Intonation

Cynekul

I think I'm going to shim my bridge on my DG-250M to get a higher action but I'm concerened about the intonation. Will too large of an adjustment throw the intonation out on the guiar or cause bad intonation due to the strings being too far from the fretboard?

~Paul V.

Ando

No, unless, in the process of shimming, you move the bridge forward or backward. Shimming affects string height. What affects intonation is string length.

nwilkins

Actually, if the strings are too high they CAN cause intonation problems. However, they have to be pretty high before this happens, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Josh Hegg

I have a DG-250M as well and wanted to see how high I could jack the action up before the intonation went so out that I could not play it. I got it up to 7mm a the 12th fret! and let me tell you it sucked. At 7mm the intonation is okay but off as you go up the neck and the string tension is a bear. It was loud and shot the tones out like a rocket but it was just too high. I took it done to 5mm and it was better but still a bit high. I have it now at 4.5 and it is good and plays well and loud. I play hard and I still get some buzz on some notes when I really hit it but I like it that way. You can get that cool sound when you bend the notes on the lower strings that sounds like the instrument is whining at you. I have to mention that I put a Dupont #2 on it that took it up to the 4.5 where it is now. A must to make these guitars sound closer to the gypsy sound.

Cheers

Cynekul

What exactly would be the difference in sound between the bridge I have now and the Dupont? I'm pretty happy with the sound I get now from the guitar, I'd hate to ruin a good thing (if it isn't broken don't fix it sort of thing lol). Also I'm not sure there's anyone in the Jacksonville, FL. area that could do that kind of work and I'm not handy with my hands at all.

~Paul

nwilkins

what kind of work do you mean? do you mean replacing the bridge? anyone can do that since the bridge is not attached to the top of the guitar - it is only held in place by the pressure of the strings.

Josh Hegg

Not to burst your bubble but the DG-250M with the bridge it comes with is not a "good thing". It might play okay but you are not getting the sound that the instrument can produce. The bridge that Saga makes is a log and way too thick and over built. The sound transfer to the top plate is impeded by the thickness and construction of the bridge. Placing a Dupont is easy and I have posted instructions on fitting a Dupont blank on this forum. Go here
http://djangobooks.com/forum/viewtopic. ... c&start=15

It is easy and fun. You will be happy with the better tone. If not then call me and I'm sure we can work out something. One can never have too many Duponts on hand.