Setting the string spacing at the bridge
Issue 248 August 27, 2015
The string spacing on this old Gibson is uneven. Dan Erlewine shows how he made the E-to-E string spacing wider, then located the other four strings with proportional spacing, not equal spacing.
About the guitar in this video: This 1949 Gibson L-48 belongs to the original owner! He’s now in his 80s, and asked Dan to fix it because he’s going to take guitar lessons. :-)
- Fixing uncomfortable string spacing
- Sanding the bridge smooth and restarting from scratch
- Notching string locations before filing the slots
- Using abrasive cord, then burnishing the slots