Re: Acoustic Setup Help - GJ and others!
On acoustics, since there are no saddles to intonate, you can still make slight truss rod adjustments after an action job. Those companies basically set the intonation to be perfect, provided the nut, action, and truss rod is all correct.
The guideline for truss rods is to hold down the low E at the 1st fret and the fret that meets the body....14th. There should be just a glimmer of light between the 7th fret and bottom of the E string. Barely enough to slide a thin pick into.
Get an idea of how much lower you want the saddle to be...low and high side.
Pull the saddle out by wrapping a matchbook cover over it and pulling it out with pliers.
I keep the strings on the guitar, but loose, so I can always put the saddle back in, tighten the strings, and see where I'm at, regarding the action.
Put a sheet of sandpaper on a table, and run the bottom of the saddle across it a few times, to remove a bit of mass off the bottomside. Be careful to keep the saddle flat, but also make sure to not remove too much from it, otherwise you'll have to start over with a new saddle. Everytime you get closer to the desired action, reinstall the saddle to see how the guitar is playing. What you want is action that is JUST ABOVE the point where fretbuzz begins. You want the action high enough on both sides so that your guitar still sounds rich and full, but low enough that it plays nicely without annoying buzz. Just do a little at a time, and you won't harm anything.
