Raise action on PR7 E?

[Smohrman]

Team- I'm using DADGAD and am getting a lot of buzz on #6, so I need to raise the action on my Epiphone PR7 Sunburst, and have never done so. Should i just de-string, put some kind of shim under the bridge, and re-string? Should the shim be straight across, and if so what do you guys & gals use for a shim?

Thanks in advance!

[Keesee54]

I use a capo at the first fret and fully detune the guitar to the point where I can wrangle the saddle insert out of the bridge. As a scale model builder I was already aware of a company called Evergreen Plastics and I buy my stock from them. They sell direct thru their website or you can hit any well stocked hobby shop to get a small selection. All guitar bridge slots are cut to either 3/16" or 1/4" wide so I always keep a supply of pre-formed stock that is .180 inch wide by .020" and a pack of .180 by .030. The strip stock is made of hard styrene plastic which transferes the sound to the guitar with excellent resonance and comes in a package of about 15 pieces that about 18 inches long. All you do is snip off a length a little shorter than the length of the channel and lay it in then reinsert the saddle. The .180" wide stock will lay nicely in the bridge channel for either size slot. It is trial and error as to how much you will need to raise the saddle, but this method does it evenly so you get the same amount on the high strings as you would on the lower strings. I have had to go as much as .060" in a few cases by doubling up the strips in whatever combination appropiate. The plastic costs about $3.00 per package and that would be enough material to produce 30-40 strips, so for ten or twelve bucks you can have a supply that will last for years.

 

Hope this helps,

Mark Keesee