how Set up a takamine acoustic guitar

[eds1122]

Im a newbie here! Acoustic guitar player in our church for 3 yrs and counting na po

I bought a Takamine EG440C STRQ this month from another fellow musician. the plugged in sound is wonderful but the action is a bit high and the strings are hard to press.
what is the best set up i can i do with this guitar?
what will changing the nut and saddle to bone do?
do i need to install a pick guard ?
any suggestions po mga sir?

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=230974

[starkiller]

so your main concern is lowering the action

1. start by removing the the shims that are below the pickup.  remove the saddle and pickup, and take-off the plastic shims below the pickup.
2. if the action is still too high for you, the next step is to file the UPPER part of the saddle.  Yes, I said UPPER part; do not file the bottom part..  Trimming the saddle of a G-series Takamine is challenging because it has a unity under-saddle pickup. unlike conventional under-saddle pickups, you cannot file the bottom of a unity pickup to lower the action.  if you do, the contact points will be ruined, and the pickup and tuner will not function.

what i actually did for mine is to completely replace the undersadle pickup (i took it out), and replaced it with a nice magnetic pickup that i connect to the preamp.  this allowed me to file the bottom part of the saddle to my desired action.

[eds1122]

thanks for the tip!

will bringing my guitar to a luthier for set up a good idea?how much is the average cost of a guitar setup and what will change in my guitar after the set up.

how about changing the nut and saddle to bone. what are the benefits of this to my guitar? 
 

[GNOB29]

as my experience ako lang ng liha ng saddles ko actually its a Fernando DG Series medyo mataas kasi ang action and adjust the Truss rod for the right tension of the neck and string...

pero kung wala ka idea kalikutin ang gitara mo better find a nearest Luthier in your area it will save you a lot of cash...     

[starkiller]

thanks for the tip!

will bringing my guitar to a luthier for set up a good idea?how much is the average cost of a guitar setup and what will change in my guitar after the set up.

how about changing the nut and saddle to bone. what are the benefits of this to my guitar? 

usually, the benefit of changing the nut and saddle to bone is better acoustic volume projection.  this is great for acoustic players who accept nothing less than a good microphone to amplify their guitar.  but if you amplify using the built-in pickup, the difference may be marginal.

by the way, i've said in my original post, medyo naiba yung saddle ng g-series takamine.  it has specially aligned "feet" at the bottom to align to the pickup contact points.  it is important NOT to file-off these feet.  Likewise, if you want a luthier to make a bone version, he must do an exact copy the feet design so that the pickup will still work.

[eds1122]

usually, the benefit of changing the nut and saddle to bone is better acoustic volume projection.  this is great for acoustic players who accept nothing less than a good microphone to amplify their guitar.  but if you amplify using the built-in pickup, the difference may be marginal.

by the way, i've said in my original post, medyo naiba yung saddle ng g-series takamine.  it has specially aligned "feet" at the bottom to align to the pickup contact points.  it is important NOT to file-off these feet.  Likewise, if you want a luthier to make a bone version, he must do an exact copy the feet design so that the pickup will still work.

oo nga sir bka pag dinala ko sa luthier maiba ang set up ng saddle pag hindi nya alam tong info n binigay nyo.

what brand ng magnetic pickup yung pinalit nyo sa takamine nyo sir incase n papalitan ko nlang sa luthier ng bago and what is the difference ng magnetic pickup from the original pickup.   

[eds1122]

sir gaano katagal bago nyo makuha ang pina setup nyo n acoustic guitar and how much is the budget that i need to prepare? ex. i want to change pa  the nut and saddle to bone or install a pick guard.

what are the things na binabago kpag nagpaset up ka ng acoustic guitar?
 
next is how often ba dapat magpa set up ng guitar?is it a one time thing or every month b dapat?

[starkiller]

Hi.  The magnetic pickup I use is a Dimarzio DP139 Reference Acoustic.  I think its already discontinued, and replaced by the Dimarzio Angel.  I just got it 2nd hand at a very good price.  Yung Angel, may kamahalan.

As an alternative, you can also check out the guy in the classifieds selling "Dude's Acoustic Pickups".  He makes soundboard pickups at low prices. 

Try to do research of different acoustic pickup types before you make a decision.

About the time of setup, sorry, I have no idea.  I do all of my setup work and wiring myself.  I just filed the saddle, adjust the truss rod a little bit, and modify the wiring.  I did not modify the nut.

[stringman]

usually, the benefit of changing the nut and saddle to bone is better acoustic volume projection.  this is great for acoustic players who accept nothing less than a good microphone to amplify their guitar.  but if you amplify using the built-in pickup, the difference may be marginal.

by the way, i've said in my original post, medyo naiba yung saddle ng g-series takamine.  it has specially aligned "feet" at the bottom to align to the pickup contact points.  it is important NOT to file-off these feet.  Likewise, if you want a luthier to make a bone version, he must do an exact copy the feet design so that the pickup will still work.

I agree on this one. I recently changed the saddle of a Jasmine Takamine to bone. The strings sounded more balanced both plugged and unplugged.

[eds1122]

Hi.  The magnetic pickup I use is a Dimarzio DP139 Reference Acoustic.  I think its already discontinued, and replaced by the Dimarzio Angel.  I just got it 2nd hand at a very good price.  Yung Angel, may kamahalan.

As an alternative, you can also check out the guy in the classifieds selling "Dude's Acoustic Pickups".  He makes soundboard pickups at low prices. 

Try to do research of different acoustic pickup types before you make a decision.

About the time of setup, sorry, I have no idea.  I do all of my setup work and wiring myself.  I just filed the saddle, adjust the truss rod a little bit, and modify the wiring.  I did not modify the nut.

syang wla na pla ganung model 
ill do my research sir. try ko rin i browse si dudes acoustic pick up.
thanks ulit!