Setting up action on excalibur

Daniel D. · 08 Oct 2012 06:33

Hi,

I'm trying to set up the action on my excalibur to my liking and It's kind of getting tough
because of all the individual saddles and then the option to raise or to lower the whole bridge.
Kinda hard to tell how to do it right.. Any good starting point?
I've been working on it and there are always some strings feeling abit stiff and some are feeling
very loose(in a good way) and I remember when the guitar was set up well before I changed the strings
they all felt nicely loose and played very smoothly.

Any idea?

VigierDJ · 08 Oct 2012 19:45

Is this the same person I'm trying to help on sevenstring.org?
Please follow up on this forum.

Daniel D. · 08 Oct 2012 19:58

Which documentation man? I did set my action on my guitars all the time but not on this type of bridge. I figured it should fit the neck's radius but how can I set so each string will perfectly fit the neck radius?
It's worth mentionning it's the excalibur special 7.
Would appreciate your response very much.

Daniel.

VigierDJ · 08 Oct 2012 20:07

http://188.130.104.14/sites/medias/produit/pdf/450.pdf - that is the manual for your guitar. It will show you which pieces adjust what.
To adjust your individual string height to match your radius, you will need some sort of guide/template. It doesn't sound like string height is your problem, though.
If I understand you correctly, some of your strings feel the way you want ("loose") and some don't. What brand and gauge strings are you using currently and what tuning are you in?
Maybe Patrice will jump in and shed some light.

Daniel D. · 08 Oct 2012 20:27

9-46 like advised, ernie balls, 58 on 7th, ernie ball as well.

Daniel D. · 08 Oct 2012 20:40

I think the string height is my problem since this is the only thing I've changed on the guitar since it's last setup.

VigierDJ · 08 Oct 2012 21:10

Ahhh ok. Well, you can use the stock action as a guide, the low B should be at 2.5mm on the 12th fret and the high E should be 1.5 mm at the 12th fret. This is measured from the top of the fret to the bottom of the string (people have been confused before). If you adjust the strings so that they descend in height from Low B to High E, you *should* have them very close if not exactly at stock height.
Again, maybe Ben or Patrice will jump in with some additional info, but if the only thing you did was fool around with the saddle height, this should be relatively simple for you to correct.

Daniel D. · 08 Oct 2012 21:14

Ok, just to clarify another point - since each saddle has 2 screw holes I can set the saddles to be straight(parallel) or angled to the bridgeguitar body - should all saddles set to be straight with the measurments you gave me?
Thanks,
Daniel.

VigierDJ · 08 Oct 2012 21:16

If I'm understanding you correctly, each saddle should be straight across it's top.

Daniel D. · 09 Oct 2012 01:17

I thought about buying this tool to adjust the bridge radiushttp://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Sp...ml?tab=Detailsthough the available measurement tool is 12" radius while the excalibur special 7 is 11.81".Will it make a big difference?

Daniel D. · 09 Oct 2012 04:53

Anyway I tried to set the saddles meanwhile with the VigierUSA instructions and the strings still feel kinda stiff, all I did was messing with the saddles and I've now also tried to lower the bridge as a whole too.
I can't find the right balance, I guess I didn't get it to fit the neck's radius? Does that thing from stewmac
would be accurate enough? (as stated, it is 20").
A tech can fix it but I always end up wanting to set yje action myself, it's hard for me to tell without playing through my rig freely, I always end up fine tunning it a bit.
Can someone here please explain to me how to correctly set the action? I really tried my best following DJScully's instructions...

VigierDJ · 09 Oct 2012 14:49

Daniel D. wrote: Anyway I tried to set the saddles meanwhile with the VigierUSA instructions and the strings still feel kinda stiff, all I did was messing with the saddles and I've now also tried to lower the bridge as a whole too.

If you only ever changed the saddle height, it is unncecessary to lower the entire bridge.

Daniel D. wrote: I can't find the right balance, I guess I didn't get it to fit the neck's radius? Does that thing from stewmac
would be accurate enough? (as stated, it is 20").

The link in your last message mentioned it being a 12" guide. That will be a good jumping off point for sure. You could at least start with that and then make minor adjustments to fit your particular preferences. The 20" tool will leave the string heights way too flat and it will feel like the outer strings are too high.

Daniel D. wrote: A tech can fix it but I always end up wanting to set yje action myself, it's hard for me to tell without playing through my rig freely, I always end up fine tunning it a bit.
Can someone here please explain to me how to correctly set the action? I really tried my best following DJScully's instructions...

Daniel D. · 13 Oct 2012 06:08

Daniel D. wrote:
Daniel D. wrote: Anyway I tried to set the saddles meanwhile with the VigierUSA instructions and the strings still feel kinda stiff, all I did was messing with the saddles and I've now also tried to lower the bridge as a whole too.
If you only ever changed the saddle height, it is unncecessary to lower the entire bridge.
Daniel D. wrote: I can't find the right balance, I guess I didn't get it to fit the neck's radius? Does that thing from stewmac
would be accurate enough? (as stated, it is 20").
The link in your last message mentioned it being a 12" guide. That will be a good jumping off point for sure. You could at least start with that and then make minor adjustments to fit your particular preferences. The 20" tool will leave the string heights way too flat and it will feel like the outer strings are too high.
Daniel D. wrote: A tech can fix it but I always end up wanting to set yje action myself, it's hard for me to tell without playing through my rig freely, I always end up fine tunning it a bit.
Can someone here please explain to me how to correctly set the action? I really tried my best following DJScully's instructions...

My tech set the saddles again according to the neck radius, still feeling stiff..

19 Oct 2012 19:09

To do the bridge setting
Look at the manual.... +
1) Set the high E string almost on the bridge base (so very low)
2) Raise the other saddles so they follow the fingerboard radius and a the same time raise them so at the end the low E string is higher than the high E string by 1 mm
3) Unlock a little the screw located on the front of the ball bearing system
4) Raise the entire bridge with the two big screws as you like.
5) Lock the screws on the ball bearing system
6) Make sure the bridge is parallel to the body or a little higher