PrairieDog Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 8 minutes ago, styler said: You must've been around some of those magic mushrooms. I may have had a little experience with those sounds too.🤪 Prairedog i think you and Salfromchatham are talking about two different things. Those pinks your hearing when tunning. could be from the strings being tight in the nut or even seating in the pins. Okay, thanks, that was what I always assumed, but I’m still new to “real” guitars, so I’m always nervous I’m missing some symptom I should worry about. Probably stems from the time my buddy in high school , the local gearhead, told me I could ignore the oil light lighting up my dash in my 72 Dodge Dart Slant 6. Just put a quart in occasionally. I drove around for months with a quart of oil in the case 😆 A testament to those indestructible engines that the car lot guy didn’t believe I drove it in myself, no tow truck involved. Okay I didn’t drive it in fast, but I got it there under its own power. Traded it for an even faster souped up Toyota SR5 that I had no idea had been rejiggered for racing. Man that thing was a rocket off the stop light! 🤣 But in the middle of the gas crisis it sure drained my wallet. Got like 7 miles to the gallon, but they sure were some FAST seven miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorrisrownSal Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 My first car was a hand me down 1973 4door Dart, faded yellow, V6, with dents, a non working roll down window, gas gauge, and two non working door latches. Ripped vinyl back seat. Am radio. In Brooklyn, in 1982 I could listen to 770 WABC top 40, 1050 WHN Country music, 1010 WINS news, or learn Spanish in static. The plate was 716-DTJ. I remember all that, and all the phone numbers of my house and friends, but I can’t remember what I changed my password to 3days ago. enjoy the 45! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 2 hours ago, Salfromchatham said: I remember all that, and all the phone numbers of my house and friends, but I can’t remember what I changed my password to 3days ago. Wait till you start putting things in a "safe place"... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 On 12/30/2023 at 9:50 AM, styler said: Yes it has the under-saddle pickup. So, what are you plugging in to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
styler Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 4 hours ago, Murph said: So, what are you plugging in to? Mosty playing at home unplugged but when I play at our church I have a Drz Maz18 reverb. I know its not the ideal acoustic amp but its what I have and with some tweaking it does alright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Attaboy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the other side Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 (edited) On 1/3/2024 at 7:44 AM, Murph said: Sometimes it's a "pong". Sometimes it's a "ding". Back in the 70's once, I heard a "zoinks" and the actual letters popped up on the ceiling... I see you've "seen the light" too or been on one of them Magic Carpet Rides. Edited January 5 by the other side Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ86 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 On 12/29/2023 at 7:53 AM, Sgt. Pepper said: The tusk saddle has grooves for the strings. worn in ? normal? factory cut in? their not deep and this is a new guitar from GC . I just don't usually see grooves. Action is 5/64 at the low E and 3/64 high E 12 fret. sound is very balanced when strumming open chords but to me the highs aren't very bright especially when finger picking. This normal or maybe the high side needs to come up a smidge? Seems like these are the only two questions you asked in your post. 1. I have never had a new guitar (acoutsic) show up with grooves pre-made in the saddle. 2. Action is up to your personal taste. If you like the action leave it. Personally, never seen grooves cut in on a new guitar. Now....I do know this. A GC did sell me a "new" guitar. Come to find out, it could not have been "new" as it had upgraded bridge pins as my luthier pointed out. Most likely it was a returned guitar and sold as new. Not saying this is what happened with your situation but something to think about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
styler Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 DJ86 I had this thought too. Who Knows.. I happy with it . So I'll keep it. Still undecided on the bone saddle. Not that it sounds bad but the tusq had boom on the bass. I ordered a new Tusq one so when I do change it I'll start with no grooves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silversurfer Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 (edited) Also a J-45 Standard owner and perpetual tinkerer. Here’s what I found… removing the UST and fitting a bone saddle that fit fairly snug in the slot vs. loose made a big difference in tone. The Tusq saddle is meant to be a little loose to work with the Baggs elenent. You can try this without completely removing the element - just lift it and push it through the tiny hole in the slot under the saddle and let it hang inside the guitar (the wiring clips will keep it from moving around). The Element braided wire is just soft and thick enough to dampen vibration transference a tiny bit and taking it out of the equation was an improvement, to my ears at least. The tighter fit (snug - not super tight) of the saddle also helped improve the tone, IMO. Lastly, if you don’t mind heavier strings, my J-45 Standard sounds best with a medium gauge set .13-.56 Edited January 16 by Silversurfer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
styler Posted January 17 Author Share Posted January 17 Silversurfer I appreciate your input. I've done that on other guitars and I agree it does make a diff. The only thing holding me back is I need to plug in, so unless I go to something like a K&K I want to stay with it. The bone one I put in has a slightly tighter fit than the factory Tusq did, but it does sound very good, plugged in. Maybe I hit that happy medium, good fit but not too restrictive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silversurfer Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 I installed a Schaffer HFN active, which I think sounds much better than the stock Baggs Element, and no UST. There are others, like Dazzo and the new Baggs HiFi that also don’t use a UST. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
styler Posted January 18 Author Share Posted January 18 Dang it I knew someone would cause me to go lookin at pickups. I think I really like the Baggs HiFi . Not that I see anything wrong with the Schaffer. I do like the installation process of the Baggs. Questions. Does the factory stick-on volume control and battery bag come off easily? Just pry off and clean up any access tape with alcohol ? How thick is the UTS pick up ribbon? Think that little bit removed would lower my saddle too much? I have no issues installing a new one if so. Just wondering. Doesn't seem like it would drop action much. Im not going to do this right away but I can see getting rid of the UTS pickup in my future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 8 hours ago, styler said: How thick is the UTS pick up ribbon? It's a bit thicker than a dollar bill. More like a hundred dollar bill... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 That was a joke, the hundred dollar bill part.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
styler Posted January 18 Author Share Posted January 18 (edited) 5 hours ago, Murph said: That was a joke, the hundred dollar bill part.... Good I was afraid you were going to say 2 dollar bill .. those are thick.. but if its that thin removing it wont lower the strings much if any .. looking at the LL Baggs support it looks like it may be .030-.032 If thats true then the action would lower like a 64 th wouldn't you say? Edited January 18 by styler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silversurfer Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 In all seriousness, the LR Baggs Element UST ISN’T paper thin and your action will definitely be lowered if you remove it. It’s also a braided wire that has a bit of “give” to it when compressed, unlike the Fishman UST which is more of a hard wire. Some people will argue that you can’t hear the difference in removing a UST from under the saddle, but I could. Your experience may be different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
styler Posted January 22 Author Share Posted January 22 (edited) I switched back to the factory tusq just for the heck of it today after playing the bone and the String-joy strings quiet a lot. I still say the Tusq has a smidge more bass but their so close sonically (maybe the bone in the mids is the winner here) that it's really a toss-up. I can't say I like one over the other. While I had the saddle out I checked the factory LLbaggs UTS thickness. I came up with . 032 which is about 1/32 On a side note I'm happy with the stringjoy strings. they play great and are very stable. Edited January 22 by styler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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