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Do you have a picture of how these shims look? Do you form it to the top using sandpaper or something? Thanks for the info!
You can get a sheet of rosewood veneer from Luthier's Mercantile, about 0.6mm thick, which you just cut with scissors, slightly bigger than each bridge foot:
You don't need to sand it to shape. One layer adds about 0.3mm to bridge height, and you can put two if you need to (maybe 3). No need for any glue.
As far as desired action, maybe 2.8mm on 6th string, 2.25mm on 1st string, .011" relief. (But this assumes constant humidity/temperature. As humidity goes down, action typically goes down.)
In 20 years every single guitar Maurice sent me had 11s on it. Like most modern guitars, Duponts are built for lower action and heavier strings. Of course, you can put 10s on but generally that's not ideal for a Dupont.
Michael, looking up your Duponts for sale, you list the action of the various MD-50s or Vieille Reserves at 2.8, 3.0, or 3.2. That's obviously for the 6th string.
Do you happen to know the typical action for the 1st string, for these guitars?
Also, do you happen to know their typical neck relief (e.g., .011")?
Since 6th string action, 1st string action, and neck relief all go together to create most of the "feel" for Argentine mediums (011s or "MF"s), it would be helpful to know.
Sorry, I don't have a measurement handy for the 1st string but I think it's usually about 1mm lower than the 6th string. I'll ask our tech next time we speak.
Not sure about the neck relief either, I'd have to ask Maurice.
Thanks!
'm
i read some others talking about using cut up credit card for shims and I just tried it. It made a huge difference. However, is this bad to use long term? I don't want to cause any damage to the top over time. Any thoughts on this?
If so, I might look into getting some 2mm sheets of rosewood and sanding them down to ~1.5mm. Would look nicer anyway..
I’ve used guitar picks for shims.
There’s an old forum post where shims are discussed and someone posted a photo of Django using metro tickets as shims. Just make sure you aren’t pressing your credit card number into the wood! 😂
According to Michael, Dupont ships with 11s. I saw an Instagram post by a well known set up artist and he said he was going to use Argentine 11s on the recently refretted Dupont MD-50B. I have 10s on my Cigano GJ-10 and Altamira M01F, and 11s on my DuPont MD-100. I enjoy playing all. There really isn't a lot of difference between Argentine gauges.
1610 Extra Light Ball End - 10 14 22 28 36 45
1610MF Light Ball End - 11 15 23 29 37 46
1510 Extra Light Loop End 10 14 22 28 36 45
1510MF Light Loop End - 11 15 23 29 37 46
Galli Silk and Steel:
GSL10 -- Light -- 10-14-22w-28-37-45
GSL11 -- Medium -- 11-14-23w-30-39-47
Galli Silver Plated:
GSB10lp -- Light -- 10-14-22w-28-37-45
GSB11lp -- Medium -- 11-14-23w-30-39-47
My Dupont also shipped with Argentine 11s, but when it was getting setup and the Big Tone installed, I asked for the 10s (which I play on my other guitars) and the person doing the work that we can't name here said he felt like the guitar came more alive with the lighter gauge. There were only 10s in Django's days, and after having played both 10s and 11s, I much prefer the 10s on both my Busato scale and standard Selmer scale.