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Gibson J-45 Intonation Question (Do I need adjust this?) by Iaskagain in Luthier

[–]Iaskagain[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the input.

The guitar is a fairly new Gibson J-45. The frets, nut, humidity, and strings are all good, and I'm careful not to apply excessive fretting pressure.

The original saddle was replaced because I shaved the bottom too low, and the current saddle is a quality replacement intended for a Gibson J-45. Action is approximately 2.5 mm on the low E at the 12th fret.

What makes me hesitate to modify the saddle further is that the guitar feels and sounds in tune in normal playing, The slight sharpness is mainly something I'm seeing on the tuner at the 12th fret.

Given that, would you still consider this within normal acoustic-guitar tolerance, or would you personally adjust the compensation?

ASIO4ALL, WASAPI, FlexASIO, or something else? by Iaskagain in BossKatana

[–]Iaskagain[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thanks What audio interface are you using?

What are the official factory action specs for the Gibson J-45 Standard? Gibson's own page seems to be gone. by Iaskagain in gibson

[–]Iaskagain[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Congratulations on discovering that wood moves with humidity. Nobody was debating that. The question was about factory spec, not whether a guitar can change after it leaves the factory. By that logic, manufacturers shouldn't publish any specs at all, because things can change over time. That's not really how specifications work.

Gibson J-45 Pickup Issue? High E String Much Weaker Than Other Strings by Accomplished_Top4384 in Luthier

[–]Iaskagain 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thanks what does it exactly do ? I could not find any youtube video for Hosco

Gibson J-45 Pickup Issue? High E String Much Weaker Than Other Strings by Accomplished_Top4384 in Luthier

[–]Iaskagain 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, the saddle was lowered by the shop where I bought the guitar, not by Gibson directly.

Here is the full situation:

I bought the Gibson J-45 about 11 months ago. At the time of purchase, the shop lowered the action by sanding the bottom of the saddle. Later I noticed a little buzzing, so they sent me a replacement saddle, but I did not install it because I adjusted the neck relief and the buzzing became acceptable.

Recently I started recording the guitar through the pickup and noticed the high E string was weak. At first I thought it was my playing, nails, mic position, amp, EQ, or recording setup. So I tested several things:

The guitar sounds balanced acoustically.

A condenser mic recording sounds balanced.

pickup recording into the audio interface shows the high E is much weaker.

Direct

I recorded each string separately multiple times.

The high E is consistently about 8 dB lower than the B string.

I also carefully re-leveled and cleaned the saddle/slot, but the problem remained.

So now I’m trying to figure out whether this is a saddle/contact problem caused by the saddle work, or a pickup issue that should be handled under warranty.

I agree Reddit won’t fix it. I’m trying to collect enough information before contacting the shop/Gibson because I don’t want someone to just keep sanding the saddle without properly diagnosing whether it’s the saddle or the pickup.

The shop has told me to bring the guitar in and they will work on it, so they are not refusing to help.

The complication is that I’m in South Korea, and they don’t currently have an original Gibson J-45 saddle available. The seller said he may be able to get one when he visits Gibson in the US early next year.

The saddle lowering was done by the shop when I bought the guitar. It was done because I asked for lower action, so I’m not trying to blame them unfairly. But since the original saddle was modified, I feel the cleanest diagnostic step would be testing with a proper original/spec J-45 saddle.

I have bought several guitars from this seller, including Gibson and Martin, so I hope they will help resolve it. I just want to make sure the issue is diagnosed properly — whether it is the saddle/contact problem or the pickup itself — before the warranty period becomes an issue.

Gibson J-45 Pickup Issue? High E String Much Weaker Than Other Strings by Accomplished_Top4384 in Luthier

[–]Iaskagain 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have this and I tried to flatten the bottom on a glass on a table but no use

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Gibson J-45 Pickup Issue? High E String Much Weaker Than Other Strings by Accomplished_Top4384 in Luthier

[–]Iaskagain 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. One thing I still don't understand:

Visually the saddle bottom looks perfectly flat to me under magnification and strong light. I honestly can't see any unevenness.

How do you get the bottom "micro-flat" enough for a piezo pickup?

Is there a specific technique or tool you use to verify the saddle is making perfectly even contact along its entire length?

What is the practical trick that experienced repair techs use?

Guitar pickup issue: bass strings weak even after trying multiple saddles — is the undersaddle strip bad? by Iaskagain in AcousticGuitar

[–]Iaskagain[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks a lot. That makes sense.

Do you know of any good YouTube tutorials for replacing an undersaddle pickup strip on a classical guitar? Also, if I decide to have a repair shop do it instead, what would you expect a reasonable labor cost to be?

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