Kekani
Well-known member
What am I missing here? Why wouldn't the nut be exactly the same height as a fret? Isn't it acting as a fret? And wouldn't a zero fret eliminate the problem on the nut end of the equation? I know it'd be a PITA to retrofit a zero fret, but wouldn't it make sense to incorporate it into new builds, especially cheap production instruments?
The Zero fret is usually higher than the rest of the frets, and adds in another variable to deal with, IMO. Besides, I don't think too many guys here build cheap production instruments. Sell them, maybe, but not build them.
I'm just getting my feet wet with ukes, but I can't believe they're so different than other stringed instruments. I always level and dress the frets. I always use feeler gauges to set the action at the nut and 12th fret. I don't get the "fret at the third fret and slide in a piece of paper" thing. The action at the saddle has to be set first. If the action at the nut is set perfectly and then the saddle is lowered, the action at the nut will be too low and will buzz on the 1st fret. Nylon/whatever strings are way more accomodating than steel, and gross differences in action aren't that perceptible to the player, but that's no reason to get lazy as luthiers.
I don't think my `ukulele setups are much different than say, my custom P&J Bass. I'll always do the nut first, fretted at the 3rd. Then the saddle falls into place after that, all the time. Yes, there are differences - I get to adjust the intonation with an allen wrench on the bass, and I have to sand the saddle on on the `ukulele, but really, the concepts are the same.
Frank Ford shows some nice pics of the 3rd fret method of adjusting the nut. I think an "end all thread on setting action" would be remiss without a mention to Mr. Ford. You should try it some day; what you'll find is your nut will be setup consistently, all the time, then you can just attack the saddle without worrying about the action at the nut, because it'll still be the same when fretted at the 3rd, no matter what you do at the saddle.
Of course, we can get into fret levelling, crowning, etc, if this were a thread on full setups, but seems the OP is focused on action, so nut and saddle it is.
Getting back to the saddle, I do mine a little different from Chuck; same direction, just a different path. I lay the straight edge (in the 3rd string slot), and run it across the saddle, measure the action at the 12th, then reduce the saddle height by double the measurement needed at the 12th (hello David Hurd?). This forces me to make use of my "I should've made it myself" StewMac nut and saddle vise, AND allows me to shape the crown to make my saddle compensated - but that's another thread. . .
I do the same basic process for the acoustic bass that I've set action for (Takamine), as well as a P and a J Bass (except, no saddle sanding there. . . ).
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