Lowering action on republic ?

[bluebop]

Hello everyone,

So I have had my Republic for around 8 months and have really enjoyed playing it. However it has certainly been set up for slide in mind. I have asked around at my local guitar shops and people seem very confident about being able to sort it out. Maybe a little too confident for my liking. Any advice on potential pitfalls would be appreciated.

Anyhow I am 99% sure that I would like the action lowering as I would like the instrument to be a little more versatile. I was playing the Bo Carter tune "Get back old devil" on it and just thought why I am putting up with such a high action. I have been trying to utilise a few little shortcuts since I have bought the guitar. Mainly keeping it in Eflat standard with medium gauge strings. Unwound G at .22.

SO I can tune up to Eflat/ Down to Db.
SO I can tune up to Aflat/ Down to Gb.

I also utilise a capo whenever I am not playing slide just to lower the action.

I guess I have a few questions,
How do people here like their setups ?
Do most people make a solid decision and have the instrument set up either/or ? Or is there room to compromise ?

I was also wondering if it would be worth buying a new biscuit ? That way I can keep the original and have room for mistakes. Any ideas where these can be bought from ?

Thanks a lot

Bluebop

[gaucho]

Just get a piece of maple, trace out the bridge and make a new one. no need for a whole new biscuit. You might need to shave the nut down a tad (sand from the bottom on both) as well. Be careful and go slow. it doesn't take much. An 1/8th of an inch off the bottom of the saddle doesn't necessarily translate to an 1/8th lowering of the string height!

[gaucho]

On thing to keep in mind. The "set-up" on these guitars is usually adequate but not very thorough. The action is set at a "hybrid" height for some fretting and slide and this higher action is more forgiving of any set-up issues. There's a pretty good chance that lowering the action will expose other set-up shortfalls you you might need a full, professional set-up. These guitars usually benefit from a good set up anyways. I've had 3 Republics and they've all been good guitars, but they aren't as carefully set-up as the Busker and MM guitars.

[pete1951]

If you are more comfortable playing with a capo, then your nut may be too high. Some sliders like a higher than `normal` nut , but if the capo on the 1st fret makes the guitar better ,you could lower the nut.(or have it lowered )
PT
Also, you say you keep it in Eflat. If the action gets worse in E , your truss rod may need a tweak (extra tension can squash the cone down a little, which should lower action, but sometimes the neck bends up more than the cone goes down) . Necks should have a small curve, but too much will give you a higher action than you want.

[slide496]

If you contact republic then they should be able to send you a second saddle and biscuit as part of the maintenance they offer - they did with me. The saddle piece needs to be cut to size and slotted. If you get a national replacement for the bisquit/saddle - it might be too high and have to sanded down. That was my experience

IMHO I would leave the set up you have intact in case the unforseen happens - that way you can just pop it back in.

[resonatorman]

Nov 28, 2013 14:47:35 GMT gaucho said:

An 1/8th of an inch off the bottom of the saddle doesn't necessarily translate to an 1/8th lowering of the string height!

Indeed...an 1/8th lower at the saddle gives you 1/16th lower action at the 12th fret. Simple math...

[rsob]

Something I would look at and adjust before you need to make a new saddle is check how straight the neck is. Run a straight edge from the nut towards the bridge in the center of the fingerboard. Look for a gap between the bottom of the straight edge and frets. Is the neck concave or is the straight edge high centered. 18 inch straight edge should do it. If your neck is bowed you can adjust the truss rod and that might be all the adjustment you'll need. Just trying to keep it as simple as possible. If you need a new nut so be it, but I would give this a look first.
I have a Republic, I adjusted my truss rod and it played like a new guitar. I also got a bridge and new cones from National and carved a new bridge and put the knew cones in. It is my tricone I haul around with me.
Good Luck

[bluesbottle]

There is some info on doing this on the web. I think it maybe from Stew Mac.
You have to follow a certain pattern to first diagnose why the action is high. Is it the nut, neck relief or the bridge?
Get it wrong and you'll end up in s..t creek without a paddle.
If it's the saddle you can easily file the string slots down a little at a time until it's right or, if it comes off the biscuit, shave the bottom of it.

[kiwi]

I have had my Republic Tri since 2010, and have recently had a similar problem. They come with an ebony tipped saddle and I really don't like the treble sound of this. So a month or so ago I made a maple saddle but screwed up and cut it too low.

Tonight I shimmed it and while better I found I cut the D string too low and am getting it fretting out. I'll get that fixed tomorrow.

For yours, Gaucho and Pete have some good advice.

[obrienp]

You have had loads of advice already from very knowledgeable members but for what it is worth and to add to what Gaucho said, you might find that lowering the action exposes other set-up issues, like uneven fret height.

I was discussing the set-up of my new MM Blues '28 with Robin at Busker Guitars recently and he said he would probably need to dress the frets because I wanted a lower than "hybrid" action. That's on a MM reso and I think it is fair to say that their factory quality control is better than most Chinese manufacturers; not to cast aspersions on Republic, who are also considered to be a cut above. Worth bearing in mind anyway.

Have a look for other advice on the forum that Michael has given about how to remove the strings without upsetting the position of the cone, etc. It seems that you can expect quite a bedding in period after you have reassembled your guitar; so don't despair if it doesn't sound too great immediately afterwards.

Good luck with it anyway. Let us know how you get on.

Slide on,
Pat

[oldpicker]

Look at stewmac.com 'Trade Secrets Archive' issue 33.

[bluesbottle]

Just remember that as you lower the action at the saddle you also lower the break angle of the strings which will make the guitar become quieter due to the reduction of the string pressure on the cones.

[Matt]

Dec 1, 2013 22:00:04 GMT bluesbottle said:

Just remember that as you lower the action at the saddle you also lower the break angle of the strings which will make the guitar become quieter due to the reduction of the string pressure on the cones.

It might make the guitar quieter, but that's assuming that the break angle was optimal in the first place. If it was greater than it should've been then reducing it might make the guitar louder?