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Question on set-up of action for synthetic vs. steel strings

 
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jlatorre
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Joined: 11 Dec 2007
Posts: 6
Location: Sacramento CA USA

PostPosted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 1:11 pm    Post subject: Question on set-up of action for synthetic vs. steel strings Reply with quote

Greetings, all.

To introduce myself, I'm a very novice player and builder, having partially assembled a Stewart-Macdonald 4/4 kit and bought a used Florea Oradea with intent to learn how to play.

From my reading, I gather that you want a clearance of about 2.8-3 mm from the end of the fingerboard to the string for the E, and from 4-5 mm for the G. Since my Florea came with those clearances of 7 and 10 respectively, I can only conclude that either the bridge is a poorly fitted replacement or nobody at the factory checked the specs before it went out the door. (I suspect that the high action might have been what discouraged the original owner from keeping the instrument.)

However, I've set up enough guitars to know that the action for synthetic strings is usually set up far higher than for steel strings, and wonder if those specs were valid for some synthetic strings that the violin may have originally come with. Is this the case, or is the action on a violin identical for steel and synthetic?

If the lf the former, I'll consider putting synthetic strings on the Florea. If the latter, I'll just cut down the bridge (but come to think of it, I guess I should first check the neck angle to see if that might have changed for the worse).

This will probably be the first in a flood of questions on building and playing. You have been warned.
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MANFIO
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Joined: 11 Apr 2007
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Location: Sao Paulo

PostPosted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 1:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Perhaps the problem is not with the bridge, but with the neck, the neck angle may not be correct, perhaps you will have to adjust the neck angle.

But yes, there are differences in set up for gut and steel strings.
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Leif Luscombe
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 2:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Take a small ruler and measure the height of the top of the fingerboard from the belly. It should be no less than 19-19.5mm and no more than 20.5-21mm. Obviously, if your violin has a problem with the neck angle, it will be too low.

If the neck angle is within these parameters, the bridge should be adjusted accordingly. It is not uncommon for instruments to be improperly set up.
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jlatorre
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Joined: 11 Dec 2007
Posts: 6
Location: Sacramento CA USA

PostPosted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 9:50 pm    Post subject: setup question Reply with quote

Thanks, Manfio and Leif. I did check the neck angle of the violin, and it seems to be right on spec. So it's the bridge.

Manfio, you said that you use different string clearances for steel and gut. How much do you increase the clearances for gut? It would surely not be to the present clearances of the strings, would it?

As I got to stare at the violin for a while, I noticed quite a few anomalies. The bridge wasn't centered on the join line of the belly plate, it wasn't quite square to the strings, it was leaning "forward" (toward the fingerboard) rather than "back" and the soundpost was about 6mm behind the bridge foot, rather than the 3 mm I expected. That supports Leif's suspicion that the bridge setup was incomplete. Also, the tuning pegs didn't extend completely through the peg box ... they needed to be about 3 mm deeper. It looks like I have a little work ahead of me, but this seems to be a good violin to learn set-up on.

I notice that the Florea I had was built in 2002 in Romania (or so the label says) but it seems that all the Floreas are being built in China now. Do you happen to know if there was a marked difference in the quality when the production was moved?
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FiddleDoug
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Location: Hilton, NY

PostPosted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 10:28 pm    Post subject: Steel/synthetic set-up Reply with quote

I would set up the clearances at about 3-3.5 mm for the E (most E's are steel, even with synthetic string sets), and about 5.5 at the G for synthetic strings (about 5 for steel). Gut strings might be just a bit more.
When you're working on the pegs, go very easy. It doesn't take much to get a peg to go 3 mm deeper.
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jlatorre
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Joined: 11 Dec 2007
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Location: Sacramento CA USA

PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2007 12:59 pm    Post subject: Re: Steel/synthetic set-up Reply with quote

FiddleDoug wrote:
I would set up the clearances at about 3-3.5 mm for the E (most E's are steel, even with synthetic string sets), and about 5.5 at the G for synthetic strings (about 5 for steel). Gut strings might be just a bit more.
When you're working on the pegs, go very easy. It doesn't take much to get a peg to go 3 mm deeper.


Thanks. That's what I needed to know. And yes, I found out how fast peg reamers ream when I built my cittern. Now I do a quarter of a turn at a time!
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