aamefford
The (should be) Committed
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2021
- Messages
- 944
Finally getting to my NGD! Thread. So many folks here helped, chided, enabled and advised on what guitar I should get with my GAS money burning a hole in my pocket. I wanted something that qualified as “Core” that I could afford. Enter the 20 year old Santana III. I really like it so far. The neck is a great fit for my hands, the pickups sound great and it rings like a bell acoustically.
I picked up the Music Nomad setup gage kit, figuring I have two electrics to set up, and the gage kit costs about what a set up does. I’ve gotten the truss rod where it needs to be, and the action at .06” low E and .05” high E with no buzz. I’ve got the string radius at 10” about as well as I can get it. It currently has .011’s on it per the seller. I have a couple questions for the group:
1) in the Last photo, the high E bridge saddle can be seen to be pretty much down as far as it will go. Given I’ve got the high E at .05” should this be of concern?
2) I’ll very likely put 10’s on this eventually. Again, any concerns with the high E saddle being at minimum height already? It seems that 10’s would technically raise the action half a thousandth. And yes, I’m very clear that half a thousandth is about 1/6 the width of a human hair. Except for red ones.
3) If I need to go lower with the high E saddle, is the next step CAREFULLY dropping the 6 trem pivot screws?
4) what color is this thing?
Ok, enough set up questions. I love the top on this. Some nice, subtle flame, not over the top. I like the feel of the neck. The “weird” Santana knob placement still falls to pinky finger pretty nicely, I don’t seem to mind it. It’s 8 lbs, 4 oz, give or take. A couple pounds heavier than my daughter at birth! Not bad, but a couple lbs heavier than my S2 Studio. The weight increases to about 42 lb with the hardshell case included…. PRS cases are HEAVY!
Ok ‘nuff blathering - a few picks of my first Core!
I picked up the Music Nomad setup gage kit, figuring I have two electrics to set up, and the gage kit costs about what a set up does. I’ve gotten the truss rod where it needs to be, and the action at .06” low E and .05” high E with no buzz. I’ve got the string radius at 10” about as well as I can get it. It currently has .011’s on it per the seller. I have a couple questions for the group:
1) in the Last photo, the high E bridge saddle can be seen to be pretty much down as far as it will go. Given I’ve got the high E at .05” should this be of concern?
2) I’ll very likely put 10’s on this eventually. Again, any concerns with the high E saddle being at minimum height already? It seems that 10’s would technically raise the action half a thousandth. And yes, I’m very clear that half a thousandth is about 1/6 the width of a human hair. Except for red ones.
3) If I need to go lower with the high E saddle, is the next step CAREFULLY dropping the 6 trem pivot screws?
4) what color is this thing?
Ok, enough set up questions. I love the top on this. Some nice, subtle flame, not over the top. I like the feel of the neck. The “weird” Santana knob placement still falls to pinky finger pretty nicely, I don’t seem to mind it. It’s 8 lbs, 4 oz, give or take. A couple pounds heavier than my daughter at birth! Not bad, but a couple lbs heavier than my S2 Studio. The weight increases to about 42 lb with the hardshell case included…. PRS cases are HEAVY!
Ok ‘nuff blathering - a few picks of my first Core!
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