Readers' Instruments

[nicknack]

Just so no one thinks that 'instruments' just means guitars, here's my latest acquisition.

[PaulF]

I know nothing about saxophones - I assume it’s some variation? But that looks great

[nicknack]

I know nothing about saxophones - I assume it’s some variation? But that looks great

Cheers. It's a sopranino sax.

[phantasmagoriana]

Aw, that's cute.

[Woofage]

Just so no one thinks that 'instruments' just means guitars, here's my latest acquisition.

Very nice. What brand?

As mentioned upthread (and to give some thread balance for nicknack) I put new strings on my EV - d'Addario Helicore. Very nice, and surprisingly for a "bright" string the E is very sweet.

My acoustic violin is overdue for a string change and I'd like something different but with good sets running at £60-£70 or more I'm a little hesitant.

[nicknack]

Very nice. What brand?

Bauhaus Walstein. Chinese cheapie (relatively).

[phantasmagoriana]

As mentioned upthread (and to give some thread balance for nicknack) I put new strings on my EV - d'Addario Helicore. Very nice, and surprisingly for a "bright" string the E is very sweet.

My acoustic violin is overdue for a string change and I'd like something different but with good sets running at £60-£70 or more I'm a little hesitant.

I like Helicores on my viola, though haven't tried them for violin.

The price of strings is indeed rather prohibitive to experimentation these days, though.

[PaulF]

As mentioned upthread (and to give some thread balance for nicknack) I put new strings on my EV - d'Addario Helicore. Very nice, and surprisingly for a "bright" string the E is very sweet.

My acoustic violin is overdue for a string change and I'd like something different but with good sets running at £60-£70 or more I'm a little hesitant.

I like Helicores on my viola, though haven't tried them for violin.

The price of strings is indeed rather prohibitive to experimentation these days, though.

How long does a set of violin strings last?  Depending on what I what want I pay around £10 for a set of guitar strings that I change every 8-10 weeks

[Woofage]

How long does a set of violin strings last?  Depending on what I what want I pay around £10 for a set of guitar strings that I change every 8-10 weeks

Potentially years, but they can wear and accumulate crud from finger grease and bow rosin. I think Miss W's teacher recommended changing every 6 months or so but I don't know anyone who does that. I've honestly no idea how long my current set have been on but I feel like they're due for a change. Also, they have a much longer settling in period than guitar strings.

[phantasmagoriana]

I tend to keep mine on for years, but I don't play much.

I've never understood the disparity in pricing between guitar and violin strings. Guitar strings are longer, and there are 50% more of them in a set, yet they cost £10 a set whereas a decent set of violin strings is well over £50.

[andytheflyer]

Just so no one thinks that 'instruments' just means guitars, here's my latest acquisition.

Ooooo..  Nice.  My music teacher has a soprano which I've played.  I lust after a bari sax but I think the discs in my neck will disagree - they already complain about my tenor.

[nicknack]

Ooooo..  Nice.  My music teacher has a soprano which I've played.  I lust after a bari sax but I think the discs in my neck will disagree - they already complain about my tenor.

You can get harnesses that save your neck.

[Ham]

Ham, what you have is known as a "zero fret" and is not necessarily the mark of a cheap guitar, Fylde use them for example and their instruments are anything but budget .

Is there any sign that the top has sunk?

Do they just buzz when you play them open? Or when fretted as well?

Any alternative suggestions?

Suggestion one: listen to PaulF.
Suggestion two: wait until July and I will take a look at it when I come round.

Thanks for the replies, and yes those Fylde thingies look rather  nice, don't they? But, this one is an unbranded cheapie, for sure. That much is clear from the finish, the plastic mock tortoise scratch guard, the machine heads, the string retainers etc. As to why it is Zero Fret, I assumed it was for cheapness of production but it might have been fashion. It has a pleasant enough tone, and the action is quite low. Sighting down the neck, the neck looks straight not warped and there is a visible angle at fret 14/body, with no easily visible  skew. I had a go at backing off the truss rod, but it turned out to be backed all the way anyhow with zero effect. I tried tightening just for the hell of it and reassuringly it did increase the buzz. Buzz isn't the real issue, inability to play 1st E open (only F upwards) is the problem, that makes it sound more than a bit shit. I suppose I could try some heavier strings, but maybe just a 25 thou shim might do the job.

[PaulF]

If you can cope with a slightly higher action then a sacrificial credit card would sort it. Has it got a pickup? The shim may make that less effective but if I surmised correctly that wouldn’t be an issue for you.

[Ham]

No steenken' pickups - this guitar dates from valve years, AFAIK.  Prolly worth trying with a flat card, but I thought it would be better to get some curvature by bashing an old feeler gauge around a thin bar?

[PaulF]

No steenken' pickups - this guitar dates from valve years, AFAIK.  Prolly worth trying with a flat card, but I thought it would be better to get some curvature by bashing an old feeler gauge around a thin bar?

The base of the saddle will most likely be flat, I think every one I’ve seen has been. Even if it’s not the pressure of the strings will bend it to conform. But it will also be such a subtle curve (12-15” radius) that it won’t matter.

[Ham]

Ah yes, you'll be talking about the sensible option of shimming the saddle, and there I was thinking about shimming fret zero...

I would have thought it would need 1-2mm at the saddle, though.

I dun measured the clearance of 6th, string to fretboard: sub 0.5mm at fret 1 and 3mm @ 14
!st is 0 at fret 1 and 2.5mm @ 14

string to body: 6th 9.5 @ 14, 10 at the saddle
1st - 9 @ 14, 10 at the saddle

Suggests I need to raise the saddlepossiby by 0.5 more on 1st side, then tighten the truss rod as appropriate, if needed?

[PaulF]

Step away from the zero fret! Without special tools you’d be lucky to get it out cleanly and almost certainly won’t get it back in again.

For now stick to changes you can reverse and for the time being make the same adjustments to both sides; you can consider a tapered shim once the buzzing is sorted. Action already sounds a little high. It’s conventional to measure at the 12th fret and I prefer just under 2mm on the bass.

But take it slowly, see what affect a single piece of credit card has.

[bobb]

What about the frets themselves? Given its age, I would assume they're pretty tiny. Any visible wear, or signs of lifting? If there are any high/low spots, it's going to remain pretty unplayable whatever you do to the action...

[Ham]

Step away from the zero fret! Without special tools you’d be lucky to get it out cleanly and almost certainly won’t get it back in again.

For now stick to changes you can reverse and for the time being make the same adjustments to both sides; you can consider a tapered shim once the buzzing is sorted. Action already sounds a little high. It’s conventional to measure at the 12th fret and I prefer just under 2mm on the bass.

But take it slowly, see what affect a single piece of credit card has.

Ah! You were confusing me with someone who was going to do a proper job! I was thinking of getting a bit of shim material, curving it around a rod of the same dimension as the fret and sliding it between the fret and the top 3 strings (or maybe all), eminently reversible, if potentially worthless.

As far as the action is concerned, I was measuring @ 14 as that seems to be where there is an angle between neck and body, the height doesn't bother me too much as my Eko Maccaferri-alike that I've had since the 70's is about 5mm @12, but has such  a beautiful tone and history that I can't be parted.

What about the frets themselves? Given its age, I would assume they're pretty tiny. Any visible wear, or signs of lifting? If there are any high/low spots, it's going to remain pretty unplayable whatever you do to the action...

The guitar hasn't been used at all for about 40 years to my certain knowledge, and I doubt it was used much before that. Tbh, I only found out he had a guitar after he slipped off. No wear evident, I spent some time polishing the frets before re-stringing.

[Ham]

Well, 2 x 1mm packing shims + 1 slice of cc (so about 2.75mm) under the saddle has brought it back to playable, thanks for the nudge in the right direction.

[andytheflyer]

Ooooo..  Nice.  My music teacher has a soprano which I've played.  I lust after a bari sax but I think the discs in my neck will disagree - they already complain about my tenor.

You can get harnesses that save your neck.

I have one for my Tenor - it loops over each shoulder and connects to my trouser belt.  Works fine, but even then my neck knows about it.  A bari would be too much I think - but teach says floor stands are available, must have a shoof.

[road-runner]

I was reminded of rogbul's post (partial quote below) in Confessions of a tool junkie:

I make furniture and stuff from pallets if you're wondering . . . .

A speaker cabinet is not an instrument but my guitar would be rather quiet without it. I had a spare 8" speaker hanging around and it sounds great paired with either of my amp heads so, like rogbul, a pallet was used for free wood. It cost me 3 euros (about £2.50) to buy the speaker cloth and a plastic grille behind the cloth to protect the speaker; all the rest I had spare from previous projects.

[rogerzilla]

They use a higher quality pallet in Slovakia!

[PaulF]

Nice workmanship road-runner