted by rick endres:
Had a question-- do CS 257's come from the factory with shims under the saddle? What Mark said.
Originally posted by rick endres:
The other question is if removing shims would affect the tone? There's an argument that shims detract from tone because they get between the saddle and the pickup and lessen the true contact point. Well, if there ARE shims under there, they aren't detracting from the tone at all, because the amplified sound is RIGHTEOUS (sounds great acoustic, too). It's hard to imagine it could sound much better. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone's had any experience with this? I guess I could always sand the saddle down a little if there aren't any shims. The reason that your O sounds so good with the shims in is because Ovation saddles and pickups on the A/E models are one unit, not two pieces, so the shims are placed under the saddle and pickup. The shims are the primary method for adjusting the action. I sure wouldn't go trying to sand the bottom of the saddle to adjust the action because you'll be sanding away at the pickup itself. |
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Joined:
August 2005
Posts: 616
Location: cincinnati, ohio | That's good to know! I probably would have figured it out, but it's nice to know up front. All my other guitars have Fishman Acosutic Matrix Natural II's in them, which have a separate saddle and a thin bar pickup. Thanks for the heads-up. |
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Joined:
August 2005
Posts: 616
Location: cincinnati, ohio | Well, there were four shims. I took out three. Plays like a dream, and the tone was unimpaired. |
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SHIMS IN CS 257 FROM FACTORY?
