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Post subject: 1967 Fender Shenandoah 12 string setup.
Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2015 7:57 pm
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Can anybody out there direct me to where I could find the setup specifications for a 1967 Fender Shenandoah 12 string guitar? As I had to replace the bridge saddle, I need to know what the bridge saddle height should be. I would greatly appreciate any help.
Thanks!


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Post subject: Re: 1967 Fender Shenandoah 12 string setup.
Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2015 12:41 am
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I doubt any manual (or such) would give you the original saddle heigth, and anyways the guitar has probably changed somewhat in its nearly 50 years.
So, unless some forum wizard gives better advice, you gotta start from scratch.

There's plenty of detailed info on the net, but here's a simplified process description, if you want to do it yourself:

Check the neck joint so it's snug (if it moves when you restring the guitar, you have to start again).
Adjust the truss rod so the neck is straight.
Check (& adjust if needed) the saddle bone groove bottom so it's clean, flat, straight etc; the saddle bone and the groove bottom should have as full contact as possible.

Then use a long (20"/ 24"/ 50cm) steel ruler to get your approximate saddle height. Ruler rests on the frets, mark the point where it touches the saddle. Decide your desired string height at the 12th fret, multiply with two, mark this to the saddle above the straight edge mark. (Exampling: if you want your lowE action to be 7/64"/2,8mm, you mark a spot 7/32"/5,6mm above the ruler based mark. HighE action is usually a little lower, so go 1/64"/0,4 mm down.)
Grind/file/sand the saddle bone to this height. Start at the bottom side until you get close to the lowE height - making sure the bottom is flat, straight, clean etc. Finish at the top, making that slight curve drop from lowE to highE.

Then put on both E strings, check the action - at this point (if you used the figures above and now that the nut comes along in the equasion) you should have a bit extra height left on the saddle, so do your final saddle fittings.
Restring, tune, adjust the truss rod, play.
You should have a playable instrument, but there still may be something you want to change - like string height (too high: shave the saddle more // too low: do the job again, or put a shim under the saddle) or intonation tweaks (crown the saddle bone accordingly). Unless you have real big troubles, do the fixes the next time you change strings so the guitar gets a little time to set.

And a disclaimer:
These are basic, DIY instructions - for home use, for someone with a little above moderate skills - and if executed with proper care, this procedure should make the instrument quite nicely playable. The use of a professional is always a good option, especially if one has any doubts on one's own skills.
The pros go a long way further; some even have different saddles for different climate conditions, some use the capo&13th fret action measuring etc.


Last edited by jmattis on Wed Sep 30, 2015 12:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: 1967 Fender Shenandoah 12 string setup.
Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2015 7:30 am
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Location: New York
I have nothing to add to the above, but ... 1967? Can we see a pic? :D

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